Category: Weird

A man known as ‘China’s Nostradamus’ has issued five rather bleak predictions for the United States in 2027, including a compulsory military draft and nationwide unrest. Oh, and a full-on economic collapse.

Jiang Xueqin believes ‘all the ingredients for a civil war’ could be in place during 2027. However, he has clarified that he’s not predicting two rival armies fighting for control of the country.

The Chinese-Canadian educator and presenter attracted attention after forecasting Donald Trump’s return to The White House. He made the prediction in May 2024, months before Trump won a second presidential term.

Xueqin also said there was ‘a very strong likelihood’ the US would go to war with Iran. He claimed there was ‘absolutely no way’ America would win such a conflict.

His nickname compares him to Nostradamus, the 16th-century French astrologer whose writings have been credited with correctly predicting a number of major world events. Plenty of those supposed prophecies rely on extremely generous interpretation, but Xueqin’s latest claims leave rather less room for ambiguity.

With 2027 approaching, he has turned his attention to what could happen next. If the man’s right, failing a Dry January by the second weekend may be the least of anyone’s problems…

ICE will be given more power

Xueqin predicts that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, will be handed greater power by President Trump over the coming year.

The federal agency is responsible for enforcing immigration laws and has played a central role in the Trump administration’s crackdown.

ICE operations and the wider restrictions on immigration have already prompted protests across the country. Xueqin also believes the National Guard could be deployed in all major American cities in preparation for economic turmoil and a military draft.

‘Nationwide discontent and riots’

Xueqin doesn’t claim to be clairvoyant, however. His forecasts are based on his interpretation of political and geopolitical events rather than any professed ability to see the future.

He believes that ‘all the ingredients for a civil war’ will be in place during 2027.

However, he isn’t forecasting a conventional conflict between two rival armed forces. Instead, he expects protests, riots and insurgencies to produce a period of ‘low level conflict’.

He said: ‘I don’t mean actually two militaries fighting each other, but I’m saying like nationwide discontent and riots and protests and insurgencies.’

The US will start military conscription

His third prediction is that America will establish the framework for a national military draft during 2027. Xueqin believes it would be introduced to provide troops for a continuing and escalating conflict with Iran.

A prediction published on his Predictive History website says: ‘The United States will use ground troops in Iran, requiring a national military draft. Men as young as 18 will be conscripted.’

Explaining his forecast on the Jack Neal podcast, Xueqin said preparations may already have begun by next year. He said: ‘It is possible they’ve already passed legislation to create the national draft, or it’s possible that certain people have already been drafted.’

The midterm elections ‘won’t go the way people expect’

Another of Xueqin’s predictions concerns the US midterm elections in November 2026, which will decide control of Congress. He believes there will be several surprises and that the result ‘will not be the way people expect it to work out’.

He said: ‘I’m not saying they’ll be canceled, but what I’m saying is that right now, Donald Trump and the Republicans are trying to pass something called the SAVE America Act.’

The proposed law would require people to provide proof of US citizenship when registering to vote. It would also introduce stricter voter identification and citizenship checks.

Although Xueqin admitted that he was ‘not sure’ what the election result would be, he suggested it may make little difference to the direction of the country.

He said: ‘It’s almost insignificant how the midterms turn out because it’s possible the Republicans stay, they maintain the House and the Senate. In which case Donald Trump continues his war.’

Xueqin also claimed the result ‘won’t change the trajectory of the war’ because that course is ‘already set’.

The economy will collapse

His final warning for 2027 is that a prolonged conflict with Iran could very well devastate the US economy, with consequences extending far beyond America. He believes committing ground troops for several years would prove particularly damaging.

Xueqin said: ‘If America goes into Iran with ground troops, if it’s committed for four or five years, if America loses this war, it means the collapse of the American economy.’

While discussing the conditions he believes could produce widespread civil unrest, he went further by claiming that ‘the global economy should have collapsed’.

Whether Xueqin’s vision proves prophetic or joins the considerably larger pile of forecasts that never happened will become clearer over the coming year. For now, anyone planning a slightly quieter 2027 may wish to consult a different psychic.

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An English church with a more extreme lean than the Tower of Pisa has been saved from collapse.

St James in Dry Doddington, Lincolnshire attracts hundreds of visitors each year who flock to see its 5.1° tilt — considerably more of a lean than the 3.97° of its Italian rival.

But the 12th-century tower has been in danger of collapse since 2015 due to stone erosion.

A total of £100,000 was spent on restoration, but in the last few months it has deteriorated again, sparking an appeal for help by parishioners.

The church has now received a £128,106 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, to the delight of church warden Richard Loynes.

‘This is excellent news and means that they can now place an order with the selected contractor to carry out the restoration work, which is programmed to commence in mid-October and be completed by next spring,’ he said.

The work will include a completely new floor to the nave, minor repairs to the chancel, repairs to cracked walls, making good all internal wall plastering, upgrading the electrics and providing a new information board.

‘Completion of this essential restoration will ensure that this important piece of built heritage can be preserved and used for many years to come,’ Mr Loynes added.

‘As the church has free-standing pews, once the work is completed it will also mean that the building can be used by the local community for a variety of events as well as traditional worship. Without it, the building would have to close in the near future as it becomes unsafe to use.”

A tea party will be held in the village hall on Saturday September 19 to celebrate.

St James Church was built originally as a Chapel of Ease for older residents to attend church rather than walking to neighbouring Westborough.

It later became a parish church in its own right. The tower, which dates from the 1300s, is believed to have first been moved in the late 19th century.

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Customs officers were in for a shock when they searched a woman trying to cross the Russian border — and discovered 116 lizards hidden in her jacket.

The passenger was on a bus that was stopped at the Mamonovo-2 border checkpoint in Russia’s Kaliningrad region, on the border with Poland, on August 25.

Inspectors searching her clothing found dozens of small canvas bags concealed inside the lining of her jacket.

Each pouch contained between three and five live reptiles measuring around 10 to 15cm long.

In total, officials counted 116 lizards.

The woman was unable to produce any documents allowing her to transport the animals.

According to Russian customs officials, she told inspectors she had agreed to take the reptiles to Germany in return for money.

Experts later identified the animals as secret toadhead agamas.

Populations of the unusual desert-dwelling reptile are protected under Russia’s Red Data Book.

The distinctive lizards are found in sandy and desert habitats across parts of Russia and Central Asia.

They are particularly known for their dramatic defensive display when threatened, flattening their bodies and opening their mouths to expose conspicuous folds of skin at the sides.

All 116 reptiles survived the journey as far as the border and were handed over to a local exotic animal rescue centre, according to customs officials.

The woman is now facing administrative proceedings for allegedly concealing goods from customs control.

Under the relevant Russian law, she could be fined up to three times the value of the seized ‘goods’, with confiscation also possible.

Pictures released by customs officials show scores of the small reptiles after they were removed from their unusual hiding place.

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A customer cheated death after collapsing outside a supermarket – but not the fine imposed for leaving her car there while she was brought back to life.

The 54-year-old fell ill in the car park of the New World supermarket in Orewa, Auckland, New Zealand, on July 26.

Other shoppers weny to try and help, including a ‘truly remarkable’ witness who performed chest compressions when they could no longer find a pulse.

The woman’s father said paramedics later told them her heart had stopped and ‘momentarily, she was technically dead’.

Within days of getting a second chance at life, the woman received an $80 (£35) fine for leaving her car outside the supermarket.

Customers are allowed to stay for up to an hour and a half, but her car was not moved for nearly six hours after she was taken to North Shore Hospital.

The penalty charge from Smart Compliance Management stated: ‘Customers are entitled to 90 minutes of parking. Your vehicle was parked for 341 minutes.’

She appealed the fine – quite understandably, you might think – but the company declined to withdraw it, instead reducing it to $30 (£13) given the ‘circumstances’.

Speaking to Stuff, the woman’s father said the family was outraged by the ‘offensive’ penalty.

Staff at New World later paid the money into the woman’s account to cover it.

Owner-operator Steve McClean told the outlet: ‘This was a deeply distressing situation for the customer and their family, and I’m sorry this caused them additional stress and inconvenience.’

A spokesperson for Smart Compliance apologised for the ‘additional stress caused to this individual following their medical emergency’.

They added their initial response did not ‘appropriately take into account the circumstances of the case’.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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An Australian tourist claims to have spotted the Loch Ness monster, meaning there have already been more sightings this year than in the entirety of 2025.

With another four and a half months of 2026 left to go, so far there have been nine in-person sightings of the mythical beast – and 11 if webcam footage is included in the total.

Oscar Gray was visiting Urquhart Castle on July 21 when he says he saw something strange emerge from the water, and managed to capture the encounter on camera.

It’s now been added to the official Loch Ness monster sightings register.

Confirming his reported encounter, a spokesperson for the register said: ‘Oscar Gray, visiting from Australia, reported that he was standing at the shoreline at Urquhart Castle when he saw the top of a dark green flat topped head pop out of the water well out from the shoreline.

‘The head was followed by two same coloured humps that emerged out of the water behind the head, which he thought would be the body.

‘Then he saw ripple lines about 500 metres behind the humps and it made quite decent white waves which he expected it was from the tail swimming through the water.

‘After the tail swished water over its head it then swam back down below the water. He said he never saw it again for the rest of the day. But he managed to get a photo.’

In June, a mysterious green mass sparked fresh rumours about the existence of the beast.

The object was caught on camera next to Urquhart Castle by a tourist on a Jacobite Cruises boat tour.

Two months earlier, the elusive creature was ‘spotted’ twice within just a few days.

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Legendary psychic Baba Vanga — known for supposedly predicting 9/11, the death of Princess Diana and the COVID pandemic, to name a few — has posthumously found herself in the spotlight once more.

Followers of the blind Bulgarian mystic, who died in 1996 aged 84, have claimed that two of her five prophecies for 2026 have already come true, leaving the remaining predictions to play out in the next few months.

They’re not predictions of world peace or us all winning the lottery, either. Instead, some are actually pretty bleak.

The first new prediction is perhaps the wildest: Baba Vanga is said to have claimed that a massive spacecraft will visit Earth this year.

Reportedly set for November, she alleged that it will enter the atmosphere and mark humanity’s first official contact with an extraterrestrial civilisation.

However, the mystic was unclear about whether the visitors come in peace or as a threat. Hopefully, it’s the former. We’d have no qualms about E.T making an appearance on Earth.

Unfortunately — and due to the state of world affairs right now — the second is a little easier to believe.

Alongside meeting aliens, Baba Vanga also predicted that 2026 would be the year World War III breaks out.

Interpretations of the prophecy say China would attempt to seize Taiwan.

Meanwhile, it’s claimed that tensions between Russia and the US would escalate into direct conflict.

There’s also the current war between Russia and Ukraine to take into consideration, which has already caused instability across multiple regions.

Finally, the third prophecy suggests that Russian President Vladimir Putin will lose power and be replaced by a new leader, all before 2027 starts.

For almost 20 years, Putin has ruled Russian politics. The 73-year-old is also set to stay in office until 2036, after he signed a law which allowed him to extend his rule.

That is, unless the prophecy is correct.

Speculation about Putin’s future — both political and health-wise — has circulated for years. There have been many conspiracy theories surrounding the leader, from him using body doubles to claims that he had died.

Recently, rumours of him being in poor health escalated after the Kremlin accidentally released footage of him in the middle of a coughing fit.

While this all sounds awful, let us be clear: Baba Vanga left no written records of her predictions.

Rather, her prophecies have been interpreted by relatives and followers in the decades since her death.

Therefore, there’s no actual (reliable) evidence that she predicted every prophecy credited to her.

Still, followers claim that two of her five major forecasts for this year and last have already come true.

This includes a vague prediction of a string of global natural disasters.

In this instance, Baba Vanga’s followers have linked the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar in March. The disaster caused thousands of deaths and severe destruction in the area.

There’s also the recent European wildfires that have devastated parts of Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy.

The second focuses on the rise of artificial intelligence in the workplace, and the idea that robots will eventually replace humans.

Baba Vanga reportedly gained her psychic powers after a freak tornado in her home country of Bulgaria swept her up into the air at 12-years-old.

Sand and dust were forced into her eyes, and as a result she went blind.

However, she and her followers also claimed that the blindness allowed her ‘open her mind’, which led to her developing her mystic powers.

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A jaw-dropping photo taken with an iPhone 250 miles above Earth has captured the incredible sight of a super typhoon over the Pacific Ocean.

The image was taken by Nasa astronaut Anil Menon while aboard the International Space Station (ISS), offering a stunning bird’s-eye view of the colossal storm system churning across the ocean below.

The picture, which was taken on August 2, reveals a tightly wound spiral of towering cloud bands wrapped around a clearly defined eye as the cyclone made its way across the western Pacific.

While the dramatic photo looked like it had been photographed using specialist camera equipment, it was actually taken on an iPhone – a capability made possible after Nasa recently began allowing astronauts to carry personal smartphones on missions.

Sharing the image, Menon wrote: ‘The Pacific Ocean this morning from the cupola with an iPhone.’

Viewed from orbit, the immense scale of the weather system becomes clear, with the storm dominating hundreds of miles of open ocean in a single frame.

He didn’t identify the storm by name, but Menon’s image is believed to have captured Super Typhoon Dolphin, which rapidly strengthened over exceptionally warm waters before moving towards Japan earlier this week.

China has evacuated more than 1,000,000 from their homes after the typhoon brought heavy rain and strong winds, triggering a red alert.

Winds hit 94mph when it hit the Zhejiang province on Sunday.

The photograph was taken from the ISS’s Cupola – a seven-window observation module widely regarded as offering astronauts the best views of Earth.

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An adrenaline junkie filming a rollercoaster ride was taken by surprise when he was hit in the face by a flying shoe.

The theme park fan was on the Goliath ride at Six Flags Over Georgia in the US, which reaches speeds of around 70mph, on Sunday.

While up in the air, as the thrillseeker was recording their time on the coaster using Meta glasses, the white trainer flew off a rider in front of them and came whizzing towards the camera lens.

The filmmaker said: ‘I filmed this POV while riding Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia on Sunday August 2, 2026.

‘Shortly after the ride began, a rider in the front row lost one of their shoes. As the coaster reached speeds of approximately 70mph, the shoe flew back toward my row.’

In footage of the moment, the rider can be heard shouting: ‘Oh, my god,’ as the shoe makes impact with a thud.

Luckily, as the shoe ‘crashed into’ the rider, he was able to catch it before it dropped into the lake beneath the ride.

‘The catch was completely unexpected and was not staged or planned in any way,’ he added.

‘The video recorded on my Meta glasses captures the entire moment from my point of view, including my reaction after catching the shoe.’

In the film, he can be heard saying: ‘I got it!’ after nabbing the airborne accessory. Later, he holds the shoe out in front of him, proudly declaring: ‘I got the shoe!’

He then holds it up in the air, refusing to let go even as the ride speeds up.

‘I got hit in the face and caught a shoe!’ he can be heard telling grinning fellow riders as the rollercoaster comes to a gradual stop.

Once everyone had disembarked from the ride, the rider managed to locate the owner of the runaway garment, whose friends screamed and clapped as it was returned.

‘After the ride ended, I returned the shoe to its owner,’ he added.

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It’s an unusual career for someone who trained as an electrician.

But when Harvey More fell into a ghost-related TikTok hole during lockdown, he realised he was closer to the spirit world than he had originally thought.

Long before he began investigating haunted locations, he says he repeatedly saw a mysterious figure walking across the upstairs landing of his parents’ West Midlands home.

‘When I went upstairs onto the upstairs landing, I would see a man dressed all in black, walking from one bedroom door to another. It happened a few times, and I could hear unexplained footsteps outside my bedroom,’ the 23-year-old said.

It was Harvey’s first spiritual experience. When he told his parents, they told him that vicars used to live at the address, and that it was likely to be their spirits.

‘I thought, there is definitely another world out there that we don’t know about,’ he said.

‘That experience was just crazy. From there I have believed there is something out there, that there’s an afterlife.’

Harvey started watching paranormal live streams on TikTok during a boring lockdown and became intrigued.

He decided he wanted to find out more and immersed himself in learning about crystals, spiritualism and what he describes as alternative realities.

Today, the content creator spends his time investigating locations believed to be haunted, searching for evidence that spirits are still present.

Harvey believes he has witnessed things that cannot be explained.

‘I have seen apparitions, from white mists to black figures in the corner of the eye. But when you look, they vanish,’ he said.

‘And I’ve experienced random smells and scents coming up out of nowhere.’

After filming footage, he often notices noises on the edits that he didn’t originally hear.

‘You often hear taps and bangs that you didn’t hear at the time. You might hear a lady humming or a droning sound,’ Harvey added.

‘Once I heard a girl laughing when none of the team heard it. But when I edited I picked it up again. It is amazing the things you pick up.’

During investigations, Harvey and his team ask what they believe are spirits to make their presence known.

‘When they go on a hunt, they ask the spirit world to affirm their presence with a noise,’ Harvey, who hosts the Unexplained Mysteries Paranormal podcast,’ said.

‘Often we get unexplainable footsteps and knocks. You can tell when it is something paranormal. The majority of what we catch is supernatural.’

One location that continues to draw him back is a former 17th century burial ground near his home which has since become a public park where families picnic and children play.

‘I have always felt that there is an energy there that has called me to investigate. Every time you go there, you pick up new information, evidence of the spiritual world.’

Harvey says one investigation there produced what he considers some of his strongest evidence. Using a paranormal voice box, a handheld electronic device that paranormal investigators believe spirits use to manipulate radio signals, he started picking up words to do with crime, justice, water and pipes.

‘When I got back and started researching who I was connecting with. It emerged that Richard Jesson, who is buried there, was a well-known attorney. And he was one of the founders of South Staffs Waters, a water work company,’ Harvey said.

‘I couldn’t believe it. I always go to a location with an empty head with no background. Any information I get I then go back and research it. Nearly every time it links to historical records.’

He also visited the site of Jesson’s grave, where the temperature dropped ‘significantly’ and his team detected ‘a really strong, musky scent, almost like incense, even though nobody was around us’.

Harvey said investigations rarely end when the team decides to leave, as often spirits will try to pull them back.

‘There are some spirits that are reluctant to come forward and communicate, whether they’ve got low energy or they just don’t want to talk to us,’ he says.

‘But when we’re leaving the location, when we’ve turned our backs, things get thrown at us. I’ve had twigs, stones and other debris thrown as I tried to leave. That is the point of an investigation where we have to set up a boundary and say “no more”, because it takes our energy.’

His most frightening experience was at Cannock Chase, a Staffordshire beauty spot known for ghost stories and alleged sightings, where his car was unlocked while he was investigating.

‘I saw a light in the corner of my eye. And I saw my car unlocked itself. That frightened me. I thought, it’s messing with the car. If it wants your attention it can go to your property.

‘Thankfully the battery hadn’t gone flat. It was completely dark and we contemplated abandoning the investigation and going home. That will stay with me for the rest of my life because it was so bizarre.’

Despite the unsettling moments, Harvey says paranormal investigation has brought him comfort rather than fear, particularly after the death of someone close to him.

‘Paranormal investigation brings me so much peace. It’s not all scary and spooky. I have been able to contact spirits who have left a legacy. Being able to connect with roots of where I am from is comforting,’ he said.

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