Angry Birds join Finland's envoy at opening for Harbin ice fest

Being a wingless bird with a tuxedo doesn't automatically make you a penguin, but the whole cast of Angry Birds was in the frigid city of Harbin last week to kick off the annual Ice and Snow Festival. Finland's Ambassador to China Lars Backstrom laced up his winter wear and trekked up to China's Northeast to make opening-day speeches at the festival and the concurrent Arctic Exhibition. He was ably seconded, we hear, by those best-selling game birds, who have their own 3,000-square-meter park this year. The international crowd included more diplomats and sister-city representatives (Harbin has 27 sister cities in 23 countries at last count), including Santa Claus, from Harbin's sister city Rovaniemi in Finland's Lapland.