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World in Brief
Posted by The Times on Dec 29, 2007, 02:34
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PARIS Miss France 2008 will be allowed to keep her crown, contest organisers have said, despite a row over suggestive photographs that saw MPs, a bishop and the Minister for Overseas Territories spring to her defence. However, she will not be able to compete in the Miss World or Miss Universe contests, where she will be replaced by Miss New Caledonia.
Valerie Begue, 22, from Réunion, an overseas departement of France located in the Indian Ocean, won the beauty pageant, which is taken far more seriously in France than in many other countries, in a televised ceremony on December 8. But her reign threatened to be short-lived after a magazine published a risqué set of photographs in which she was featured lying in a crucifixion-like pose while wearing a bikini, and licking condensed milk in a suggestive manner.
The rules of the contest forbid participants appearing in nude or provocative photographs, and the head of the Miss France contest, Genevieve de Fontenay, called for Ms Begue to renounce her title. She refused, saying the three-year-old photographs were published without her consent. In the face of massive public support, the organisers later relented. (Reuters)
Australian Taleban fighter released
SYDNEY David Hicks, 32, the only Guantanamo Bay inmate convicted of terrorism offences, has been released from an Adelaide prison after spending more than six years behind bars, most in solitary confinement. Hicks returned to Australia in May to complete his sentence. The former kangaroo skinner admitted training with al-Qaeda and meeting Osama bin Laden, whom he described as “lovely”. Hicks will be subject to a control order and is barred from talking to the press for a year. (Reuters)
Hikers shot dead in Hebron ambush
HEBRON Palestinian militants killed two off-duty Israeli soldiers hiking yesterday near the West Bank city of Hebron, in a clash that left two of the gunmen dead, Israeli and Palestinian security sources said.
Micky Rosenfeld, an Israeli police spokesman, described the incident as a “terrorist attack”. Palestinian security sources confirmed the shooting in the north Hebron hills but said that it was not clear what had sparked the incident. Islamic Jihad and a splinter group of al-Aqsa Martrys’ Brigades in the Gaza Strip claimed responsibility. A third hiker, a woman in her twenties, survived by hiding from the attackers, according to rescuers.
Israel has called on Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, to meet his obligations under a 2003 “road map” peace plan to rein in militants in the West Bank and Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. (Reuters)
Crackdown on ‘deadly’ fireworks
MANILA Firecrackers called “Bin Laden’s Bomb” – with the firepower of five grenades – have been seized in the northern Philippines town of Bocaue, as Filipinos seek ever-bigger bangs to welcome the new year and, traditionally, drive away bad luck. They have been urged to use other ways to celebrate, including blowing trumpets or banging pots and cans, with the Health Department advising that firecrackers could kill or maim. It has recorded 102 people injured by firecrackers and one by a stray bullet since December 21. (AP)
Chihuahua hunts down fugitive
AUBURN A chihuahua named Tink helped Californian police to chase down a fugitive on Christmas Day.
Four suspects who were fleeing police crashed a stolen minivan into a hillside in Auburn, east of Sacramento, and one of them fled. Tink, a pomeranian/chihuahua-cross that weighs only 3lb (135g), found him hiding under a neighbour’s motor home and chased him into the woods. Wendy Anderson said that her son, who owns Tink, and her husband, directed a police helicopter to where the 20-year-old was hiding and he was arrested by officers. The three other suspects, including the driver, were juveniles from the San Francisco Bay area. The suspect who fled was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication and resisting arrest. The driver was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft, felony evading, driving without a licence and resisting arrest. The other two suspects were released. (AP)
Pronounced alive
RALEIGH, N. CAROLINA The family of a man hit by a car and mistakenly declared dead has sued over the error, claiming it led to injuries from which he may not recover. Larry Green was left in a body bag in a morgue for two hours. (AP)
Birds are new threat
DHAKA Farmers in Bangladesh who lost their homes and crops in Cyclone Sidr, which struck last month killing more than 3,000 people, face a new threat. Thousands of migratory birds are eating tender saplings and destroying seedbeds. (Reuters)
Death toll rises
CAIRO The death toll from the collapse of a 12-storey residential building in Alexandria on Monday rose to 28 yesterday. The tenement had been illegally extended by five storeys and prosecutors have issued an arrest warrant for the owner. (Reuters)
Another warm year
AMSTERDAM This year’s average temperature in The Netherlands matched that of 2006 – the warmest in 300 years – at 11.2C (52.2F). Dutch temperature records began in 1706 and are among the world’s oldest. (Reuters)
Caught in a tight spot
SYDNEY A would-be burglar had to be rescued after he became stuck in a chimney. Staff at the Gapview Hotel in Alice Springs heard the man groaning when they arrived for work in the hotel bar. He had been stuck there for about ten hours. ( AP)
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