Odd News
AFPCuba buys fuel shipment, vessel and all, due to US sanctions
Cuba purchased a shipment of oil -- and the vessel holding it -- as its owner refused to dock at the island nation over fears of violating US sanctions, the government said Wednesday. Authorities in Cuba -- which is facing a fuel shortage -- did not specify where the fuel or ship came from, nor when
AFPMother files complaint against formula producer after baby vomits worm
A French woman has filed a complaint against a baby formula manufacturer after her infant daughter allegedly vomited a parasitic worm the length of an adult index finger, police said Wednesday. The incident came after another family allegedly found a living larva in a container of the same milk powder
- Associated Press Videos
Sea lion resists help back home from rural road
Sheriff's deputies and Washington state wildlife officials had a standoff with a rather grumpy sea lion that was found wandering a rural road. Crews were able to coax her into a crate to carry her back to water. (Feb. 25)
AFPScottish farmer fined for punching sheep
A Scottish wool farmer has pleaded guilty to animal abuse after he was caught on video punching two sheep in the face, an animal welfare charity said Tuesday. William Brown, 59, was fined £550 ($715, 660 euros) under Section 19 of Scotland's Animal Health and Welfare Act 2006, after he admitted
AFPBurglars loot wine cellar of Michelin-starred Danish restaurant
Burglars stole dozens of bottles of vintage wine worth some 200,000 euros from a Michelin-starred restaurant in Copenhagen overnight, the owners said Monday. A gaping hole in the wall in the wine cellar of the Formel B restaurant -- which has one star in the prestigious Michelin restaurant guide --
AFP'Trump cheats at golf': Bloomberg mocks president with billboard
Democratic White House hopeful Michael Bloomberg mocked Donald Trump with a giant billboard on the Las Vegas Strip on Friday, fueling their feud as the US president visits the city for a rally. The giant digital billboard is just two miles (three kilometers) down the Strip from Trump's own hotel
AFPSwiss president celebrates 60th with anyone born on same day
Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga is turning 60 on May 14 and is planning a party with a difference by inviting along all Swiss citizens who share her birthday. There were 94,372 births in Switzerland in 1960 -- the year Sommaruga was born -- meaning that the average maximum number of invitees would
AFPSuperfan prays to Trump idol ahead of US President's India visit
Die-hard Donald Trump fan Bussa Krishna is celebrating the visit of his hero to India next week the only way he knows how -- offering prayers to a life-sized idol of the US President in his home. The 33-year-old has built the statue -- where he performs the Hindu prayer ritual "pooja" usually
AFP'Owner' makes claim to ghost ship grounded off Ireland
The purported owner of a "ghost ship" grounded off Ireland's south coast after drifting crewless for more than a year has made contact with authorities, a government agency said on Wednesday. The 77-metre (250-feet) cargo ship MV Alta ran aground on rocks outside the village of Ballycotton
AFP'Ghost ship' washes ashore in Ireland after Storm Dennis
A "ghost ship" drifting without a crew for more than a year washed ashore on Ireland's south coast in high seas caused by Storm Dennis, the Republic's coast guard said. The abandoned 77-metre (250-feet) cargo ship MV Alta ran aground on rocks outside the village of Ballycotton near
AFPArmed gang steals toilet rolls in panic-buying Hong Kong
A gang of knife-wielding men jumped a delivery driver in Hong Kong and stole hundreds of toilet rolls, police said Monday, in a city wracked by shortages caused by coronavirus panic-buying. Toilet rolls have become hot property in the densely packed business hub, despite government assurances that supplies
AFPIndia's 'Usain Bolt' buffalo runner turns down sprint trial
A buffalo jockey in India has refused to take part in a track and field trial after his record-setting performance in a traditional footrace drew comparisons with Olympic sprint legend Usain Bolt. Srinivas Gowda and his buffaloes ran 142.5 metres in 13.62 seconds, setting a record in the annual race
AFPMexico's giant pandas are Chinese in name only
Xin Xin and Shuan Shuan are the main attractions at the Chapultepec zoo in Mexico City but what makes them truly unique, zoo officials say, is that they're the only giant pandas in the world not owned by China. Many young pandas born abroad in captivity are later repatriated to China, where the
AFPRussian soldier rolls out tanks for romantic manoeuvre
A Russian soldier has pulled out all the stops to propose to his girlfriend, with his fellow officers manoeuvring 16 tanks to surround the couple in a heart shape. The high-octane romantic stunt was filmed in a video published by the defence ministry on Friday, Valentine's Day. Lieutenant Denis
AFPVirus-hit Hong Kong says it with face masks, not flowers
Hong Kong's flower markets are lamenting dismal Valentine's Day sales as the city battles the deadly coronavirus outbreak, with admirers joking that a box of face masks is a better way to say "I love you" than a bouquet. Aman Fong, an art director at a flower shop in the district of
AFPJellyfish hurl venom 'grenades' to snare prey
A species of jellyfish hunts its prey by hurling venom grenades to create "stinging water", researchers said Thursday, solving a long-standing mystery as to how they gather food without tentacles. The Cassiopea xamachana jellyfish, found in shallow waters around Florida, the Caribbean and
AFPOxford Dictionary updates 'Yid' definition to include Tottenham fans
The Oxford English Dictionary has updated its definition of the word "Yid" to include "a supporter of or player for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club", publishers announced Wednesday. The word has often been deployed as a term of abuse against Jews but a section of Spurs' support
AFPAussie croc wrangler joins Indonesia bid to save tyre-tied reptile
An Australian television personality has thrown his hat in the ring to help capture a giant Indonesian crocodile and remove a motorcycle tyre stuck around its neck. Matt Wright, host of National Geographic's "Monster Croc Wrangler" show, was on the island of Sulawesi Thursday with a team
Maple syrup-drinking Pospisil stuns top seed Medvedev
Rotterdam (Netherlands) (AFP) - Canada's Vasek Pospisil, who stunned fans by sipping maple syrup during the Montpellier ATP final at the weekend, continued his impressive form Wednesday when he defeated top seed Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-3 at the Rotterdam tournament.
AFPWorld's oldest man crowned in Japan aged 112
A 112-year-old Japanese man has been crowned the world's oldest male, claiming that smiling is the key to longevity. Chitetsu Watanabe, who was born on March 5, 1907 in Niigata, north of Tokyo, was officially given the title at his nursing home in the city, Guinness World Records said Wednesday.
AFPWorld's most expensive whiskies go up for sale
Some of the world's rarest and most expensive whiskies went on sale on Friday in an online auction of a private collection amassed by a late US soft drink bottling tycoon. The Whisky Auctioneer company said its "Perfect Collection", which was built by the late Pepsi bottling company executive
AFPTeen who threw boy from UK gallery 'told of plan to kill'
A British teenager who threw a six-year-old French boy off the 10th floor of London's Tate Modern art gallery had said he planned to push someone off a high building, the BBC and Daily Mail reported Friday. The two news groups obtained a recording of Jonty Bravery, who has autism, reportedly telling
AFPBrazil mistakenly publishes robbed tourist's rant
A tourist who was robbed while vacationing in Rio de Janeiro posted a disgusted message online... only to have Brazil's national tourism board post it to its official Instagram account by mistake. Embratur, as the tourism board is known, shared the message on its own Instagram account Tuesday evening
AFPRubik's Cube "Mona Lisa" goes on sale in Paris
A street art Rubik's Cube version of the "Mona Lisa" is expected to sell for up to 150,000 euros ($166,000) when it goes under the hammer in Paris this month. Made from 330 Rubik's Cubes by the French artist Invader -- famous for his ceramic Space Invaders figures inspired by the vintage
AFPDon't mention the word! But Boris insists no 'Brexit' ban
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday insisted that "Brexit" was not banned, despite not mentioning the word in a speech setting out Britain's negotiating position with Brussels for trade talks. Britain on Friday became the first country to leave the EU after 47 years of membership, capping
“There may be some really big pardons coming soon and this may, if you will, soften the public for what’s coming.”
“It was the latest extraordinary example of untamed executive power that suggests the President is feeling invincible now.”
“More than anything else, the pardons aim to discredit the idea of federal anti-corruption prosecution itself.”
“The fact that Blagojevich was a Democrat makes it all the better...Trump wants to convince you that everyone is dirty.”
“The pardons were entirely personal in origin, and so the granting of them was exclusively an exercise of Trump’s own power.”
