Thu, Jan 27, 2011 page7

• World News Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  UNITED KINGDOM

  Crematorium to heat pool

  A local council is planning to use excess energy from a crematorium incinerator to heat one of its swimming pools, it emerged on Tuesday, but critics slammed the proposals as “sick.” The council in Redditch, a town in central England, said the measure would help reduce its carbon footprint. “Redditch Borough Council, with a commitment to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, is considering proposals to re-use energy at its crematorium to heat a nearby leisure center,” a spokesman said. “The heat would otherwise be exhausted into the atmosphere.” However, the Unison trade union has condemned the plans. “These proposals by Redditch Borough Council are sick and an insult to local residents,” said Unison regional secretary Roger McKenzie. “I call on Redditch Borough Council to apologize to local residents for the insulting and insensitive proposals.”

  MALAYSIA

  Cops to fight pot bellies

  A state police chief reportedly plans to force out-of-shape personnel to attend group exercise on workdays. Sharifuddin Abdul Ghani, the police chief of Pahang State, told the Star newspaper that police officers who are “pot bellied and overweight” will have trouble performing their duties. He said all personnel deemed out-of-shape will soon be summoned for daily exercises. Police officers in Pahang currently undergo weekly aerobics training and a 2.5km run each month to stay fit.

  UNITED STATES

  Piano found on sandbar

  A grand piano recently showed up on a sandbar in Miami’s Biscayne Bay, about 200m from condominiums on the shore. The piano, which weighs nearly 300kg, was placed at the highest spot along the sandbar so it doesn’t get underwater during high tide. While officials aren’t sure how it got there, they know it won’t be going anywhere unless it becomes a hazard to wildlife or boaters. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Jorge Pino said the agency is not responsible for moving such items, the Miami Herald newspaper reports.

  ITALY

  Celebrity’s body missing

  Police are looking for the body of a late beloved TV host after visitors at a cemetery found his tomb broken into and his coffin missing. Generations of Italians grew up watching Mike Bongiorno as he hosted quiz shows and other entertainment programs during the fledging days of television in Italy. Bongiorno died in 2009 at the age of 85. Police in Arona, a town in northern Italy, said officers are still investigating the matter and would not comment. News reports said a local man who came to the cemetery to visit a family grave noticed Bongiorno’s tomb was open on Tuesday morning and the coffin gone.

  MALAYSIA

  In-law wants Blair tried

  Former British prime minister Tony Blair’s sister-in-law Lauren Booth, a rights campaigner and Muslim convert, said yesterday he should be tried for war crimes over the invasion of Iraq. Booth, the half-sister of Blair’s wife, Cherie, is in Malaysia for a series of lectures. Asked whether Blair should be arrested and sent to the International Court of Justice in The Hague for war crimes, Booth replied: “Absolutely. He misled the British people and took Britain to war on a lie.” The conflict in Iraq was “an offence,” she told reporters after a speech at a Malaysian university, saying it was organized well in advance between Blair and the United States leadership.
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