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  • Craig the beer-ambassador elephant dies aged 54

    Craig the beer-ambassador elephant dies aged 54


    A Kenyan elephant believed to have been one of Africa’s largest male tuskers has died of old age.

    The pachyderm, fondly known as Craig, died of natural causes on Saturday morning at Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya, conservationists confirmed.

    “Craig had just turned 54 years old. He led a long life and no doubt fathered many calves,” said the Amboseli Trust for Elephants in its farewell message.

    Famed for his long tusks, Craig the elephant was a major attraction at the park near the Tanzanian border. In 2021, he was named an ambassador for the popular Kenyan lager brand Tusker – a name also used for adult male elephants with tusks.

    The Kenya Wildlife Service described Craig as an “icon” of successful conservation.

    “Craig was one of the last remaining super tuskers in Africa – a rare class of bull elephants whose two tusks weigh over 45kg (100lb) each. Fewer than a handful remain today, making him a living monument to Africa’s natural heritage.”

    The wildlife body also said “Craig was deeply loved for [his] remarkably calm nature”, often “pausing patiently as visitors photographed and filmed him”.

    “Thanks to his many protectors, he died peacefully of natural causes.”

    More than two million tourists visited Kenya last year, many of them seeking out wildlife in the country’s world-famous national parks.

    Kenya’s tourism sector accounts for 10% of national GDP, officials say.



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  • Police identify first four victims of Swiss ski resort fire

    Police identify first four victims of Swiss ski resort fire


    Police have identified the first four bodies of people who were killed in a fire at a bar in a Swiss ski resort on New Year’s Eve.

    The bodies of two Swiss women aged 21 and 16, and two Swiss men aged 18 and 16 have been returned to their families, police said.

    “Extensive” work from officers and the Institute of Forensic Medicine made the identifications possible, Valais cantonal police said in a statement, and work to identify the remaining victims continues.

    The blaze at Le Constellation in Crans-Montana killed 40 people and injured 119 others, officials have said. With many of the injured identified, families now face an agonising wait for information about those still missing.

    The likely cause of the fire was sparklers on champagne bottles being carried too close to the ceiling, a preliminary investigation of how the fire began found.

    Switzerland’s President Guy Parmelin called it “one of the worst tragedies” experienced by the country.

    Further details about the identified victims, including names, have not been released.

    A teenage golfer from Italy was the first death to be named, though Swiss and Italian officials have so far declined to confirm his death.

    A helpline has been set up for concerned families: +41 848 112 117



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  • Colombian leader calls for urgent UN talks after ‘attack’ on Caracas

    Colombian leader calls for urgent UN talks after ‘attack’ on Caracas


    The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, on Saturday called for an urgent meeting of the Organization of American States and the United Nations following what he described as attacks on the Venezuelan capital Caracas.

    “Caracas is currently being bombed … Venezuela has been attacked,” he wrote on X.

    “The OAS and the UN must meet immediately,” he wrote.

    Footage of explosions and columns of smoke could be seen in Venezuelan media and on social networks.

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    It initially remained unclear what caused the explosions.

    The US has recently increased the military pressure on the Venezuelan government, including an attack on a port, accusing it of complicity in drug smuggling.

    Venezuela's leadership accuses US President Donald Trump of trying to force regime change.


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