Odd News Roundup: Russian town hires cat chief, Rwanda woos drinkers with beetroot wine

Purrfect job; Russian town hires cat chief to attend to strays

It was an unusual job advert. Wanted: Cat chief. Location: Zelenogradsk, Russia: Duties: Tending to the town's approximately 70 stray cats. Some 80 applicants applied for the new role with the municipality in the small town in the Kaliningrad region, which has also erected a cat statue and added a feline to its emblem in a bid to rebrand itself as Russia's foremost cat-loving community.

Rwandan entrepreneur woos drinkers with beetroot wine

Rwandans enjoy eating beetroot but entrepreneur Assumpta Uwamariya has found a novel use for the vegetable - turning it into a red wine that has proven popular with customers in several African countries and even as far away as Germany. Unable to find a job after graduating from university, Uwamariya started growing beetroot for a living and then learned how to turn it into a rich, earthy red wine known as "Karisimbi".

A wagging finger sticking out of your mobile phone is creepy. Why?

A French researcher has invented a robot finger that attaches to your mobile phone. It can wriggle across your desk. It can stroke your hand. And guess what? It's creepy. No, really, watch the video. Creepy, see? He wants to know why.

(With inputs from Reuters)

(With inputs from agencies.)