UNITED STATES
Tiger gets urgent surgery
A Bengal tiger cub that was being smuggled into California from Mexico has undergone emergency surgery to fix internal problems that he probably had before being rescued. The San Diego Zoo Safari Park said the male cub, named “Moka,” had the operation on Tuesday and appears to be recovering, but he is to remain under observation. The park said Moka had abdominal adhesions and showed signs of ill health. Moka was six weeks old when he was found on the floor of a car in August last year at a San Diego border checkpoint. Tigers are endangered and it is illegal to import them without a permit. He was handed over to the park. The driver, who had claimed that he bought the cub as a pet, was sentenced to six months in prison.
UNITED STATES
Nanny case hurt by therapist
The New York City nanny who fatally stabbed two children appeared to dispute a therapist’s testimony in her murder trial in which her lawyers argue that she is too mentally ill to be responsible for the 2012 killings. Therapist Thomas Caffrey on Thursday testified at the trial of Yoselyn Ortega that he saw the nanny once, three days before the killings. “She didn’t tell me about any concerns about voices or visions,” said Caffrey, a therapist in Manhattan for nearly 40 years. Ortega has pleaded not guilty in the deaths of two-year-old Leo Krim and six-year-old Lucia Krim on Oct. 25, 2012. Prosecutors said Ortega planned the killings, waiting until she was alone in the apartment. Jurors were this week shown photographs of the blood-splattered scene taken seven hours after the children’s mother found their bodies.
UNITED STATES
Newborns in unit injured
Five infants suffered serious injuries including a fractured skull, rib and arm in the newborn unit of a Wisconsin hospital and the nurse who cared for them has been suspended, a federal agency said in a report after it inspected the hospital. The Wisconsin State Journal reported that UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital in Madison did not respond to the suspected abuse until early last month, when staff noticed two babies with bruises. An internal investigation revealed two similar cases last year and one from January. The identity of the suspended nurse has not been released. Quoting a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services report, the newspaper said the federal agency was so concerned about the hospital’s response that it threatened to cancel its Medicare contract with Meriter. Meriter spokeswoman Jessika Kasten said the hospital is cooperating with authorities and has implemented new safety measures.
UNITED STATES
New king cheese crowned
A new king cheese has been crowned in Wisconsin. The winner of this year’s World Championship Cheese Contest is a hard sheep’s milk cheese called “Esquirrou.” The announcement was made on Thursday night in Madison. Esquirrou is made in France at Mauleon Fromagerie by Michel Touyarou and imported by Savencia Cheese USA of New Holland, Pennsylvania. Twenty cheeses out of a record 3,402 entries were finalists for the top prize. The Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, which hosts the contest, said five of those cheeses were from Wisconsin. The contest began on Tuesday. Judges had to sniff, taste and inspect 121 classes of dairy products, with entries from 26 nations.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
The Taliban’s reclusive supreme leader made a rare public appearance yesterday, an Afghan government spokesman said, leading thousands of worshipers in prayers marking Eid al-Fitr. Hibatullah Akhundzada has made only a handful of public appearances since inheriting the leadership of the Taliban in 2016 and leading the movement back to power with the withdrawal of US forces in 2021. Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said prayer in the largest mosque in Kandahar was “performed under the leadership of the supreme leader.” In a statement on X, he said the early-morning service “was attended by thousands of compatriots” in the southern province considered the