Odd News
- USAFP
A bird? A plane? Meteor grazes skies above New York City: NASA
New York has been the backdrop to countless "end of the world" storylines in film and TV. But on Tuesday an actual meteor shot over the city's iconic Statue of Liberty before disintegrating high above Manhattan, NASA's Meteor Watch said in a post on Facebook."At 34,000 miles per hour, the meteor descended at a steep angle of just 18 degrees from vertical, passing over the Statue of Liberty before disintegrating 29 miles above midtown Manhattan," the United States's space agency NASA wrote on soc
1 min read - WorldAFP
Seine swimming: Parisian tradition resurrected for Olympics
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took the plunge Wednesday when she jumped into the River Seine in Paris to show the water was clean enough to host Olympic swimming events starting later this month.- 2024: Olympics comeback - Current Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo revived the dream when bidding for the French capital to get the 2024 Games, promising swimming events in the Seine.
3 min read - WorldAFP
Thai activists defy 'munchies' on hunger strike for marijuana law
Although smoking marijuana is usually associated with "the munchies", a pair of Thai activists vowed Tuesday to stay on hunger strike until the government rethinks plans to recriminalise the narcotic. Not even the the mouth-watering aroma of fresh phad thai and grilled chicken wafting from a nearby street food market could deter the pair, who vowed to subsist on just water or coconut water until "our bodies can't take it anymore".
1 min read - WorldAFP
Swimmer rescued 80 km off Japan after 36-hour ordeal
A woman who went swimming off a beach in Japan and was swept out to sea was rescued about 80 kilometres (50 miles) off the coast after 36 hours, officials said on Thursday."It was around 7:55 pm on July 8 when we received the information after the woman's friend reported to a nearby convenience store that she was missing," a local Japan Coast Guard official told AFP. The woman, who was not named, told rescuers that she was swept out to sea and could not return to the beach as she was swimming wi
1 min read - USAFP
Mexicans embrace the Force with lightsaber training
It's not quite a galaxy far, far away, but about 20 people gather at dusk in a park in southern Mexico to practice fencing with glowing lightsabers -- a sport inspired by the "Star Wars" saga.Fencing "with a lightsaber makes me feel like I'm a Jedi, but as a sport it's interesting," said 24-year-old engineering student Victor Aceves.
2 min read - WorldAFP
Cyclist fined after kissing his wife at Tour de France
The friends and family of Julien Bernard gathered on a hillside to greet him as the Tour de France passed by his home during Friday's stage in Burgundy giving him a welcome that authorities found a little too warm.The authorities were more bothered by the behaviour of his friends who whipped up the deep crowds threatening the security barrier and pushing forwards with the locals cheering "Lalalala Julien Bernard."
1 min read - SportsAFP
British tennis ace Raducanu votes for 'lie-in' on election day
British tennis star Emma Raducanu said she's voting to have a "lie-in" on Thursday when the country goes to the polls, claiming she was unaware of a general election taking place.She was joined in her indifference to the election by national teammate Katie Boulter, who has her third-round match at Wimbledon on Thursday.
1 min read - SportsAFP
Right on cue as Djokovic seeks snooker tips from 'Rocket Ronnie'
What does a seven-time Wimbledon champion do when he sucks at snooker?Call seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan of course.
1 min read - SportsAFP
Wimbledon strawberries 'perfect' despite soggy spring
Wimbledon's strawberries are "perfect" for tennis fans this year despite Britain's soggy spring, tournament organisers said on Tuesday."I'm not a strawberry grower but they are perfect for Wimbledon this year," she said.
2 min read - WorldAFP
VideoFunny old world: The week's offbeat news
From flying Finnish hobby horses to the world's most powerful puss... your weekly roundup of offbeat stories from around the world.- Saddle up your stick -Finland is the world's happiest country. And now we know why. Step forward the wonderfully wacky Finnish sport of hobby horsing.Try not to smile while watching highly-styled riders straddling hobby horses leaping over fences that are nearly as high as in horse jumping. Yet despite its eye-popping athleticism, hobby horsing is a sport that dare
- WorldAFP
Britain's true ruler? Larry the Downing Street cat
There has been one figure of stability in the last 14 years of political turmoil in the UK -- Larry the Downing Street cat.- Longevity - Larry made his first appearance in Downing Street on February 15, 2011 after being adopted from the Battersea shelter in south London.
3 min read - LifestyleAFP
VideoWhy Finns are deadly serious about hobby horsing
A buzz of excitement crackled through the hushed arena as the rider gripped the reins of her stuffed steed.Welcome to the strangely exacting world of hobby horsing, the Finnish sport guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Immaculately-coiffed equestrians leap athletically over fences just like in horse jumping, going as fast as they can against the clock straddling their stick steeds.Things are more stately in the dressage, with riders trotting their stick horses with intricately decorated stuf
- WorldAFP
Denmark seeks to take the wind out of foreign flags
Denmark will introduce a law to restrict the use of foreign flags on its territory, the justice minister said Wednesday.The Danish flag, the Dannebrog, "is the most important national symbol", Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said in a statement, adding that "the flags of other countries cannot be freely flown".
1 min read - USAFP
Tens of thousands collected for 'honest' Dutch homeless man
An online campaign has raised more than 34,000 euros for a homeless man in Amsterdam who turned in a wallet stuffed with 2,000 euros in cash to police.Police said he turned in the wallet with "approximately 2,000 euros... but unfortunately no identity papers or anything that would allow us to contact the owner."
2 min read - SportsAFP
Giant China basketball teen tipped for top after towering displays
A 17-year-old Chinese basketball player has been tipped for the top and drawn comparisons to Yao Ming after using her startling height advantage to dominate an international tournament.Social media users compared her to former NBA star Yao, who was 2.29m tall and China's greatest basketball player of all time.
2 min read - CelebrityAFP
Handbags and ball gowns: Princess Diana finery goes under the hammer
The biggest auction of Diana memorabilia since the late British princess sold dozens of outfits months before her death gets underway in California this week, featuring a midnight blue tulle dress and a flamenco-style lace-up number.Highlights include Arbeid's blue diamante ball gown, which the princess wore in 1986 to the London premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera," and a magenta lace dress by Edelstein.
2 min read - WorldAFP
Hikes, nosy neighbours afflict Zimbabweans in quest for mobile connection
As the sun sets over Zimbabwe's Matobo Hills, boys throw stones to chase baboons away.- Prying ears - The Matobo Hills, a UNESCO World Heritage site famed for its distinctive rock boulders, provide some relief to Silozwe's residents.
4 min read - WorldReuters
Belgian collects a treasure trove of 60,000 vintage tin boxes
GRAND-HALLET, Belgium (Reuters) - The colourful tins piled high around Belgian collector Yvette Dardenne used to contain goods ranging from chocolates, toffees, coffee and rice to tobacco, talc and shoe polish, and come from as far away as India. Yvette Dardenne, 83, has accumulated almost 60,000 vintage tin boxes from all over the world since starting her collection some 30 years ago. The collection, which now occupies four houses, all began with a Cote d'Or chocolate box illustrated with a
1 min read - WorldReuters
Penguins missing visitors, say keepers, at locked-down Thai Zoo
The flip flop sound of penguin feet rang out at an empty zoo in Thailand on Thursday as a parade of birds waddled out of their enclosure for their daily splash in a pool to keep them healthy during a COVID-19 lockdown. Thailand is fighting its biggest coronavirus outbreak yet and has introduced strict movement curbs that have seen many public places, including zoos, shuttered. "I noticed that they felt a bit confused because when they walk out, there's usually a lot of people waiting for them,
2 min read - WorldReuters
UK PM Johnson worried about his dog's 'romantic urges' in Downing Street
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that his dog Dilyn had "romantic urges" and was "endlessly at people's legs" in Downing Street. Johnson and Carrie Symonds revealed in 2019 that they had adopted a rescued Jack Russell-cross puppy named Dilyn. "Do you have to worry about his romantic urges?" Johnson asked a police dog handler with an Alsatian.
1 min read - EntertainmentReuters
Feline okay? The app that tells you if your cat's happy
Cat owners who love to take pictures of their furry friends now have a new excuse to pull out their smartphones and take a snapshot: it may actually help the cat. A Calgary, Alberta, animal health technology company, Sylvester.ai, has developed an app called Tably that uses the phone's camera to tell whether a feline is feeling pain. A 2019 study published in peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports found that the so-called 'feline grimace scale,' or FGS, is a valid and reliable tool for acute
2 min read - WorldReuters
Samoan seasonal workers sing during Australian hotel quarantine
Australia's strict hotel quarantine requirements leaves most people frustrated and angry, but a group of quarantined seasonal workers from Samoa sang from their hotel room balconies in Hobart to say thank you instead. They were also doing this to thank the Australian Defence Force, police and government for their efforts, according to Dennie Teniseli, who filmed the video on June 18 not long after the group flew in. Australia has since March 2020 shut its international border to non-citizens b
1 min read - WorldReuters
Australia man ties bedsheets together to escape 4th floor hotel quarantine - police
A man in the Australian city of Perth escaped mandatory quarantine in a hotel by scaling down a rope made of tied together bedsheets from a fourth-floor window, police said on Tuesday. After arriving in the West Coast city on an interstate flight from Brisbane, the man had his application for entry refused under the state's tough border entry rules intended to stop the virus entering from elsewhere in the country. The man was told to leave the state within 48 hours and taken to a hotel for tem
2 min read - ScienceReuters
World record as tightrope walkers cross Swedish Arctic valley 600m up
Four German tightrope walkers have set a new world highlining distance record by crossing a 2.1 km-long valley in Swedish lapland on a line suspended at a height of 600 metres. Reuters' video footage showed a barefoot man sway and teeter as he delicately tiptoed across the line between two mountain peaks in a snow-capped valley. "I just focused on being very slow, being extremely clean and just reaching the end," said Quirin Herterich, who was first to cross the line before compatriots Lukas I
1 min read - USReuters
'Bubble man' roams San Francisco streets, bringing joy
The massive bubble Kurth Reis conjured last month, rising like a genie from a bucket of soap, startled a small girl visiting San Francisco's Embarcadero, almost enveloping her as she scampered away. Reis was in the military and later did jail time, burning bridges before a motorcycle crash hospitalized him in 2018, he recounted. His girlfriend, Kelly Sullivan, deserves much of the credit, or blame, for what she calls his soapy "addiction."
3 min read - USReuters
Lot in Canadian village for sale with small catch: It's under water
A 19-acre (7.7-hectare) lot for sale in a protected bay on the Canadian side of Lake Erie may look like a steal at C$99,000 ($80,292), especially with the average home in Canada now worth C$688,000, but there is a catch. The vacant lot on Brock Street in the village of Shrewsbury, Ontario, about 65 miles (105 km) east of Detroit, has no actual address, though the neighborhood gets high marks for being quiet and car-friendly. Canada's housing market has been on a tear through the COVID-19 pande
2 min read - WorldReuters
Cambodia PM weighs in to get pet lion returned to owner
A pet lion that authorities seized from a house in Cambodia's capital last week was reunited with its owner on Monday - after a personal intervention by Prime Minister Hun Sen. Police and wildlife officials initially raided the property on June 27, saying they were rescuing the animal after videos of it appeared on the social media app TikTok, and neighbours raised the alarm. In the days that followed, social media posts appeared saying the lion should be returned to the owner, who had denied
2 min read - BusinessReuters
With 3D printed 'steaks', Spanish startup eyes the mass market
As demand for plant-based alternatives to meat rises, Barcelona-based startup Novameat is using its 3D printing technology to manufacture vegetarian "steaks" that it hopes will reach the mass market next year. Novameat plans to sell its "steaks" directly to consumers and to businesses such as restaurants interested in producing plant-based meat, business development manager Alexandre Campos told Reuters on Tuesday. The Spanish company, which developed its technology in 2018, was showing how it
1 min read - BusinessReuters
'Free meat for a year' offered in JBS U.S. vaccine sweepstakes
Meatpacker JBS SA said on Thursday it will give away beef, pork and chicken for the next year to 50 U.S. families that participate in company-sponsored vaccination clinics over the coming weeks. The Brazilian company's arm in the United States and Pilgrim's Pride, a U.S. chicken company mostly owned by JBS, came under fire last year as thousands of meatpacking workers fell sick with COVID-19. "We've made great progress, and our vaccination rates are much higher than the rates in the communitie
2 min read - WorldReuters
Italian hospital uses CT scan to unveil secrets of Egyptian mummy
Ancient Egypt met modern medical technology when a mummy underwent a CT scan at an Italian hospital as part of a research project to discover its secrets. The mummy of Ankhekhonsu, an ancient Egyptian priest, was transferred from Bergamo's Civic Archaeological Museum to Milan's Policlinico hospital, where experts will shed light on his life and the burial customs of almost 3,000 years ago. "The mummies are practically a biological museum, they are like a time capsule," said Sabina Malgora, the
1 min read - LifestyleReuters
Ukraine's inseparable couple ditches the handcuffs and parts ways
After 123 days handcuffed together to save their on-again off-again relationship, Ukrainians Alexandr Kudlay and Viktoria Pustovitova have split up, shedding their bonds on national TV and saying the experiment had brought home uncomfortable truths. The young couple from the eastern city of Kharkiv decided to handcuff themselves together on Valentine's Day, in a last-ditch attempt to break the cycle of breaking up and making up. Pustovitova said personal space is what she missed most, although
2 min read - BusinessReuters
Kyrgyz cricket farm hopes to tap Chinese insects market
With one eye on the lucrative Chinese market just across the border, an entrepreneur has launched Kyrgyzstan's first cricket farm and is producing high-protein insect flour and fried cricket snacks. Accompanied by loud chirping from his one tonne of crickets at the farm, Adyl Gaparov said his idea was inspired by online articles about breeding crickets. "Our main business is producing cricket flour with high protein content," Gaparov said.
2 min read - WorldReuters
Supermarket chain says Polish workers found cocaine in banana boxes
Supermarket chain Carrefour SA said on Friday it had notified local police after employees at one of its Warsaw stores had found suspicious parcels in a delivery of bananas, which police later confirmed to be cocaine. "They immediately notified the police, who quickly secured the batch of goods and started an investigation that is currently underway," Carrefour said in an email to Reuters, adding that it was cooperating with the investigation. Warsaw police said the packages contained over 160
1 min read - USReuters
Jamming with the cicadas in New Jersey: a once in 17 years event
For some in the U.S., the emergence of billions of red-eyed cicadas this spring after a 17-year slumber has been met with annoyance - particularly over their loud buzzing calls. But for David Rothenberg, a professor of philosophy and music at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, it has presented a unique opportunity for collaboration. "We're combining human musical ideas with nature's musical ideas," he explained as he gathered fellow musicians at a nature preserve in Princeton, New Jersey.
2 min read - WorldReuters
China's WeChat bans nose-picking, spanking in bid to clean up livestreams
Chinese social media platform WeChat on Thursday published a list of activities and "violations" it is banning in a bid to clean up its livestreaming service, including "indecent" nose-picking and spanking games. WeChat, owned by Tencent Holdings, is ubiquitous in China, where it is used by around 1 billion people for everything from sending instant messages to ordering pizzas. China closely regulates its internet and has been increasingly clamping down on content that is politically or social
1 min read - WorldReuters
Pelicans befriend Cuban man living by the sea
GUANIMAR (Reuters) - "Michel the noble" and "Panchito the affectionate" are some of the names Leonardo Carrillo has given the pelicans that flock each year to his wooden hut on the southern coast of Cuba. For the past two decades, the 62-year-old has cared for the colony of around 100 brown pelicans that land in his village of Guanimar in December to spend the winter months there before heading back north in May. Carrillo said he does actually have three (human) children - two who live in the
2 min read - LifestyleReuters
French restaurant serves up food of the future: insects
Laurent Veyet's tasting menu is not for the faint-hearted, but may point to the future of feeding a booming world population - there is a prawn salad with yellow mealworm, crunchy insects on a bed of vegetables and chocolate-coated grasshoppers. "It's the ideal dish for first-timers," the Parisian chef said, preparing a serving of pasta made with mealworm flour, sweet potato and sauteed insect larvae. The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) in January deemed the mealworm fit for human consumpti
2 min read - WorldReuters
With rattles and smoke, Peru shamans predict election outcome
Peruvian shamans, with rattles, smoke and pictures of the Andean country's two presidential candidates, are trying to read the tea leaves ahead of a polarized run-off election on June 6 with polls showing what could be a tight contest. On a stony hillside in Lima, shamans burned incense and played musical instruments in colorful, traditional outfits to predict the winner from between socialist front-runner Pedro Castillo and conservative Keiko Fujimori. The vote could tip copper-rich Peru shar
2 min read - WorldReuters
Cattle for raffle gets Thai town in moood for vaccines
BANGKOK (Reuters) -A district of northern Thailand has launched a raffle campaign for inoculated residents to win a live cow per week for the rest of the year, in a bid to boost the local COVID-19 vaccination drive. From next month, one lucky vaccinated villager in the Mae Chaem district of Chiang Mai province will be randomly chosen every week to win a young cow worth around 10,000 baht ($319). "Our vaccine registration numbers have gone from hundreds to thousands in a couple of days," distri
1 min read - WorldReuters
Would you wash with snail slime soap?
Foamy slime bubbles onto Damien Desrocher’s hand as he lightly rubs one of the thousands of snails he keeps in an enclosure in his backyard. The 28-year-old French artisan began using the gastropod fluid to make soap bars, which he sells in local markets, in December. "It's all in the dexterity of how you tickle,” Desrocher said as he extracted the slime, noting that the process does not kill the animals.
2 min read - SportsReuters
Soccer-Push-up punishment for Belgium's Batshuayi after squad gaffe
Belgium striker Michy Batshuayi faces a prompt punishment of 50 push-ups when he joins the national team squad for the European Championship at the end of the month. Batshuayi prematurely announced his own inclusion in the 26-man squad for the tournament on Monday, firing off a tweet before the squad’s official announcement was completed at a formal news conference addressed by coach Roberto Martinez. The Crystal Palace forward had not followed the announcement by Martinez on the Belgium FA mo
1 min read - WorldReuters
Rescued British yachtsman lands in Sydney's COVID-19 quarantine
A British yachtsman has been placed in mandatory coronavirus quarantine in a hotel in downtown Sydney after being rescued from his sinking craft in rough waters, Australian police said on Sunday. Australian media said the 40-year-old was sailing to Sydney from Tahiti. Police in New South Wales said they launched a 26-hour rescue effort from midnight on Friday, after receiving reports of a 50-foot (15 m) Beneteau yacht taking on water about 95 nautical miles off the coast of Newcastle.
1 min read - ScienceReuters
Russia picks cast for movie to be shot in space
Russia has picked four people to serve as nonprofessional crew members and actors in what is planned to be the first movie to be shot in outer space, Russia's Roscosmos space agency said on Thursday. Some of them are scheduled to be launched on a Soyuz MS-19 craft on Oct. 5 to be delivered to the International Space Station, which orbits Earth at an altitude of around 220 miles (354 km), according to Roscosmos and NASA. "Among other things, they will have to take centrifuge tests, vibration st
1 min read - WorldReuters
Vlad the vaccinator: Dracula's castle lures visitors with COVID-19 jabs
Doctors and nurses with fang stickers on their scrubs are offering free Pfizer shots to all-comers at 14th century Bran Castle, which is purported to be an inspiration for the vampire's towering home in Bram Stoker’s novel "Dracula". Castle staff hope the service will bring more people to the site in Romania's Carpathian mountains, where tourist numbers have plummeted since the start of the pandemic. Anyone can turn up without an appointment every weekend in May. They also get free entry to th
1 min read - EntertainmentReuters
Ordering takeout? Try a live concert at home
Live concerts are on the menu for home delivery, as musicians and audiences seek to satisfy their appetite for human interaction. Lit up by a few stage lights, a nearby fire and hanging garden bulbs, singer-songwriter Steve Poltz strolled in, guitar in hand, happy to be performing live again. With concert venues largely shuttered over the past year, San Francisco-based concert promoter KC Turner and musician friend Megan Slankard came up with a way to bring live music directly to fans in their
2 min read - WorldReuters
Fresh pizza vending machine prompts curiosity and horror in Rome
Raffaele Esposito, the 19th century Neapolitan credited with inventing Italy's most famous type of pizza, may be turning in his grave: Rome has a new vending machine which slides out freshly cooked pizzas in just three minutes. "It looks good but it is much smaller than in a restaurant and there is less topping," said Claudio Zampiga, a pensioner. People have been eating forms of flat bread with toppings for millennia, but it is generally accepted that pizza was perfected in Naples, where it w
2 min read - WorldReuters
Art attack: Israeli ex-sniper blasts paint in mental health message
Former Israeli army sniper David Roytman has turned his hand to action painting, using guns and live-fire ranges instead of brushes and studios to blast colours onto canvases. In Israel, Roytman uses a pistol to shoot bags filled with paint, which then splatter onto a wood-board canvas, creating the artwork. Roytman, 42, describes the method as way to exorcise difficult memories from his combat service.
1 min read - WorldReuters
Busy bees in Colombia get respite in bamboo hotels
Solitary bees are enjoying new digs in Barbosa, Colombia, where tiny hotels built by the Aburra Valley Metropolitan Authority provide places to rest and recover after a busy day pollinating. Lovingly built from wood, with acrylic roofs to protect them from rain, the hexagonal structures are filled with a variety of bamboo canes that allow bees of all shapes and sizes to check in for a well-deserved rest. "It's like a hotel because here they're going to have a quiet moment in their room ... bef
2 min read - WorldReuters
High anxiety: World's longest pedestrian suspension bridge opens in Portugal
Hugo Xavier became one of the first people to cross the world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge when it opened on Thursday near his tiny hometown of Arouca in northern Portugal. Hidden between rock-strewn mountains covered with lush greenery and yellow flowers inside the UNESCO-recognised Arouca Geopark, the bridge hangs 175 meters above the fast-flowing River Paiva. "It was extraordinary, a unique experience, an adrenaline rush."
2 min read - WorldReuters
Climate change summit glitch cuts off Macron, puzzles Putin
A technical glitch at a U.S. climate summit cut off French President Emmanuel Macron mid-speech and left Russian President Vladimir Putin puzzled, demonstrating that virtual meetings can be as awkward for world leaders as they are for the rest of us. Macron was just minutes into a speech about the urgency of climate action when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken cut in, saying, "Thank you very much Mr president, I now turn the floor to the president of the Russian Federation, his Excellency
1 min read
