■ United States
Turner gives advice
It's good to give, says one of the planet's biggest philanthropists, but don't forget to keep a tidy sum for that rainy day. "Keep a few hundred million at least, because you never know," CNN founder Ted Turner told a conference on philanthropy this week in Little Rock, Arkansas. "Things could get really tough," he said. "I've got to be careful I don't give everything and be a poor, destitute old man, which would be really sad," he added. Turner is ranked the world's 382nd richest person with a fortune estimated at US$2 billion, the latest Forbes list of billionaires says.
■ United States
Goya painting stolen
A van transporting a 228 year-old painting by Spanish master Francisco de Goya to Manhattan's Guggenheim museum was intercepted as it traveled from the Goya's home in the Toledo museum of art in Ohio to an exhibition in New York last week. The art thieves presumably knew precisely what they were targeting and why, as the operation was meticulously planned and had the benefit of pinpoint accurate intelligence. The grab is likely to have been a made-to-order job, as any attempt to sell such a well-known painting would be instantly thwarted by Interpol, which sends out global alerts when such thefts occur.
■ Canada
Professors get weed rights
The use of medical marijuana has given two Toronto professors the right to something that many students could only dream of -- access to specially ventilated rooms where they can indulge in peace. The two, at the esteemed University of Toronto and at York University, suffer from chronic medical conditions that some doctors say can be eased by smoking marijuana. They are among nearly 1,500 Canadians who have won the right to use the drug for health reasons. Using human rights legislation, the two petitioned their employers for the right to light up in the workplace. They faced a legal struggle, but the universities eventually agreed.
■ Cuba
Dengue vaccine tested
Havana is accelerating its efforts to develop a vaccine against dengue fever, an illness endemic to tropical countries that kills thousands each year. The director of the country's biotechnology institute said on Tuesday that researchers have begun testing a genetically engineered vaccine in monkeys, but remain five years away from an effective vaccine that could safely be used in humans. "The most effective thing would be to have a preventative vaccine," said Gerardo Guillen, director of biomedical research at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. "It will be a very important result."
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