Weekend Edition: The week's best reads

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When an elderly man was found abandoned on the streets of Hereford, the authorities were baffled. "We have a person… We have no identity documents - no indication of where he's from," said Sgt Sarah Bennett. The man didn't appear to know his own name or where he lived. He was dressed in brand new clothes from Tesco. One of the few things the police had to go on was the man's American accent. In the hunt for his true identity, the investigators would travel thousands of miles and make a surprising discovery.

Who was the abandoned man with no memory?

The US Marines have a particular mystique - often first into a hotspot, and last out - and the training recruits undergo is particularly challenging. This applies to female marines - now for the first time being used in combat roles - as well as their male counterparts. Asked what thinks of his female counterparts, the young male drill instructor barely hesitates: "What it comes down to, ma'am, is this. Mission accomplishment. If there's a mortarman three clicks away who's gonna give you support - you're not gonna care. If you get shot and blown up and a helicopter comes in to pull you out - you're not gonna care about the race, creed, colour or sex of that marine."

The women taking a gruelling test to be US Marines

"The work of art is on my back, I'm just the guy carrying it around," says Tim Steiner. The 40-year-old former tattoo parlour manager from Zurich has an elaborate tattoo on his back that was designed by a famous artist. It was sold to a German art collector for 150,000 euros. When Steiner dies his skin will be taken off his body and framed. Until then, he spends his life sitting in galleries with his shirt off. "I've been touched, blown on, screamed at, pushed and spat on, it's often been quite a circus," he says.

The man who sold his back to an art dealer

"When I first entered sex work I was dazzled by the money," says Carmen Munoz. "I realised I had worth, that someone would pay to be with me, when the father of my children told me that I was worth nothing and that I was very ugly." She spent 40 years working the streets of Mexico City, in that time suffering beatings and becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol. "[But] thanks to sex work I was able to take care of my kids and provide them with a roof over their heads - a dignified place to live," she says. Years later, she had the idea of providing a home for other former sex workers too.

The former sex worker who set up a retirement home

Seven years ago, Edward Evans had a rare infection in his sternum. He became so ill, doctors had to remove the bone. With nothing to replace it, his heart and lungs were left dangerously exposed. One blow to the chest could have killed him. Now Edward, from the Midlands, has become the first person in the UK to receive a 3D-printed titanium replacement. "I feel confident," he says. "It feels probably how it felt when my chest was normal. I can fall over with confidence and that's the truth."

VIDEO: The man with a titanium chest

Not forgetting...

VIDEO: Black Hawk Down - The Somali battle that changed US policy in Africa

How Australia is stubbing out smoking

From relief to regret: Readers' experiences of abortion

And the quiz question of the week is:

Protests broke out across the US and beyond last weekend, when President Trump halted refugee admissions to the country and banned people from seven Muslim-majority countries. Which countries were they?

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