Author: Ximena Santiago
Haiti. Former President Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier died Saturday at the age of 63 due to a heart attack. He was pronounced dead by Haiti’s health minister in the capital Port-au-Prince. Duvalier became president in 1971 at the age of 19, when his father Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier passed on the title to his son and claimed he would be “president for life.” Baby Doc was recorded as being the youngest president in the world at the time. He was exiled from Haiti in 1986 after multiple accusations of corruption, repression and violations of human rights. Duvalier spent his exiled years in France, but was able to return to Haiti in 2011.
BBC News
United States. A baby giraffe was born Oct. 1 to 5-year-old Kivuli at the Detroit Zoo. The giraffe is about 150 pounds and is already five feet tall. Detriot Zoological Society’s Chief Life Science Officer Scott Carter said the baby was “all legs and very curious.” The gender of the newborn has not yet been determined. “Kivuli is showing great maternal care; she is very attentive and affectionate,” Carter said.
Fox News
Australia. McDonald’s has introduced a gourmet burger menu in Australia. Customers can customize their burger with options that include a brioche bun, guacamole, grilled pineapple, tortilla strips, beet, fried egg and bacon. The company also introduced a new touch-screen self-order system. After ordering, most customers are also seated and delivered their food on wooden trays. The burgers are considerably more expensive than McDonald’s other burgers—$8.93 versus $5.50 for a Big Mac—and each topping is an additional 50 cents. The first location to receive the new additions to the menu is located in Sydney, but many more are expected to follow the trend.
Los Angeles Times
Russia. Moscow leaders ended a student exchange program with the United States after a Russian student sought asylum in Michigan. The termination of Russia’s participation in the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program was announced at the American Embassy, stating the country will no longer allow students to study abroad in the United States. The annual program provides hundreds of high school students the opportunity to study in America for a year. The 16-year-old Russian student wished to remain with his host family after his program ended, claiming his homosexuality was looked down upon in Russia and made him afraid to return. Russia’s legislature passed a law in 2013 that makes it illegal to promote homosexuality to children. More recently, the government banned the adoption of Russian children by couples from any country allowing same-sex marriage.
New York Times
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