HELSINKI—A fish that slipped into a funk during the coronavirus pandemic got a chance to cheer up for his 16th birthday. Staff at Sea Life Helsinki threw a week-long birthday celebration for Mikko the grouper beginning on Oct. 12, after he became listless when the aquarium closed during the country’s lockdown measures. To kick off his party, the fish enjoyed a cake made of salmon. Mikko the fish, the attraction of Sea Life Helsinki aquariums in Linnanmaki, in his aquarium. (SEA LIFE Helsinki/Real Press)Finland, which has recorded nearly 14,000 cases of COVID-19 and about 350 deaths, implemented restrictions to mitigate…
Author: zenger.news
MALLORCA AND MENORCA, Spain—Eight live specimens of the exotic fan mussel (Pinna nobilis) have been located near the Spanish islands of Mallorca and Menorca after it was believed they had been decimated by a parasite. The transfer of the mollusks by divers.(CAIB/Newsflash)Technical staff from the Department of the Environment and the Balearic Oceanographic Center confirmed the discovery of the fan mussels in a search carried out in the Mediterranean Ocean on Oct. 19. Pinna nobilis, commonly called the noble pen shell or fan mussel, is a large species of Mediterranean clam, reaching up to 120 centimeters (4 feet) in shell…
Bangladesh approved the death penalty for rape on Oct 13, after days of protests on the streets and on social media against the high incidents of sexual violence against women in the country. There has been a recent spike in sexual crimes in Bangladesh, with nearly 1,000 incidents reported from January to September this year. More than a fifth of these were gang rapes, according to Ain o Salish Kendra, a legal aid and human rights organization. Out of the 1,000 incidents, 43 women were killed and 12 committed suicide. Last week, protests led by students in Dhaka and other…
With nearly 27 percent of the world’s 10 million tuberculosis cases, India faces significant issues around the cost and availability of treatment for this infectious disease that primarily affects the lungs. While TB is curable and preventable, survivors and activists from India have raised their concerns about the lack of access to new oral drugs and the need for an intensified approach to tackle the disease, particularly during the pandemic. They, along with others from around the globe, addressed these issues most recently during the virtual 51st Union World Conference on Lung Health, which runs Oct 20-24. In their brief…
Over 1.6 million deaths in India in 2019 have been linked to bad air quality, according to the State of Global Air 2020 report released on Oct. 21. The report, a collaboration between the nonprofit U.S. Health Effects Institute and Washington University’s independent Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Global Burden of Disease project, states that air pollution is now the largest risk factor for death among all health risks. “Long-term exposure to outdoor and household air pollution contributed to over 1.67 million annual deaths from stroke, heart attack, diabetes, lung cancer, chronic lung diseases, and neonatal diseases in India in 2019,” the report states. The…
As Americans cast early votes in their presidential election, Venezuelans living in the U.S. are keeping a close eye on events. In the wake of political turmoil in their own country – over disputed President Nicolás Maduro and his U.S. backed challenger Juan Guaidó – many Venezuelans believe that the U.S. presidential election will significantly affect their fate. They recognize that the policies of the U.S. government may well determine the trajectory of a transition to democracy in their country. “We cannot do it alone,” said Guaidó, the leader of the opposition and interim president, elected by the National Assembly in…
CAUCAIA, Brazil — A violent Brazilian drug dealer who changed his face and identity has been captured after two years on the run. Lenon Oliveira do Carmo, 39, was arrested on Oct. 17 in Caucaia, an upscale area in the northeast Brazilian state of Ceara Last snagged by cops in 2018, Bileno was transferred from the state prison system in July of that year and was held in Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, for four months. He was later granted permission to return to the state of Amazonas on house arrest, but then destroyed his electronic monitoring anklet and fled.…
An abused dog may be ripped from his new, loving home to help pay off his former owner’s debt. Tex, a dog in Italy that was rescued from his abusive former owner, recently settled into his new life after rebuilding his strength. However, officials are now attempting to seize him as part of a debt-recovery effort. Animal protection officers found the 9-year-old dog, who was starved and beaten by his previous owner, a year ago. The pooch was then handed over to an organization that helped him heal and placed him in a kennel in the village of Presina for…
A newborn boy was found in the street inside a pizza box. The baby was apparently abandoned by his grandfather, who said he could not afford to look after the child after the death of his daughter, the child’s mother. The infant, left on the pavement, was wrapped in a blanket and placed in the pizza box, in the city of Tlaltenango, located in the Mexican state of Zacatecas. The local Civil Protection confirmed the circumstances in a statement published on social media Oct. 8. It added the pizza box contained a handwritten note from the grandfather. “Take care…
A mysterious royal grave featuring the remains of four headless horses and their human master have been put on public display for the first time in Germany. They were exhibited last weekend at the Saarland Museum for Pre- and Early History in Saarbruecken. The grave site was first uncovered 13 years ago and the remains — which also included two hunting dogs — have undergone a painstaking restoration by an archeological team in Saarland, Germany. The horses are part of an elaborate ancient grave site believed to be of a Merovingian prince. Restorer Nicole Kasparek fixing the animal bones…