■ South Africa
Parcel sparks anthrax scare
Eleven people were sent to hospital yesterday after coming into contact with a suspicious powder at a post office that raised fears of anthrax, police said. Police were called to the post office at a mall in Alberton, south of Johannesburg, after staff discovered the powder in a torn envelope, police spokeswoman Juanita Kilian said. "The envelope was torn on the side and they could see the white powder, which prompted the first officers on the scene to call the bomb disposal unit," Kilian said. "We cannot confirm that the powder was actually anthrax, but the action that we took was just to be cautious." It was not clear where the envelope had come from or to whom it had been sent. The 11 people who came into contact with the powder were hosed down in decontamination booths and taken to hospital for observation and treatment. They were later released.
■ UNITED STATES
Cat survives 18-day voyage
A cat spent nearly three weeks crossing the Pacific Ocean in a shipping container with no food or water -- and appears to be fine. Pamela Escamilla lost sight of her three-year-old calico, Spice, while packing a shipping container with household goods in Hawaii. The container was shipped on June 15 to California. The cat spent 18 days in the container before arriving at the San Bernardino home of Escamilla's parents on Tuesday. When Escamilla opened the container, she noticed fluffs of cat hair on the floor. "I saw [Spice] poke her head out from behind some bicycles, and I started to scream," she said. A veterinarian said Spice's kidneys had shrunk and its bowels were backed up, but the prognosis was good.
■ UNITED STATES
Fossil sorry for being a fossil
Watch-maker and clothier Fossil Inc agreed to pay US$3,600 to a woman who was barred from breast-feeding her infant while visiting a showroom, the New York Civil Liberties Union said on Tuesday. Lass King, 37, said she received a letter of apology and the payment from Fossil after threatening the company with a lawsuit.
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