Raven chicks in Tower of London dispel prophecy of doom

Britain’s politics may be in chaos and the feeling of doom growing for many - but there is good news from the Tower of London, where the birth of a new generation of ravens has safeguarded the nation against collapse (if you are superstitious, at least).

According to legend, if the resident ravens ever leave the Tower, both the castle and the kingdom will fall. Since the 17th-century reign of King Charles II, a group of birds have been kept there for this reason. The Tower has announced: “We are very, very pleased to say… that we have now got four magnificent chicks.”

Billionaire pays off $40m graduates' debts

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

A billionaire technology investor has paid off $40m in debt for graduating students at a college in Atlanta. “On behalf of the eight generations of my family that have been in this country, we're gonna put a little fuel in your bus,” Robert F Smith told graduates at Morehouse University. “This is my class, 2019. And my family is making a grant to eliminate their student loans.” A delighted student said: “I don't have to live off of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.”

Man making calamari finds a shark in his squid

A man making calamari was shocked when he cut open the squid and discovered a shark inside. “I knew there was something in it, usually the sort of squid I would get would be half the size, this was very big,” said Adam Todd, from Lisburn, in Northern Ireland. It turned out to be a fully formed baby shark.