March 14 top stories
It is March 14. Happy Pi Day. Here are today’s top stories.
Man spent 72 years in iron lung dies at 78
According to his brother Philip Alexander, Paul Alexander who spent the past 72 years in an iron lung and defied expectations by becoming a lawyer and author, died Monday afternoon at the age of 78.
The iron lung is a large horizontal cylinder designed to stimulate breathing in patients who have lost control of their respiratory muscles. The patient’s head is exposed outside the cylinder, while the body is sealed inside.
The exact cause of Paul’s death is unclear. He was admitted to the hospital three weeks ago due to a Covid-19 infection but was no longer testing positive this week.
Paul developed polio in the summer of 1952, at the age of 6. The disease left Paul paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe on his own. He was placed in an iron lung ever since until his death. In March 2023, he was declared the longest surviving iron lung patient in the world by the Guinness World Records.
Denmark to conscript women for military service for 1st time
Denmark has announced plans to extend military conscription to women for the first time and increase the standard service time.
Women in Denmark can already volunteer for military service.
Now the government plans to introduce female conscription in 2026, making it only the third European nation – alongside Norway and Sweden – to require women to serve in the armed forces.
Denmark also says the conscription service will be extended from four to 11 months for both men and women.
The country, which has a total population of nearly six million, is also raising its military spending from the current 1.4% of GDP to 2% to meet targets set by the NATO military alliance.
Prime Minister Frederiksen said the government was seeking to achieve “full equality between the sexes” and we do not rearm because we want war. We are rearming because we want to avoid it.
Red panda found in luggage at Bangkok airport
Thailand’s customs department said in a statement Wednesday, that an endangered red panda has been found alongside 86 other animals inside luggage at a Bangkok airport.
The red panda was one of 87 animals found in the luggage of six Indian nationals who have been arrested for “trying to smuggle live animals out of the country.” The suspected smugglers and the animals were headed for Mumbai, India.
The Thai customs department released photos showing animals stowed in wicker baskets, plastic tubs and fabric bags inside large wheeled suitcases. The suitcases were intended to be loaded onto an airplane.
The suspects face a maximum of 10 years behind bars.
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More than 280 school children kidnapped in Nigeria
Multiple sources reported that at least 287 school children, some as young as eight years old, are being held by gunmen who raided their school in Nigeria’s northwestern Kaduna State early Thursday.
Kaduna officials said more than 300 students were taken early Thursday by the armed bandits on motorcycles who stormed the primary and secondary schools in the Kuriga village. Some of the students were rescued but 287 of them remain with the kidnappers.
Gunmen who kidnapped them say they will kill them all if 1 billion naira ($621,848) ransom is not paid.
Kaduna state, which borders the Nigerian capital Abuja to the southwest, has grappled with recurring incidents of kidnappings for ransom by bandits and has witnessed several mass abductions in recent years.
Governor of Kaduna state said in a statement Thursday that his government was “doing everything possible to ensure the safe return of the students” kidnapped.
See the brief on two humpback whales found dead in Virginia Beach from Alex. Here it is.
Two Dead Humpback Whales Found In Virginia Beach In One Day
Thanks, Callie.
Two deceased humpback whales were found washed ashore on the same day in Virginia Beach during the first weekend of March.
One whale was spotted floating in the Chesapeake Bay before it washed ashore on a popular stretch of Virginia Beach where there are several oceanfront hotels. There were many tourists that took pictures of the whale because it’s rare to see one up close, but many expressed sadness for the animal.
The second whale was also spotted floating in the ocean and it washed ashore at the False Cape State Park.
The first whale was a juvenile male that was 32 feet long and weighed around 32,000 pounds. The second was also a juvenile male that was 27 feet long and weighed almost 22,000 pounds.
Marine biologists conducted necropsies (animal autopsies) and found that both had similar abnormal skin lesions and healed scars that appear to be from past entanglements with fishing lines, nets or other pollution. Biologists have taken samples and are analyzing it to try and determine a cause of death for both whales.
Both whales were buried at the beaches where they washed up. Officials said they were buried deep enough in the sand that it won’t disrupt normal beach activities.
Chesapeake Bay Magazine explained that winter and early spring are a common time for dead whales to wash up because humpback whales travel along the mid-Atlantic coast as they migrate.
Thanks for that brief. That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
Man spent 72 years in iron lung dies at 78
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/13/us/paul-alexander-iron-lung-dead.html
Denmark to conscript women for military service for 1st time
https://www.politico.eu/article/denmark-extend-military-service-women-conscription/
Red panda found in luggage at Bangkok airport
More than 280 school children kidnapped in Nigeria
Two Dead Humpback Whales Found In Virginia Beach In One Day
https://www.chesapeakebaymagazine.com/two-dead-humpback-whales-found-in-virginia-beach-in-one-day/