Saudis ban botoxed camels from beauty contests
And other stories from the stranger side of life

Saudi Arabia has banned 40 camels from a beauty pageant after it emerged that they received botox injections and facelifts. Declaring war on cosmetically enhanced camels at the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, Saudi authorities also ejected breeders who used muscle-boosting hormones and inflated camel body parts. The pageant’s organisers said they will “impose strict penalties on manipulators”. Camels compete each year for a $66m (£50m) prize pot and the title of Miss Camel.
Travelodge reveals strangest requests
Travelodge has revealed its strangest requests from guests this year. One guest asked where the Welsh rarebit lives and another asked a member of staff to sing in the next room to check he had a quiet room. A spokesperson said the curious requests included “arranging afternoon tea with the pandas, getting a shooting star to appear at 10pm, getting a part on Emmerdale and getting seagulls to sing instead of squawk”.
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.
Female priests adopt M&S jumpers as ‘uniform’
Female priests are adopting a £20 festive M&S jumper as an unofficial uniform, according to The Telegraph. The black jumper, emblazoned with the word “believe” in bold colours, has been bought by several female priests, who use the hashtag “TeamBelieve” on social media when sharing photographs of them wearing it. Reverend Claire Jones, a curate in Bodmin, Cornwall, is collating a photo montage of more than 200 clergy wearing the high-street jumpers.
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
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.
-
The lesser-known Elsinore fault is a risk to California
The explainer A powerful earthquake could be on the horizon
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
'This is not an unusual story'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Scientists find hint of alien life on distant world
Speed Read NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected a possible signature of life on planet K2-18b
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK
-
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