Odd News Roundup: Wakanda removed from U.S. trade list; Zodiac window cleaners set Tokyo sparkling for New Year

Following is a summary of current odd news briefs.

Wakanda free trade forever? Fictional nation removed from U.S. trade list

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it removed the fictional country of Wakanda from an online list of nations that have free trade agreements with the United States on Thursday. The Kingdom of Wakanda is the home of Black Panther, the Marvel superhero, and is portrayed in comic books and the 2018 blockbuster movie as an isolated African nation with the most powerful technology on the planet.

You dirty rat: Zodiac window cleaners set Tokyo sparkling for New Year

Dangling more than 50 meters above a busy Tokyo street, window cleaners dressed up as a boar and a rat on Thursday scrubbed windows at a downtown hotel ahead of the country's New Year festivities. In its seventh year at the Hotel Ryumeikan Tokyo, the tradition echoes the custom of sprucing up the house at year-end and comes as the international spotlight falls squarely on Japan as it prepares to host the 2020 Olympic Games.

(With inputs from agencies.)