■ United States
Alligator attacks landscaper
A 3.6m-long alligator attacked a landscaper behind an island home in Sanibel, Florida, dragging her into a pond before a neighbor and police officers yanked the woman from the animal's jaws. "It was kind of a tug-of-war," the neighbor, Jim Anholt, said. Part of Janie Melsek's right arm had to be amputated. She was also severely bitten on her buttocks and thighs, but doctors believe she will walk again, her family said. She remained in critical condition. Melsek, 54, was trimming a tree when the alligator attacked.
■ Israel
Sick monkey `evolves'
A young monkey at an Israeli zoo has started walking like a human following a near death experience, the zoo's veterinarian said on Wednesday. Natasha, a small five-year-old black macaque monkey at the Safari Park next to Tel Aviv, began walking exclusively upright on two legs after a stomach ailment nearly killed her, zookeepers said. Monkeys usually alternate between upright movement and walking on all fours. A picture in the Maariv daily on Wednesday showed Natasha standing ramrod straight like a human. Two weeks ago, Natasha and three other monkeys were diagnosed with severe stomach flu. After intensive treatment, Natasha's condition stabilized, but she exhibited strange behavior, and a day after was released from the clinic, she began walking erect like a human being.
■ Slovakia
Voter triggers anthrax scare
A voter who wore surgical gloves to show his disgust with the choice of candidates in presidential runoff elections -- but triggered an anthrax scare instead -- has been cleared of any wrong-doing, an official said Wednesday. The proceedings against the man were dropped because he had not broken any law, the general prosecutor's spokeswoman Svetlana Husarova said. The man identified only as Julius G. became well known in Slovakia for his symbolic protest during the April 17 presidential runoffs pitting former authoritarian prime minister Vladimir Meciar against and his one-time ally, Ivan Gasparovic. Along with his ballot, the man also put a message in an envelope detailing his displeasure with Slovak politics.
■ United Kingdom
Violent crime on the rise
Violent crime in the UK soared last year, official figures showed yesterday, a disappointment to Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has pledged repeatedly to be tough on law and order. While the total number of recorded crimes crept up by 1 percent, offences involving violence shot up by 12 percent, Home Office figures showed, while other serious offences were also on the increase, such as an 8 percent rise in rape. The figures were released just days after Blair launched a new crackdown on crime and anti-social behavior, saying in a speech that he wanted to see "the end of the 1960s liberal consensus" about crime.
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