Head startSpa breaksFrom a retreat sleeping under the stars in the Sinai desert, to a snake massage in Israel or a chocolate facial at Hershey's, we've rounded up the world's weirdest spa treatmentsSnake massage, IsraelLooking for a romantic Valentine's surprise for your partner? Book a last-minute flight to Israel and head to Talmei Elazar, for a massage at Ada Barak's Carnivorous Plant Farm and Spa. As your loved one lies down and prepares for a blissful pampering session, an armful of wriggling snakes will be dropped on to their naked body.
BIRDS AND THE BEESWhy are plastic ducks yellow? Andrew Green, Steyning UK
Plastic ducks are always depicted as baby ducks (ducklings) and these, in their natural state, tend to be either yellow or a light fawn colour. So yellow seems to be an obvious colour to choose. Jack Hill, St Albans UK
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Endangered species This article is more than 12 years old'Extinct' monkey rediscovered in Indonesia jungleThis article is more than 12 years oldMiller's grizzled langur was thought to be extinct, but scientists in Borneo capture images of creature using camera trapsScientists working in the jungles of Indonesia have rediscovered a large grey monkey so rare that many had believed it was extinct.
The scientists were baffled to find the Miller's grizzled langur in an area well outside its previously recorded home range.
Pop and rockObituaryGavin Clark obituarySongwriter and singer whose dark vision won critical acclaim
If you have seen Shane Meadows’s 2006 film This Is England, then you have heard Gavin Clark, singing the Smiths song Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want over the closing credits. The singer, who has died unexpectedly aged 46, pulls off a fairly remarkable feat – investing a song already heavy with melancholy with so much more of it that the end result is difficult to listen to.
Illinois This article is more than 8 months oldIllinois man using leaf blower in yard allegedly shot dead by neighborThis article is more than 8 months oldEttore Lacchei, 79, arrested and charged with first-degree murder over death of William Martys, 59, in Antioch, north of Chicago
An Illinois man using a leaf blower in his yard was killed by his neighbor, local television reported.
William Martys, 59, was reportedly using his leaf blower in his yard in Antioch when his neighbor, 79-year-old Ettore Lacchei, got into an argument with him then shot him in the head.
Art This article is more than 8 years oldMask observation: how artists are reinventing African masqueradeThis article is more than 8 years oldAn exhibition touring the US brings together contemporary artists using the ancient form of masquerade to explore issues from politics to self-realisation
“This debt we pay to human guile; with torn and bleeding hearts we smile,” wrote African-American poet Paul Dunbar in his 1896 poem, We Wear the Mask.
Alexei Navalny This article is more than 1 month oldRussian courts halt cases against Alexei Navalny after jailed activist disappearsThis article is more than 1 month oldJudges halt seven judicial hearings as UN official says his absence amounts to ‘forced disappearance’
Russian judges have halted new criminal proceedings for the jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny as supporters say he has not contacted his lawyers in nearly two weeks and a UN official has said his absence amounted to a “forced disappearance”.
BoxingObituaryTerry Downes obituaryWorld middleweight boxing champion nicknamed the ‘Paddington Express’
Terry Downes, the “Dashing, Crashing, Bashing Paddington Express” who has died aged 81, was a popular all-action fighter who became world middleweight champion for nine months in 1961-62, retiring aged only 28 in 1964, when he was beaten in a challenge for the world light heavyweight title. A headline writer’s dream with a sharp cockney wit that spawned numerous one-liners, he was beloved by boxing promoters.
Metropolitan police This article is more than 2 years oldTwo Met police officers jailed over photos of murdered sistersThis article is more than 2 years oldDeniz Jaffer and Jamie Lewis sentenced to two years and nine months for taking and sharing photos of Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry
Two Metropolitan police officers who “dehumanised” two black murder victims “for their own amusement” by taking and sharing photos from the scene where they lay murdered have each been jailed for two years and nine months.
Roe v WadeOn the 51st anniversary of Roe v Wade, a sparse crowd of activists brave snow on March for Life in Washington DC
While Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are planning a cascade of ads and events to coincide with the 51st anniversary of Roe v Wade, hundreds of anti-abortion activists gathered on the National Mall in Washington DC on Friday in hopes of re-energizing a movement that has repeatedly stumbled since Roe’s overturning.