Wine for cats a 'purrfect' toast

A new wine to hit the market promises to be the cat's whiskers. Japanese news site Sankei Biz last week revealed that Japanese pet supply company B&H Lifes is selling "wine exclusively for cats". But there's no chance of tabby hangovers. Nyan Nyan Nouveau (nyan is Japanese for meow) doesn't contain any alcohol - it's made mostly of grape juice, Vitamin C and catnip. B&H developed it after being inundated with requests from cat lovers who wanted to "celebrate Christmas and birthdays" with their felines. A 180 ml bottle of the wine costs 399 yen ($4).

Man injured in toilet explosion

A New York IT specialist received facial injuries earlier this month when a toilet exploded in his face after he pulled the handle to test the water pressure in his Brooklyn apartment. Michel Pierre sustained shrapnel wounds from flying shards of porcelain and required 30 stitches, his lawyer told AFP. Traumatized by the incident, the 58-year-old man now uses a rope to flush the toilet from behind the bathroom door at a safe distance.

Man locked girlfriend's pants

A 25-year-old Mexican woman has told police her boyfriend locked her pants shut with a "chastity belt" each morning for the past 12 years in fear that she would be unfaithful. The woman, from the poverty-stricken community of Zacatlame in Veracruz, finally reported her boyfriend, Jose Antonio, 40, when she desperately needed to use the toilet but was too afraid to cut her pants open. The woman had been living with her boyfriend since the age of 13. Police arrested Antonio who admitted to putting a padlock on the woman's pants and gave officers the key. The woman did not press charges.

Woman fakes own kidnapping

Nigerian police report a woman faked her own kidnapping to extort a $1,200 ransom from her husband. Authorities arrested the woman and her male accomplice after tracing the bank account given for her husband's payment of 200,000 naira ($1,200) to the accomplice. Kidnapping for ransom is rife in southern Nigeria, and in some cases, police suspect the victims collude with their abductors.

Virgin gets a scaly visitor

Employees at an airline facility in Australia received an unwelcome visitor last weekend when they discovered a freshwater snake slithering in the lifts. It was unknown how the reptile made its way into the Virgin Australia Village in Brisbane, but staffers were warned to keep watch for any further slithery intruders in light of the early onset seasonal heat and dry conditions. The snake was removed by a professional handler last Sunday and released into a national park north of Brisbane.

Waiter, there's poop in my soup

Finally, an eatery in the US where crappy service is actually welcome. The Magic Restroom Cafe in southern California's City of Industry, launched on Oct 11, is the country's first toilet-themed eatery, with dishes, seats and food items focused on toilets, bathrooms and human bodily functions.

Culinary blog Eater LA reports customers can sit on stools topped with toilet seats and order menu items like "golden poop rice", "black poop" (a chocolate sundae) and "bloody number two" (vanilla-strawberry sundae), all served in miniature toilet bowls. Owners and staff hope to be flushed with success as word of the eatery spreads.

Shoppers trip on 'invisible' curb

More than 20 shoppers have been taken to hospital with injuries after tripping over "crazy paving" in a town center in Pontypridd, South Wales. The mixed-up pattern of the new paving stones has been blamed for a spate of falls because it creates an optical illusion, with many pedestrians unable to spot the edge of the curb. The injured included a 75-year-old woman who was badly bruised when she tripped on the hazard while rushing to get a bus.

Baby delivered in McDonald's

Employees at a McDonald's in the US helped deliver a baby last week. Pregnant woman Shardonnay Hill went into labor three months early in the bathroom of the Lake Wales, Florida fast-food restaurant. The staff "helped prepare an area" and a 911 operator talked them through the process. There were initial complications with the birth, but paramedics eventually arrived and airlifted mother and child to an area hospital. The baby has been named Joshua.

Probe into worm sandwich A passenger on an Air India flight from New York to New Delhi last month found worms in his sandwich. The Press Trust of India reports the man reported the incident to Air India but did not hear anything back for two weeks. Air India has launched an investigation into the matter. "We are investigating the caterer regarding this incident," airline spokesman Prasad Rao told AFP in New Delhi.

China Daily - AFP - Reuters

(China Daily 10/20/2013 page4)