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Halloween parade in Shanghai on 31 October 2023. Photo: CFOTO / NurPhoto via AFP Shanghai police patrolled the downtown streets over the weekend to crack down on Halloween celebrations in China's most international city. Local authorities appeared to be trying to prevent a repeat of last year, when Halloween revellers thronged central Shanghai, with some dressed in costumes that poked fun of the Chinese stock market, youth unemployment and strict COVID-19 policies. This weekend, the police presence, online postings about a crackdown and constant rain kept the revelry to a minimum. At least half a dozen people in costumes that turned up in Shanghai's Zhongshan park on Friday night were seen by Reuters witnesses being led away by police. There was no official city-wide notice banning Hall...

By Stephen Collinson, CNN Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives to speak during a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York, 27 October 2024. Photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP Analysis - Donald Trump anchored his bid to win a second White House term next week on searing anti-migrant fear at a rally at Madison Square Garden, doubling down on his promise for a massive deportation program on Day 1 to reverse an "immigrant invasion." As the ex-president's allies defend him against Democratic claims he is a "fascist" and an authoritarian in waiting, based in part on warnings by his ex-chief of staff John Kelly, Trump on Sunday delivered a screed that may augur the most extreme presidency in modern history if he beats Democratic nominee Kamala Har...

It's a dogs life: Why are dogs so universally happy at the smallest of things? Photo: Rhonwyn Newson Ever wonder why dogs seem to be having so much fun all the time? Philosophy can tell us something about it - and why we're a bit different, an American academic says. In his new book, The Happiness of Dogs: Why the Unexamined Life Is Most Worth Living, Welsh author and philosopher, professor Mark Rowlands explores a dog's view of the world, and cites the likes of Camus, Dylan Thomas, Plato and Socrates. He argues a dog's capacity for joy underlies some key differences between us - and maybe why happiness is more difficult for people, in a conversation with RNZ. Rowlands' best-known work is his international best-seller The Philosopher and the Wolf, about a decade where he lived with Bre...

By Maria Sole Campinoti for CNN Extreme Cash is a scratch card scheme run by North Carolina Education Lottery. Photo: North Carolina Education Lottery When a North Carolina man headed to a convenience store on Tuesday, he had no idea luck was on his side. Jerry Hicks, a master carpenter from Banner Elk, found a US$20 bill (NZ$33) in the parking lot of the store, he said in a news release. He spent it on a scratch-off lottery ticket - and won US$1 million. Hicks used the money to buy an Extreme Cash scratch-off, according to the release. "They actually didn't have the ticket I was looking for so I bought that one instead," he said. Hicks claimed his prize on Friday at the North Carolina Education Lottery Headquarters. He chose to receive the prize as a lump sum of US$600,000 instead o...

By Nick Mulvenney for Reuters Newly elected Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has promised a new plan for Brisbane's Olympic stadium. (file photo) Photo: Bradley Kanaris The impassioned debate over the main stadium for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics looks set to be reignited in the wake of a change of government in the state of Queensland. David Crisafulli will be sworn in as the new Premier of the state on Monday after the victory of his Liberal National Party at the polls and he has already promised a new plan for the showpiece arena by early February. "I spent a considerable amount of time talking to the prime minister about that ... and I reckon we can get a good outcome," Crisafulli told reporters after a phone call with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday. "Within 100 days,...