Kerala: King cobra hitches ride in car for over 200 km
Kottayam, Aug 31: A king cobra travelled in a car for over 200 km and lived in its engine bay for a week before being finally rescued by wildlife personnel in Kerala, according to the vehicle owner.
The incident was reported from Arpookara here. The forest officials rescued the 10-foot-long snake from the compound of an individual here on Wednesday, and said they would release it in a safe place later.
The venomous reptile was believed to have crawled into the car of Sujith, a resident of Arpookara, from Malappuram when he went there on August 2.
He said some local people had told him that the snake was seen getting into his car when it was parked near a check-post at Vazhikadavu there.
But, he could not find the unwelcome guest, he said.
A sense of anxiety gripped him and his family as they came across a snake skin (probably the reptile moulted) that was found hanging out of the car on Sunday.
Again a thorough check of the car was made, but the creepy crawler was not spotted.
Instead, it was found in the compound of a house, 500 m away from his house this morning.
As the neighbours were also aware about the doubt shared by Sujith about the suspected presence of the snake in his car, they informed him soon, who in turn alerted the wildlife personnel.
The presence of the snake in a place where king cobras are not normally seen caused curiosity and concern among local residents.
The forest officials also said it may have reached here safely under the vehicle.
It was shifted to the forest office later and would be released in a safe place, they added.
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
