Seagulls ‘stealing drug stashes’
And other stories from the stranger side of life

Britain’s seagulls are pinching “stashes” from drug users, said Metro. There are increasing reports of the seaside birds “swooping down to make off with drug-users stashes – in particular, a group of synthetic cannabinoids known as ‘spice’”. The drug can cause “euphoria, talkativeness, paranoia and nausea” in people but “surprisingly enough, there’s been very little research into the synthetic narcotics’ effects on seagulls”, quipped the paper.
Lottery winner couldn’t eat his kebab
A bus driver who “popped out to buy some bread” ended up with the mixed blessing of “a winning £1million National Lottery scratch-card and a cold doner kebab”, reported ITV News. Steve Goodwin, from West Devon, bought the scratch-card as he awaited his takeaway doner. However, after discovering his big win, he was too emotional to eat the snack. “I sat in the kitchen and tried to eat my kebab, but I couldn’t,” he admitted. “In the end, I just put it in the bin.”
Most miserable country named
Zimbabwe is the most miserable country in the world according to the annual Misery Index. As it faced “soaring inflation”, the east African country beat “war-torn” Ukraine, Venezuela and Syria to the top spot, noted The Telegraph. The UK was in 129th place and the least miserable nation in the world was found to be Switzerland. Steve Hanke, professor of Applied Economics at John Hopkins University, compiles the list each year.
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
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.
-
5 artfully drawn cartoons about Donald Trump's Epstein doodle
Cartoons Artists take on a mountainous legacy, creepy art, and more
-
Violent videos of Charlie Kirk’s death are renewing debate over online censorship
Talking Points Social media ‘promises unfiltered access, but without guarantees of truth and without protection from harm’
-
What led to Poland invoking NATO’s Article 4 and where could it lead?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION After a Russian drone blitz, Warsaw’s rare move to invoke the important NATO statute has potentially moved Europe closer to continent-wide warfare
-
Mexico’s forced disappearances
Under the Radar 130,000 people missing as 20-year war on drugs leaves ‘the country’s landscape ever more blood-soaked’
-
Illicit mercury is poisoning the Amazon
Under the Radar 'Essential' to illegal gold mining, toxic mercury is being trafficked across Latin America, 'fuelling violence' and 'environmental devastation'
-
Thailand is rolling back on its legal cannabis empire
Under the Radar Government restricts cannabis use to medical purposes only and threatens to re-criminalise altogether, sparking fears for the $1 billion industry
-
Narco subs are helping to fuel a global cocaine surge
The Explainer Drug smugglers are increasingly relying on underwater travel to hide from law enforcement
-
Mexico extradites 29 cartel figures amid US tariff threat
Speed Read The extradited suspects include Rafael Caro Quintero, long sought after killing a US narcotics agent
-
'Virtual prisons': how tech could let offenders serve time at home
Under The Radar New technology offers opportunities to address the jails crisis but does it 'miss the point'?
-
Inside Marseille's deadly drug wars
The Explainer Teenage hitmen recruited through social media are lured by money and gang 'brand'
-
The secret hospitals offering criminals new faces in the Philippines
Under The Radar Two clinics suspected of giving plastic surgery to fugitives and scam centre workers expected to be shut down soon