Former nurse says NHS made her ‘fart against her will’
And other stories from the stranger side of life
A former nurse has sued the NHS, claiming that she was subject to hypnosis “experiments” at work which made her “fart against her will”. Xandra Samson, who worked at Ealing Hospital in London before being sacked in December 2019, told a tribunal she was the target of a little-known hypnotic practice called the “ideomotor phenomenon”, which allegedly forces people into unconscious behaviours. She lost the case.
Britain’s UFO hotspot is revealed
Yorkshire is the UK’s centre of UFO reports, with over 200 encounters being logged there over the past two decades. The most recent sighting came in June in Leeds, when two thin, black and curved elongated triangles were seen flying above and then stopping in mid-air. Nationally, between March and April 2020 the county racked up 192 UFO reports, a 200% increase on the year before.
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.
50p coin could be worth £60
An old 50p coin that is rarer and harder to find than the collectable Kew Gardens design could be worth up to £60. Released between 1992 and 1993, the EC 50p features a birds-eye view of a conference table with 12 chairs around it for each of the ministers, with the UK at the top of the table. Only 109,000 of the coins were minted - around half of that of the Kew Gardens coin, which has sold for as much as £100.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Haitian gangs massacre hundreds accused of 'witchcraft'
Under the Radar Vodou practices blamed for gang leader's son's illness, as elderly are hacked to death in Port au Prince
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Today's political cartoons - December 15, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - a green agenda, vaccine skepticism, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 humorously efficient cartoons about Trump's DOGE
Artists take on Trump's minions, wasteful spending, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but its too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
Cutting cables: the war being waged under the sea
In the Spotlight Two undersea cables were cut in the Baltic sea, sparking concern for the global network
By The Week UK Published
-
The nuclear threat: is Vladimir Putin bluffing?
Talking Point Kremlin's newest ballistic missile has some worried for Nato nations
By The Week UK Published
-
Russia vows retaliation for Ukrainian missile strikes
Speed Read Ukraine's forces have been using U.S.-supplied, long-range ATCMS missiles to hit Russia
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Cuba's energy crisis
The Explainer Already beset by a host of issues, the island nation is struggling with nationwide blackouts
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published