The flamboyant designer of Japanese cartoon and global mega-brand Hello Kitty defended the cute cat against new rivals Thursday as the character prepares to celebrate her 40th birthday.  

Speaking on the sidelines of the Hong Kong Book Fair, Yuko Yamaguchi took the concept of life imitating art to another level, wearing a Kitty-style strawberry dress with dyed auburn hair piled into two buns topped with a red ribbon -- the cat's signature accessory. 

A local councilor in Tokyo has quit after writing "Drop dead!" during an angry exchange on Twitter, in another gaffe by local Japanese politicians in recent weeks.

Hiromi Kaneko, 51, a communist member of the assembly in one of Tokyo's 23 districts, told Japanese media Wednesday he stepped down at the behest of colleagues and supporters because the expression was "not appropriate" to be used by anyone,let alone a legislator.

A scrawny Japanese sumo wrestler who was launched from the ring in less than a second during a bruising debut tweeted photos of his battle scars Wednesday and promised to do better.

Seventeen-year-old Masato Tai, whose sumo name is 'Sodachizakari', tips the scales at just 65 kilos (143 pounds) and his plans to bulk up could be complicated by a problem which does not normally afflict his mountainous rivals -- a small appetite.

Getting the latest news on a British government reshuffle once meant waiting outside the prime minister's Downing Street office for ministers to emerge, and judging their fate by the look on their faces.

But in the age of social media, David Cameron unveiled a major shake-up of his cabinet on Tuesday through his two official Twitter accounts, which between them boast 3.4 million followers.

A wise-cracking humanoid robot called Pepper whose makers claim can read people's emotions was unveiled in Tokyo last month.

Mobile carrier Softbank, which created the robot, says Pepper can understand 70 to 80 percent of spontaneous conversations -- although it also answers from a set number of pre-programmed responses.

A Virginia man says he has claimed a kingdom in Africa so his daughter can be a princess.

Jeremiah Heaton told the Bristol Herald Courier (http://bit.ly/1rcQHtp) that he recently trekked to a small, mountainous region between Egypt and Sudan called Bir Tawil. No country claims the land.

People tend to choose friends that are genetically similar to themselves, so much so that a person's social circle could be made up of their fourth cousins, scientists said Monday.

The research is based on the Framingham Heart Study in the northeastern US state of Massachusetts, which contains both extensive genetic detail -- 1.5 million markers -- and information about friends and connections.

More than 40 years after a New York man last saw his high school class ring, the love token his wife had until their wedding night popped up on a Greek island.

How it got to Naxos after it disappeared with his bride's purse at their wedding reception is a mystery. But earlier this month, the ring arrived by mail on Staten Island.

Inspectors at Los Angeles International Airport seized an unusually slimy package — 67 live giant African snails that are a popular delicacy across West Africa.

The snails — which are prohibited in the U.S. — arrived from Nigeria and were being sent to a person in San Dimas, said Lee Harty, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Customs and Border protection.

A Singaporean campaign group ridiculed for suggesting that Germany was a risky bet in the World Cup used the tournament's outcome Monday to drive home its anti-gambling addiction message -- and quickly got panned again.

The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) was derided last week for a television commercial featuring a sad-looking boy named "Andy" telling friends his father had wagered the kid's savings on Germany.