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Offbeat

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Offbeat. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

last updated:

9 September, 2024

A stroopwafel is a snack consisting of two thin waffles separated by a syrup or caramel filling that is traditionally placed on top of a hot drink to warm it. “Stroopwafel” was one of the new words added to the Oxford English Dictionary in December. Photo: Shutterstock

‘Blandify’, ‘stroopwafel’ among new Oxford English Dictionary words

Other additions in the dictionary’s quarterly update include ‘non-player character’, ‘cheat code’, ‘snark’ and ‘three-dimensional chess’.

8 Jan 2025 - 5:45PM

Asian cinema: Japanese films

Star face of low-alcohol beer fired over ‘unacceptable’ drunken escapade

8 Jan 2025 - 10:24AM

Don’t eat your Christmas tree, Belgians warned, after city posts food tips

8 Jan 2025 - 6:07AM

What’s on show at CES 2025? AI-powered beauty mirrors, robot dogs and more

A beauty mirror to tell you your skin woes? A lifelike robot puppy for those allergic to the real thing? The pick of the tech in Las Vegas.

8 Jan 2025 - 5:13AM

Tombot, a robotic dog for people who cannot have a real pet, is on show at CES 2025, the consumer electronics trade show in Las Vegas, in the United States. Photo: AP

Artist’s vibrant viral Instagram works lift up crumbling district

Adel Yazdi has turned his neighbourhood in Shiraz, Iran into a vivid visual tapestry that many tourists are discovering through social media.

7 Jan 2025 - 12:45PM

‘Everyone owns the beach,’ says Australian PM as cabana debate heats up

Portable cabanas used to reserve spots on Australian beaches are ‘un-Australian’, says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

7 Jan 2025 - 11:45AM

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Charlie Hebdo marks 10 years since Paris attack with defiant special edition

The French newspaper’s special edition featured a caricature contest mocking God, celebrating satire and freedom of expression.

7 Jan 2025 - 2:27AM

French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo shows the front-page of its special edition to mark ten years since an attack on its offices by Islamist gunmen that decimated its staff. Photo: Handout/Charlie Hebdo/AFP

Language Matters | Word of the Year 2024 choices around the world focus on the negative

From Merriam-Webster’s ‘polarization’ and Oxford University Press’ ‘brain rot’ to Lianhe Zaobao’s ‘disaster’, prevailing moods are revealed.

29 Dec 2024 - 8:15AM

Architecture and design

‘Gelatinous eggs wearing armour’? Welcome to Kosovo’s National Library

Balkan state’s National Library, built by Andrija Mutnjakovic, has been called both the ‘cherry on the cake of Pristina’ and an abomination.

28 Dec 2024 - 5:15PM

He built a life-size tram out of Lego. And that’s not all

Hungarian ‘Lego certified professional’ Balazs Doczy enlisted 90 helpers to make the life-size replica tram now on display in Budapest.

28 Dec 2024 - 4:15AM

Visitors look at a full-size tram built from Lego bricks by Hungarian artist Balazs Doczy in Deak Ferenc Square in downtown Budapest on November 21, 2024. Photo: AFP

Drunk surfing – yes, it’s a thing – to be outlawed in Korea in 2025

Under the coming Korean law, offenders can be fined up to US$676 for using water craft while drunk or refusing a blood-alcohol test.

27 Dec 2024 - 5:56PM

Drunk surfing and kayaking will be a criminal offence in South Korea from June 2025. Photo: Shutterstock

‘This was shocking’: the secret, brutal world of carnivorous squirrels

Research reveals these California squirrels are ruthless predators, beating and devouring tiny prey in a display of nature’s hidden savagery.

24 Dec 2024 - 10:33AM

Aggressive Japanese shrimp that packs a punch shocks New Zealand

The discovery of Japanese mantis shrimp – nicknamed ‘thumb splitters’ – in the Bay of Plenty ‘is not something to celebrate’, officials say.

18 Dec 2024 - 10:47AM

Too cheeky? Japan tavern chain ends its slap-you-sober service after complaint

For just 500 yen, Yotteba izakaya customers could request a post-meal slap around the face from a waitress. Then someone was injured.

17 Dec 2024 - 9:30AM

A Yotteba customer receives a slap to the face at one of its izakaya outlets in Japan. Photo: TikTok/Salty_Gourmets

Why engineer’s 120 days living under sea is about more than world record

German Rudiger Koch’s 120 days in a pod at sea aims show the ocean as a new frontier of human living. He shares what he misses about dry land.

10 Dec 2024 - 11:15AM

Rudiger Koch in his underwater pod, where he aims to live for 120 days. Photo: AFP

Trump and Macron can’t let go of their handshake duel

The US president-elect and the French leader have a history of white-knuckled greetings dating back to Trump’s first term.

8 Dec 2024 - 6:28AM

Swiss Air crew investigated for filming passengers’ ‘intimate acts’ on flight

A flight crew member recorded a video of the incident involving two passengers from a screen in the cockpit.

7 Dec 2024 - 11:38AM

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Food and Drinks

Hong Kong ‘haunted house’ hosts US$700-a-head Dangerous Dinner

Yu Yuen sat abandoned until designer Sacha Yasumoto chose it to hold an exclusive dinner. If it’s haunted the ghosts are harmless, she says.

10 Dec 2024 - 12:40PMvideocam

Yu Yuen after its clean-up and facelift. Photo: Sasha Yasumoto

Sumo makes historic return to London’s Royal Albert Hall after 34 years

The five-day event, or ‘basho’, has been held only once before outside Japan – back in 1991 and also at the venerable concert hall.

6 Dec 2024 - 1:06AM

Puppy love as Czech prison inmates train assistance dogs

The training is part of a project to help inmates at the Jirice prison northeast of Prague be better prepared for life outside jail.

6 Dec 2024 - 1:06AM

Consumer protection in Hong Kong

Cathay says sorry, removes Family Guy episode with Tiananmen ‘Tank Man’ scene

Carrier apologises after internet user complains over content potentially breaching national security law.

4 Dec 2024 - 11:35PMvideocam

Cathay Pacific has removed a Family Guy episode that contains a scene of Tiananmen Square’s “Tank Man” from its in-flight content. Photo: Fuzzy Door Productions

Thai temple abbot found hiding 73 corpses for training monks to meditate

Abbot claims corpses were used for ‘death awareness’ training to help monks confront fear of death, deepen spiritual practice.

4 Dec 2024 - 9:31AM

A Thai temple abbot was discovered concealing 73 corpses, asserting that they were intended for training monks in meditation. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock

Beauty filters also make us look more intelligent, study finds

Software-modified faces were viewed more favourably than untouched ones in a Spanish study. This may not be a good thing, psychologist says.

3 Dec 2024 - 4:59AM

Nighttime underwear thefts trigger warnings in Malaysia’s Johor

Residents have been urged to safeguard their laundry after surveillance footage caught the underwear thieves in action.

2 Dec 2024 - 10:04AM

Food and Drinks

‘Mysterious’ fish famous in Fukuoka is sumo wrestlers’ favourite

When sumo wrestlers go to Fukuoka to fight, they eat longtooth grouper stew. A chef explains why the fish’s flesh is prized – and pricey.

2 Dec 2024 - 11:53AMvideocam

Fukuoka chef Kazutaka Hagiwara prepares longtooth grouper. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Chinese-born buyer of US$6.2 million banana art eats it in Hong Kong

Cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun praises artist for creating Comedian artwork, before downing it on live stream at The Peninsula hotel.

30 Nov 2024 - 8:47AMvideocam

Chinese-born cryptocurrency founder Justin Sun eats a banana artwork, composed of a fresh banana stuck to a wall with duct tape, in Hong Kong on November 29, 2024, a week after buying the provocative work of conceptual art at a New York auction for US$6.2 million. Photo: AFP

The Frenchman who sleeps with alligator in his bed

Philippe Gillet, a former hunting guide in Africa, keeps 400 exotic pets at his house in France and shares his experiences on social media.

26 Nov 2024 - 4:15AM

Ukraine urges gamers not to enter Chernobyl exclusion zone as Stalker 2 released

Popular first-person shooter is set in a fictitious version of the restricted surroundings of Chernobyl’s nuclear plant.

22 Nov 2024 - 4:15PMvideocam

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