Every week, “The Patriot” scours the web to bring you headlines from around the world. Please note that no original reporting is involved. We welcome your comments at the bottom of the page.
St. Petersburg, Russia – Officials from 13 nations will meet in St. Petersburg for the International Forum for Tiger Conservation to discuss how to protect the 3,600 tigers that remain in the wild. The countries represented are those within which tigers still exist. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, an avid tiger conservationist, will lead the summit. Nine percent of the world’s tigers live in Russia’s Siberia region. According to the Chinese calendar, 2010 is the year of the tiger.
Washington, Pennsylvania – When the Washington Fire Department was called to the George Washington Hotel for a small fire, they discovered a room covered in blood and empty alcohol bottles. After declaring the room a crime scene and calling in detectives, the Washington Police Chief discovered the room was not a murder scene, but rather a movie set. The room was used to film a direct-to-DVD film called “New Terminal Hotel” two years ago and was never refurbished. In addition to blood and alcohol bottles, a piece of scalp with hair still attached was found on the bed. According to the hotel’s owner, the room was never refurbished because he thought the film crew might need to come back to film additional scenes.
Read more at thepittsburghchannel.com.
Beirut, Lebanon – Animal rights workers successfully removed a chimpanzee from a zoo in Beirut where he developed a cigarette habit. The 160-pound chimp named Omega originally was used in a restaurant to entertain guests by smoking and serving them bongs. Omega was then moved to a zoo where he lived in a 430 square foot cage and smoked cigarettes that were thrown into his cage. The animal rights group, Animals Lebanon, arranged the closing of the zoo and the transportation of Omega to a sanctuary in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
Collin Hoofnagle can be reached for comment at [email protected].