AUSTRALIA
Zoo probes rhinos’ death
Four rare white rhinoceroses have died in recent weeks at a zoo after displaying mysterious neurological problems such as stumbling, officials said yesterday. The Taronga Western Plains Zoo near the New South Wales city of Dubbo said in a statement that it had begun a veterinary investigation to pinpoint the cause of the deaths and is working with rhino specialists in Africa and North America. The four rhinos — Izizi, Aluka, Intombi and her daughter Amira — began showing signs of neurological problems two weeks ago, an unnamed zoo official told Australian Associated Press. The first rhino died soon after the symptoms became apparent and the fourth died over the weekend, the official said. Three other rhinos survived, zoo spokesman Mark Williams said. Zoo general manager Matt Fuller said bacterial infections, snake venom, toxins and many types of viruses had been ruled out as possible causes. He said results of a microscopic examination of tissue from the rhino carcasses may be available next week, but added that it could take several weeks to get results from virology cultures.
AUSTRALIA
Surfer recovers from attack
A surfer was recovering yesterday after being bitten by a shark on the Gold Coast, when he fell off his board and landed on the predator. The animal bit Billy O’Leary twice, slicing his flesh down to the bone and severely damaging his Achilles tendon, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported. O’Leary, 20, managed to get himself ashore at Nobbys Beach, where friends bound the wound to stem the bleeding and alerted authorities. “There were two bites. One is sort of half in his calf, that’s taken a big chunk out of that,” fellow surfer Tim Windisch told the newspaper. “The other one is down to his heel. It’s just right down to the bone. You could see the bone.”
NORTH KOREA
Triplets’ birth celebrated
The nation celebrated the arrival this week of its 415th set of triplets, thanks to infusions of honey tonics and a legacy of care bestowed on triple births by the country, state news agency KCNA reported on Tuesday. The triplets were born to Kim Sun-ok, who works in a shoe factory in Pyongyang, and her husband, Kim Kyong, who works in a factory producing soju, a fiery Korean liquor. Thanks to the instructions of recently deceased leader Kim Jong-il, KCNA said, special care is afforded to triplets whose mothers are given special maternity care and gifts, including clothes, blankets, milk and honey. “Flowing into her body were honey tonics, including the royal jelly honey and the barrenwort honey and various kinds of nutrients,” KCNA reported. The triplets can look forward to more rewards than most of the 22 million North Koreans, whose economy, by some calculations, has only just regained the level it achieved in 1974.
CHINA
‘Sex,’ ‘God’ pills banned
China will ban health supplement makers from naming their products after sex, God or eternal life, Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday, in an attempt to stop an unregulated industry from using vulgarity and superstition to sell pills. China’s State Food and Drug Administration will outlaw words it classed as “vulgar or linked with superstition, such as: sex, God, immortal,” from the names of health products, Xinhua said. It did not say when the ban will take effect. The terms “powerful,” “magical results,” “miraculous” and “extraordinary” will also be proscribed, it said.
ROMANIA
Bridal train record broken
A hot air balloon floated over downtown Bucharest on Tuesday carrying a model wearing what is now regarded as the world’s longest bridal train. The 3km ivory train on the model’s wedding gown billowed out over a main boulevard in Romania’s capital. Guinness World Records on Monday recognized the item on the silk and lace gown as the longest train, beating the previous record held by a Dutch designer, but pedestrians did not seem to make much of the media event, which was organized by the artifact’s creators — the Andree Salon fashion house and the organizers of this year’s biannual Wedding Fair in Bucharest. A few bystanders looked up at the balloon, but many others ignored it. The train, which took 100 days to create, was crafted by a team of 10 seamstresses, salon spokeswoman Lavinia Lascae said. The lace was imported from France, while taffeta and other fabrics were purchased from Italy, costing a total of US$7,365, she added. Beating a Dutch designer to the record had an added dimension for Romanians, as many are still angry after the Netherlands opposed its entry into the EU’s visa-free travel zone. “If the Netherlands does not allow us into Europe, we’ll take them out of the world records book,” said Alin Caraman, an organizer of the Wedding Fair.
UNITED KINGDOM
PM ‘tucked up’ by Obama
British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday revealed he was “tucked up in bed” by US President Barack Obama during the pair’s recent trip on Air Force One. The two leaders were repeatedly seen back-slapping and sharing jokes during Cameron’s recent US visit, but now it appears the friendship was sealed when the president offered Cameron the use of his personal quarters. “It was four o’clock UK time so he [Obama] said: ‘David, why don’t you use my bed and put your feet up,’ so I duly did,” he told members of his constituency in Witney. “Barack went to the back of the plane and explained to my private secretary and the team: ‘Don’t worry, the British prime minister is fine, I have just tucked him up in bed.’ I don’t think that has happened before.” Obama went out of his way to hail the US’ “indispensable” relationship with Britain during last week’s visit, even offering to learn the rules of cricket.
UNITED KINGDOM
‘Psycho Stapleton’ in court
A man appeared in court on Tuesday over the murder of an Indian student who was shot dead in England as he visited friends over the Christmas period. Kiaran Stapleton, 20, is accused of shooting Anuj Bidve, 23, a student from the Indian city of Pune, in Salford near Manchester on Dec. 26. Bidve, who was studying for a postgraduate qualification in microelectronics at Lancaster University in northwest England, was shot once in the head and died a short time later in hospital. The accused described himself as “Psycho Stapleton” at an earlier hearing when asked his name.
NETHERLANDS
Van Gogh work authenticated
A still life depicting a bouquet of flowers painted by Dutch master Vincent van Gogh in 1886 has been authenticated in a study which used a new X-ray technique, a Dutch museum spokeswoman said on Tuesday. “With this new radiography, there was no more doubt,” Kroller-Muller Museum spokeswoman Sylvia Gentenaar said. Still Life with Meadow Flowers and Roses was declared a genuine van Gogh notably after some particular characteristics were identified within the pigments used in the painting.
GUATEMALA
Five jailed for 7,710 years
A court on Tuesday ordered five former paramilitaries to 7,710 years each in prison for their part in a 1982 massacre of 256 Indians during the country’s civil war. Judge Jazmi Barrios gave each of the soldiers 30 years for each person killed in the massacre plus 30 years for crimes against humanity, saying the group acted with “wickedness and cruelty” toward their victims. Four of the defendants were part of the Civil Self-Defense Patrols, while the fifth served as military commissioner. The massacre of Achi Maya Indians occurred on July 18, 1982, in the northern municipality of Rabinal, during the 1982-1983 military regime of former president Efrain Rios Montt. A UN Truth Commission documented 669 massacres during the country’s civil war, of which 626 were attributed to government forces.
UNITED STATES
Flight delayed for two days
A 13-hour flight from San Francisco to Shanghai is no commuter hop, but the 262 passengers on a United Airlines flight were ready for that. Instead, they were stranded in Anchorage, Alaska, for two days. Flight 857 diverted to the nearest airport — Anchorage — when several lavatories were found to be inoperable about three hours after the flight’s 2 pm departure on Sunday from San Francisco, United spokesperson Charles Hobart said. Passengers told the Anchorage Daily News they waited in their seats until 8pm before they were allowed to deplane. The airline handed out hotel and meal vouchers, but with only a handful of employees to handle the task, it took several hours, the newspaper reported. United brought in another plane on Monday and passengers boarded, but that plane also had problems. Passengers finally took off on Tuesday afternoon on a third Boeing 777.
UNITED STATES
Miss Russia hoards drugs
Prosecutors say a former Miss Russia has been hoarding pills to try to get high while in court-ordered drug treatment. A New York City judge said on Tuesday that Anna Malova can stay in a residential rehabilitation program for now. However, she might have to go to trial if she gets another bad behavior report at a May 1 court date. The NY Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s office has charged Malova with forging prescriptions to get painkillers. Under the current plan, she can get the case dismissed if she successfully completes 18 months in treatment. Trained as a doctor, Malova was Miss Russia and finished in the top 10 in the Miss Universe pageant in 1998.
UNITED STATES
Mom jailed for deadly milk
A California woman whose infant son died after ingesting methamphetamine-laced breast milk was sentenced to six years in prison. Maggie Jean Wortman pleaded guilty last month to voluntary manslaughter as part of a deal with prosecutors, who had said they would otherwise pursue a murder charge. An autopsy on six-week-old Michael Acosta III found that the baby died of “methamphetamine toxicity” on Nov. 21, 2010. Prosecutors said Wortman should have known the dangers of breastfeeding her child after using the drug. The Times-Standard of Eureka reported that the 27-year-old woman’s attorney said during Monday’s sentencing that his client should be placed into a drug treatment program with probation, rather than prison. However, Judge Bruce Watson referred to a probation report that said Wortman has not fully taken responsibility for her son’s death.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of