Israel buries Ariel Sharon – India marks a major public health achievement – An African nation doesn’t bother to announce its has enacted an ugly restriction of human rights.

Delegations from around the world attended the funeral of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who died last week after eight years in a coma caused by stroke.  The procession took his coffin to a burial site near his family farm in Israel’s south.  Sharon fought in all of Israel's major wars, but switched to politics in 1973, pushing for development of Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

India is marking three years since its last reported case of Polio, a landmark in the global battle against the disease and India’s largest public health achievement.  The government took on the disease with a massive and sustained immunization program after more than 740 cases were reported in 2009.  This is the second time India has eradicated a disease, eliminating smallpox in 1980.

Without prior warning, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan signed a draconian law making it illegal for gay people to even hold a meeting.  The Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act also criminalizes homosexual clubs, associations and organizations, with penalties of up to 14 years in prison.  The UK and US blasted the law, and it’s unclear why Nigeria shrouded it in secrecy.

Some sense of calm is slowly returning to the Central African Republic capital Bangui, and the country’s interim leader says the days of looting and revenge attacks are over.  People are leaving their homes, and banks, offices, and markets are reopening.  The CAR was plunged into chaos last year after a coup d’etat, which was followed by revenge attacks between militias and between the Christian majority and Muslim militias that backed the coup. 

France’s de facto First Lady Valerie Trierweiler will remain in hospital for a few more days, following reports her boyfriend President Francois Hollande has been secretly dating a younger actress.  The president has neither confirmed nor denied the reports.  The affair isn’t concerning French voters, although it can’t possible help Hollande who is France’s most-unpopular president in years.

Baby Panda!  Baby Panda! 

A dropped mobile phone turned into tragedy in Chicago:  An out-of-towner dropped his mobile into the icy Chicago River, and fell in while trying to retrieve it.  A man and a woman went in to try and rescue him.  She is still missing under the ice and presumed dead – the male rescuer was pulled out and is in hospital in stable condition.  The 26-year old man who dropped the phone was pronounced dead at hospital.  The moral of this item is, “let it go”.

In America, West Virginia is slowly lifting its water ban that has affected 300,000 customers since a chemical spill five days ago.  About 6 thousand residents have been instructed to begin a flushing process to allow them to use their tap water.  But thousands are still unable to drink or even wash their hands. 

Big, dead whale in Uruguay is big and dead.

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo was named winner of the Ballon d'Or, which goes annually to the player voted best in the world.  It ended the unprecedented streak by Argentina's Lionel Messi, who had won the award each of the last four years. The Barcelona star Messi battled injuries in 2013 and finished second in the balloting.  Ronaldo clearly earned the honor, scoring 66 goals in 56 games.