Our pick of the strange stories from around the world.
Woodland clowns are no laughing matter
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Couple banned from Everest after faking climb
A husband and wife said to have been the first Indian couple to reach the summit of Mount Everest have been banned from climbing mountains in Nepal for ten years after officials determined they had faked their ascent. Police officers Dinesh and Tarakeshwari Rathod allegedly doctored images from another mountaineer's successful climb two days earlier to show them "standing" on the summit. Among the evidence reportedly against the pair are photos showing them in two different sets of gear in an environment where changing clothes is almost physically impossible.
Teen dies after 'fatal lovebite'
A 17-year-old boy from Mexico City has reportedly died in hospital after his 24-year-old girlfriend gave him a lovebite on his neck. Local officials say the boy began convulsing at the dinner table, before collapsing and being rushed to hospital, where doctors discovered the bite had formed a blood clot that had travelled to his brain and caused a fatal stroke. The boy's girlfriend is reportedly in hiding.
-
Buddhist monks’ US walk for peaceUnder the Radar Crowds have turned out on the roads from California to Washington and ‘millions are finding hope in their journey’
-
American universities are losing ground to their foreign counterpartsThe Explainer While Harvard is still near the top, other colleges have slipped
-
How to navigate dating apps to find ‘the one’The Week Recommends Put an end to endless swiping and make real romantic connections
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
