UNITED STATES
Cat named world’s oldest
A 26-year-old cat named Corduroy has been named the oldest living cat by Guinness World Records. The cat is owned by a family in Sisters, Oregon. His owner, Ashley Reed Okura, has had him since he was a kitten and she was seven years old. Okura told the Oregonian that Corduroy is still active and in good health, except for some kidney problems. He still hunts on the family’s 65 hectare property. For his birthday on Aug. 1, Okura bought him a live white mouse, saying he enjoyed it “right away.”
UNITED STATES
Squirrels carry plague
A popular campground at Yosemite National Park in California is to be temporarily closed after several dead squirrels were found to be carrying the plague, officials said on Friday. The move comes about a week after a girl who visited the park tested positive for the plague. She was treated and has recovered. “As an extremely precautionary public health measure, flea treatment is to be applied to rodent burrows in Tuolumne Meadows campground because several dead animals were tested and found to be carrying plague,” park officials said in a statement. The campground is to be closed from tomorrow through Friday. The park itself is to remain open, including all the other campgrounds. Plague is carried by squirrels, chipmunks and other wild rodents and their fleas. “By eliminating the fleas, we reduce the risk of human exposure and break the cycle of plague in rodents at the sites,” California Department of Public Health director and state health officer Karen Smith said.
UNITED STATES
Judge forces marriage
A group that advocates the separation of church and state has filed a complaint about a Texas judge who ordered a man to marry his girlfriend as a condition of probation. The Freedom From Religion Foundation on Friday said it filed a complaint against Smith County Court-at-Law Judge Randall Rogers a day earlier with the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct in Austin. On July 2, Rogers gave 21-year-old Josten Bundy 30 days to marry 19-year-old Elizabeth James or face 15 days in jail for pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault. Bundy admitted punching James’ ex-boyfriend twice in the jaw for “saying disrespectful things” about her. Rogers also ordered Bundy to scrawl a Bible verse 25 times daily. Rogers did not return a message seeking comment. Bundy and James have since married.
GUATEMALA
Nine activists murdered
Nine human rights activists have been killed since the beginning of the year, mainly in indigenous communities opposed to infrastructure and mining projects, civil organizations said on Friday. The groups documented 337 attacks against human rights workers in a report that also showed intimidation against activists has increased under President Otto Perez, a retired general who came to power in 2012. The report discusses attacks mainly against human rights activists, mostly in areas where indigenous communities have rejected mining and industrial projects that they say are damaging the environment. “This makes even more urgent an effective and structured support strategy from the international community for these activists who operate in a climate of hostility and without state protection,” said Karim Lahidji, president of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), one of the groups involved in the report.
CHAGOS ISLANDS: Recently elected Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam told lawmakers that the contents of negotiations are ‘unknown’ to the government Mauritius’ new prime minister ordered an independent review of a deal with the UK involving a strategically important US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean, placing the agreement under fresh scrutiny. Under a pact signed last month, the UK ceded sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius, while retaining control of Diego Garcia — the island where the base is situated. The deal was signed by then-Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Oct. 3 — a month before elections in Mauritius in which Navin Ramgoolam became premier. “I have asked for an independent review of the
France on Friday showed off to the world the gleaming restored interior of Notre-Dame cathedral, a week before the 850-year-old medieval edifice reopens following painstaking restoration after the devastating 2019 fire. French President Emmanuel Macron conducted an inspection of the restoration, broadcast live on television, saying workers had done the “impossible” by healing a “national wound” after the fire on April 19, 2019. While every effort has been made to remain faithful to the original look of the cathedral, an international team of designers and architects have created a luminous space that has an immediate impact on the visitor. The floor shimmers and
THIRD IN A ROW? An expert said if the report of a probe into the defense official is true, people would naturally ask if it would erode morale in the military Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun (董軍) has been placed under investigation for corruption, a report said yesterday, the latest official implicated in a crackdown on graft in the country’s military. Citing current and former US officials familiar with the situation, British newspaper the Financial Times said that the investigation into Dong was part of a broader probe into military corruption. Neither the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor the Chinese embassy in Washington replied to a request for confirmation yesterday. If confirmed, Dong would be the third Chinese defense minister in a row to fall under investigation for corruption. A former navy
‘VIOLATIONS OF DISCIPLINE’: Miao Hua has come up through the political department in the military and he was already fairly senior before Xi Jinping came to power in 2012 A member of China’s powerful Central Military Commission has been suspended and put under investigation, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday. Miao Hua (苗華) was director of the political work department on the commission, which oversees the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the world’s largest standing military. He was one of five members of the commission in addition to its leader, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Ministry spokesman Colonel Wu Qian (吳謙) said Miao is under investigation for “serious violations of discipline,” which usually alludes to corruption. It is the third recent major shakeup for China’s defense establishment. China in June
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