From the slipperiest of superfoods to the cheeky monkeys bringing Pakistanis to their feet… Your weekly roundup of offbeat stories from around the world: – Eel go far -Now we know how the Japanese eSports whizz-kid Yuki Kurihara got to have the fastest thumbs in the East. The 11-year-old — who has so far crushed all comers on his Asian Games debut — keeps himself sharp by eating eels.
The bespectacled primary school student will become the youngest gold medal winner ever if he wins on Saturday after walloping opponents nearly three times his age in the Puyo Puyo Champions game, which is similar to Tetris. Kurihara, who got on the national team at just 10, said he eats the slithery creatures in the run-up to big competitions to increase his stamina and alertness.- Pakistan goes ape for gorillas -Pakistani party animals have been going bananas for grooving gorillas in the latest craze to hit the dancefloor in the megacity of Lahore.
Entertainers dressed as giant apes have been going viral boogying down to the beat.”Before the gorilla made its entrance, we were feeling somewhat bored” at a university bash in the city, student Sirat al-Aruj told AFP. But revellers went wild when the slick-footed silverback appeared flailing its arms around, and “everyone’s energy levels increased significantly”, the 21-year-old added.”We uploaded a reel on Instagram, and within just two days it reached a million views,” said Shayen Zahoor, the CEO of the gorilla suit company.- Singapore’s so fine -Don’t be tempted to put your feet up if you ever visit Singapore — particularly on a bus.
It could cost you $400. The city-state which likes to make sure everyone’s on their best behaviour, revels in the moniker “Fine City”, with a whole panoply of them to punish those who step out of line. The latest for putting your feet on the seat of a bus comes with an even more stinging penalty of $3,900 should you vomit, urinate or spit in one of its double-deckers. Singapore banned chewing gum in 1992 and glories in its reputation for tidiness.
But officials say they will exercise “discretion and fairness” in imposing the new rules so as not to stigmatise the unfortunate and the afflicted.- Piece at last after jigsaw’s big battle -Don’t be misled by their jigsaw piece earrings and novelty haircuts, the 1,700 puzzlers who gathered for the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championships in Spain were a pretty ferocious bunch.”It’s really a battle, it’s not like let’s make nice together,” one of the organisers told AFP.
The tension was electrifying from the start, with some ripping open the bags containing the pieces with their teeth, fingers flying into action. Dutch PhD student Maarje van der Meer squealed as she put the final piece in place to win, panting that it was “just pure adrenaline and chaos…. Your hands are shaking, but it was amazing.”
Fri, 25 Sep 2026 12:08:38 GMT