World briefs - February 26, 2003
February 26, 2003 Edition -1
Thousands flee civil war
N'Djamena, Chad - Intensifying civil war in the Central African Republic is forcing thousands of refugees across the border into Chad. Médecins sans Frontires and the UN refugee agency said more than 1 000 people a day have been crossing into Chad since last Wednesday, when foreign militias backing CAR President Felix-Ange Patasse retook several towns from rebels.
Ivory smuggling ring bust
Nairobi - Kenyan wildlife officials have made their biggest seizure of illicit ivory in three years, seizing 33 elephants tusks, and arresting five illegal traders. The raid occurred in the district of Marsabit, Kenya Wildlife Service officials said yesterday. The African elephant was highly endangered in the late 1980s after two decades of rampant poaching, until countries agreed to ban the ivory trade.
Bollywood beauty
Mumbai - Bollywood star Manisha Koirala is seen during a movie shoot in Mumbai earlier this month. Trapped in
a rut of shabby scripts and candy-floss formulas, and besieged by pirate copies, India's Bollywood dream factory is stuck in a nightmare after one of the worst years in its century-long run.
Assassination bid recalled
Rome - The Vatican is to issue a stamp to commemorate the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II as part of a 25-stamp set marking the quarter-century of his papacy. The stamps, each dedicated to a year of John Paul's papacy, will be sold from March 20. In May 1981, Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca fired two shots at the pope while he was riding through St Peter's Square.
'Sweet thief' on trial
Warsaw - The trial of a 68-year-old pensioner charged with stealing a candy bar worth about R1,50 has begun. The woman, who says she can't eat sweets due to a diabetic condition, denied yesterday that she gobbled the sweet in a shop last year. If convicted, she faces a fine of about R10 000 or jail. Authorities investigating the case in Legnica have spent three months gathering evidence.
Newton's doomsday date
Jerusalem - Sir Isaac Newton, the British scientist and pioneer of the theory of gravity, predicted the world will end in 2060, according to a study of manuscripts at the Israeli National Library. The doomsday prediction was found in theological texts written by the physicist. A collector of Semitic languages, Abraham Yahuda, acquired Newton's doomsday papers in the 1930s at an auction.
Jerusalem, city of snow
Jerusalem - A rare snowstorm has swept across the Middle East, closing highways and schools in Israel, Lebanon and Jordan, cutting power and blanketing the steeples and palm trees of Jerusalem in wintry white. Forecasters said the storm would continue tomorrow and was expected to deliver the heaviest snow since 1950. By early yesterday, 30 centimetres had fallen in Jerusalem.
Life of Princess Di in dance
Copenhagen - Peter Schaufuss, a former world dance star and former artistic director of the English National Ballet, has created a modern ballet based on the turbulent life of Princess Diana. The premiere of Diana - The Princess will take place tomorrow in the town of Holstebro in western Denmark. Diana is played by the British ballerina Zara Deakin and Sean Ganley plays the part of Prince Charles.
A wild moose chase by SMS
Stockholm - They won't be ordering out for pizza, but scientists hope to track the eating habits of 25 moose with cellphones. Seven times a day, the specially built phones will send SMS updates to Swedish researchers at the University of Agricultural Sciences. The moose will be tagged with the phones next week. Scientists hope to track the animals' movement across the northern part of the country.
Cigar fans Havana good time
Havana - Hundreds of tobacco aficionados have paid homage in Cuba to the world's finest stogies. About 900 people travelled to Havana for the Fifth Annual Habanos Festival that began on Monday. The celebration continues with visits to tobacco plantations and cigar factories. The festival comes as Cuba struggles to overcome damage to the industry caused by a pair of hurricanes last year.
Alligator 'do-gooder' jailed
Tampa, Florida - Leslie Strickland said she had nothing but good intentions when she loaded an injured alligator into her car. The 49-year-old woman had hit the animal with her car on Friday and went to rescue it on Saturday. The alligator started to thrash its tail and she veered off the road and hit a postbox. She wound up spending a night in jail, charged with possession of an alligator.
