■ CANDA
Harper warns of pullout
PHOTO: REUTERS
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has notified US President George W. Bush that Canada will end its military mission in Afghanistan if another NATO country does not put more soldiers in the dangerous south, officials said. Harper spokeswoman Sandra Buckler said Harper talked to Bush on Wednesday about a report by an independent panel, which recommended last week that Canada continue its mission only if another NATO country musters 1,000 troops for Kandahar. Harper's Conservative government is under pressure to withdraw its 2,500 troops from Kandahar Province, the former Taliban stronghold, after the deaths of 78 Canadian soldiers and a diplomat.
■ UNITED STATES
Teen forced into prostitution
A police detective and a woman forced a 13-year-old runaway to work as a prostitute at parties around the city, telling her that if she tried to escape the officer would make her sell herself on the streets, prosecutors said. Wayne Taylor, 35, and Zelika Brown, 29, were arrested on charges of kidnapping, promoting prostitution, assault and endangering the welfare of a child, the Queens district attorney's office said Wednesday. Taylor, a 14-year New York Police Department member assigned to the housing bureau, was suspended without pay, the department said. Both he and Brown pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.
■ UNITED STATES
Thousands of bats dying off
Bats are dying off by the thousands as they hibernate in caves and mines around New York and Vermont, sending researchers scrambling to find the cause of a mysterious condition dubbed "white nose syndrome." The ailment -- named for the white circle of fungus found around the noses of affected bats -- was first noticed last January in four caves west of Albany. It has now spread to eight hibernation sites in the state and another in Vermont. Alan Hicks, a bat specialist with New York's Department of Environmental Conservation, called the quick-spreading disorder the "gravest threat" to bats he had ever seen.
■ UNITED STATES
Nurse admits to trafficking
A nurse admitted he cut body parts from 244 corpses and helped forge paperwork so the parts, some of them diseased, could be used in unsuspecting patients. Authorities say nurse Lee Cruceta was the lead cutter in a group that trafficked in more than 1,000 stolen body parts for the lucrative transplant market. Among the bodies looted was that of "Masterpiece Theater" host Alistair Cooke, who died in 2004. Cooke's daughter and relatives of the other deceased people say they never authorized any donations. Cruceta pleaded guilty on Wednesday to conspiracy, taking part in a corrupt organization, abuse of a corpse and 244 counts each of theft and forgery.
■ UNITED STATES
Madonna still top of the pops
Pop star Madonna is still the material girl, earning US$72 million in a recent 12-month period to top a Forbes.com list of female singers whom the financial Web site dubbed "Cash Queens of Music." Madonna, who rose to recording superstardom in the 1980s as the "Material Girl" after her hit song of that name, beat out Barbra Streisand, who was No. 2 with annual earnings of US$60 million, and Celine Dion at US$45 million, according to Forbes.com.
■ RUSSIA
Observers issue warning
European election observers warned on Wednesday that they might once again refuse to take part in a Russian election, saying the government was still imposing unacceptable restrictions on their work. The observers, from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said the Russians would not allow them into the country until a few days before the presidential election, on March 2, making it impossible for them to assess the campaign. A spokesman for the observers said that the mission had asked officials this week to reconsider and let monitoring begin sooner, and that if the Russians did not agree, the mission would be canceled.
■ BELGIUM
Toilet paper causes stink
Judges, prosecutors and other court officials in Bruges were told on Tuesday to bring their own toilet paper due to a protest by the supplier, a government spokesman said. The suppliers to the courts had stopped making deliveries due to what they said were unpaid arrears of several thousand euros. An emergency supply of twenty rolls was delivered on Tuesday, but the company warned that normal service would not be resumed until the bills were paid. "This might seem to be a minor problem, but in fact it's an important issue. The public justice service, which condemns people for not paying their bills, is guilty of the same thing," said Leo De Bock, spokesman for Belgian justice minister Jo Vandeurzen. "This is a problem inherited from the last government and it is not acceptable," said the spokesman for Vandeurzen.
■ UNITED KINGDOM
Pilot breaks down mid-air
The co-pilot of a London-Heathrow bound passenger flight had to be dragged from the cockpit and handcuffed after suffering an apparent mental breakdown in mid-air, it emerged yesterday on Wednesday. Passengers on the Air Canada flight from Toronto to London said the co-pilot was restrained after yelling and "invoking God" while at the controls of the Boeing 767 plane. The flight was forced to make an emergency diversion to Ireland's Shannon airport early on Monday and the unnamed crew member was taken to a nearby psychiatric unit. Sean Finucane, one of 146 passengers on board, said the co-pilot was carried into the cabin with his hands and ankles cuffed after he was restrained by cabin crew and a passenger, reported to be an off-duty Canadian soldier. It is understood that crew first became concerned less than an hour before they were due to arrive at Heathrow, when the pilot began "speaking loudly to himself and acting in a peculiar fashion," according to one source.
■ FRANCE
Sarkozy, Bruni sue Ryanair
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his friend Carla Bruni are suing Irish airline Ryanair over an advertisement featuring her daydreaming about a wedding, their lawyer said on Wednesday. Thierry Herzog told reporters that Sarkozy wanted a symbolic 1 euro (US$1.48) in damages, while Bruni, a former supermodel, was seeking 500,000 euros. "A photo of Carla Bruni costs 500,000 euros," Herzog was quoted as telling Le Monde daily, explaining that her fame as a model meant she could command large sums for advertising. A Paris court was due to hear the case yesterday. The advert, which ran in Le Parisien newspaper on Monday, features a photo of the pair in an advertisement for cut-price tickets.
■ RUSSIA
Observers issue warning
European election observers warned on Wednesday that they might once again refuse to take part in a Russian election, saying the government was still imposing unacceptable restrictions on their work. The observers, from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said the Russians would not allow them into the country until a few days before the presidential election, on March 2, making it impossible for them to assess the campaign. A spokesman for the observers said that the mission had asked officials this week to reconsider and let monitoring begin sooner, and that if the Russians did not agree, the mission would be canceled.
■ BELGIUM
Toilet paper causes stink
Judges, prosecutors and other court officials in Bruges were told on Tuesday to bring their own toilet paper due to a protest by the supplier, a government spokesman said. The suppliers to the courts had stopped making deliveries due to what they said were unpaid arrears of several thousand euros. An emergency supply of twenty rolls was delivered on Tuesday, but the company warned that normal service would not be resumed until the bills were paid. "This might seem to be a minor problem, but in fact it's an important issue. The public justice service, which condemns people for not paying their bills, is guilty of the same thing," said Leo De Bock, spokesman for Belgian justice minister Jo Vandeurzen. "This is a problem inherited from the last government and it is not acceptable," said the spokesman for Vandeurzen.
■ UNITED KINGDOM
Pilot breaks down mid-air
The co-pilot of a London-Heathrow bound passenger flight had to be dragged from the cockpit and handcuffed after suffering an apparent mental breakdown in mid-air, it emerged yesterday on Wednesday. Passengers on the Air Canada flight from Toronto to London said the co-pilot was restrained after yelling and "invoking God" while at the controls of the Boeing 767 plane. The flight was forced to make an emergency diversion to Ireland's Shannon airport early on Monday and the unnamed crew member was taken to a nearby psychiatric unit. Sean Finucane, one of 146 passengers on board, said the co-pilot was carried into the cabin with his hands and ankles cuffed after he was restrained by cabin crew and a passenger, reported to be an off-duty Canadian soldier. It is understood that crew first became concerned less than an hour before they were due to arrive at Heathrow, when the pilot began "speaking loudly to himself and acting in a peculiar fashion," according to one source.
■ FRANCE
Sarkozy, Bruni sue Ryanair
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his friend Carla Bruni are suing Irish airline Ryanair over an advertisement featuring her daydreaming about a wedding, their lawyer said on Wednesday. Thierry Herzog told reporters that Sarkozy wanted a symbolic 1 euro (US$1.48) in damages, while Bruni, a former supermodel, was seeking 500,000 euros. "A photo of Carla Bruni costs 500,000 euros," Herzog was quoted as telling Le Monde daily, explaining that her fame as a model meant she could command large sums for advertising. A Paris court was due to hear the case yesterday. The advert, which ran in Le Parisien newspaper on Monday, features a photo of the pair in an advertisement for cut-price tickets.
People with missing teeth might be able to grow new ones, said Japanese dentists, who are testing a pioneering drug they hope will offer an alternative to dentures and implants. Unlike reptiles and fish, which usually replace their fangs on a regular basis, it is widely accepted that humans and most other mammals only grow two sets of teeth. However, hidden underneath our gums are the dormant buds of a third generation, said Katsu Takahashi, head of oral surgery at the Medical Research Institute Kitano Hospital in Osaka, Japan. His team launched clinical trials at Kyoto University Hospital in October, administering an experimental
IVY LEAGUE GRADUATE: Suspect Luigi Nicholas Mangione, whose grandfather was a self-made real-estate developer and philanthropist, had a life of privilege The man charged with murder in the killing of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare made it clear he was not going to make things easy on authorities, shouting unintelligibly and writhing in the grip of sheriff’s deputies as he was led into court and then objecting to being brought to New York to face trial. The displays of resistance on Tuesday were not expected to significantly delay legal proceedings for Luigi Nicholas Mangione, who was charged in last week’s Manhattan killing of Brian Thompson, the leader of the US’ largest medical insurance company. Little new information has come out about motivation,
NOTORIOUS JAIL: Even from a distance, prisoners maimed by torture, weakened by illness and emaciated by hunger, could be distinguished Armed men broke the bolts on the cell and the prisoners crept out: haggard, bewildered and scarcely believing that their years of torment in Syria’s most brutal jail were over. “What has happened?” asked one prisoner after another. “You are free, come out. It is over,” cried the voice of a man filming them on his telephone. “Bashar has gone. We have crushed him.” The dramatic liberation of Saydnaya prison came hours after rebels took the nearby capital, Damascus, having sent former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad fleeing after more than 13 years of civil war. In the video, dozens of
ROYAL TARGET: After Prince Andrew lost much of his income due to his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, he became vulnerable to foreign agents, an author said British lawmakers failed to act on advice to tighten security laws that could have prevented an alleged Chinese spy from targeting Britain’s Prince Andrew, a former attorney general has said. Dominic Grieve, a former lawmaker who chaired the British Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) until 2019, said ministers were advised five years ago to introduce laws to criminalize foreign agents, but failed to do so. Similar laws exist in the US and Australia. “We remain without an important weapon in our armory,” Grieve said. “We asked for [this law] in the context of the Russia inquiry report” — which accused the government
RSS