Vodka made from radioactive Chernobyl apples seized
And other stories from the stranger side of life
Vodka made from radioactive apples grown near Chernobyl has been seized by Ukrainian officials. The brand, called Atomik, includes ingredients from the nuclear power plant’s still-radioactive exclusion zone. However, UK drinkers have been denied the chance to consume the heady brew after bottles were blocked during their journey across Europe.
Woman attends her own funeral
A woman lay in a coffin with onlooking friends pretending to cry because she wanted to “celebrate her life” by rehearsing her own funeral. Mayra Alonzo, 59, organised the ceremony in Santiago at the end of last month. She arrived at the funeral in a hearse, lying in a white coffin that she had rented for the day. She described the experience as a “dream come true”.
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.
Pizza lunch exclusion was discrimination
A woman excluded from weekly team pizza lunches has won a workplace discrimination case and a £23,000 payout. A tribunal ruled that Malgorzata Lewicka was victimised by bosses who did not include her in the informal lunches for other staff. The panel concluded that her exclusion was part of a campaign of victimisation after she had accused a manager of sexual discrimination.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
Will latest Russian sanctions finally break Putin’s resolve?Today's Big Question New restrictions have been described as a ‘punch to the gut of Moscow’s war economy’
-
Quiz of The Week: 18 – 24 OctoberQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: Will Grace Wales Bonner change Hermès for the better?Podcast Plus will nuclear fusion deliver us from climate change? Is humour the best way to take on Trump?
-
The UK-made Storm Shadow missiles Ukraine is using in RussiaThe Explainer Ukraine reportedly deployed the long-range British missiles this week, following a tense meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump
-
Proposed Trump-Putin talks in Budapest on holdSpeed Read Trump apparently has no concrete plans to meet with Putin for Ukraine peace talks
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Can Gaza momentum help end the war in Ukraine?Today's Big Question Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles hints at ‘warming relations’ between Ukraine and US
-
Remaking the military: Pete Hegseth’s war on diversity and ‘fat generals’Talking Point The US Secretary of War addressed military members on ‘warrior ethos’
-
US tipped to help Kyiv strike Russian energy sitesSpeed Read Trump has approved providing Ukraine with intelligence for missile strikes on Russian energy infrastructure
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users