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.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday declared martial law in an unannounced late night address broadcast live on YTN television. Yoon said he had no choice but to resort to such a measure in order to safeguard free and constitutional order, saying opposition parties have taken hostage of the parliamentary process to throw the country into a crisis. "I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free
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
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
LAOS: The bars of bustling Vang Vieng remain open, but information on the investigation into the deaths of six backpackers from suspected methanol poisoning is scarce The music is still playing and the alcohol is still flowing at the bars along one of the party streets in Vang Vieng. Inside a popular venue, a voice over the speaker announces a special offer on beers, as disco lights flicker on the floor. Small paper flags from nations across the world — from the UK to Gabon — hang from the ceiling. Young people travel from all corners of the globe to party in the small town nestled in the Laos countryside, but Vang Vieng is under a global spotlight, following a suspected mass methanol poisoning that killed six
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