The owners Ricco, a Bantam rooster from Bourgoin-Jallieu in France’s Isère department, are scheduled to show up in Court following a neighbor’s complaint regarding the bird’s loud crowing.

“Difficulty concentrating, sleep deprivation, hearing fatigue,” these are just some of the symptoms cited by the plaintiff who summoned Ricco’s owners to Court in January of next year. The person, who prefers to remain anonymous, is one of the owners’ neighbors and they claim that the rooster’s crowing is unbearable both at night and during the day. However, the owners of the 5-year-old bird have always disputed these claims, insisting that the door to Ricco’s chicken coup is operated by an automated system programmed to open the door only at 8:30 am during the winter and at 9:00 am in summer. They insist that the rooster crows about fifteen times in a quarter of an hour in the morning, and then a few more times during the day.

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A Malaysian woman who took care of her bedridden husband for six years following a car accident recently announced that her husband divorced her and married another woman following his recovery.

For years, Nurul Syazwani documented her daily life as her husband’s caretaker on social media, showcasing her busy routine which included feeding the man through a nasogastric tube, changing his diapers and helping him bathe. Nurul’s husband was injured in a car accident and needed six years in order to walk again, during which time she was by his side. Her dedication and dutiful service to her husband attracted 32,000 fans on Facebook alone, many of whom were shocked to learn that Nurul Syazwani’s husband hadn’t only divorced her after recovering but had also married another woman. They learned of the crazy development from Nurul who congratulated her ex-husband and his new bride in a Facebook post.

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A Chinese aquarium has attracted a lot of criticism by replacing its real whale shark with a life-size robotic version that emulates both the look and the movements of the marine animal.

On October 1st, Xiaomeisha Sea World in Shenzhen, China, reopened its gates to visitors after a five-year hiatus for renovations. The 60,000-square-meter marine park managed to attract around 100,000 paying visitors in its first week, but that financial success was overshadowed by the controversy around one of the new attractions, a robotic whale shark. According to several Chinese news sources, many visitors were disappointed to see that the whale shark swimming in the large aquarium around them was man-made, and not the real deal, especially since Xiaomeisha Sea World made no effort to inform them beforehand that it had no real sharks.

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A popular mountain scenic spot in China’s Sichuan Province allegedly allows visitors to chase after wild boars and even take them home for free if they can catch them with their bare hands.

Wild boars are some of the strongest and most dangerous animals one can find in the wild. They can weigh up to 300 kg (660 pounds), reach speeds of up to 70 km/h (43 mph) and can tear through almost anything with their sharp tusks. Boars are particularly vicious when cornered, so a tourist attraction where you can pay to risk your life trying to catch these animals using only your bare hands sounds nothing short of insane. However, it turns out that the Jiuhuang Mountain Scenic Area in Sichuan, China has been letting people chase after boars and keeping whatever they catch for at least a decade.

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Derrick Anderson, a Republican candidate running for Congress in the U.S. state of Virginia, landed in hot water after allegedly borrowing a friend’s family for a campaign video.

Derrick Anderson, a former Army Green Beret running for an open seat in Virginia’s 7th District, was recently accused of trying to mislead voters by posing with the wife and three daughters of a “longtime friend” and trying to pass them off as his own family. Anderson is not married, doesn’t have any children and his campaign website states that he lives with his dog. There is obviously nothing wrong with the retired Green Beret not having a family, but experts would tell you that families have long been a staple of U.S. election campaigns, and with reproductive rights being a key issue this election cycle, posing as a happy husband and father is that much more important for the Republican candidate.

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A Chinese man who built a pontoon bridge for an isolated village using his own money was fined multiple times and ultimately given prison time for the unauthorized structure.

Before 2005, Zhenlin Village, in Northern China’s Jilin Province, was completely cut off by the Taoer River, with locals having to travel around 70 kilometers to the nearest bridge. However, everything changed when a villager by the name of Huang Deyi, who had previously operated a small ferry to and from the village, decided to do what the regional authorities wouldn’t – build a small bridge across the river. The rudimentary pontoon bridge was welcomed by the community, and people were more than happy to pay a small toll to Huang for using it, as it was much cheaper and less time consuming than driving 70 km to the nearest authorized bridge. Business was good, and in 2014, Huang Deyo along with 17 other villagers improved the bridge by welding together 13 metal boats so it could support heavier vehicles, but four years later, the Taonan Water Affairs Authority came knocking, ordering the dismantling of the bridge and accusing Huang and his family of illegally profiting from it.

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Kroshik, a 14-year-old ginger cat from the Russian city of Perm lost his ability to walk after ballooning to a whopping 17 kilograms (38 pounds) in weight due to overfeeding by his loving humans.

Photos of the obese Kroshik went viral last week after being shared on Russian social network VKontakte by volunteers at the Matroskin Animal Shelter in Perm. In them, a young woman is struggling to hold him in her arms, which makes sense, considering he weighs three times as much as he should. According to Matroskin staff, Kroshik was rescued from a local hospital whose staff contacted them after the 14-year-old feline lost his ability to walk due to his weight and advanced age. Kroshik had been living in the hospital basement for years, hunting rodents and enjoying the affection of humans, but in the last few years, he ballooned in seize due to overfeeding. When he got so fat that he literally couldn’t stand on his four legs, nurses at the hospital called the animal shelter.

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An Indian teenager was accused of emotional blackmail after going on a hunger strike for three days to pressure his poor mother into buying him an iPhone.

A short video shot by a smartphone shop owner in India went viral last week for featuring a teenage boy who confessed to going on a hunger strike for three days to convince his mother to buy him a new iPhone. The woman, who reportedly makes a living by selling flowers outside a temple, is also featured in the video and has a facial expression that pretty much says everything about her inner struggle. Shared by Indian journalist Abhishek on X (formerly Twitter), the video has been viewed over a million times and has sparked a heated debate about gadgets as a status symbol and the entitlement of younger generations.

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Animal lovers and animal rights activists the world over are asking for a boycott of the Bully Cat, a hairless breed becoming increasingly popular among people fascinated by extreme body shapes.

The bully cat is a relatively new feline breed that takes the characteristics of the hairless sphynx to a whole new level while adding other problematic features. This particular hairless breed has stubby short legs and heavily wrinkled skin that animal experts claim is prone to horrifying health problems. Believed to have originated in the United States only a few years ago, the bully cat quickly became popular overseas as well, particularly in the UK where animal welfare organizations recently began sounding the alarm about what they are calling a designer fad with painful consequences for the animals being exploited by unscrupulous breeders.

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A Russian chess player is facing a lifetime ban from official competitions after allegedly trying to poison an opponent by spreading mercury compounds on her chess board.

Amina Abakarova, a 40-year-old chess player from the Russian Republic of Dagestan, stands accused of trying to poison another female player during a chess tournament in Makhachkala. Surveillance footage from the Dagestan Classical Chess Championship shows the 40-year-old woman spreading a substance later identified as mercury on the chess board and pieces that would later be used by another player, Umayganat Osmanova. CCTV footage clearly shows Abakarova walking to the table where Osmanova was about to play and tampering with the chess board and pieces before casually walking away so as not to draw attention. Her actions would have probably gone unnoticed had Umayganat Osmanova not begun to experience symptoms like nausea and dizziness just 30 minutes later.

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A Wuhan beauty clinic is being accused of tricking a mentally-challenged 19-year-old man into getting a boob job by claiming that he could then make money through live-streaming.

The 19-year-old young man, whose mother claims he has the mind of a 5-year-old boy, reportedly applied for a job at the unnamed beauty clinic, which provided “full board and a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan ($400)”. However, after asking about potential job opportunities for men, he was told that he should first undergo a breast enlargement surgery and then begin working after he recovered. The man’s mother surnamed Lu, recently unveiled chat archives between her son and beauty clinic staff in which he is assured that boob jobs are ok for men as well and that such procedures were very popular among live-streamers. Despite expressing doubt at first, the impressionable youth agreed to get the surgery and even pay for it.

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A Japanese man’s personal life has recently become the talk of the internet after he revealed that he is perfectly ok with his wife of three years having a boyfriend and even bringing him into the family home.

Prince Soy, a young Japanese chef and blogger who promotes and sells additive-free okara granola online, has recently been drawing a lot of attention for very different reasons. On July 8th, he took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce that his wife Seira would be returning home after spending six months studying abroad and that she would be bringing her new boyfriend along. The controversial post quickly went viral, sparking a heated online debate about Prince Soy’s marriage and the three-way relationship. The controversy didn’t seem to bother the married man who actually documented the visit of his wife’s boyfriend through short clips and multiple social media posts.

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A Japanese man recently shocked the internet after announcing that he managed to save 132 million yen ($640,000) over the last two decades with the goal of retiring early from his stressful job.

The unnamed 45-year-old man took to social media to announce that he had finally achieved FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) after dedicating the last twenty years and ten months to this goal. In the early 2000s, he managed to secure a stable but very demanding job where he was constantly required to work overtime, sometimes past midnight. He had a decent salary of around five million yen ($32,000) per year, so instead of quitting his job and looking for something less stressful, he decided to push through all the hardships and save as much money as possible so he could retire early. However, the level of frugality he endured throughout the last two decades left a lot of people wondering if his efforts were worth it.

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Koi Pla, a popular traditional dish consumed in Thailand and Laos is said to be responsible for the deaths of around 20,000 people every year.

Considered a salad by the Lao people of Laos and Thailand’s Isaan region, Koi Pla consists of minced raw fish, lemon juice, herbs, and spices. As you might have guessed, the fish is the problematic ingredient in this dish, although technically, it’s the parasites living in the fish. Koi Pla is most commonly made with raw freshwater fish from the Mekong basin which are often infested with parasitic flatworms known as live flukes. These parasites have long been known to cause one of the most aggressive types of cancer known to man, cholangiocarcinoma, or bile duct cancer, which causes the deaths of around 20,000 people in Thailand alone.

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Chinese prosecutors recently filed lawsuits against at least 16 companies accused of requiring female jobseekers to undergo pregnancy testing.

Chinese law explicitly prohibits employers from carrying out pregnancy tests as part of pre-employment examinations, but some companies are so worried about the costs of maternity leave and benefits that they prefer to make sure the women they hire are not pregnant. Earlier this month, prosecutors in the Tongzhou district of Nantong, China’s Jiangsu Province, announced that it had sued 16 companies for illegally testing female job applicants for pregnancy without even formally informing them about it. Their investigation revealed that companies violated women’s right to equal employment opportunities, as at least one candidate was rejected after it was revealed that she was pregnant.

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