World
UAE's capital apparently offering Covid-19 vaccines to tourists
The capital of the United Arab Emirates has apparently started offering free coronavirus vaccines to tourists flying into the emirate, a move that could entice travelers and help revive the country's struggling tourism industry.
Political crisis worsens in Nepal; SC quashes appointment of 20 ministers
The political crisis deepened in Nepal on Tuesday after the Supreme Court quashed the appointment of 20 ministers by beleaguered Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, invalidating his two Cabinet expansions since the dissolution of the House of Representatives, according to a media report.
Philippines' Duterte threatens vaccine decliners with jail, animal drug
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, frustrated by the slow pace of COVID-19 vaccinations in his country, threatened people who refuse to get inoculated with jail or an injection of Ivermectin, an anti-parasite drug widely used to treat animals.
How Brazil's fear of losing the Amazon guides Bolsonaro's policies towards the forest
In 2000, when the internet in Brazil was still in its infancy, an email with an alarming message about the Amazon went viral. It claimed that the United States and the United Nations had taken the forest from Brazilians and transformed it into a protected area -- a falsehood, but one that reflected a long-running conspiracy theory still promoted today by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
St Louis shooting kills 3 people, leaves 4 others wounded
A shooting incident in St Louis left three people dead and four others wounded, authorities said. Police were called about 7.30 pm on Monday to the city's Greater Ville neighbourhood in north St Louis. Two men were found dead outside a convenience store. A third collapsed and died in the courtyard of an elementary school. All the victims were believed to be in their 30s.
250 alligators removed from Disney since boy died in 2016 attack
Americas|: Wildlife officials have removed 250 alligators from Disney properties in the five years since a 2-year-old boy was killed by an alligator at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, a newspaper reported. The company has worked with trappers contracted through the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to remove the gators, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Most of the nuisance gators taken from Disney properties are euthanized and sold for their hide and meat, Tammy Sapp, spokeswoman for the wildlife agency, told the newspaper. Some are also transferred to alligator farms, animal exhibits and zoos, she said. Those less than 4 feet (1.2 meters) are relocated, she said. Trappers receive $30 for every captured gator, plus the proceeds from any leather and meat sold, the newspaper reported. After Lane Thomas Graves was killed in June 2016, Disney installed a wall and put up reptile warning signs along waterways throughout its resorts. Disney guests said they're glad the resort is proactively removing gators from its properties. A biology expert agreed, adding that the removals should have a minimal impact on the Florida alligator population. Gina Parsley, a travel agency owner, told the Sentinel that her family stayed at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort last month and her 9-year-old daughter Gabriella spotted an alligator in the water. They told a campground employee and were informed that traps had been placed to trap the gator. "We did not feel like it was a surprise to them,'' Parsley said. ``I would have been more concerned if my daughter had brought it to their attention and they were like, `Oh my gosh, where?''' Parsley said she understands how difficult it is to keep the property free of alligators. "You see neighborhoods where a gator just strolls across someone's lawn and rings the doorbell,'' she said. ``It's Florida: They do that. So, there's definitely fighting against nature with that one.'' Florida's alligator population is about 1.3 million, the newspaper reported. To be considered a nuisance within the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program, an alligator must be least 4 feet (1.2 meters) long and pose a threat to people, pets and property. The wildlife agency has removed close to 8,000 alligators annually over the past five years throughout the state of Florida. Removing nuisance gators from Disney doesn't have much of an impact on the population since they're already living on developed land there, Deby Cassill, the integrative biology associate campus chair at the University of South Florida, told the Sentinel. "It's already been compromised by development,'' Cassill said. Sapp said there have been three fatal alligator attacks since 2016 in Florida and no reported bite incidents at Disney since Lane's death. Cassill said the attack that killed the toddler happened during alligator mating season. As waters warm, males scan for females and females search for food. She said it was wise for Disney to place the barriers on the property and uproot the reptiles. "I don't see a harm in removing and euthanizing some of the alligators that are in positions to do what they normally do and that is to find food,'' Cassill said. "We want to keep them away from children and pets as much as possible.'' The boy's parents, Matt and Melissa Graves of Omaha, Nebraska, founded the Lane Thomas Foundation to help families with children in need of live-saving organ transplants.
France's Nicolas Sarkozy faces jail term in campaign financing trial
Sarkozy, France's president from 2007 to 2012, denies wrongdoing. He is accused of having spent almost twice the maximum legal amount of 22.5 million euros ($ 27.5 million) on the re-election bid that he lost to Socialist Francois Hollande.