Australia. Qantas, a popular Australian airline, released photos of four koalas named Paddle, Pellita, Chan and Idalia traveling in first class Monday. The koalas are a gift from Australia to Singapore to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s independence. Still, the photos were only promotional—the koalas will board a Qantas cargo hold and be delivered to the Singapore Zoo in the next few days. Australia will be shipping fresh eucalyptus leaves for them to eat twice a week. The Singapore Zoo has prepared a sanctuary to host the koala colony and hopes to fully support them in the near future.
CNN
United States. The activist group Women on 20s, also called W20, is lobbying to feature a woman’s face on the $20 bill. They proposed replacing Andrew Jackson with Eleanor Roosevelt, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks or Wilma Mankiller. W20 aims to have the change implemented by 2020—the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. They have filed an official petition to both President Barack Obama and Congress. “Our money does say something about us, about what we value,” W20’s website reads. There are currently no women on U.S. paper currency.
CNN
Canada. A Canadian man wants to break the Guinness World Record for largest mosaic by creating a large photo collage of actor Nicolas Cage. Thom Malone launched an official Kickstarter fundraising page two weeks ago, asking donors to “imagine a world of peace created by a giant mosaic of Nicolas Cage’s face … That’s the world I want to live in.” Malone received over $27,000 in pledges in the first week and believes he will be successful in this venture. Transitions Optical currently holds the title for largest photo mosaic, with an eyeball made with 176,000 photos. Malone plans to create a mosaic of Cage’s face that measures 21,646 square meters. “He’s acting over the top on purpose,” Malone said in response to the opinion that Cage is a bad actor.
Washington Post
Dubai. Injaz, the world’s first cloned camel, became pregnant this past week. The six-year-old camel conceived naturally, according to Dr. Nisar Wani, director of the Reproductive Biotechnology Centre. “This will prove cloned camels are fertile,” he added. She is expected to give birth sometime later this year. The camel’s name translates to “achievement” in English. Injaz’s birth was a significant breakthrough as scientists believe she will “help preserve the genetics of the camel population,” including those that race produce milk.
BBC News