❌ Doctors in Canada are concerned they could be dealing with a previously unknown brain disease amid a string of cases involving memory loss, hallucinations and muscle atrophy. ❌ Politicians in the province of New Brunswick have demanded answers, but with so few cases, experts say there are far more questions than answers and have urged the public not to panic. ❌ For more than a year public health...

❌ Officials at an airport in the Galápagos Islands seized 185 baby tortoises on Sunday that were wrapped in plastic and packed in a suitcase that was bound for mainland Ecuador, the authorities said. ❌ The tortoises were discovered in a red suitcase that was on its way to the port city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, during an inspection at the Galápagos Ecological Airport on the island of Baltra, the airport...

❌ Tens of thousands of horses are being subjected to long-haul flights, confined in crates with no food or water, to meet demand for horsemeat in Japan. ❌ Since 2013, about 40,000 live horses have been flown to Japan from airports in western Canada. Under Canadian regulations, the journey can stretch up to 28 hours, during which the animals are allowed to go without food, water or rest. ❌ The mu...

❌ Salvage teams from the Netherlands and Japan have been enlisted to redraw plans to free a giant container ship blocking the Suez canal, as fears grew that the operation could take weeks. ❌ Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine Corp, which leased the vessel, said the Dutch firm Smit Salvage and Japan’s Nippon Salvage had been appointed by the ship’s owner and would work alongside its captain and the Suez Canal...

❌ An inmate killed a nurse and correctional officer at a state penitentiary in Iowa Tuesday, officials said, in what they called a senseless tragedy and the worst attack on prison staff in decades. ❌ The attack at Anamosa State Penitentiary, which houses those convicted of violent crimes, happened Tuesday morning in the prison's infirmary, according to the Iowa Department of Corrections. ❌ Officials...

❌ Freddie, the seal who captured the hearts of Londoners since taking up residence near Hammersmith Bridge last month, has been put down by vets after a dog attack left him with severe wounds. ❌ Vets treating the beloved seal pup said the “only ethical and fair option we have is to end his suffering” after the vicious attack left him with a fractured flipper and an infected wound. ❌ Since arriving...

❌ Six more women came forward to accuse Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct during massage sessions in the past year, according to lawsuits filed Monday. ❌ The plaintiffs all said Watson exposed himself and either hinted at or specifically asked for sexual services during sessions, according to the women, who are represented by Houston lawyer Anthony Buzbee. ❌ In the latest...

❌ Greater Sydney’s Hawkesbury Nepean Valley – including major urban centre Penrith – is expected to experience its worst flooding in 60 years as people around NSW are forced from their homes by incessant rain and overflowing rivers. ❌ The state’s emergency service says it will be working beyond Easter on the post-flood clean-up effort and restoration of key services in affected areas. ❌ The Bureau...

❌ A 39-year-old white man was arrested in connection with the assaults of two Asians in downtown San Francisco, and police said Thursday that the second attack left the man on a stretcher after a victim apparently fought back. ❌ Steven Jenkins was booked on six criminal counts, two each of assault likely to produce great bodily injury, battery with serious bodily injury and elder abuse, according...

❌ A woman in south Florida who had received one dose of coronavirus vaccine while pregnant recently gave birth to the first known baby born with Covid-19 antibodies “after maternal vaccination”, two pediatricians claimed. ❌ The doctors presented their finding in a preprint article, meaning this claim has yet to be peer-reviewed. ❌ Drs Paul Gilbert and Chad Rudnick said the mother, a frontline healthcare...