Tag: Offbeat
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Offbeat | Advanced research ship may be named ‘Boaty McBoatface’
It’s a name that might suit a rubber ducky, not an extremely expensive state-of-the-art research vessel designed to explore the coldest regions on Earth. Nonetheless the ... -
Offbeat | Romania: court affirms prison term for chicken bribes
A court has upheld the prison sentence of a former Romanian lawmaker known as “the chicken baron” who was convicted of bribing voters with 60 tons ... -
Offbeat | Spanish town looks to revive botched restored fresco success
More than three years after a botched fresco restoration by an octogenarian painter became a major tourist attraction for a northern Spanish town, local officials looking ... -
Offbeat | Etisalat removes iconic building ‘golf balls’ after storm
The iconic “golf balls” on Etisalat buildings are coming down. The Emirati telecommunications company has taken down the spheres atop their buildings at their headquarters in ... -
Offbeat | Sydney mom drops baby and toddler from 2nd floor window
A mother trapped by a fire in her Sydney apartment safely dropped her 2-day-old baby and 2-year-old toddler from a second-floor window to rescuers, officials said ... -
Offbeat | Jumper leaps safely off EU’s tallest building
Witnesses say a base jumper has safely parachuted from the European Union’s tallest building, the Shard in London, and evaded police by jumping on the subway. ... -
Offbeat | Mayor plans to cross Florida Straits on makeshift raft
A Florida mayor says he’s determined to return home from a visit to Cuba alone in a makeshift raft, despite warnings against the journey from the ... -
Offbeat | DNA test shows Vietnam twins had different fathers
A scientist and state media say Vietnam has identified an extremely rare set of bi-paternal twins, or twins with different fathers. Prof. Le Dinh Luong, president ... -
Offbeat | Lost goldfish case in Norway closer to being solved
Norwegian police have bigger fish to fry so they’ve allowed a fellow officer to take home a goldfish that had been waiting for its rightful owner ... -
Offbeat | Dog pops up in driver’s seat when semi crashes in Minnesota
One dog apparently has learned a new trick: how to drive a semi-truck. Customers at a Minnesota gas station saw a golden Labrador retriever appear to ... -
Offbeat | Albania offers collectors its Communist-era airborne glory
If you want to buy a secondhand fighter jet, Albania’s the place to go right now. The 40 obsolete Soviet and Chinese-made aircraft up for sale ... -
Offbeat | Woman brings live tank shell into Austrian police station
One Austrian police station has dodged an explosive situation. The police station in Eisenstadt, east of Vienna, was evacuated Tuesday after a woman walked in with ... -
Offbeat | Meteor suspected as mystery flash lights up Scottish sky
Scientists say a meteor was the cause of a bright flash of light reported by people across Scotland and northern England. Police Scotland said the force ... -
Offbeat | 14 jailed for stealing antiques, rhino horn from UK museums
Fourteen members of a criminal gang have been convicted of stealing millions of pounds worth of rhinoceros horn and Chinese artifacts from British museums and auction ... -
Offbeat | Russian fans present DiCaprio with a homemade Oscar
Before he secured an Academy Award, Leonardo DiCaprio had an Oscar — or at least a close replica of the coveted statue. Residents in Russia’s Far ... -
Offbeat | Canadian man fined for smuggling turtles in his pants
A Canadian man caught smuggling nearly 40 turtles in his pants has been fined $3,500 Canadian (USD2,578) and placed on probation for two years. Dong Yan ... -
Offbeat | Woman bites rare pearl while dining at Italian restaurant
A woman bit down on a rare pearl while eating a meal of clams and other seafood at an Italian restaurant in Washington state. KOMO-TV reports ... -
Offbeat | Meerkat expert cleared of assault in zoo love triangle spat
A former meerkat expert at London Zoo was cleared this week of assaulting a monkey handler in a love spat over a llama-keeper. Two High Court ... -
Offbeat | Jobs wanted in Australia – but not if they clash with golf
The Australian government is tired of unemployed people declining a job because it may interfere with their golf plans or dreams of becoming an actor. The ... -
Offbeat | Kenya: Uber car burned as tension rises with taxi operators
A Kenyan police official says an Uber car was ambushed and burned highlighting an escalation of tension between conventional taxi operators and drivers of the ride-sharing ... -
Offbeat | Selfies taken with stolen Kindle show up in cloud
Los Angeles police say a photo they circulated of two people taken with a stolen Kindle has led to its return. Police released the photo last ... -
Offbeat | US: Jenner regrets not telling father about gender identity
Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner says not telling her father the truth about her gender identity “will always haunt me.” The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Jenner ... -
Offbeat | German shorthaired pointer CJ wins Westminster dog show
Now appointed America’s top dog — CJ, the German shorthaired pointer. CJ won best in show at the 140th Westminster Kennel Club this week, beating a ... -
Offbeat | Vietnam suspends 4 guards after inmate becomes pregnant
Four prison guards in northern Vietnam have been suspended for alleged negligence after a female inmate, on death row for drug trafficking, became pregnant, which means ... -
Offbeat | Dutch tourist says he’s lucky to survive Nepal tiger attack
A Dutch tourist who survived a tiger attack in the jungles of southwestern Nepal over the weekend by climbing a tree said yesterday that he’s lucky ... -
Offbeat | Unlucky in love, elephant damages 15 cars in China
After losing out on his love interest, a wild elephant has turned his attention to cars. The elephant wandered out of a nature reserve in southern ... -
Offbeat | Fries with that? Man accused of tossing gator at drive-thru
Alligators have been used as shoes, briefcases, university mascots, lunch and now, authorities say, a deadly weapon. Joshua James, 24, was arrested on Monday and charged ... -
Offbeat | Monkey Year inspires kung fu, predictions of fire, disease
The new Chinese year is the one to go bananas over. Today the zodiac calendar enters the Year of the Monkey — the ninth of 12 ... -
Offbeat | Eagles vs Drones: Dutch police eye birds to prey on drones
It may sound like a flight of fancy, but Dutch police are considering using birds of prey to swoop down and pluck rogue drones out of ... -
Offbeat | College student finds glitch to own Google site, gets USD12K
A Massachusetts graduate student who pointed out a glitch that allowed him to briefly “own” the world’s most heavily trafficked website has been awarded more than ... -
Offbeat | UK police arrest suspect with 38 phones in his trousers
British police have arrested a suspected thief with 38 mobile phones stuffed down his trousers. West Midlands Police say they believe the man stole the phones ... -
Offbeat | Group says British pilot killed by poachers in Tanzania
Elephant poachers in Tanzania fired on a helicopter on an anti-poaching mission, killing the British pilot, a conservation group said. Roger Gower was shot on Friday ... -
Offbeat | US: Turn ‘Silence of the Lambs’ house into animal museum
An animal rights group wants to convert the western Pennsylvania house used in the film “The Silence of the Lambs” into an empathy museum, where visitors ... -
Offbeat | British principal tells parents: No pajamas on school run
The principal of a primary school in northern England wants to impose a dress code — not on students, but on their parents. That’s because she’s ... -
Offbeat | Three charged after lioness prowled Dubai neighborhood
Three people have been charged with public endangerment over an incident that saw a lioness escape from a home in a Dubai neighborhood and prowl the ...
