Highlights of the week of February 19-25

British are happy with 4-day week

The United Kingdom was one of the first countries to experiment with a four-day work week. This is not surprising, since only 5 years ago, the British were the most industrious people: on average, they spent 42.5 hours at work.

Since 2022, more than 60 companies have voluntarily joined the project. Since then, 90% of the companies have continued the experiment, and half of them have decided not to return to the standard work format at all. Over the course of the experiment, companies have reduced their working hours by more than 6 hours. This has had a positive impact on employees' personal lives and mental health.

Europe is slowly moving toward a similar work format. Since February 1, 45 German companies have launched an experiment, a similar system was introduced by the public services of Scotland. Also, some employees of the French state administration will be given the opportunity to work 4 days a week. In general, many unions are calling for the introduction of a short week, but not all countries are willing to compromise.

The longest-lived dog has lost his title

The record book has officially withdrawn the certificate of the longest-lived dog from Bobi from Portugal. Purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo (Portuguese watchdog breed, a distant descendant of Tibetan mastiffs) lived more than 30 years and died last October. The secret of the dog's longevity was described by his owners as "good food, healthy sleep and lots of care.

A year ago, on February 3, Bobi was recognized as the longest-lived dog in history, beating the record set in 1939. This week, however, the dog's certificate was revoked and he was stripped of his honorary title. It's all about the fact that the representatives of the book could not prove the age of the dog. Therefore, according to the standards of the organization, the certificate cannot be confirmed and registered.

The owners of the dog, for many of whom he literally became a companion for life, do not comment on what happened. In brief answers to journalists' questions, it is mentioned only that the representatives of the organization thoroughly conducted the age verification, including in order to issue the previous conclusion.

Cape Town hit by gas attack

Residents of the South African port city awoke to a terrible stench at the beginning of the week, the cause of which remained unclear for a long time. Special services even checked the city's sewage system, trying to find leaks or breaches, but everything turned out to be much more interesting.

The source of the toxic air was not in the city itself, but in its port. It was a ship carrying 19,000 head of cattle from Brazil to Iraq. Indifferent people noted that if the stench from the ship, which was 8 kilometers from their homes, reached their noses, it was not the norm. The same opinion is held by animal rights activists.

Charitable organizations even sent a veterinarian to the ship to assess the situation. The specialist noted that "the stench on board is unimaginable". In addition, 5 animals had to be euthanized due to their injuries.

Unfortunately, it is not known in what condition the animals will arrive in Iraq, as they will have several more days of sea travel in nightmarish conditions.