News of the World: What you missed this week internationally

ITALY

This is one ext-roar-dinary find. Thousands of dinosaur footprints that date back a staggering 210 million years were discovered by a wildlife photographer in a northern Italian national park. The prints, located in Stelvio National Park in the Central Alps, span up to 15 inches in diameter and are aligned in a pattern of parallel rows, with traces of toes and claws clearly outlined. They are believed to belong to prosauropods, long-necked herbivores who stood at up to 33 feet, who were ancestors of the brontosaurus. The park is located near the Swiss-Italian border, close to where the Winter Olympics will be held next year. “It’s as if history itself wanted to pay homage to the greatest global sporting event, combining past and present in a symbolic passing of the baton between nature and sport,” the Italian Ministry of Culture said.

Thousands of dinosaur footprints were found in Stelvio National Park in the Central Alps. Arch. PaleoStelvio (PNS, MSNM, SABAP CO-LC)/AFP via Getty Images

AUSTRALIA

Beachgoers in New South Wales have been called to be on the lookout for a threatened turtle species. A nest belonging to the endangered Loggerhead sea turtle was recently discovered on the New South Wales north coast, and NSW TurtleWatch, a program where volunteers monitor state beaches to protect the creatures’ habitats, is asking citizens to report any additional findings. “The commitment and care from our coastal communities will be essential in ensuring these nests can survive,” a rep from TurtleWatch told The Guardian.

CHINA

French importers of foie gras, aka duck or goose liver, are once again setting their sights on China after the Asian country imposed restrictions on imports of the delicacy during the European bird flu. Annie Genevard, France’s agriculture minister, recently met with China’s ambassador to France, Deng Li, and the pair discussed working together to acquire more products from “the French farm to the Chinese table.”

MEXICO

This is one baller move. Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, US investors have shelled out hundreds of millions for a stake in Mexican soccer. Manhattan-based global investor General Atlantic partnered with Ollamani, S.A.B., a Mexico-based company that operates sports businesses. They’re forming a new entity that will own Club América, one of Mexico’s leading soccer teams, and Estadio Banorte, the stadium in Mexico City where the opening match of the World Cup will kick off in June. The joint enterprise is valued at an eye-popping $490 million.

Mexico City’s Estadio Banorte is where the first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be played. REUTERS

CANADA

They’re barking up the wrong trees. A rare forest filled with 200-year-old red spruce trees is causing a rift between conservationists and local government. Plans by Québec’s Ministry of Natural Resources to create a winter road through its Grandbois Lakes forest, considered one of the last intact homes of red spruces, is alarming environmentalists, who have protested the upcoming construction to the ecosystem they are calling “a diamond we want to preserve.”

With Wires