Burial mix-up
New York: The family of the New York councillor, James Davis, shot dead last month, asked for his cremated remains to be moved after it emerged that the man who killed him had been buried in the same cemetery. The cemetery apologised for the coincidence. (AFP)
Daughter hoax
Topeka: Donna Walker, 35, who persuaded the parents of a missing child that she was their daughter, was due to appear at a court bail hearing in Kansas. She contacted Dorothy and Mike Sherrill posing as their daughter, Shannon, who vanished in 1986, aged 6. (AFP)
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Jeb Bush anger
Miami: A decision by the US Administration to send 12 suspected boat hijackers back to Cuba to face prison has been criticised by President Bush’s brother, Jeb, Governor of Florida. “That is an oppressive regime and . . . it’s just not right to have sent the Cubans back,” he said.
Two beheaded
Riyadh: A Saudi was beheaded with a sword for murder in the Riyadh region and a heroin-smuggler from Pakistan was beheaded in Jeddah, bringing to 28 the number of executions announced in Saudi Arabia this year. Executions generally take place in public and are imposed for murder, rape, apostasy, armed robbery and drug-trafficking. (AFP)
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‘Display Mandela’
Cape Town: A branch of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress is proposing that Nelson Mandela should be embalmed after he dies and his body displayed in a glass casket. The 85-year-old former President has apparently not been consulted. Jakes Gerwel, chairman of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, called the plan a silly idea. (AFP)
Symbol of hope
Lahore: A two-year-old Pakistani girl whose successful heart surgery in India raised hopes for reconciliation in South Asia returned home. Noor Fatima had been treated in hospital in Bangalore, Nadeem Sajjad, her father said, because “we had heard the that children’s surgery is good in India”. The toddler’s surgery was paid for by Indian donations. (AFP)
Euro Disney fall
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Paris: Shares in Euro Disney dropped by 11½ per cent after a warning that it was renegotiating with creditors because it might not have enough cash to pay debts. Andre Lacroix, the chief executive, told workers that he would “do everything to avoid future lay-offs”. The company blamed a fall in tourism in Europe and recent strikes in France. (AFP)
Tourists’ ransom
Berlin: A suspected Islamic group that abducted 14 European tourists in the Sahara is demanding a €4.6 million (£3.2 million) ransom for each hostage, a German television station reported. It said that the information came from an unidentified diplomat in Mali, where talks with the hostage-takers were said to be “very active”. (AFP)
Killer heatwave
Madrid: Two people died of heatstroke as a heatwave hit southern and central areas of Spain, where temperatures soared as high as 45C (113F). Worst-hit were the southern regions of Andalucia and Extremadura. Medical authorities told people to stay indoors between midday and 4pm, to drink plenty of water and avoid prolonged exposure to the Sun. (AFP)
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Farmer to go free
Villeneuve-les-Maguelone: A French judge has ordered the conditional release of the militant farmer José Bové, 50, who has served a month of his ten-month sentence for destroying genetically modified crops. He will be allowed to return home and to work part-time for a local agricultural association for the remaining months of his term, his lawyer said. (AFP)
Greeks find god
Athens: A temple to “Zeus the highest” was found during works to broaden the Vaphyras riverbed at the Dion temple complex at the foot of Mount Olympus. Dimitris Pantermalis, the site archaeologist, said: “It is a special version of Zeus as a single God residing in heaven — an important role in the transition to monotheism.” (AFP)