■UNITED STATES
Obscenity trial delayed
A long-awaited obscenity trial opened on Wednesday and was promptly put on hold after revelations that the top federal judge hearing the case had posted sexually explicit material on the Internet. Judge Alex Kozinski agreed to the prosecution’s request for a 48-hour delay so the Justice Department could look into possible issues of prejudice in the case. The Los Angeles Times said Kozinski posted the explicit material on his Web site. Kozinski said he had been unaware that the pictures could be viewed by the public. The Times said he declined to comment when asked if he felt he should excuse himself from hearing the trial of Ira Isaacs, a filmmaker accused of selling criminally obscene sexual fetish videos depicting bestiality.
■UNITED STATES
Kenyan lions in danger
Conservationists raised the alarm yesterday that lions in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park face extinction within a few years. “The situation has reached a critical level,” said Terry Garcia, executive vice president at National Geographic Society. Fewer than 100 lions are estimated to remain in the region. A major reason for the decline of the lions is spearing and poisoning by local Maasai, whose society depends on raising cattle. National Geographic is donating US$150,000 to the Maasailand Preservation Trust for a compensation fund for herdsmen whose livestock are killed by lions.
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