Taiwan's second largest city has announced plans to display a larger version of the giant inflatable yellow duck that captivated Hong Kong -- upstaging similar plans by another city on the island.

In a surprise announcement, the southern city of Kaohsiung said an 18-meter-tall (59-foot) version of the duck created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman will go on show for a month, beginning in September.

A Chinese vendor's plan to fake his own death at the hands of social enforcers failed when he could not play dead long enough in scorching heat, state media reported Monday.

More than 10 men claimed the soft drinks vendor had been beaten to death in the central city of Wuhan by chengguan, who are tasked with enforcing non-criminal regulations in towns and cities.

Twenty-five luxury villas built on top of a Chinese shopping mall have become migrant workers' residences after authorities declared them illegal, state media said Tuesday.

The houses, covering an area about the size of three football pitches, were built in 2009 on the roof of a multi-storey construction materials and furniture mall in Hengyang, the China Daily said.

The secrets of Russian President Vladimir Putin's buff physique and youthful appearance are the result of herbal health remedies and swimming regularly to combat stress, his doctor revealed Monday.

Putin "doesn't look his age", the Kremlin's top doctor Sergei Mironov told Russian weekly Itogui, chiefly because the 60-year-old is "skeptical about medication".

Reigning champion Josephine Reitzel of Switzerland won her third title on Sunday on home streets at the Cycle Messenger World Championships, while Austin Horse of the United States took the men's honor.

Reitzel, who also took the honors at the 2010 and 2012 editions in Guatemala and Chicago, shone on the hilly, cobbled Lausanne roads that she plies as a professional courier.

A Swaziland chief banned women from wearing miniskirts and trousers at a two-day nomination process that got under way Saturday to select candidates for upcoming elections.

"I told the residents recently, that tomorrow they should dress properly, decently in line with our culture to show respect," Prince Mashila of Maphalaleni, a chiefdom about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Mbabane.

Taipei zoo held a "baby-shower" party Sunday to celebrate the one month birthday of the first panda born in Taiwan as the cub continues to be a star attraction even though she has yet to appear in public.

Hundreds of children accompanied their parents to attend the party, during which a video featuring the baby panda's growth was screened. Guests were also invited to experience what it is like to feed a panda cub in an incubator using a replica.

A two-year-old boy has been mauled to death at his grandmother's house in a savage attack by a mastiff cross dog, Australian police said on Monday.

The tragedy unfolded on Sunday afternoon at Deniliquin in southwestern New South Wales state, with reports that the boy went outside to get an ice-cream from a back fridge and the dog, a family pet, followed.

Michelle Obama took to Twitter on Sunday to send her husband an affectionate birthday message -- and a gentle ribbing about the U.S. President's graying hair.

"Happy birthday, Barack! Your hair's a little grayer, but I love you more than ever," Michelle Obama wrote on her official twitter account, @FLOTUS.

Parliamentary officials in Britain want lawmakers to keep their hands off Margaret Thatcher's toes.

Authorities are considering roping off statues of former prime ministers, including Thatcher and Winston Churchill, because they are suffering wear and tear from legislators rubbing their toes for luck.