As the saying goes "truth is stranger than fiction" and judging by these outlandish stories from the past week we have to agree! Will Elon Musk be responsible for the start of World War III? Is there another Loch Ness Monster out there? Aliens carrying out tests on planet Earth? These are the STRANGEST STORIES of the past week...

A "living Nostradamus" has predicted that World War III could be started by tycoon Elon Musk. Athos Salome, a renowned seer, claimed that the Tesla and Twitter CEO is a Knight of the Order of the Temple and that 2023 will mark the return of the anti-Christ. He said: "Remember that last year, when my prophecy pointed to this entrepreneur, I warned of the possibility that humanity would be defended, in a new order, by a Templar, who could eventually fight the so-called antichrist. It should be remembered that the mission of the Templars, made up of warrior monks, was to protect the people who wanted to reach the Holy Land. But if Elon Musk is the Templar, who will be the antichrist?" Salomé also pointed out that the anti-Christ could emerge in new technologies, artificial intelligence or robotics.

Has the Loch Ness Monster left Scotland? Or does Nessie have a relative? Footage of a creature very similar to the mythical beast was shared on social media swimming near the town of Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. The caption of the video read: "Something you don't see every day.... Whales or Mister Lock Ness in the harbour this morning, I've never seen one in the bay like this! The video was taken by Captain Griffiee, one of the captains of a rental shop. (sic)"

An airline is offering free flights to anyone who adopts a cat. Frontier Airlines has partnered with the animal shelter, The Animal Foundation of Las Vegas, to promote animal adoption. Three kittens recently arrived at the shelter, so the US airline is offering two 230 euro vouchers for Spirit and Delta and four 250 euro vouchers for Frontier. The airline said: "We are delighted that the shelter has chosen to name these three adorable kittens after airlines, including us.” The three kittens arrived at the shelter at the end of December, when they were only two weeks old. For the time being, the three felines are in a temporary home until they find a new home.

A Ugandan farmer has decided to stop having children after fathering 102 babies. Musa Hasahya, 67, has married 12 women in his life and has realised that he can no longer have children for financial reasons. The farmer, who also has 568 grandchildren, said: "I have married one woman after another. How can a man be satisfied with one wife.” Musa explained that he wanted to have many children. However, as he multiplied his babies, he found it was difficult to provide for them. She added: "My income has been decreasing over the years due to the rising cost of living and my family has become bigger and bigger. Today, her partners are on the contraceptive pill.”

One woman is so obsessed with perfumes that she has a collection of 400 of them. Josephine, known on TikTok as Rose Juice, also confessed to wearing perfume before bed, which she admits is unusual. In a video on the platform, the woman said: "Glossier You is probably my most used perfume, I almost finished this bottle, I spray it on just before I go to bed. It's calming, relaxing, it smells very clean and it's also a great source of compliments."

A 12-year-old boy underwent emergency surgery after inserting a thermometer into his penis. The young boy, who lives in central China, decided to spice up his solo pleasure with a gadget unfit for the occasion. The object remained in his genitals for nine hours and found its way into his bladder, so that doctors had to operate to remove it. The boy admitted to the nursing staff that he had inserted the object to increase his pleasure.

Russia has been mocked by a propagandist who claimed that Britons now have to eat cat food because of the rising cost of living. In a television appearance, the pro-Kremlin woman added that women were resorting to prostitution to "survive". She said: "In Britain it is even worse than in Germany. Because of rising costs, people in Cardiff are eating cat food and heating food on radiators. British women are resorting to prostitution and having sex to survive, so sex for food and heat, sex to survive.” The propagandist's comments caused jokes on social media. One user wrote: "My cat got 100% chicken treats for Christmas, I'll try one later.” Another commented: "I used to eat cat biscuits when I was little, not for lack of food, but out of curiosity... I'll get them and we can eat together.”

One randy tortoise has saved his species from extinction by fathering 800 hatchlings. Diego, a male Galapagos tortoise, was bred in captivity to prevent the extinction of his race, but was released on his home island to live out his final years. According to rangers on Española Island, Diego, who lived with 14 other male tortoises, is the father of 40 per cent of the 2,000 tortoises now on the island. Jorge Carrión, the park's director, said: "He has contributed a lot to the lineage we are restoring in Spain. It is a feeling of happiness to have the opportunity to return this tortoise to its natural state." Diego was praised for his efforts to repopulate his species.

Uri Geller is certain that extraterrestrials are currently testing their technology on Earth. The TV presenter and self-proclaimed psychic claimed that recent sightings of UFOs near nuclear power plants are nothing more than irrefutable evidence of activity from another galaxy. He explained that "something is going on", as many UFOs have been sighted near nuclear power plants. Nearly 10,000 flights were temporarily cancelled mid-week due to a large-scale power outage in the United States. Geller said in a video shared on Twitter: "Right, lie? Whatever, it just came out... all flights are grounded after a major system failure that is causing transportation chaos in the US. I mean a few months ago we had internet down, WhatsApp down." He added: "I have no doubt that aliens are testing our sophisticated systems. It's important, a lot of UFOs have been seen over nuclear power plants, nuclear submarines and so on. They're doing something, they're testing us."

Several students have been hospitalised after their coach asked them to do hundreds of push-ups for an hour as punishment. John Harrell, the football coach at Rockwall-Heath High School in Texas, has been dismissed pending full details of the incident. The school confirmed that "an independent third party" is conducting an investigation. In a letter sent to parents, the school did not mention how many students were taken to hospital, but according to local media, eight required medical attention. One parent, who asked to remain anonymous, told FOX4: "As parents, we send our children to school with the expectation that they will be cared for at the highest level. That has been the case until this unfortunate event.”