dude...

A wakeboarder performs in a fountain in downtown Belgrade, Serbia, September 3, 2007.

sausage workshop ...barf..blah...image the smell!

A labourer works at a sausage workshop at a pork-processing factory in Suining, southwest China's Sichuan province, September 4, 2007.

toy parts

A laborer works on a production line at a toy factory in Panyu, south China's Guangdong province, September 4, 2007.

yucky cookie...eat it I dare you!

Jibachi senbei, or a digger wasp rice cracker, is held at a factory in Omachi town 200 km (124 miles) northwest of Tokyo September 4, 2007. A Japanese fan club for wasps has added the insects to rice crackers, saying the result adds a waspish scent to the traditional fare.

three-legged duckling

A man watches a three-legged duckling at a farm in Tancheng county, east China's Shandong province September 4, 2007. Experts told local media that a gene mutation contributed to the aberrance.

two-headed Greek turtle

A two-headed Greek turtle named Janus eats some salad leaves at the Natural History Museum in Geneva September 5, 2007. Janus, named after the Roman god with two heads, officially celebrated its 10th birthday on Wednesday.

Leech invasion makes residents see red

Long confined to the mountains, Japanese leeches are invading residential areas, causing swelling, itching and general discomfort with their blood-thirsty ways. Yamabiru, or land leeches, have become a problem in 29 of Japan's 47 prefectures, according to the Institute for Environmental Culture, a private research facility in Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo. The little suckers are riding into towns and villages, hitching lifts on deer and boar whose numbers have grown due to re-forestation and dwindling rural populations. Once there, the leeches, which measure in at about 1.5 cms before a meal, take to feasting on warm human flesh. "Yamabiru will climb into people's socks and stay for about an hour, growing five to 10 times in size. Unlike with water leeches, people don't immediately realize they've been bitten. Only later when they see their blood-soaked feet, do they realize what has happened," said Shigekazu Tani, the institute's director. "The real problem is that the bleeding won't stop and the affected area swells up and really itches," he added. The best way to deal with the tiny vampires? "We can cut down trees and mow long grass to dissuade wild animals from coming too close, and create sunny habitats that are inhospitable to leeches. We can also spread pesticides that kill the leeches," Tani said. "Or we can just tough it out."