Chocolatiers have unveiled what they say is the world’s largest Cadbury Creme Egg.

Funny foodstuffs had seemed to reach their zenith as recently as Friday, when the King had a blow on a carrot whistle.

But not to be outdone, Cadbury has since raised the stakes with its oval ambition.

Just how big, though, is the colossal confectionery? Well, let’s just say you might bite off more than you can chew, and definitely wouldn’t want to drop it on your foot. Cadbury proudly states it to be as tall as an emperor penguin, with the poundage of a newborn horse – or, in old money, 3ft (90cm) and 7st 1lbs (45kg).

And what’s more, not a bit of the brown behemoth – on display at Birmingham tourist attraction Cadbury World – is fake. It’s real chocolate, with real gooey fondant filling and even has the signature touch of the engraved twinkle.

The only bit of the Easter treat that isn’t quite legit is the wrapping. It’s actually a painted veneer, presumably because there was not a piece of foil large enough, lest a run on crinkly silver lead to stale sarnies.

Terry Collins, who made the egg with fellow chocolatier Dawn Jenks, said nobody “gets to eat the egg unfortunately”. Although asked whether not even he got to have a little nibble, he confessed to BBC Radio 5 Live: “I was tempted during creation, I won’t lie.”

He said: “Here at Cadbury World we normally do creations for each season and we were just thinking ‘what better way to celebrate Easter than something as iconic as a Creme Egg?’ and we figured ‘we’ve got to go [as] massive as we can with it’.”

The pair crafted it by hand over two-and-a-half days.

Asked why it was so heavy, Mr Collins said: “That would be just purely down to the amount of chocolate we used and fondant.

“To actually make the egg we’ve had to have a mould, which we’ve got two sides of, and then we have to build up the chocolate by hand to make sure that the egg actually stays intact.”

Ms Jenks said: “We challenged ourselves to create something unique and memorable this Easter.

“Replicating the much-loved Cadbury Creme Egg on an extra-large scale was an ambitious project, and it has been so rewarding to see the vision brought to life.”

The egg is on display at Cadbury World’s chocolate-making zone until 27 April.

(BBC News)

China will resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its rights and interests should the United States escalate its tariff measures, the country’s commerce ministry said Tuesday.

The comments were made by a spokesperson with the Ministry of Commerce after the United States threatened to impose an additional 50-percent tariff on Chinese imports, which the spokesperson said China firmly opposes.

The U.S. so-called “reciprocal tariffs” against China are groundless and a typical practice of unilateral bullying, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson noted that the countermeasures China has adopted are entirely legitimate actions aimed at protecting its sovereignty, security, and development interests, as well as maintaining a normal international trade order.

The U.S. tariff escalation threat against China compounds its mistake and further exposes its nature of blackmail, which China will never accept, said the spokesperson.

“China will fight till the end if the U.S. side is bent on going down the wrong path,” the spokesperson noted.

China reiterates that there is no winner in a trade war and protectionism leads nowhere, said the spokesperson, adding that pressuring and threatening are not the right way to engage with the country.

China urges the United States to immediately correct its wrongdoings, cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China, stop its economic and trade suppression, and settle differences with China properly through equal-footed dialogue on the basis of mutual respect, the spokesperson said.

(Xinhua)

The marathon, which was launched in 1981, took place annually in April to celebrate the birth of its founding leader Kim Il Sung

North Korea has held the Pyongyang International Marathon for the first time in six years, welcoming some 200 foreign runners to the streets of the reclusive country’s capital.

The marathon, which was launched in 1981, took place annually in April to celebrate the birth of its founding leader Kim Il Sung.

Before Sunday’s marathon, the race was last held in 2019, wherein 950 foreigners participated. North Korea sealed itself off the following year, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

North Korea has been slow to reopen since, allowing only Russian tourists into its capital since last year.

Runners have had to enter the country as part of an organised tour group, as was the case before the pandemic.

Koryo Tours, a Beijing-based travel agency listed as an “exclusive partner” on the event website, offers six-day marathon tours at 2,195 euros ($2,406) including flights to and from Beijing.

“The Pyongyang Marathon is an extremely unique experience as it provides an opportunity to interact with locals,” the agency wrote on its website.

Sunday’s marathon route took participants past landmarks across the city, including the Kim Il Sung stadium, the Arch of Triumph built to commemorate Kim Il Sung’s role in resisting Japanese rule, and the Mirae Future Scientists’ Street said to be a residential district for scientists and engineers.

Pictures online show the stadium – where runners start and finish their race – filled with spectators, many of them cheering and waving gold-coloured paper flags.

Pak Kum Dong, a North Korean runner, told Reuters news agency: “The eyes of our people on me helped me to bear the difficulties whenever I feel tired.”

There is no publicly available information on race results.

North Korea had only started to scale back Covid-19 restrictions in the middle of 2023.

In February, it allowed some Western tourists into the remote, eastern city Rason, but suspended those tours just weeks after.

(BBC News)