Two artists have offered Czechs angered by politics the chance to take revenge on their lawmakers by shooting them literally in the face, by turning their photos into air gun targets.
Tomas Cap and Michal Kraus have displayed the portraits of 200 lower-house deputies on the wall of a Prague alternative gallery, in front of an air gun.
"We have seen lawmakers breach the promises they gave to voters so many times. The visitors of the gallery have a unique opportunity to show these politicians what they think," the artists said in a statement.
Two weeks after opening, the exhibition was a sad sight as most of the faces had been heavily damaged by airgun slugs, with some destroyed beyond recognition. Shooters included an elderly woman on crutches who climbed to the first-floor room to take a shot. Milan Mikulastik, the curator of the display, said the exhibition designed to "trigger a debate on the functioning of the political system" was a big success. He only hoped the crumbling photos would last till the end of the exhibition as "the artists want to send them to the lawmakers afterwards." (AFP)
Clog show given the boot
One of Hong Kong's tallest skyscrapers has declined to hold a Dutch charity exhibition of clogs because of worries the clunky footwear will bring bad luck.
The Cheung Kong Centre refused to host the show, which was organised by the Dutch consulate, because of feng shui, a diplomat told the Sunday Morning Post.
The tower's management said the wooden footwear show would cause bad luck, because the Cantonese word for shoes - hai - sounds similar to a sigh of exasperation.
The exhibition is now being held at another tower in Hong Kong.
Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese system, used to enhance positive energy and good luck. (AFP)
Swiss canton bans nude hiking
Hikers will no longer be able to stroll naked through the idyllic Alpine countryside of Appenzell Innerrhoden after the conservative Swiss canton banned nude walking there.
Appenzell Innerrhoden has become hugely popular for naked ramblers due to its tranquil, picture-perfect meadows and valleys. But the hordes offended Appenzellers' sensitivities and they voted yesterday to order them to cover up.
"It's ridiculous that Appenzell is getting an international reputation for such a despicable habit," said Peter Schmid, who turned up bearing the canton's traditional long sword to vote against nude hiking at the annual Landsgemeinde: a popular assembly that takes place in Appenzell town on the last Sunday of April. Naked hiking has become popular in countries like France and , with supporters praising the liberating feeling of being able to roam freed from clothes in nature. (Reuters)
Elderly scooter rider on motorway
A British pensioner on a mobility scooter took a wrong turn and ended up driving along a motorway with a 113 kilometre per hour speed limit.
Police received telephone calls from concerned drivers after seeing the 89-year-old travelling along the M20 at Cheriton in Kent, southeast England.
"An 89-year-old local man had taken the wrong turning and had travelled by mistake on to the M20," a police spokesman said.
The incident comes after a 90-year-old man on his scooter was assisted off a busy road last February. (AFP)
WWII bomb near Merkel's flat
An unexploded Russian World War II bomb weighing 100 kilos was discovered last weekend by construction workers near Berlin's Neues Museum and police evacuated a surrounding area that includes Chancellor Angela Merkel's flat.
A police spokesman said a 300-metre radius was evacuated as part of a precautionary measure around the museum, which is part of Berlin's Museum Island complex of buildings that was heavily damaged during World War II.
Ms Merkel lives in a flat across the street.
Police spokesman Bernhard Shodrowski said. "Once the entire area is evacuated, the experts will go ahead and defuse the bomb. They will try to screw the two detonators out of the bomb by hand."
An estimated 10 to 20 per cent of the Allied bombs that were dropped on German targets during World War II failed to detonate. (Reuters)