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Offbeat
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Offbeat. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
A revolver given to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, with the president’s name engraved on it, is displayed during a press presentation in Vilnius, Lithuania. Photo: Office of the Lithuanian President via AFP
Nato

1 revolver, 6 bullets: Turkish president’s ‘unusual’ gift to Nato leaders

Bring it home? Leave it in Turkey? Their delegations puzzled over what to do with the gun and live ammunition from Erdogan.

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Britain

Farage vs Binface: how UK hard-right leader’s poll gambit could backfire

Hong Kong

Cartoonist Harry Harrison’s humorous takes on Hong Kong and beyond in June

United States

Russian daredevils scale Empire State Building for proposal stunt, then get arrested

Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus unfurled a banner about the ‘power of love’ from the antenna spire of the landmark New York skyscraper.

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The climbers with a banner atop the Empire State Building on Wednesday. Photo: ABC Affiliate WABC via Reuters
Donald Trump

Trump unveils new US passport with his own face inside

With the commemorative ‘Patriot Passport’, he becomes the first sitting US president to feature on travel documents.

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Crime in Hong Kong

Porn star Erena So arrested in Hong Kong for promoting overseas gambling website

Police discover illegal betting website hiring local personalities as brand ambassadors to attract gamblers.

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Donald Trump

American flag blue? Algae turns Trump’s reflecting pool swamp green instead

Mother Nature is interfering with one of the US president’s pet projects just days after it was repainted.

Ariana Pettit of Las Vegas poses for a portrait as the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is cleaned of algae on Tuesday. Photo: AP
Science

Scientists find woolly mammoth DNA while digging through squirrel poo

A treasure trove of ancient genetic material was stashed away by the rodents before being ‘frozen in time’ by permafrost.

Trending in China

Chinese homeowner buys 34th-floor flat in 32-storey building, gets no compensation

Buyer purchases new-build unit with limited property rights despite risks, ends up propertyless, mired in messy legal tussle.

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Singapore

What does Singapore lose when the wrecking ball swings?

Relentless reinvention, long inevitable in the land-scare city state, puts pressure on beloved ‘third spaces’.

Murals adorn a wall at 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace in Singapore. Photo: Kolette Lim
Donald Trump

Trump says may leave UFC arena on White House lawn permanently

The US president compared the structure to France’s Eiffel Tower, which was supposed to have been dismantled 20 years after it was built.

Workers continue building the cage for the coming UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House on Wednesday. Photo: AP
Mainland China

Cartoonist Harry Harrison’s humorous takes on Hong Kong and beyond in May

Discover Harry’s View as our veteran cartoonist casts his satirical eye over the political, social and economic landscape.

Art

French museum reports theft of banana from multimillion-dollar artwork

Pompidou-Metz museum contacts police after a guard notices Maurizio Cattelan’s iconic duct-taped centrepiece has vanished.

Italy

Milan restores bull mosaic’s bits worn down by an unusual tradition

Craftsman rebuilds animal’s cratered anatomy after visitors wear down the 19th century floor with their heels.

Restorer Gianluca Galli works on the mosaic of the bull. Photo: AFP
Bangladesh

Celebrity ‘Trump’ buffalo spared sacrifice, sent to Bangladesh zoo

The animal with a blond hairdo said to resemble the US president’s signature look was saved just hours before it was set to be slaughtered.

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A carer attends to an albino buffalo nicknamed “Donald Trump” at a farm in Narayanganj on May 17. Photo: AFP
United States

RFK Jnr posts video of him grabbing 2 snakes, as his wife asks ‘why?’

US health secretary has a bare-handed encounter with snakes, as his TV star wife tries to get him to stop.

Trending in China

Every dog has its day: stray puppy steals show at Chinese university sports event

Student runner broke the 3,000-metre race record with the fluffy campus resident guiding her to victory like a professional pacer.

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King Charles III

UK radio station mistakenly reports death of King Charles

Radio Caroline has apologised after a computer error triggered the so-called death of a monarch procedure.

Britain’s King Charles attends an event in Hillsborough, Northern Ireland, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters
Japan

Japan’s late-night cafes open doors to soothe mothers of crying babies

The idea of a ‘nighttime crying cafe’, which appeared in an online comic nearly a decade ago, is now gaining real-world traction.

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Japan

Japan’s hikikomori recluses are growing old. So are their carers

What happens to more than 1 million social recluses in the world’s fastest-ageing society when the last person who cared for them is gone?

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Academy Awards

Oscar statue goes missing after director forced to check it on flight

Pavel Talankin’s prize was misplaced for two days until it was relocated by Lufthansa after an international outcry.

Oscars statuettes are on display during a preview for the Governors Ball in Hollywood, California, in March 2018. Photo: AFP
Mainland China

Cartoonist Harry Harrison’s humorous takes on Hong Kong and beyond in April

Discover Harry’s View as our veteran cartoonist casts his satirical eye over the political, social and economic landscape.

Illustration: Harry Harrison
Britain

New Banksy statue of man blinded by flag draws crowds in London

Satirical monument appears in Waterloo Place as speculation swirls over the artist’s ‘confirmed’ identity.

Vietnam

Survival of the sweetest: Choco Pies save Vietnamese hiker lost for 37 hours

The student’s 37-hour agony on Tam Dao Mountain – sustained by Choco Pies – has boosted the snack’s survival kit status.

United States

How a bear costume cost these luxury car insurance scamsters their freedom

A bear-suit scam in California landed three people in jail for faking luxury car damage and seeking US$142,000 in fraudulent insurance claims.

A bear suit is part of the evidence that has been used to convict three people for staged attacks on luxury cars for insurance payouts. Photo: California Department of Insurance/TNS
Middle East

‘First of its kind’ flying taxi station completed in Dubai

Commercial operations, with flights by California-based Joby Aviation, are expected to begin by the end of the year.

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An electric air taxi by Joby Aviation flies near the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York in November 2023. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong

Cartoonist Harry Harrison’s humorous takes on Hong Kong and beyond in March

Discover Harry’s View as our veteran cartoonist casts his satirical eye over the political, social and economic landscape.

What to do in Hong Kong

Where are Hong Kong’s best swings? This man who has tested over 200 sets knows

Mr Swing travels across Hong Kong to explore the city’s many swing sets, from government parks to ‘home-made’ creations off the beaten path.

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