In Hopes to Quell Violence, Kenya’s Leaders Reach Deal
Confessions of a Travel Show TV Staffer
Toxic Water May Wash Away Town
Quest to Prove Strangers’ Kindness Strands Walker
Ignored by Mom, Baby Giraffe to Debut at L.A. Zoo
IN HOPES TO QUELL VIOLENCE, KENYA’S LEADERS REACH DEAL – Los Angeles Times
Kenya’s rivaling presidents finally have reached an agreement on Thursday and will share power in a coalition government focusing on ending post-election melée that has killed 1,000 people and “brought this once-promising East African nation to the brink of political and economic collapse.” President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga will divide Cabinet posts 50-50, and the constitution will be amended to create the office of prime minister for Odinga. This step significantly will help resolve Kenya’s political crisis and violence. “They are solving their political problems, but not our problems yet,” said 24-year-old Alfonse Mutuku, who is living in a camp near Limuru, north of Nairobi.
Link: Los Angeles Times
CONFESSIONS OF A TRAVEL TV SHOW STAFFER - MSNBC
Although working as a staffer on a travel TV show sounds glamorous, sometimes you are roped into lying, faking and compromising vital aspects of the show. One confessor tells all including staging festivals and how the crew was allowed to stay at a five-star hotel for free, only if they included the property on the segment … which was about traveling on a backpacker’s budget.
Link: MSNBC
TOXIC WATER MAY WASH AWAY TOWN – The New York Times
The 2,800 people living in Leadville, Colorado are worried that they’ll be washed away by toxic water that could burst from a decaying mine tunnel. Lake County commissioners have declared a state of emergency this month, and the federal Bureau of Reclamation and Environmental Protection Agency for years have debated over how to handle the decaying Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel, which stretches 2.1 miles and has become dammed with debris. The debris is holding back a billion gallons of water, much of polluted with toxic levels of cadmium, zinc and manganese. “Everybody made a lot of money in Leadville,” said Ken Olsen, a county commissioner. “They left years ago, and we’ve had to clean up after them ever since.”
Link: The New York Times
QUEST TO PROVE STRANGERS’ KINDNESS STRANDS WALKER - BBC
A man who believes in the kindness of strangers set out to prove it when he began his walk from Bristol, England, in hopes of reaching India—he didn’t make it beyond England’s close neighbor, France. Mark Boyle began his walk with only T-shirts, a bandage and sandals, trusting that he would survive on the kindness of strangers for food and lodging; however, since he didn’t speak French, the strangers he met thought him a free-loader or asylum seeker. Boyle has not been defeated, though, because he plans to learn French during his detoured walk around the coast of Britain, and he will try his embarking on his original route next year.
Link: BBC
IGNORED BY MOM, BABY GIRAFFE TO DEBUT AT L.A. ZOO - KNBC
If you’re prone to squealing at the mere sight of a baby animal, then get yourself over to the L.A. Zoo to meet Masai, a newborn giraffe. She is the second newborn to inhabit the zoo within three months, and she was hand-nursed at the Children’s Zoo Nursery because her mother showed a disinterest in her. Masai stood at 6 feet, 3 inches when she was born, and she has grown 5 inches since birth. Along with her parents, she will be moved into the main exhibit within three months.
Link: KNBC
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