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By Carolyn Enting Chanel replica bag posted by a Chinese seller on RepLadies. Photo: Screenshot They're known as luxury reps or super fakes - counterfeits of designer accessories that are so good you'd swear they were the real thing. These super fakes are being unwrapped in plain sight by influencers on Instagram and TikTok and purchased to order through online anonymous forums and chat groups. One such forum, sub-Reddit group Repladies Designer, has 112,000 members and spent more than US$3 million on replicas in 2021 (according to a self-reported survey). A spin-off group, WagoonLadies, has $58,000 members. Kiwi shoppers buying luxury fakes with the assistance of these chat groups include Auckland mum Rachel (not her real name). She bought a super fake Miu Miu bag directly from a Ch...

The pilot was killed after the helicopter landed in an isolated area of Papua in Indonesia. File photo. Photo: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Separatist rebels in Indonesia's easternmost region of Papua have killed a helicopter pilot from New Zealand, regional police say. Police said four passengers aboard the aircraft were safe. The pilot was killed immediately after rebels rounded up those on board after the helicopter landed in an isolated area, police said in a statement. It comes nearly 18 months after the abduction by rebels of another pilot from New Zealand, Phillip Mehrtens, who remains in captivity. Police said the group responsible for Monday's incident in Alama district in the Central Papua province was the same group that is holding Mehrtens. The rebel West Papua National Libera...

By Marie-José Al Azzi of the BBC A few times a year, social media is flooded with warnings of Mercury rerograde. Photo: Unsplash "Mercury retrograde is coming back, my darlings." Sadicka, an astrologer and spiritual life coach, is telling her 5,000 Instagram followers to watch out for technology issues, trouble communicating with people and even car accidents, ahead of the planet Mercury going into retrograde from 4 August. A few times a year, Instagram and TikTok are flooded with cautionary posts like this one - as well as more tongue-in-cheek content (think: "POV: you blame all of your problems on Mercury being in retrograde instead of actually dealing with them"). Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and Mercury retrograde is an optical illusion which occurs three or four tim...

South Korean sharpshooter Kim Yeji sported sci-fi shooter glasses and an ice-cold stance during the women's 10m air pistol final. Photo: Charles McQuillan / Getty Images Kim Yeji made quite the impression at her Olympics debut. The South Korean sharp-shooter stepped out at the women's 10m air pistol final donning cyborgian shooter glasses and a black track suit, looking somewhat like a sci-fi assassin, and stepped away with a silver medal. She's one of many athletes bringing style and flair to the tournament - this year, bougie custom nails, relaxed street styles, and personalised hair and makeup trends are all the rage. Here are some of the athletes serving looks at the 2024 Paris Olympics. US track and field sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson shows off her nails while traveling along th...