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World News Quick Take

■ VIETNAM

Snakes found on a plane

Customs officials have seized more than a tonne of ratsnakes found aboard a Vietnam Airlines flight from Bangkok, the second time in about a month such snakes were found in air cargo to Vietnam, state media said yesterday. The snakes -- scientific name Ptyas mucosus and a protected species -- were found in more than 60 boxes that arrived in Hanoi's Noi Bai airport on Thursday, the Vietnam News Agency quoted officials as saying. "There is a great possibility that Vietnam is only a transit point of the cargo," it said, adding that the snakes were transfered to an animal caring station nearby.



■ SOUTH KOREA

Military calls up dancers

Dancers will now have to win international competitions if they want to sidestep mandatory military service, a report said yesterday. Under a rule which took effect on Jan. 1, dancers and musicians who only win domestic contests will no longer be able to escape the draft. Local dancers and music groups were quoted as saying the new rule could jeopardize their careers, with dancers fearful that life in the army could stiffen their muscles. But the Office of Military Manpower Administration said South Korean sportsmen must win international contests to secure exemption and it was not fair to exempt artists who had won only domestic recognition.



■ AUSTRALIA

Boomerang finally returns

Boomerangs really do come back -- even after 25 years. Officials in an Outback town were surprised when a boomerang -- an angled throwing stick traditionally used by Aborigines as a hunting weapon -- arrived in the post. Along with it was a note from a guilt-ridden American who said he stole it years earlier from a museum in the mining town of Mount Isa and now felt rotten about it. "I removed this back in 1983 when I was younger and dumber," said the note, according to Mount Isa Mayor Ron McCullough. "It was the wrong thing to do, I'm sorry and I'm going to send it back."



■ CHINA

Smoke-free restaurant failing

Beijing's first smoke-free restaurant chain faces going out of business after its customers deserted it in droves after the ban was enforced, state media reported yesterday. The Chinese are the world's most enthusiastic smokers, with a growing market of more than 350 million. The occupancy rate at Meizhou Dongpo, a chain serving the spicy fare of southwest Sichuan Province, had dropped to "about 80 percent of that enjoyed by other restaurants across the street" after it banned smoking in October, the China Daily quoted its manager as saying.



■ SERBIA

Commission confirms ban

The electoral commission confirmed its ban of US and British observers at weekend presidential elections because their countries back Kosovo's drive for independence. The commission voted late on Thursday to reject an appeal by pro-democracy groups that asked the body to reconsider its ban of the US and British observers because it could hurt Serbia's image abroad.



■ RUSSIA

Stray rocket hits house

The military on Thursday offered compensation to a homeowner after a small rocket veered off course and hit his country house outside Moscow. Russian Internet chatrooms were buzzing late on Wednesday after local news agencies reported that "an unidentified flying object dropped two bombs near Moscow." A defense ministry official said two rockets had gone astray during a military exercise near Moscow on Wednesday afternoon. One hit the roof of an unoccupied house 3.5km away. "The damage is estimated at 60,000 rubles (US$2,466). It will be compensated for in two days," said Yevgeny Konashenkov, spokesman for Russian land troops. "The owner of the house treats the incident with understanding. He has no legal claims." Luckily for the nearby compound of cottage houses, the rockets disconnected at launch from the load of explosives they normally carry to clear minefields.



■ TURKEY

Headscarf ban gets boost

The country's chief prosecutor warned on Thursday against moves to lift a ban on women wearing Islamic-style headscarves in universities, saying the injunction is key to protecting the country's secular traditions. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan opposes the ban and has advocated changing the Constitution to allow headscarves on campuses. Turkey's High Appeals Court chief prosecutor, Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya, issued a statement on Thursday warning that allowing "religious symbols" in schools would harm the nation's secular nature and even lead to conflict.



■ GERMANY

Burglar stumbles upon body

A Berlin burglar's break-in took an unexpected turn when he stumbled upon a corpse and felt compelled to call the police. "He called to say he'd just broken into a flat and found a dead body," said a spokeswoman for Berlin police on Thursday. "He gave the address of the place and then hung up." Officers discovered the 64-year-old resident of the flat dead in his bedroom. The man had passed away about two weeks ago, and authorities are not treating the death as suspicious. The burglar has not been heard of since.



■ UNITED KINGDOM

Don't send in the clowns

Bad news for Coco and Blinko -- children don't like clowns and even older kids are scared of them. The news that will no doubt have clowns shedding tears was revealed in a poll of youngsters by researchers from the University of Sheffield who were examining how to improve the decor of hospital children's wards. The study, reported in the Nursing Standard magazine, found all the 250 patients aged between four and 16 they quizzed disliked the use of clowns. "As adults we make assumptions about what works for children," said Penny Curtis, a senior lecturer in research at the university. "We found that clowns are universally disliked by children."
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