A homeowner in Harrogate got a free renovation after a decorator let himself into the wrong address. The “bizarre accident” came after the decorator was given the wrong address, said the Daily Star. The workman left a note, which read: “Hi, I’m the decorator that came to yours. I was given the wrong address to go to and [was] told to knock and, if [I was] not answered, to just come in and get on with it.” Although the decorator only completed half the job, they offered to come back and complete it for free.
Dogs can smell when you are upset
Dogs can smell when a person is feeling stressed, a study has found. The research, led by Clara Wilson, a doctoral student at Queen’s University Belfast, appears to “pin down the role played by odour” in dogs’ ability to identify human emotions, showing that dogs can detect the smell that humans emit as anxiety levels rise. The breakthrough could allow dogs to be trained more effectively to help people with conditions such as anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder, said The Times.
Wolf cloned in Beijing lab
An Arctic wolf has been cloned in a Chinese lab and born from a surrogate Beagle mother, in a “scientific first that could help save endangered species across the globe,” said The Telegraph. Scientists took skin cells from a 16-year-old female wolf living at Harbin Polarland in north-east China, and inserted them into an egg from the beagle, which had been stripped of its contents. They fused to form an embryo which was then transplanted back into the surrogate – a similar technique that was used to create Dolly the Sheep, in Scotland in 1996.
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.
For more odd news stories, sign up to the weekly Tall Tales newsletter.
-
The dazzling coral gardens of Raja AmpatThe Week Recommends Region of Indonesia is home to perhaps the planet’s most photogenic archipelago.
-
‘Never more precarious’: the UN turns 80The Explainer It’s an unhappy birthday for the United Nations, which enters its ninth decade in crisis
-
Trump’s White House ballroom: a threat to the republic?Talking Point Trump be far from the first US president to leave his mark on the Executive Mansion, but to critics his remodel is yet more overreach
-
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
-
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
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
Delhi's dogs earn Supreme Court reprieveIN THE SPOTLIGHT After an outcry from the public and animal rights activists, India's Supreme Court walks back a controversial plan to round the city's stray dog population into shelters
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
