Health officials reported another death and 10 more cases of SARS in Canada's largest city Monday, and said a public review of how they handled a renewed outbreak of the illness was possible. SARS now has claimed 32 lives in Toronto, including a 60-year-old man who died May 20 and had his case reviewed under increased monitoring for possible undiagnosed patients, said Colin D'Cunha, the Ontario commissioner of public health. D'Cunha reported 62 probable cases of SARS with 6,800 people under home quarantine for possible exposure, an increase of more than 1,500 over the previous day. He also said more than 5,000 health care workers were in ``working quarantine,'' which means they continue working but must wear mask, gown and gloves both inside and outside of hospitals and isolate themselves at home.
■ Italy
McDonald's sues critic
Once the legions marched forward to repel the barbarian hordes; now a lone Italian food critic has ridden out against what he sees as their contemporary equivalent. Edoardo Raspelli is taking on an enemy armed with slick lawyers whose standard is a pair of golden arches. Raspelli, a leading Italian food critic, is being sued by McDonald's, the giant US burger chain, after panning the food they serve to more than half a million Italians each day. Raspelli, who is known for his trenchant dismissal of poor cuisine, was unimpressed by the fare he sampled -- "obscene French fries tasting of cardboard" and "rubbery buns."
■ United Kingdom
Finding a solution that sticks
Move over Spider-Man -- mere mortals may soon be coming to a ceiling near you. Researchers at the University of Manchester say they have cracked the secret of one of the reptile world's greatest climbers, the gecko, and produced a sticky tape that can mimic the lizard's gravity-defying abilities. Soon, people could walk on walls like comic-book superhero Spider-Man, the university said. "The new adhesive -- gecko tape -- contains billions of tiny plastic fibres which are similar to natural hairs covering the soles of geckos' feet," the university said in a statement. "The research team believes it won't be long before Spider-Man gloves become a reality."
■ United Kingdom
Abduction case thrown out
A London court Monday threw out a case against four Romanians and a Kosovan Albanian in connection with an alleged plot to abduct Victoria Beckham, formerly the pop singer Posh Spice and the wife of England football captain David Beckham. Prosecutors said the evidence of a key witness, a Kosovan parking attendant, was unreliable, and Judge Simon Smith expressed criticism regarding payment made to the witness, named as Florim Gashi, 27, by Sunday tabloid News of the World.
■ France
Politician linked to murders
Frances most notorious serial killer has claimed that he murdered at least one victim on the orders of highly placed personalities in Toulouse because of a blackmail threat linked to sadomasochistic orgies involving politicians, judges and police. Dominique Baudis, the city's former mayor and current head of the Conseil Superieur de l'Audiovisuel was among four people named by the murderer, Patrice Alegre, who is serving a life sentence for five killings, involving extreme cruelty, and six rapes.
Agencies
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