Bob Dylan has apologised for his “error in judgement” following a row over his use of a machine to autograph special copies of his new book that had been advertised as “hand-signed”. A limited run of 900 “hand-signed” editions sold for $599, with a letter of authenticity from publisher Simon & Schuster, reported The Guardian. After customers compared photographs of the signatures online, they noticed they were identical. “Using a machine was an error in judgment and I want to rectify it immediately,” said Dylan.
Warning as 50,000-year old virus revived
Scientists have revived a virus that had been trapped in Siberian permafrost for nearly 50,000 years. Pandoravirus, which infects only single-cell organisms and should pose no threat to humans, had been trapped beneath a lake bed for 48,500 years, making it the oldest “live” virus to be recovered to date. Scientists warned that the fact that the microbe was still capable of infecting cells showed the risk of “zombie viruses” emerging from thawing soils, said The Times.
Staff still turn up to former theme park
Employees are still attending a perfectly preserved abandoned theme park two years after it closed. Tivoli World in Benalmadena, Spain, once a popular site, was forced to close as a result of the Covid crisis. However, the park’s employees still “come in and keep the place in a good condition”, due to a “weird clause in their contract which means they're not allowed to look for other jobs yet”, said LadBible.
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.
For more odd news stories, sign up to the weekly Tall Tales newsletter.
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purgeCartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Crossword: August 23, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
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
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarrayIn the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
-
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
