Fatal clash of priorities
Hundreds of sheep in a flock belonging to a farmer in Couflens in the southwest of France have plunged to their deaths in what appears to be a bear attack on one of the sheep. As the Guardian reports, the attack on one sheep is believed to have startled the 209 others, which went over a cliff in an apparent bid to flee. That cliff sits on the border with Spain, and most of the 169 recovered bodies were found in the Spanish village Lladorre; the rest ended up on the French side of the border. The French government, which has been reintroducing brown bears to the Pyrenees for the last 20 years after hunters depleted the native population, will compensate the farmer but a local branch of the French farmers' federation is furious. Sheep breeders have previously protested the presence of bears and wolves.
News nostalgia
Australia's Herald Sun newspaper ran a story in 2014 that suggested the Irish use potatoes as a form of currency, outraging the Irish community. Reporting on the Melbourne Cup horse race, journalist Matt Stewart wrote: "It's worth $6 million and they swarm from everywhere, from rich countries like Japan to countries offering up not much more than potatoes, like Ireland, to win it." Ireland's Ambassador to Australia Noel White called the piece "deeply offensive". "This bizarre remark is at odds with Ireland's role as a leading player in the global bloodstock industry," said White. "More importantly, it is deeply offensive to Irish people and to Australians of Irish descent. Mr Stewart should know better." Stewart tweeted an apology and an explanation. "Apologies to the Irish! Did not mean to offend with 'potato' line in M Cup wrap. Only meant economy/race prize money struggling! Sorry!," he wrote.
