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World News Quick Take

■AUSTRALIA

Gay wedding ban stays: PM

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said yesterday that the government ban on gay marriage would remain, despite moves within his center-left Labor Party to have it overturned. Rudd, who considers himself a moderate Christian, won the 2007 election on a platform that supported the former conservative government’s legal definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Rudd said his government’s position remained unchanged amid media speculation that he will face a groundswell of support for same-sex marriage at Labor’s national conference, due to begin in Sydney today. “We are consistent with the policy we took to the last election,” he told public broadcaster ABC. The issue was thrown into the spotlight this week when the Labor Party in Tasmania state voted for the Marriage Act to be amended to allow for same-sex unions.



■AUSTRALIA

Parking wardens need judo

Issuing parking tickets is such a dangerous business that parking wardens on Tuesday demanded self-defense training and the right to carry pepper spray and batons. Nearly half of Sydney’s parking attendants have been assaulted by irate motorists and one in 10 had needed hospital treatment. “About a fifth of the officers received physical injuries that required medical attention,” United Services Union spokesman Ben Kruse said. “Enough is enough ... there needs to be a focus on personal protective equipment.”



■INDONESIA

Bombed hotels re-open

Two luxury hotels in Jakarta that were struck by suicide bombers earlier this month reopened yesterday, a hotel spokeswoman said. The JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels reopened less than two weeks after the twin blasts on July 17 killed seven people, most of them foreigners, Marriott spokeswoman Ina Ilmiaviatta said. Marriott International manages both hotels. “We have resumed our normal business operations today. We hope to be able to reach an average hotel occupancy of 60 to 70 percent like before, in spite of the bombings,” she said. “We have certainly increased our security measures, with some new approaches which I cannot tell you as they’re confidential.” The two main areas damaged by the bombs — a lounge in the Marriott and a restaurant in the Ritz-Carlton — remain closed.



■VIETNAM

Smuggled tusks seized

Customs inspectors have discovered about 300kg of elephant tusks hidden in a shipping container of African timber, an official said yesterday. Bui Hoang Duong, head of the customs inspections department at the northern port of Haiphong, said inspectors had spotted the tusks on Tuesday concealed in a container of wood from Kenya. The sender was identified as Span-Freight Shipping Ltd. “The two companies listed as recipients on the waybill have refused to receive the elephant tusks,” Duong said, adding that police and customs were still trying to identify the owner.



■PHILIPPINES

Baby born with two heads

Doctors in a government hospital in Manila were closely monitoring yesterday the condition of a baby girl born with two heads. The still unnamed baby was born late on Tuesday at Doctor Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital. One of the unnamed attending doctors said the newborn was in a stable condition but she may die if both heads share only one heart. The parents of the baby, a tricycle driver and a housewife, are appealing for help and prayers.



■RUSSIA

Envoy warns over monitors

Interfax news agency said a diplomat has voiced concern about US observers possibly joining the EU’s monitoring mission in Georgia, saying it could foment violence. The unidentified Foreign Ministry official was quoted by Interfax on Tuesday, saying the US presence in the mission would “sharply increase the likelihood of border provocations” near South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia has recognized the breakaway Georgian provinces’ independence after a war with Georgia in August. The EU sent 246 monitors to Georgia as part of a truce that ended the war. The EU decided on Monday to extend its mission for another year. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband says the EU mission could soon also include monitors from the US.



■GERMANY

Minister’s stolen car found

The government car of Health Minister Ulla Schmidt, which caused a political storm when it was stolen during her holiday in Spain, has resurfaced the daily Rheinische Post said yesterday. Spanish authorities said the armor-plated vehicle was found near Schmidt’s holiday resort, Alicante, on Tuesday evening, the paper said. The car’s disappearance prompted widespread criticism of Schmidt’s use of the chauffeur-driven car during her holiday, and demands for her resignation two months before a general election. The thieves are thought to have lost interest in the limousine after all the attention it had generated. The car, which went missing after the key was stolen from the chauffeur’s holiday residence, appears to be undamaged.



■UNITED KINGDOM

Wicked witch wanted

Wanted: wicked witch to cast spell over historic caves. Must be able to cackle and not be allergic to cats. Salary £50,000 (US$83,000) per year, pro rate for working weekends and school holidays. That is the job description for a role at Wookey Hole Caves near Wells, England, where the owners are looking for a new witch after the last one retired. Hundreds of hag hopefuls lined up on Tuesday for interviews at the caves, which are thought to have first been inhabited by man 50,000 years ago but are now home to flocks of bats. Each candidate has one minute to convince three judges that they are the right person for the job, for example by emitting blood-curdling wails or casting a spell over the caves. Legend has it that the original Wookey Hole witch lived in the caves in the Dark Ages causing crop failures and turning milk rancid before she was turned to stone by a local abbot who threw holy water at her.



■GERMANY

Girl imprisoned by parents

An 11-year old girl is believed to have been imprisoned by her parents for up to nine years, media reports said yesterday. The girl, who never attended school, was believed to suffer from both mental and physical disabilities, local media said. Social services took charge of the girl and brought her to a clinic after a neighbor reported the case, a government spokeswoman said.



■UNITED KINGDOM

Chimp’s story shortlisted

The purported autobiography of a movie-star chimpanzee is among the contenders for the nation’s most prestigious literary award. Me Cheeta is one of 13 novels on the Booker Prize longlist. Originally published anonymously, James Lever’s book claims to tell the life story of the chimp who gained 1930s Hollywood stardom in Tarzan movies. The Booker shortlist will be announced Sept. 8 and the winner on Oct. 6.



■UNITED STATES

Man threatened Obama

A 47-year-old California man was found guilty of making death threats on the Internet against President Barack Obama during last year’s election campaign. Walter Bagdasarian faces 10 years in jail after Tuesday’s verdict in a federal court in San Diego. He posted a tirade against then-candidate Obama on a Web forum in October saying that Obama would run the US into the ground if elected and should be shot. On election day in November, Bagdasarian also sent e-mails calling for Obama to be shot. US District Court Judge Marilyn Huff called Bagdasarian’s postings a “definite threat” when she found him guilty after the defendant waived his right to a jury trial, the San Diego Union Tribune reported. Bagdasarian’s attorney argued that his client had been drunk when sending the messages. Bagdasarian is free on US$100,000 bail until his Oct. 26 sentencing.



■UNITED STATES

Pet snakes cause car crash

Police say two pet baby snakes escaped from a 20-year-old man’s pants pockets as he was driving, leading to a car crash in Hartford, Connecticut. Police say Angel Rolon lost control of his car on Monday when the snakes slithered near the gas and brake pedals and he and a passenger tried to catch them. Police say the SUV veered into some parked cars and overturned. Rolon was treated at a hospital for injuries. Police say they gave him a summons for reckless driving and other charges. Police are unsure why the snakes were in Rolon’s pockets or what kind of snakes they were. Animal control officers caught the animals.



■UNITED STATES

Coffee maker grounds flight

The electrical smell that caused a Southwest Airlines flight to make an unexpected landing on Sunday was caused by a coffee maker in the back of the aircraft, a company spokesman said on Monday. The coffee maker was at the back of the Boeing 737. The aircraft was examined and put back into service the same day, Southwest said.



■MEXICO

National ID cards planned

President Felipe Calderon said the government would issue nationwide identity cards for citizens starting this year. By 2012, all citizens will have one, he said. The cards will carry the bearer’s photograph. They will also include information on fingerprints and biometric data, including facial and iris scans, on a magnetic strip. Currently voter ID cards are used for identification. They bear a photo, signature and one fingerprint. Interior Secretary Fernando Gomez Mont said on Tuesday the new cards would help in the fight against organized crime and ensure transparency in government aid programs. Drug traffickers frequently use false IDs to evade law enforcement.



■UNITED STATES

Woman killed, fetus gone

Police in central Massachusetts are trying to figure out who killed an expectant mother, removed a fetus from her womb and dumped her body in a closet. The fetus is missing. Darlene Haynes was about eight months pregnant when she was last seen alive. Her body was discovered on Monday after her landlord went to check on a report of a strong odor coming from her apartment in Worcester. Police say the 23-year-old Haynes was found wrapped in bedding. The medical examiner ruled the woman’s death a homicide.


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