As a mark of respect for Dr. Manmohan Singh, India has declared a seven-day period of state mourning from 26 December 2024 to 1 January 2025. In parallel, the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka will keep the condolence book open from 30 December 2024 (today) to 1 January 2025.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
Three Sri Lankan leopard cubs that were born at the Singapore Zoo on Jan 1 have now made their public debut at the facility.
The two males and one female, born to mother Yala and father Asanka, are the first of their species yo be born at the Singapore Zoo. The last successful birth in Singapore was recorded at the Night Safari three decades ago.
The triplets, which are the pair’s first litter, are among around 80 Sri Lankan leopards in zoos worldwide.
The species is listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, with fewer than 800 individuals estimated to remain in the wild.
Visitors can now see the triplets at the Wild Africa exhibit, said the Mandai Wildlife Group in a statement on April 16.
The cubs can be found in the exhibit with their mother daily until mid-May and, subsequently, every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
Yala with her cubs in their nest box, a month after their birth on Jan 1. (Straits Times)
A leopard cub investigating a piece of meat suspended from a tree – one of the several enrichment items in the Wild Africa exhibit designed to keep the cats mentally and physically stimulated. (Straits Times)
Mandai Wildlife Group curator Anand Kumar said it took nearly three years and close collaboration across continents to bring together a compatible pair of Sri Lankan leopards.
(Straits Times)
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-zoos-first-sri-lankan-leopard-cubs-make-their-public-debut?ref=top-stories
The Sri Lanka Navy has seized a local multi- day fishing trawler, it’s four man crew together with a consignment suspected to be narcotics off the Southern Coast of the island.
The vessel is presently being escorted to the Dikowita fisheries harbour for further investigations and legal proceedings.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he does not step aside at the end of his term in May.
The two have been embroiled in a bitter spat over Powell’s reluctance to cut the central bank’s interest rate, despite Trump’s repeated calls.
Powell’s term expires on 15 May, but he is planning to remain in post until his successor, Kevin Warsh, is confirmed by the Senate.
“Then I’ll have to fire him,” Trump told Fox Business, when asked about Powell’s plans to stay on in the job.
“I’ve held back firing him. I’ve wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial,” Trump said.
Thom Tillis, an influential Republican senator on the committee which oversees nominations for the Federal Reserve chair, has threatened to block Warsh’s confirmation. If Warsh is not confirmed before Powell’s term expires, he plans to stay on temporarily in the post.
“That’s what the law calls for. That’s what we’ve done on several occasions,” Powell has said.
Tillis has warned Trump he will not let Warsh’s appointment go ahead unless a criminal investigation into Powell, linked to the renovation of the Federal Reserve building, is dropped.
[BBC]
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