An elite SAS unit of around 20 soldiers is reportedly being trained to respond to an alien invasion of Earth. A source told the Daily Star on Sunday that the SAS “has to be prepared for anything” including “everything from terrorists to human bio-weapons where someone has been deliberately infected with a deadly bug, all the way through to an alien life form”. They added: “I know it sounds bonkers.”
Man simulates sex with corpse at funeral
A man in Zimbabwe has been accused of pretending to have sex with a woman’s corpse at her own funeral. Big ‘Bigman’ Sipiliano, 49, faces up to five years in prison if he is convicted at his trial next month. He is accused of mounting the body of a 20-year-old woman after telling mourners: “Greetings elders, you know I loved this lady but she has gone before I had slept with her. However, it is not too late, I can still have intercourse with her before she's buried.”
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Magicians mark 100 years of sawing
This weekend, magicians are going to celebrate 100 years of sawing people in half. The Magic Circle is holding an evening of online events around the history of the illusion, telling key stories from the century of sawing. The event will mark the anniversary of when an English magician called Percy Thomas Tibbles sawed through a sealed wooden box that contained a woman.
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How the War Department became the Department of Defense – and back againIn Depth In 1947 President Harry Truman restructured the US military establishment, breaking with naming tradition
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Codeword: December 8, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
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Sudoku medium: December 8, 2025The daily medium sudoku puzzle from The Week
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Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
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Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
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Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
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Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
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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
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Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
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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
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China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
