Oklahoma City

Child's play: Coding booms among Chinese children

Vita has set up a coding tutorial channel on the Chinese video streaming site Bilibili since August and has so far garnered nearly 60,000 followers and over one million views. "Coding's not that easy but also not that difficult -- at least not as difficult as you have imagined," says Vita, who lives in Shanghai. "When I am teaching, I am learning new things at the same time," adds Vita.

Polling station pooches bring light relief to UK election

Retrievers, beagles, poodles and pugs lined up in the rain at Britain's polling stations on Thursday as thousands of voters brought their canine companions to take part in the general election. Pet owners took to Twitter to post photographs of their dogs next to polling station signs at schools and community centres across the country, using the trending hashtag #dogsatpollingstations. Prime Minister Boris Johnson got into the spirit, nuzzling his dog Dilyn at the polling booth, as did Labour mayor Sadiq Khan, who turned up with his pet Luna.

Cutting edge 'tree' displays Vilnius airport contraband

Vilnius (AFP) - Staff at the Lithuanian airport in Vilnius came up with a sharp idea to remind travellers that safety comes first: a Christmas tree made of confiscated knives and toy guns.

World's oldest artwork uncovered in Indonesian cave: study

An Indonesian cave painting that depicts a prehistoric hunting scene could be the world's oldest figurative artwork dating back nearly 44,000 years, a discovery that points to an advanced artistic culture, according to new research. Spotted two years ago on the island of Sulawesi, the 4.5 metre (13 foot) wide painting features wild animals being chased by half-human hunters wielding what appear to be spears and ropes, said the study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday. Using dating technology, the team at Australia's Griffith University said it had confirmed that the limestone cave painting dated back at least 43,900 years during the Upper Palaeolithic period.

Brief encounter: fighter wins SEA Games gold after underwear row

A Filipino martial artist was prepared to give up his chance of winning a Southeast Asian Games title because he didn't want to wear underpants beneath his traditional loincloth. Crisamuel Delfin eventually picked up gold for his weapon-wielding anyo routine in the arnis competition, but only after he was persuaded to wear skimpy underwear to avoid a wardrobe malfunction on live television. "In the Ifugao Igorot culture, it's an insult to the cultural traditions if you wear undergarments under the loincloth," Senator Miguel Zubiri, the Philippines Arnis Federation president, told AFP on Wednesday.

Painting of naked Zapata stirs uproar in Mexico

A controversial painting of Mexican revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata has pitted his family and supporters against the work's artist and the LGBT community in a contentious dispute that erupted in heated protests Tuesday. The protesters, many of them campesinos, or peasant tenant farmers who are sympathetic to the message of Zapata -- himself a campesino from Morelos state -- demonstrated outside the museum for hours. Some shouted homophobic slurs, which prompted a small group of LGBT community members and supporters to gather nearby and push back as tensions rose.

Walmart withdraws Christmas cocaine sweater

It wasn't the type of white powder that makes Christmas complete -- American retail giant Walmart has withdrawn a festive sweater that celebrates cocaine. The sweater depicts Santa Claus with straw in hand, and three white lines laid out on a table before him. The description of the product, marketed by a third-party vendor on Walmart's Canadian site, was explicit.

Christmas repeats: UK PM copies 'Love Actually' spoof

Boris Johnson on Tuesday faced claims of plagiarism after copying a spoof version of a scene from the hit Christmas film "Love Actually" as part of his election campaign. Britain's prime minister is seen in a social media clip taking the part of actor Andrew Lincoln, who turns up to profess his undying love for Keira Knightley by showing her flashcards.

Pepe and protest pig: Internet memes come to life at Hong Kong rally

Among the sea of faces on Hong Kong's streets on Sunday were more than one hundred people wearing quirky over-sized animal masks -- a band of activists bringing popular protest internet memes to life. Hong Kong's democracy movement is largely leaderless and organised online. The most popular are a cute pig and a shiba inu dog, who often appear dressed in the movement's ubiquitous yellow tradesman helmets.

The wacky, big-money world of pet influencers

Grumpy Cat, Lil Bub, Boo the Pomeranian and Doug the Pug are just some of the internet's star animals, who do everything from support worthy causes to promote major brands. The death this week of Lil Bub, a cat whose tongue was always hanging out due to genetic anomalies, inspired a wave of emotion that highlighted the internet's power to elevate just about anything to cult status. Lil Bub rose to fame after her adoption in 2011, when her owner, music producer Mike Bridavsky, began posting photos and updates about her online.

Japanese magazine ridiculed for 'Socrates' dating advice

A Japanese magazine that advised women to compliment men on their intelligence by saying "You sound like Socrates" has been ridiculed in the country ranked one of the world's worst for gender parity. "JJ", a major fashion magazine targeted at young women, encouraged readers to compare men to the classical Greek philosopher when they say something complicated. The tips were based on a comic book by a female manga artist, the magazine said, playing on a popular trope where women compliment men and feign stupidity.

Japanese man, 71, arrested for 'making 24,000 complaint calls'

A Japanese pensioner has been arrested after ringing a phone company 24,000 times to complain they had violated his contract, police and local media reported. Tokyo police said they took 71-year-old Akitoshi Okamoto into custody last week after he made hundreds of toll-free calls over eight days to the customer service section of major telephone operator KDDI.

'One Team', '#KuToo' buzzwords for 2019 in Japan

Japan rugby team's slogan "One Team", the "#KuToo" campaign against a de-facto requirement to wear heels at work, and the new imperial era name "Reiwa" were chosen Monday as the most memorable 2019 buzzwords. "One Team" was declared the top buzzword of the year live on national TV, after the Brave Blossoms captured Japan's imagination by reaching the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals for the first time. Campaigners say wearing high heels is seen as near-obligatory when job hunting or working at many Japanese companies.

Burglars hit East German secret police museum in Berlin

Burglars broke into Berlin's Stasi Museum, which showcases items of East Germany's hated secret police, making off with collectible medals and gold jewellery, authorities said Sunday, days after a spectacular diamond heist in Dresden. The time of the raid was unclear but a museum employee found showcases smashed in the exhibition rooms on Sunday morning. Museum director Joerg Drieselmann told the Tagesspiegel daily that among the medals taken were a gold Patriotic order of Merit, an Order of Karl Marx -- the highest honour awarded in the former communist East Germany and an Order of Lenin.

Taiwan's wheelchair athletes find love on the dance floor

Taiwanese athletes Vincent Kuo and Ivy Huang each discovered an electric talent for wheelchair dancing on their own -- but it was when they were paired up together that the sparks really flew. Currently ranked world number two, the recently-married couple are in Germany this weekend to compete in the World Para Dance Sport Championship. "I have always been interested in sports even if I can't play them because of my disabilities," Kuo told AFP during a break from practicing Latin dance moves with his wife in New Taipei City.

Costly holiday tree scandalises Russian coal town

An expensive holiday tree installed in the centre of an industrial Siberian city has been ridiculed online and on national media as a symbol of corruption, though authorities defended the high-tech purchase. Russian comedian Ivan Urgant, who hosts a show on popular Channel One, ridiculed the Kemerovo tree as having "very expensive ornaments -- real rabbits, bears, cars and planes" and hinted at corruption in the city hall.

Japan store to replace staff 'period badges' after uproar

A Japanese department store has scrapped a "period badge" for employees that let colleagues know they were menstruating, after the policy sparked an internet storm, a spokeswoman said Friday. One of Daimaru's upscale department stores in the western city of Osaka began the programme last month, adopting an idea proposed by female employees.

It's coming home: Karaoke World Championships rocks Japan

Monique is Panama's representative in the Karaoke World Championships, one of 40 amateur warblers selected from 30,000 entrants for the competition, which is being held this year for the first time in its spiritual home of Japan. The final contestants were selected from some 30,000 applicants across the globe, according to Daiichikosho, a Japanese karaoke company backing the event.

'Curry for salarymen': Top 'La Liste' chef recalls early days

A Tokyo chef whose restaurant has been ranked one of the world's top places to eat told AFP how he was once reduced to whipping up lowly curry to attract diners to his empty tables. Seiji Yamamoto is chef of the famously innovative Ryugin restaurant in Tokyo, which was placed joint top of La Liste's "guide of guides" published on Friday. Yamamoto said he was "honoured" to receive the accolade but it led him to reflect on his struggles when he opened his first restaurant more than a decade ago.

New toll road cuts Moscow-Saint Petersburg drive in half

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday opened what has been billed as Russia's first modern motorway, almost halving the driving time between the two biggest cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The "Neva" toll road, running 669 kilometres (416 miles) and named after Saint Petersburg's main river, is Russia's first long-distance toll road. It boasts no traffic lights and a higher maximum speed limit of 130 kilometres per hour (81 miles per hour) versus 110 kph on other roads.

Dutch supermarket drops staff underwear photo request

The Netherlands' top supermarket chain said Tuesday it has ditched plans to ask staff to upload photos of themselves in their underwear to work out sizes for new uniforms. "I saw a poster hanging in our canteen and I was shocked," 17-year-old Jochem de Haes, who works at the Nijmegen branch, told NRC. Albert Heijn insisted the plan was voluntary and was aimed at helping bring in new uniforms for staff at its 1,000 Dutch stores.

Unmasked: costume capers stir New York's Times Square

The 32-year-old Peruvian is one of dozens of men and women, mostly from Latin America, trying to eke out a living as costumed characters inside New York's beating heart. Dressed as Sesame Street fuzzballs Elmo and Cookie Monster and superheroes like Batman and Hulk, they pose for photos with tourists in exchange for tips, vying with topless women in body paint and a semi-naked guitar-playing cowboy. For many visitors, the mascots are part of the frenetic entertainment district's charm but to some New Yorkers they symbolize a crowded neon nightmare that is best avoided.

French zoo finds runaway red panda

A zoo in central France said it found a runaway red panda on Saturday, a week after it escaped by scaling branches broken by snowfall. The zoological park in Saint-Martin-la-Plaine said a man discovered the endangered furry mammal in his garden. A team headed immediately to the site and recovered the red panda.

Nine-year-old Belgian prodigy set for university degree

The Belgian boy will in December receive a degree in electrical engineering from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, which will make him one of the world's youngest graduates. Far from being fazed by his achievements, which also saw him complete the course in just nine months instead of the usual three years, Laurent says it's "normal" -- although he adds too that it's "cool". "Laurent's qualities are all simply extraordinary," says Sjoerd Hulshof, programme director for electrical engineering at the university, a course that itself is considered particularly difficult.

Sleeping bears force Polish TV to shift New Year party

A Polish TV channel learnt the truth of the saying on Friday, being forced to abandon plans to hold its noisy New Year's Eve party near bear caves. The TVP station -- which hosts a gala event each New Year featuring concerts and a lot of drinking -- wanted to relocate the party to Poland's most famous ski resort in the Tatra mountains. TVP chief Jacek Kurski confirmed the event would move back to its previous location in the town of Zakopane, saying New Year's Eve "must unite us, not divide us".

Austrian police probe theft of chocolate truck

Austrian police said Friday they were looking for a stolen truck carrying 20 tonnes of chocolate worth 50,000 euros from a Milka factory. The truck was loaded last week in the town of Bludenz in western Austria. The Austrian company in charge of the transport outsourced it to a Hungarian company, which in turn tasked a Czech partner with the job.

High spirits at Singapore's school for gin

In a Singapore distillery, the smell of pine, citrus and flowers fills the air as students crush juniper berries, blending them with their own choice of ingredients to make custom gin with an Asian twist. The students are encouraged to get creative and build their own flavour profile -- citrus, floral, herbal, or spicy -- blending classic ingredients such as juniper and coriander seeds with those used in local cuisines. "You can go as little as three botanicals, or you can go crazy and put a million botanicals in it," she said.

French language watchdogs warn of rise of 'franglais'

A centuries-old institution regarded as the guardian of the French language has warned state officials against encouraging the spread of "franglais", saying it could have dire consequences for the future of the language. L'Academie francaise, established in 1635 to defend the purity of the French language, said in an official statement that it had never been hostile to the introduction and use of foreign terms. "But today it (the academy) is deeply worried by the development of franglais," it said in a statement late on Thursday.

What a relief! Paris show lifts taboo on historic outdoor loos

They were as much a symbol of Paris as croissants and the Eiffel Tower, though they had more than a whiff of scandal from the start. Now the much-mourned "pissotieres", the dark-green public urinals that gave relief to generations of Parisian men, are finally getting their place in the city's social and architectural history.

ChickTok: Indonesian kids given pets to wean them off smartphones

Officials in one Indonesian city have hatched a plan to wean children off smartphones -- by giving them their own fluffy chicks to raise. Around 2,000 four-day-old chicks will be handed out to pupils at elementary and junior high schools in Bandung in the coming weeks in an attempt to distract the kids from their gadgets. "There is an aspect of discipline here," said Bandung's mayor Oded Muhammad Danial.

French ducks allowed to keep quacking... for now

A French court has allowed a group of ducks in the southwest of the country to keep on quacking after complaints from neighbours over their noisy behaviour, at least pending a detailed investigation of noise levels. The case of the ducks in the southwestern Landes region was the latest in the country to pit traditions of rearing animals against the tastes of newcomers, following the well-publicised legal dispute over a rowdy rooster in western France. A couple who bought a neighbouring property last year had complained of "significant noise" from the group of around 50 ducks and geese kept the backgarden of Dominique Douthe, 67, in the town of Soustons.

Australian man survives croc attack by gouging its eye

An Australian wildlife ranger has recounted his terrifying escape from the clutches of a "particularly cunning" crocodile, after wrestling with the reptile and sticking a finger in its eye. Craig Dickmann, who made a split-second decision to go fishing last Sunday in a remote part of Northern Australia known as "croc country" last Sunday, said a 2.8-metre (nine-foot) crocodile came up from behind him as he was leaving the beach. "As I've turned to go, the first thing I see is its head just come at me," he told reporters on Friday from his hospital bed in the town of Cairns in Queensland state.

Airbus plane winging its way to France after 'wet sock' complaint

A new Airbus plane will be sent back to engineers in France following complaints of a "smell of wet sock" from cabin crew in the Pacific island territory of New Caledonia. The Airbus A330neo came into service on October 4 as part of a fleet renewal at Air Caledonie International (ACI), the french territory's international airline. The Airbus A330neo, one of two in ACI's fleet, has been grounded for two weeks and will shortly be sent to Airbus' workshops in Toulouse.

US cows swim miles to safety after storm sweeps them into the sea

Three cows swept into the ocean when Hurricane Dorian struck the US east coast in September were found living on a string of sandy islands miles away from their home, US media reported Thursday. The bovine trio is believed to have swum four to five miles (six to 10 kilometers) before placing hoof on land -- in this case an island of sand dunes and scattered vegetation that is part of North Carolina's Outer Banks, the Charlotte Observer newspaper reported. The animals were recently discovered by park rangers at the Cape Lookout National Seashore, a long chain of undeveloped barrier islands off the North Carolina coast.

Chinese tourists say 'I do' to Serbia

Enticed by visa-free travel and low costs compared to Western Europe, the Chinese have been coming to Serbia in their droves. The landlocked Balkan state is now one of the fastest-growing destinations in Europe for Chinese travellers, topping the charts last year, and has been rolling out the red carpet. From Chinese restaurants, to street signs in Mandarin, infrastructure has quickly sprung up.

Whodunnit? US library baffled by mystery of vanishing 'liberal' books

For more than a year, books critiquing Donald Trump, advocating gun control or supporting gay rights have been vanishing from a US library -- only to be found later, mysteriously hidden in dark corners of the wrong shelves. An anonymous person appears to find a malicious pleasure in hiding "liberal" books that he or she dislikes to prevent others from reading them. "It's censorship, plain and simple," library director Bette Ammon told local press in Coeur d'Alene, a town in the northwestern state of Idaho.

Canadian declares canoe travel as a moving expense

A Canadian teacher -- pushed to test the limits of tax laws after losing a court fight -- has successfully claimed a canoe trip as a moving expense, public broadcaster CBC said Tuesday. John Konecny loaded his belongings into a canoe and paddled up the Rideau canal from Whitby, Ontario to Ottawa for a summer teaching job in 2018. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) allows Canadians who move more than 40 kilometers (25 miles) for work or school to deduct eligible expenses from their taxable income.

Rogue 'Laden' elephant gets a job, renamed 'Krishna'

An elephant that killed five Indian villagers, earning it the moniker of the late Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has been renamed after the Hindu god Krishna and will be trained to patrol parks, officials said Tuesday. The male elephant, dubbed "Laden" by frightened villagers in the northeastern state of Assam, was tracked for days by forestry officials and tranquilised on Monday after its deadly rampage through Goalpara district in late October. If possible we would try to turn it into a captive elephant by training it," Assam's Forest Minister Parimal Shuklabaidya said.

Singapore baggage handler jailed for swapping luggage tags

A Singaporean baggage handler has been jailed for 20 days for swapping tags on nearly 300 suitcases at the city-state's airport, causing them to end up at wrong destinations around the world. Tay Boon Keh, 66, had pleaded guilty to charges of swapping the tags on 286 bags at Changi Airport, one of the world's busiest hubs. Suitcases originally bound for various parts of the world, including Perth, Manila, Frankfurt, London and San Francisco, were affected, according to court documents.

Licensed to thrill: Bond author's steamy letters go on sale

Sexually-charged letters between James Bond creator Ian Fleming and his wife Ann were put up for auction on Tuesday, part of a collection of correspondence that also charts the success of his 007 books. The letters reveal the intensity of their relationship, particularly before they married. In one, Ann wrote to ask Fleming to "put me in your bed with a raw cowhide whip in my hand so as I can keep you well behaved for forty years".

Shock in Russia as Napoleon expert confesses to chopping up lover

A prominent Saint Petersburg-based Napoleon expert has confessed to murdering his young lover and former student and dismembering her body in a grisly crime that sent shock waves across Russia. Oleg Sokolov, a 63-year-old history lecturer who received France's Legion d'Honneur from Jacques Chirac in 2003, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of murder after he was hauled out of the icy Moika River with a backpack containing a woman's arms. Sokolov was reportedly drunk and fell into the Moika, a tributary of the Neva, in central Saint Petersburg as he tried to dispose of body parts near the offices of investigators.

Denmark and Iceland clash over priceless mediaeval manuscripts

They recount tales of Viking raids, Norse history, kings and gods: a priceless collection of mediaeval manuscripts, bequeathed by an Icelandic scholar to the University of Copenhagen in the 18th century, that Iceland now wants back. The UN cultural organisation UNESCO has called them "the single most important collection of early Scandinavian manuscripts in existence", with the earliest one dating from the 12th century. Some of the texts -- known as the Arnamagnaean Collection -- have already been returned to Reykjavik, but 1,400 documents are still locked away in Copenhagen.

French woman told not French enough for Quebec residency

A French woman seeking permanent residency in Quebec was turned down on grounds on her French was not good enough. Emilie Dubois, 31, has lived in the mainly French-speaking province since 2012, completed her doctoral thesis at Laval University in Quebec City in French, started a small business in the province and even passed a language test. French is the official language of government, commerce and the courts in Quebec -- a former French colony ceded to Britain in 1763.

Too 'dead' for jail? A US court is not persuaded

An inmate serving life for murder in the US state of Iowa offered a novel legal appeal, saying he should be released because he "died" four years ago. Schreiber, who was handed a whole life term without the possibility of parole after bludgeoning a man to death in the 1990s, became gravely ill in March 2015 when large kidney stones led to septic poisoning. Schreiber, 66, was eventually returned to prison.

Centuries old warships linked to 'Vasa' found in Sweden

Swedish maritime archeologists have discovered two wrecks believed to be 17th century warships, and at least one is likely the sister ship of the iconic Swedish vessel "Vasa", which sank on its maiden voyage, the Swedish Museum of Wrecks said Friday. The two wrecks were found in the Swedish archipelago outside the town of Vaxholm in a strait leading into Stockholm. At least one of the ships is believed to be the sister ship Sweden's most famous warship the "Vasa," a 69-metre ship carrying 64 cannons, which sank on its maiden voyage in 1628.

Russian goat who made unlikely friends with tiger dies

A Russian goat named Timur whose unusual friendship with a tiger won him nationwide fame, has died, the director of the safari park where the pair lived, said Friday. "Timur's heart stopped beating on November 5," Dmitry Mezentsev, director of a safari park outside the Pacific port of Vladivostok, told AFP. The billy goat, believed to be around five years old, was cremated and will be buried "with full honours", his keeper Elvira Golovina said in a statement.

Old McDonald's: Aussie mates show off burger bought in 1995

A McDonald's burger allegedly bought in 1995 and kept in an Australian shed for years has never decomposed, according to two men who now refer to the quarter-century Quarter Pounder as their "mate". Casey Dean, 39, and Eduards Nits, 38, claim they ordered the Quarter Pounder with cheese from a McDonald's outlet in Adelaide as teenagers -- and have hung onto it ever since. The American chain closed its only three branches in Iceland during the island's financial crisis in 2009 and just before the restaurant's closure, Hjortur Smarason bought a menu for conservation.

'OK, boomer': New Zealand MP hits out at parliament age gap

With the quickfire putdown "OK, boomer", a 25-year-old New Zealand politician dismissed a heckler during a speech about climate change -- highlighting the generation gap between herself and other MPs in a clip that has gone viral. Green Party MP Chloe Swarbrick used it to hit back at interjections while speaking this week in support of a bill to reduce New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions. "How many world leaders for how many decades have seen and known what is coming, but have decided that it is more politically expedient to keep (climate change) behind closed doors?" she said.

Lost pup turns out to be a rare purebred dingo

It's little wonder Wandi was mistaken for a dog when he was found in an Australian backyard -- but DNA testing has confirmed he's a rare 100 percent dingo. The pup was discovered whimpering and alone in a country town in Victoria in August with talon marks on his back, leading to speculation it could have been dropped by a large bird of prey. Australian Dingo Foundation director Lyn Watson said that when Wandi "fell out of the sky" it was an "answer to a prayer" -- he can now join 40 other dingoes in a breeding program at the charity's sanctuary.

Boat stuck above Niagara Falls for over a century moves downriver

An iron boat stuck above Niagara Falls for more than a century has moved because of severe weather, a park official said. Known as the "Iron Scow," the boat is an iconic feature of Niagara Falls and had been stuck in the rocks about 600 meters from the edge of the falls. The boat broke loose from a tug on August 6, 1918, leaving two men stranded aboard, but they were rescued the following day, according to Niagara Parks.