A lobbyist in the US says aliens have been turning our nuclear weapons on and off to show us how “useless” they are against their technology. Stephen Bassett of the Paradigm Research Group says witnesses to the switching believe “it wasn’t a threat but a message that these things are useless”.

Crab found on street ‘had fled cooking pot’

A Chinese crab found wandering on a German street is thought to have ended up there after escaping from a cooking pot. The crustacean, nicknamed Krusty by the animal rescue service, has enjoyed a happy ending: it has been taken to a reptile and amphibian centre.

Boy hospitalised after sticking 31 balls up his penis

A 12-year-old boy stuck 31 magnetic balls up his penis and suffered excruciating pain when they got stuck in his bladder for 70 days. The child said he forced them up there while “exploring his anatomy”. After hospital treatment, the boy, from Wuhan, capital of China’s Hubei Province, is expected to make a full recovery.

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