Print

Mail

wiki links

World News Quick Take

■ Germany
Dwarves downsized
Snow White had to make do with just four dwarves rather than the usual seven due to cost-cutting at a theater in the eastern German town of Stendal. The Altmark Stendal theater said it could afford only six actors for its Christmas rendition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, which led to protests from theater-goers from the nearby western city of Hanover who wanted to see seven dwarves. The theater said it had attached two puppets in dwarf outfits to a background wall to give the production six dwarves. The actor playing the prince was supposed to double as the seventh dwarf but only made one brief appearance on stage. "The seventh dwarf wasn't on stage the whole time because he was stuck down in the mine working overtime," theater spokeswoman Susanne Kreuzer said.

■ United Kingdom
Prince Harry not charged
Prince Harry, who has gained the reputation as Britain's most unruly royal, has gotten off without charges after his scuffle with a photographer outside a nightclub in October, according to a report yesterday. The Sunday Express tabloid said that public prosecutors had intended to give him a "criminal caution" but that the decision was overturned through an administrative error. Harry's file referred to the fact that he was third in line for the throne -- after his father Prince Charles and elder brother William -- instead of merely mentioning his name. A Crown Prosecution Service spokeswoman, while admitting that Harry's file had accidentally mentioned his status as a royal, said his case had been "reviewed according to the code in a similar way to any other."

■ United Kingdom
Troops headed to Darfur
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has ordered the deployment of up to 3,000 soldiers to the conflict-torn Sudanese region of Darfur, the Independent reported. Fewer than 1,000 peacekeepers are on the ground in Darfur as part of an African Union force dispatched to help monitor a ceasefire between rebels and government troops. But their presence has had little impact so far, amid continued violence between the two sides. Darfur has been embroiled in conflict since February, when two rebel movements launched a revolt against Khartoum, charging the Arab-led government had marginalized and persecuted the region's black African tribes. In the subsequent crackdown, pro-government militias have driven more than 1.6 million from their homes, according to the UN.

■ France
Thieves drop heavy safe
Five intruders tried to steal a safe from a fashionable private address west of Paris but left empty-handed when it proved too heavy to handle, police said. The five succeeded in getting the safe out of its mounting during a Christmas Eve raid in Neuilly while the apartment's occupants were out celebrating. But they left in a hurry after deciding they would need too much time to shift the safe, which weighed too much for them -- 180kg. Neighbors, alerted by the noise called the police, who chased the gang into the nearby Bois de Boulogne park, making one arrest.

■ Colombia
Marxists abduct 10 tourists
Marxist rebels have abducted up to 10 tourists celebrating Christmas at a lakeside spa in northwestern Colombia, officials said. Fighters of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, raided a cluster of bungalows late Friday near San Rafael, 230km northwest of Bogota, and herded between 8 to 10 vacationers into vehicles, Jorge Mejia, deputy governor of Antioquia state, said the kidnapped tourists were all from Colombia. Mejia said"This is a criminal action. The victims were middle-class families enjoying a Christmas break," Mejia said. He said the FARC probably seized the group for ransom.

■ El Salvador
Troops likely to stay in Iraq
President Tony Saca said he is willing to prolong the stay of Salvadoran troops in Iraq if necessary next year. "We're helping the Iraqi people, and if there is the need to prolong our presence, if the authorities need it and we can help, I would not have a problem," Saca said Saturday. A decision will have to wait until after next month's elections in Iraq, he added. El Salvador is the only Latin American country to remain committed to Iraq despite the withdrawal of Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, all of whom served in the Spanish-led Plus Ultra brigade.

■ United States
Cash given out at shelter
Residents of Samaritan House in Denver didn't know what to expect when the bearded, middle-aged man parked his sport utility vehicle in front of the downtown homeless shelter Christmas Eve. The man walked into the building, pulled out a thick roll of US$100 bills and began passing them out to each of the approximately 300 residents. When he was finished, he had given out US$35,000. "It was like seeing Santa Claus and God all at once," said William Chengelis, who has lived at the shelter since November. As a crowd gathered, the man said he had once been homeless and knew what it was like to be in need.

■ United States
Brando sued posthumously
A half year after his death, Hollywood star Marlon Brando faces charges of sexual harassment and breach of contract from his one-time business manager, media reports said. Jo An Corrales, who worked for the "Godfather" star for three years, filed a complaint asking for US$3.5 million in restitution for her losses. The legendary but reclusive screen star whose method acting techniques inspired legions of other actors, died of lung failure on July 1. The case was filed last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Corrales claims that Brando wrote her out of his will as an executor, denying her executor fees. Hers is one of several claims filed against his estate, which was left to his nine children.

■ United States
Laura gets dessert plates
President George W. Bush gave his wife Laura dessert plates to complement her china pattern and she gave him a raincoat in their Christmas gift exchange on Saturday, a White House spokesman said. Joining the get-together at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains were Bush's father, former president George H.W. Bush, and mother, Barbara Bush, plus twin daughters Barbara and Jenna. Also on hand were virtually all of the expanded Bush family with the exception of Florida Governor Jeb Bush and his family. The party was to dine on turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberries and gravy, followed by pecan and pumpkin pie.

This story has been viewed 1620 times.