A Malayan tapir born on New Year’s Eve has been settling into life at a zoo.

The male calf was born to mother Sayang and first-time father Mogli on the evening of December 31, the last birth of the year at the Edinburgh Zoo.

He has been named Mekong, after the delta river which flows through where the animals are found in the wild, and he is said to be “lively and very distinctive”. The young animal is on show to visitors at the zoo’s Malayan tapir enclosure.

Seeing world through dogs’ eyes

A new smart collar for dogs has been unveiled so owners and pets can stay connected.

The Scout5000 is from Motorola and video streaming developer Hubble and allows owners to track the physical health of their pet, while a built-in camera allows them to see the world through their dog’s eyes for the first time.

There is also GPS so you can track their location should they ever decide on a Homeward Bound-style adventure. And there is even a microphone so you can talk to your pet remotely too.

Turner’s materials go on show

Original painting materials once owned by JMW Turner form part of a new exhibition inspired by Mike Leigh’s recent film on the master British landscape artist.

Brushes, a folding travelling palette and a pocket paint-book caked with watercolour are among mementoes and objects going on display.

Major loans of Turner’s paintings in oil and watercolour, from collections including the Tate and the V&A, will also be seen at the National Trust’s Petworth House in West Sussex.

Nappy days for traffic workers

When Pope Francis visits the Philippines next week, traffic enforcers will not let the capital’s streets get gridlocked while they answer the call of nature.

The chief of traffic management in Manila is requiring that traffic enforcers use adult nappies while they work. About 2,000 traffic enforcers will be on duty during the January 15-19 papal visit. Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino is also urging people who will wait for hours just to see the Pope to wear nappies.

Mr Tolentino said the prospect of wearing nappies while on duty was “well received” by his men. He said the idea will be tested on Friday by 800 traffic enforcers who work shifts during the nearly 24-hour annual procession of the Black Nazarene.

Fries surprise leads to apology

McDonald’s officials in Japan have apologised after a human tooth, pieces of plastic and other objects were found in the burger chain’s food.

A child’s mouth was injured by a fragment of plastic in an ice cream sundae and, in another case, a customer who bought a Big Mac meal found a tooth in the fries. McDonald’s said none of its employees or its suppliers had lost a tooth and there were no signs that the tooth had been fried. It was still investigating how the tooth and plastic got in the food.

“To make such cases zero is our goal,” said senior executive Takehiko Aoki. “We are doing our utmost to tackle them, one by one.” He denied such incidents highlighted an overall quality-control problem and called them “isolated” cases.

He acknowledged there had been other cases, including metal in a pancake and plastic in a McMuffin, but declined to give a tally of the incidents. He added that it was possible that outsiders had planted the tooth and other items.