标签： Europe

A remarkable elk, affectionately named Emil, who captivated Central Europe with his extensive travels this summer, has been safely captured and released by Austrian wildlife officials. The young male elk was tranquilized on Monday near the village of Sattledt in Upper Austria after venturing perilously close to a motorway. Following the intervention, Emil was equipped with a GPS tracking device and released near the Czech-Austrian border, close to the Sumava forest in South Bohemia. It remains uncertain whether Czech authorities were involved in the operation. The Sumava forest, home to an estimated 10-20 elk, is now Emil’s new habitat, where it is hoped he will settle rather than continue his wanderings. Emil’s journey began on June 2 near Ludgerovice in the Czech Republic, where he was first sighted after crossing from Poland. Over the summer, he traversed approximately 500 kilometers across four countries—Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria—visiting 60 towns and villages. His adventures included crossing roads, railways, and even swimming across the River Danube. Emil became a social media sensation, with numerous photos and videos shared online and at least three Facebook groups dedicated to him, amassing nearly 50,000 members. Elk were once native to Czech forests but were hunted to extinction in the Middle Ages. Reintroduction efforts have been ongoing since the 1970s, with the current Czech elk population estimated at around 50, significantly fewer than Poland’s tens of thousands.

The trial of Cédric Jubillar, a 38-year-old painter-decorator accused of murdering his wife Delphine nearly five years ago, has gripped France as it opened on Monday. The case, shrouded in mystery due to the absence of the victim’s body, has become a social media sensation, with self-proclaimed investigators forming countless chat groups to exchange theories and testimonies. This has frustrated both the police and the families involved. Psychoanalyst Patrick Avrane likened these groups to a ‘bistro counter – but with more people,’ where everyone constructs their own theory. The Jubillar mystery began during the height of the Covid lockdown in December 2020 when Cédric reported his wife missing. Delphine, a 33-year-old night nurse, was in a troubled marriage with Cédric, who was a habitual cannabis user and barely held down a job. The couple, who had two young children, were discussing divorce, and Delphine was in a relationship with another man. Despite extensive searches in the surrounding countryside, Delphine’s body was never found. However, a case was gradually built against Cédric, leading to his detention in mid-2021. The prosecution argues that Cédric had a clear motive due to their impending split, while the defense will question the credibility of key witnesses, including a former cellmate and a former girlfriend who claim Cédric confessed to the murder. The trial, expected to last four weeks, will hear from 65 witnesses and 11 experts, with over 16,000 pages of evidence compiled. Writer Thibault de Montaigu compared the case to a ‘novel by Georges Simenon,’ highlighting the central question: how could a man described as a ‘red-eyed, fuzzy-brained guy who smoked ten joints a day’ have carried out the perfect crime? The court will ultimately decide whether Cédric is a ‘genius bluffer, lucky fool, or poor innocent.’