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StrangeSights: Zelenskiy now an action figure; Ukraine in miniature; and, ‘Granny Jordan’ makes a mark in Mexico…

US Zelenskiy action figure

DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life… 

US Zelenskiy action figure

A prototype of the Zelenskiy action figure in Brooklyn, New York, on 9th August. PICTURE: Reuters/Roselle Chen

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has been fighting a Russian invasion since February, is being made into an action figure by a product design company in Brooklyn, New York. FCTRY launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund production less than two weeks ago. It hit its $US30,000 funding goal in just three hours and has since raised over $US120,000. For every figure sold, $US1 goes to Ukraine in the campaign which ends on Friday. A 15 centimetre tall clay prototype of the Zelenskiy action figure, molded by Seattle artist Mike Leavitt, will be mass produced in plastic in China. It is expected to ship by March. “The way we framed him in the campaign is ‘the unlikely hero,'” said Jason Feinberg, FCTRY’s chief executive and creative director. “He’s the perfect leader for this moment, just this super inspirational character. He has this real strength that comes across, but it’s humble and he sort of represents the opposite of everything that we’ve come to associate with politics.” Zelenskiy, 44, a former comic actor, swept to power three years ago promising to end a war with Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. A shrewd communicator, he has won global praise for his defiance in resisting Russia’s devastating invasion of his country. – ROSELLE CHEN/Reuters



Belgium Mini Europe Ukrainian refugees

Miniature models depict refugees fleeing Ukraine and aid being transported into the country at the “Mini-Europe” theme park in Brussels, Belgium, on 27th July. PICTURE: Reuters/Yves Herman

Ukraine has also been on the mind of those in Brussels where the war-battered country was recently granted a place alongside members of the European Union at “Mini-Europe”, an open-air theme park of famous European landmarks. Set among more than 300 miniature models and scenes in the Brussels park, visitors will see depictions of refugees fleeing Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in February, and trucks taking medical and food aid into the country. The centrepiece is a model of the independence monument in Kyiv’s Maidan Square surrounded by people with Ukrainian and EU flags, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy handing over Ukraine’s formal application for membership of the EU. Mini-Europe owner Thierry Meeus told Reuters the idea was to demonstrate the EU’s solidarity with Ukraine, and the country’s European destiny, making it the first candidate for eventual membership of the EU to be represented at the park. The park of around 20,0000 square metres, which opened in 1989, includes mini models of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, London’s Houses of Parliament and the Grand Place in Brussels. – JOHN CHALMERS/Reuters


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Mexico Granny Jordan

Andrea Garcia Lopez, 71, nicknamed “Granny Jordan” by TikTok users, plays basketball during an exhibition game in San Esteban Atatlahuca, Oaxaca, Mexico, on 3rd August. PICTURE: Reuters/Jorge Luis Plata.

• Mexico has a new basketball star: 71-year-old Andrea Garcia Lopez. Nicknamed “Granny Jordan” by TikTok users, a video showing Lopez lighting up the court in her small remote town of San Esteban Atatlahuca in the southern state of Oaxaca has been viewed over one million times since it was uploaded by her grandson. In the video Lopez, a local artisan with her gray hair platted in two long braids and sporting a long skirt, fakes out an opponent near the basket to make space for a shot which she expertly scores off the backboard. Lopez says she hopes to keep playing for many years, even if her knee is starting to act up a bit. – JORGE LUIS PLATAS/Reuters

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