STATUS UPDATES
A week in which nations became friends, a priest went to jail and mascots whistled at people trying to pee
AWAKENING The Campi Flegrei volcano, under Naples, Italy. A new study in Nature points to worrying signs: scientists have identified a threshold for triggering a tenfold increase in the rate of fluid and gas release, the U.K. Guardian reported, which could bring an eruption closer. Nearby Mount Vesuvius, which in AD 79 buried Pompeii, is also considered an active volcano.
FRIENDS The tiny nation of Sao Tome and Principe, by Beijing’s diplomatic efforts. The West African country (pop. 200,000) has announced it will end diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Sao Tome and Principe’s move leaves Taiwan with diplomatic ties with 21 countries, mostly small states, the South China Morning Post reports.
GRANTED CLEMENCY A priest jailed for leaking documents, by the Pope. Pope Francis granted Spanish Monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda clemency after he served half of his 18month sentence, the Vatican said, following the “Vatileaks II” trial. The papers were cited in books last year that alleged corruption in the church, the BBC reported.
SUSPENDED A teacher at a Milwaukee school over a planned essay assignment. The teacher, who is African-American, wanted Grade 7 students to defend the Ku Klux Klan. The teacher said the goal was to teach persuasive writing, the BBC reported. Parents complained to the charter school after a letter indicated plans for the January assignment.
DISTURBED People trying to pee or defecate in public in some Delhi neighbourhoods. City officials are deploying brightly coloured mascots to watch for perpetrators, especially near slums or railway tracks in the Lutyens Delhi area. The mascots are to blow a whistle and direct people to a toilet. The country has been working to end public defecation by 2019.
NEIGHBOURS Corey Lewandowski, from the Trump administration team. Lewandowski, Trump’s combative ex-campaign manager, said he will start a political consulting firm. Avenue Strategies (based on Pennsylvania Ave.) will provide services aimed at advancing Trump’s proposed agenda, in partnership with former Trump adviser Barry Bennett.
UNFORGIVEN Late tax filers in Britain, whose government published excuses submitted to avoid a £100 fine. One involved a yacht fire, another a hungry dog who ate “all of the reminders.” And the classic: “I work for myself, but a colleague borrowed my tax return to photocopy it and lost it.” The Daily Telegraph reports that these were somehow unpersuasive.
RESTARTED Downhill skiing on Mount Royal, if Esteban Dravet has his way. Dravet is campaigning to bring downhill skiing back to the Montreal landmark for kids, the Montreal Gazette reports. He points to mentions of skiing on the mountain dating back to 1879. In the 1990s, the city ended all downhill skiing on Mount Royal.