DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
Competitors take part in the sixth edition of the European seagull screeching championship, in which contestants compete either solo or as part of a group and are judged by a jury for vocal skills and performance, in De Panne, Belgium, on 26th April, 2026. PICTURE: Reuters/Yves Herma
• Contestants faced off in the Belgian coastal town of De Panne on Sunday at the annual European seagull screeching championship, which brought together more than 70 participants seeking to produce the best imitation of the bird’s distinctive shriek. Competitors from 15 countries took part in the sixth edition of the event. The contest, which took place in a local pub, drew participants of all ages, including families with children, many in seagull-themed costumes. Each screech was met with cheers from the crowd. The jury can award a maximum of 15 points for how well contestants imitate the seagull’s sound, and five points for performance. The event, which has become a tradition, aims at changing the image of seagulls, often seen by the public as intrusive. “When you are on holiday, you always remember the waves of the sea and the calls of the seagulls,” said Claude Willaert, the event’s organiser. “So be positive about them.” – YIMING WOO, De Panne, Belgium/Reuters
We rely on our readers to fund Sight’s work – become a financial supporter today!
• The District of Columbia mistakenly placed several Australian flags instead of British flags near the White House ahead of King Charles’ US visit, although the error was quickly corrected, a DC Department of Transportation official said on Friday. Charles is also the head of state for Australia, but the role is largely ceremonial. Fifteen Australian flags were briefly included among more than 230 flags put on display to welcome the British King who arrived in the US capital on Monday. They were later replaced with the British flag, the official said. Charles’ state visit, to mark the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence from British rule, is widely seen as the most high-profile trip of his reign so far. The trip aims to shore up the two allies’ “special relationship”, which has sunk to its lowest point in 70 years amid strains surrounding the Iran war. – KANISHKA SINGH, Washington DC, US/Reuters
Polish influencer Piotr Hancke, 23, ‘Latwogang’ stands on the balcony of the apartment where he hosted a nine-day livestream fundraiser, with rapper Bedoes 2115 (Borys Przybylski), after raising more than 250 million zlotys ($US69 million) for cancer patients, as they thank a crowd gathered below the apartment, in Warsaw, Poland, on 26th April, 2026. PICTURE: Reuters/Kacper Pempel
• A nine-day, non-stop live stream in Poland raised a record-breaking sum for charity, local media said on Monday, after donations totalling over 250 million zlotys ($US69 million) flooded in for children with cancer. Broadcast from a small flat in Warsaw, the stream was organised by influencer Piotr Hancke, better known as Latwogang, and was supported by musicians, celebrities and sports stars including six-times Grand Slam champion tennis player Iga Swiatek and Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski. The money raised, which was more than three times the previous record for a livestream fundraiser, went to the Cancer Fighters Foundation. A previous best recorded by Guinness World Records was $US19.5 million for an event in France last year. “We’re reaching for the stars, reaching for space, to help those who need it most, the innocent children who fight the hardest battles every day,” the foundation’s president Marek Kopysc told private broadcaster RMF FM. In one segment several celebrities shaved their heads in support of cancer patients. It began on 17th April on YouTube and finished at 9:37pm local time on Sunday. At one point the stream was viewed by 1.4 million people simultaneously, state news agency PAP reported, meaning it also broke records for viewer numbers. The stream followed a song recorded by rapper Bedoes with a young cancer patient. Latwogang told his followers that he would launch a non-stop charity stream with one second for every ‘like’ on TikTok for the idea, Poland’s PAP news agency reported. – MALGORZATA WOJTUNIK and PAWEL FLORKIEWICZ, Warsaw, Poland/Reuters