There’s great news coming from Philadelphia Zoo.

A 100-year-old tortoise, aptly named Mommy, has become a first-time mom with the hatching of four critically endangered Western Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoises at the Philadelphia Zoo.

 Since there were only 44 individual tortoises of their kind in all U.S. zoos combined, the arrival of these baby turtles is essentially a lifeline for the survival of this species.

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Unlikely Friendship

A woman was amazed when she realized her cat had slipped out the door only to find him relaxing in a tree — while getting "groomed" by a wild bird.

 In reality, the excited bird couldn't believe her good fortune, picking at an unlimited supply of fur for a nest she was building. 

 According to the TikToker who posted the video, the cat made his way up the tree the next day for another round of the spa treatment, while the bird returned for more free building materials.

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$1.4m for a human life.

Iwao Hakamada , who spent 46 years on death row in Japan, has been awarded $1.4m in compensation. The payout represents 12,500 yen ($83) for each day of the 46 years that Iwao Hakamada spent in detention, most of it on death row when each day could have been his last. 

 The former boxer, now 89, was exonerated in 2024 of a 1966 quadruple murder after a tireless campaign by his sister and others. 

 The Shizuoka District Court, in a decision dated Monday, said that “the claimant shall be granted 217,362,500,000 yen”, a court spokesperson told AFP. The same court ruled in September that Hakamada was not guilty in a retrial and that police had tampered with evidence. 

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Good Boy

Every week, a golden retriever named Charlie peeks out his Charlotte, North Carolina window until the Sunday coffee truck rolls in and parks across the street. He then runs outside and waits in line.

 "Woof," he politely barks when it's his turn to order. 

 And after serving this four-legged customer for a year now, the mobile barista has no problem translating Charlie's "I'll take the usual" order. One pup cup coming up!

 See both videos here.

 

World’s Ugliest Dog

Wild Thang, a pekingese, won the 34th World’s Ugliest Dog contest at at the Marin-Sonoma County Fair in Petaluma, California.

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Hello Summer, Finnbarr Webster

Summer has started in the northern hemisphere.

Dead at 88, Donald Sutherland

Actor Donald Sutherland has died at the age of 88. 

  Here take a look back on his varied film career that included Don’t Look Now, M*A*S*H, Kelly’s Heroes and The Hunger Games.

 

Record breaking heatwave hits Delhi

Temperatures in Delhi have soared to record highs of 49.9C as authorities warn of water shortages.

 The India Meteorological Department (IMD), which reported “severe heatwave conditions”, recorded the temperatures on Tuesday, saying they were nine degrees higher than expected. 

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Flock of 100 feral chickens torments village.

The clucking nuisance of about 100 feral chickens has left residents of a Norfolk village spitting feathers, with locals claiming the birds destroy their gardens and keep them awake.

 Dwellers in Snettisham, Norfolk, have said their life is being made “hell” as the chickens swarm in from a nearby wood. 

It is unclear who owns the land the chickens live on, but villagers believe numbers have soared recently. Read more

 

The doily makes big comeback thanks to Baby Lasagna

A doily, traditionally an ornamental to place under things in the house like glasses, bowls, vases, or often used as table centrepieces, have found their way back into fashion thanks to the Croatian Eurovision runner-up. Baby Lasagna’s recent wardrobe transformation, swapping out conventional attire for a crochet doily shirt, garnered widespread attention and admiration. This revival of the crochet doily has become a hot topic of conversation, with social media abuzz with discussions and a surge in demand for these intricately crafted pieces, which one would often only find in grandma’s house.

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Risk and reward

From Bond to Barbie, behind every Hollywood film or television drama is an unsung hero doing the scary stuff. Meet the doughty men and women willing to take big risks to be part of the magic.

 

Europe's housing crisis

Spiralling rents and sky-high property prices risk becoming a key battleground of European politics as far-right and populist parties start to exploit growing public anger over the continent’s housing crisis, experts have said. 

 Weeks before European parliament elections in which far-right parties are forecast to finish first in nine EU member states and second or third in another nine, housing has the potential to become as potent a driver of far-right support as immigration. 

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England child alcohol use tops global chart, finds WHO report

A third of 11-year-olds and more than half of 13-year-olds in England have drunk alcohol - putting it top out of 44 countries examined in a report by global health experts. Girls were found to be more likely than boys to be drinking and getting drunk aged 15 in England, Wales and Scotland. 

 The World Health Organization (WHO) report said alcohol, which can damage children's brains, has been normalised. It called on countries to introduce more measures to protect children.

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The Earth is Getting So Hot We Need a New Warning Color

You might or might not be familiar with the warning scale the U.S. National Weather Service uses for high temperatures, but it's pretty intuitive. Green is for no danger, yellow and orange are cautionary, and red means danger, just like other scales (blue is reserved for cold weather).

 But the scale has been adjusted, as 2023 was the hottest year on record. In fact, the ten hottest years since temperature recordings began to be documented have all been in the last ten years. 

 With temperatures getting hotter every year, the NWS and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have instituted a new category of warning, and it's purple, or officially magenta.

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The solar eclipse as seen from Fort Worth, Texas, on 8 April 2024.

Photograph: Ron Jenkins/Getty Images 

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World Happiness Day 2024

As the world celebrates World Happiness Day on 20th March 2024, it’s no surprise that Finland was crowned as the happiest country in the world for the sixth time in a row. 

With its unparalleled natural beauty, high quality of life, and a strong sense of community, Finland has once again claimed the spot as the happiest country in the world, bringing smiles to the faces of Finns and admirers worldwide. The Finns place great importance on preserving the great outdoors and in Helsinki, sustainability plays a key role in the lives of Helsinkians. 

The capital is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2030 and was ranked the fourth most sustainable travel destination in 2023.

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Young people becoming less happy than older generations, research shows

Young people are becoming less happy than older generations as they suffer “the equivalent of a midlife crisis”, global research has revealed as America’s top doctor warned that “young people are really struggling”. 

 Dr Vivek Murthy, the US surgeon general, said allowing children to use social media was like giving them medicine that is not proven to be safe. He said the failure of governments to better regulate social media in recent years was “insane”.

 Murthy spoke to the Guardian as new data revealed that young people across North America were now less happy than their elders, with the same “historic” shift expected to follow in western Europe.

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Tell-tale signs of image manipulation

The release of the first official picture of the Princess of Wales and her three children since her operation was undoubtedly meant to end speculation about her recovery.

 But that has backfired spectacularly after the princess was forced to admit she had edited it. 

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Never Quit

In the days when smoking was advertised everywhere, the sell was often genuinely bizarre: from dancing polar bears to Ronald Reagan to recommendations from friendly doctors 

by Emma Beddington, pictures selected by Sarah Gilbert. 

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Bill Hicks wanted us to think for ourselves

 

 Thirty years after his death, the Texan who set out to ‘topple idols’ remains an outlaw truth-teller for many but his raging material can land with a clunk. 

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