CHINA

He’s having a ball. A 22-year-old man from China won the World Snooker Championship in England this week. Wu Yize, who dropped out of school at 16 to pursue the sport professionally, is the second youngest to ever be crowned the winner. In his first public appearance in the country after his victory, he got a hero’s welcome at a billiards club in Xi’an, where he was swarmed with fans all wanting to pose for a selfie with him. This is the second consecutive year the World Snooker Championship winner has hailed from China.

ENGLAND

This is pawsitively wild. Visitors to London Zoo will now be allowed to observe its veterinarians tending to its animals. Guests will be able to watch through a large window as doctors perform operations, health checks and necropsies at the new wildlife health facility at the zoo, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary this week. The new medical center is being built thanks to a $27 million donation from an anonymous donor.

MEXICO

There will surely be some pepper-filled sushi in its future. Mexico has started exporting its bell peppers to Japan with an inaugural shipment of 1,615 pounds, or just under a ton, from Sinaloa. This move followed an agreement with Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries which was inked at the end of 2025. Although Mexico already exports the vegetable to the US and Canada, Japan marks an important addition that can lead to future expansion into Asia and Europe.

CANADA

They’re kicking it off right. The Toronto Stadium will host one of three star-studded World Cup opening ceremonies. The June 12 inaugural event will be marked by performances from global artists including Alanis Morissette, Alessia Cara, Elyanna, Jessie Reyez, Michael Bublé, Nora Fatehi, Sanjoy, Vegedream and William Prince. The US opening ceremony is also June 12 at Los Angeles Stadium featuring Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema and Tyla. Mexico opens June 11 in Mexico City with Maná, Alejandro Fernández, Belinda and J Balvin.

AUSTRALIA

This weekend marks the 125th anniversary of the opening of Australia’s first parliament in 1901 and the country is now able to celebrate at the place where it happened, the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne. The historic building, which dates back to the 1870s, was almost torn down in the 1940s, but it was restored to its original 1901 interior decor in time for the festivities.

With Wires