Villain
Noto, a Japanese town that has spent Covid relief funds on a statue of a giant squid. Town officials say the £164,000, 13-metre statue will boost tourism – it has an opening under its beak where people can pose for photographs. Many locals think it would have been better to spend the money on nursing care.
Hero
The road safety campaigner in New Zealand who sprays neon green penises over potholes to encourage local authorities to fill them in. He has found that phallic art is far more effective than lodging an official complaint. While Auckland Transport has threatened to report him to the police, there has been an outpouring of support from drivers on social media.
Villain
The Belgian farmer who inadvertently redrew the border between France and Belgium for the first time since Waterloo. He moved an 1819 border stone by 7½ft because it was blocking his tractor; a local amateur historian discovered it two weeks later. The farmer is now legally obliged to move the stone back to avoid a diplomatic incident. “We should be able to avoid a new border war,” the mayor of the affected French region reassured local media.
Hero
Chris Blowes, an Australian surfer who has won a legal exemption to keep the tooth of the great white shark that bit his leg off. Great whites are a protected species in South Australia, and possession of any body part can result in a £55,000 fine or two years in prison. After a six-year legal battle, Blowes is pleased to have made a fair trade – “a leg for a tooth”.
Hero
Private messaging app Signal, which created Facebook ads that showed users the incredibly specific personal data the social media platform sells to advertisers. One read: “You got this ad because you’re a newlywed pilates instructor and you’re cartoon crazy. This ad used your location to see you’re in La Jolla. You’re into parenting blogs and thinking about LGBTQ adoption.” Signal claims Facebook immediately banned the ads.