Little Wanderers, Watery Kasha, and Flower Bouquets

In this week's Odder News: the camping trip from hell, the world's most-talked-about bouquet of flowers, and wandering littles are happily found.

• To what was probably the final Putin-Merkel meeting, with Angela Merkel stepping down soon as chancellor of Germany, Putin brought flowers. Of course, the internet debated endlessly whether or not it is sexist to give flowers to a female head of state – to a female colleague, essentially. The internet even speculated that Merkel subsequently regifted the bouquet to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. It drew attention to all of the other important people Putin has given flowers to: outrageously famous Russian singer Alla Pugacheva, former U.S. First Lady Laura Bush, former Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Karin Kneissl, former Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, French First Lady Brigitte Macron, first lady in space Valentina Tereshkova, former Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, and one man – Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All the Russias. Check out the slideshow here.
• It was like a scene out of a horror film when children from large families went to camp on the Black Sea. With their "preferential vouchers," the kiddos reported eating watery kasha instead of the promised three square meals a day (nasty picture here). There are dirty handprints on the walls of the sleeping quarters, food stuffed under mattresses, empty bottles under broken beds. Since their children are far away from home, many anxious parents are eagerly awaiting their return from camp.
• The Smolensk Region is rejoicing after a one and a half year old was found alive after wandering alone for four days. She suffered from hunger, insect bites, rainfall, and cold (Smolensk these days is reaching about 8°C / 46°F at night). The baby had sheltered in the roots of a tree destroyed during an earlier storm. An army of rescuers found her after they heard an unnatural squeak. The whole country was looking for her, but she was found within four kilometers (2.5 miles) of the spot where she was last seen. Since she is so young and her speech so limited, no one is sure how she found water or anything else about how she passed four days.
• Speaking of little wanderers, a Krasnoyarsk family's dog went missing on vacation 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) from home in Khakassia and was found. The family drove back and forth three times and found their dog after ten days. They passed out tons of fliers, got tons of false leads, and flew out to look at dogs that were not theirs, but they were eventually reunited with their beloved dog. A happy ending for all!