■UNITED KINGDOM
Musicians defend hacker
Musicians from such diverse groups as Pink Floyd and Boyzone have joined forces in a last-ditch campaign to halt the extradition to the US of London computer hacker Gary McKinnon. The family and friends of McKinnon, who has Asperger’s syndrome, hope that a campaign also supported by London Mayor Boris Johnson will finally bear fruit. Next month, McKinnon will appear again in a judicial review over the decision to send him to stand trial in the US for hacking into the US Department of Defense and NASA computer systems in search of information about UFOs. To help the case, Graham Nash authorized a reworking of a song he wrote while part of Crosby, Stills and Nash, while David Gilmour, formerly of Pink Floyd, is producing the new recording of the song. Boyzone singer Keith Duffy has also expressed his support, saying: “As the parent of a child with autism I know only too well that getting support at the right time can be crucial.”
■UNITED STATES
Toddler turns pool shark
A New York toddler still in diapers has a growing reputation as a pool shark with a mean bank shot — even though he has to stand on a chair to reach the table. The parents of two-year-old Keith O’Dell have posted videos of him on YouTube. The toddler is the youngest member of the American Pool Association. The son of pool-playing parents, the toddler recently traveled to Las Vegas to put on a demonstration for the association. His parents said pool was also teaching him colors and how to count.
■BRAZIL
Armed robbers surrender
Two armed men who held the passengers of a bus hostage in a suburb of Sao Paulo surrendered on Monday after lawyers they demanded arrived on the scene. The Globo News channel showed tactical police surrounding the minibus. Police Colonel Carlos Botelho said the assailants and police exchanged fire at the start of the two-hour drama, during which the bus’s ticket collector was wounded. The two men had boarded the bus to try to escape a police patrol that came upon them as they left a house they had robbed.
■MEXICO
Electoral candidate shot
An armed gang on Monday shot and injured an electoral candidate in the third such attack in the southwest since the weekend. The country is in campaign mode for July elections for federal lawmakers, six governors and more than 600 mayors. Unidentified attackers stopped parliamentary candidate Nicanor Adame and two others as they were traveling in a car in Guerrero state and shot at them, police said on Monday. The motive remained unclear.
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