GLOBAL SNAPSHOT
Boys will be girls
WASHINGTON DC: In a historic shift, the Boy Scouts of America will let girls enrol in Cub Scouts from next year and allow them to eventually earn the highest rank of Eagle Scout. The unanimous decision by the 100year-old group’s board of directors came after years of requests from families and girls. In January, the Boy Scouts also opted to allow transgender boys to join.
Nation has no ink
CARACAS: Venezuelans have been told their expired passports are still valid – because officials have run out of paper and ink to print new ones. President Nicolas Maduro signed an emergency decree to extend their validity by two years as a million people wait for new documents. Economic mismanagement by the socialist government and a collapse in oil prices has left Venezuela without funds to import basic goods such as food and medicine, creating acute shortages.
Che the Irishman
DUBLIN: The unlikely choice of Argentinian communist guerrilla leader Ernesto “Che” Guevara, hero of the Cuban revolution, as the face of the new 1-euro postage stamp in Ireland is stoking controversy on both sides of the Atlantic. The traditionally Catholic country, which has never had a left-wing government, only established diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1999, 40 years after Guevara helped lead the Cuban revolution with Fidel Castro. However Guevara’s father, Ernesto Guevara Lynch, was a civil engineer of Irish descent — and the iconic red and black print of the long-haired Che known from T-shirts and posters around the world was produced by an Irish artist, Jim Fitzpatrick.
Baby tears womb
BEIJING: A new mum nearly died after her unborn baby kicked her so hard her tiny legs tore through the wall of the woman’s womb, doctors have revealed. The mum, known only as Zhang, was 35 weeks pregnant when she suddenly started suffering stomach pain in the early hours of October 2. Surgeons safely delivered the baby girl in just 10 minutes, fearing she could have been stillborn.
NZ still in limbo
WELLINGTON: New Zealanders must wait at least two more days before finding out who will lead their country. The main conservative and liberal parties are negotiating with the small New Zealand First party, led by maverick lawmaker Winston Peters. He had earlier said his party would make a decision by yesterday but that has now been put back to the weekend and possibly Monday.