Winnie

Popeye can punch without permission and Tintin can roam freely starting in 2025. The two classic comic characters who first appeared in 1929 are among the intellectual properties becoming public domain in the United States on Jan. 1. That means they can be used and repurposed without permission or payment to copyright holders.

A collection of unusual items signed by anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela are to go under the hammer on Thursday, on the eve of the former South African president's birthday.