High and mighty?
The week's news at a glance.
Strasbourg, France
The bathrooms at the European Parliament building are coated with cocaine, a German television newsmagazine reported this week. Reporters from the SAT1 station tested doorknobs, toilet paper dispensers, and other surfaces in the bathrooms used by E.U. legislators and staff. Nearly 90 percent, including the bathroom right outside the main chamber, had cocaine residue. “I was surprised to find such significant quantities on the swabs,” pharmacologist Fritz Sorgel told the London Guardian. “This proves substantial amounts of cocaine are being used in the European Parliament building.” A European Parliament spokeswoman noted that the bathrooms are open to the public, and that cocaine could be found in bathrooms in most public buildings.
Subscribe to 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.

Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Diamond in the dust: mystery of the missing Ritz Paris ring solved
Speed Read A £640,000 ring feared stolen from a hotel room is found – in a vacuum cleaner bag
By The Week UK Published
-
'Rishi on the rack': what happens if PM loses Rwanda vote?
Today's Big Question Sunak faces his biggest premiership challenge to date in effort to stop the boats
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
The daily business briefing: December 11, 2023
Business Briefing SmileDirectClub announces shutdown, Cigna drops bid to buy health insurance rival Humana, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published