Thai navy sailors braved choppy waters to launch a dramatic rescue this week after discovering four cats had been abandoned on a sinking ship that caught fire off a paradise island.
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JAKARTA (Reuters) - Ten orangutans have been released back into the wild in the Indonesian portion of Borneo island, with helicopters used to ferry the critically endangered great apes deep into the forest from rehabilitation centres.
The Bornean orangutans that had all been in captivity before their rescue included Nenuah, a 19-year-old female who was repatriated from Thailand, according to the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF).
In total, five males, a mother with two babies, and two other females were released with assistance from Indonesian conservation agencies.
“Using a helicopter is the best way to transport orangutans during the pandemic,” said Denny Kurniawan, BOSF programme manager, noting it would have taken three days of driving to reach one drop-off area, adding to the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
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ASUNCION (Reuters) - The people of Paraguay will honor their patron saint this year online or in neighborhood parishes, as pandemic rules prevent an annual pilgrimage to a sacred cathedral for the first time in a century.
The sprawling white Caacupé Cathedral, surrounded by palm trees, is widely seen as the spiritual capital of the land-locked South American nation. For more than a century it has attracted nearly a million visitors annually around the holidays, culminating on Dec. 8.
But this year officials in Paraguay have largely restricted access to Caacupé, 50 kilometers (30 miles) outside the capital Asuncion, to stave off a spike in contagions.
Lady Gaga's two stolen bulldogs, snatched in a violent abduction that left the pets' caretaker shot in the chest this week in Hollywood, were turned over to police on Friday and have been reunited with the pop singer's representatives, police said.