Around the corner, around the world

Jumping for joey

Shetland’s only breeding pair of wallabies have welcomed the islands’ first joey.

The baby wallaby has joined its parents Ned and Kelly at the Outpost, a bar and tourist attraction, in Burra founded by Tasmanian expat Dave Kok.

Mr Kok does not know what sex the three-month-old joey is because it has still to emerge from its mother’s pouch. Shetland Times

Tree felling concern

A community council has voiced concerns over unauthorised tree felling in the Deveron Valley area.

Around 80 trees were cut down at a site at Forglen where planning permission was granted for a house.

The Forestry Commission has advised Aberdeenshire Council that new planting must take place at the site. Banffshire Journal

Pesky parkers’ patrol

There is growing support for Borders Council to enlist traffic wardens to clamp down on “parking pests” who flout waiting time limits and clog up shopping streets.

The council would have to apply to decriminalise parking regulations in the region to give them the power to recruit wardens, as traders call for curbs on irresponsible drivers.

Border Telegraph

Sketches scrutinised

Sixteen portraits of women drawn by Samuel Little have been released by police hoping they might be identified after he claimed they were some of his victims.

Little has confessed to killing 93 people over 37 years starting in 1970 and police encouraged him to draw them because, while he remembers their faces, he cannot recall the dates he murdered on.

Los Angeles Times

French flags in class

French politicians have voted for their country’s flag, the EU flag and the words of the national anthem, La Marseillaise, to be compulsory in every class.

Originally, only the French tricolour was to be compulsory but the EU flag is also now mandatory. Critics say flags are already flown outside and there is a risk of nationalism. One said: “Schools are not barracks.”

Le Monde