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.
School bullies in Singapore are to face caning under new guidelines, but the education minister on Tuesday said it would be meted out only as a last resort with strict safeguards. Human rights groups regularly criticize Singapore for the use of corporal punishment, which remains part of the school and criminal justice systems, but authorities have defended it as a deterrent to crime and serious misconduct. Caning was discussed in the parliament after legislators asked how it would be used in relation to bullying in schools. The debate followed stricter guidelines on serious student misconduct, including bullying, unveiled by the Singaporean Ministry of
As evening falls in Fiji’s capital, a steady stream of people approaches a makeshift clinic that is a first line of defense against one of the world’s fastest-growing HIV epidemics. In the South Pacific nation — a popular tourist destination of just under a million people — more than 2,000 new HIV cases were recorded last year, a 26 percent increase from 2024. The government has declared an HIV outbreak and described it as a national crisis. “It’s spreading like wildfire,” said Siteri Dinawai, 46, who came to be tested. The Moonlight Clinic, a converted minibus parked in a suburban cul-de-sac in Suva, is
A MESSAGE: Japan’s participation in the Balikatan drills is a clear deterrence signal to China not to attack Taiwan while the US is busy in the Middle East, an analyst said The Japan Self-Defense Forces yesterday fired a Type 88 anti-ship missile during a joint maritime exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces, hitting a decommissioned Philippine Navy ship in waters facing the disputed South China Sea, in drills that underscore Tokyo’s rising willingness to project military power on China’s doorstep. The drill took place as Manila and Tokyo began talks on a potential defense equipment transfer, made possible by Japan’s decision to scrap restrictions on military exports. The discussions include the possible early transfer of Abukuma-class destroyers and TC-90 aircraft to the Philippines, Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. Philippine Secretary of
‘GROSS NEGLIGENCE?’ Despite a spleen typically being significantly smaller than a liver, the surgeon said he believed Bryan’s spleen was ‘double the size of what is normal’ A Florida surgeon who is facing criminal charges after allegedly removing a patient’s liver instead of his spleen has said he is “forever traumatized” by that person’s death. In a deposition from November last year that was recently obtained by NBC, 44-year-old Thomas Shaknovsky described the death of 70-year-old William Bryan as an “incredibly unfortunate event that I regret deeply.” Bryan died after the botched surgery; and last month, a grand jury in Tallahassee indicted Shaknovsky on a charge of manslaughter. “I’m forever traumatized by it and hurt by it,” Shaknovsky added, also saying that wrong-site surgeries can happen “during
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