Now you see him, soon you won't: Chinese performance artist Liu Bolin can camouflage himself so well that he becomes practically invisible.
Beijing-based Mr Liu, or the "Invisible Man," vanishes, chameleon-like, into walls, doors, vehicles and even people by staying perfectly still as assistants paint him in the exact colours and textures of the object he is standing in front of.
The 37-year-old contemporary artist, who deliberately wears army fatigues before every transformation, says his works manifest the increasing alienation of modern man.
"My art is cultural, it represents the diminishing humanity in today's society. I use my art as a retrospective on culture, the environment and the fast-paced economic development," Mr Liu said.
For his latest work, Mr Liu disappeared into an intricately carved and painted doorway of a traditional Beijing courtyard house with the help of three assistants who painted him for four hours as he stood absolutely still.
Each of Mr Liu's transformations, which are photographed and then put on display, also carry an individual message - the doorway performance was intended to demonstrate the importance of accepting new forms of art while preserving the old.
'Too tall' basketball player
A bizarre row over a player's height caused a Chinese basketball game to be abandoned and sparked violent scenes that left several cars destroyed in Guangdong earlier this week, local media reported. The Dream Basketball League was set up to allow players of "shorter" stature to compete on a level playing field, with a height limit of 1.88 metres imposed.
Basketball players are some of the tallest athletes in sport and China's own Yao Ming measures 7ft 6in.
However, trouble was brewing when Huizhou Qiaoxing signed Chinese Basketball Association player and three-times national 'slam dunk' champion Hu Guang, even though his official CBA profile lists him as 1.95m. Huizhou's opponents in a game scheduled for Monday, Shenzhen Kuruite, refused to take to the court unless he was measured but league organisers refused.
Shenzhen forfeited the game but kept up their complaints the following day and the league finally agreed to take the tape to the 27-year-old forward. "Hu bowed his shoulders and bent his neck back," Shenzhen player Wang Tiecheng told local newspaper the Daily Sunshine.
"The first result was 186.5cm, the second time was 187cm."
Berlusconi to sue
Italy's Silvio Berlusconi is launching a campaign of legal action against media in Italy and abroad, including Britain, France and Spain, for libel in their coverage of his private life, his lawyer said yesterday.
The Prime Minister's lawyer Niccolo Ghedini said that he had already filed lawsuits against news publications in Italy, France and Spain and had instructed lawyers in Britain to study possible cases of libel there.
Swiss businessmen held in Libya
A Swiss jet returned from Libya without two businessmen who have been prevented from leaving the North African country due to a diplomatic spat, Switzerland said yesterday, adding to pressure on the country's President.
The Falcon aircraft, used by Switzerland's Cabinet, had waited in Tripoli since Tuesday for Libyan authorities to issue the men's exit visas and return their passports.
"The two Swiss businessmen are still in Tripoli. The preparations for their return are continuing," the government said in a statement. "The Swiss delegation returned in the Falcon."
Girl's global solo sail blocked
A 13-year-old Dutch girl's attempt to become the youngest person to sail solo around the globe was blocked yesterday by a court which placed her under state supervision for two months.
Laura Dekker, an experienced sailor who was born at sea on her parents' boat in New Zealand, had planned to set sail on a two-year voyage on September 1 on her 8.3-metre yacht Guppy.
Child protection authorities argued it would be irresponsible to let her depart, and the court in Utrecht agreed, saying the trip would put Miss Dekker's psychological development at risk. She will remain with her parents, who will share custody with the state.
The court voiced "serious concerns" about Miss Dekker's mental and physical development on the boat, and ordered a psychologist and child protection authorities to examine how she would cope with loneliness, sea winds and lack of schooling, as well as her general physical safety.