‘Sarcophagus of St Paul found’
Rome: Archaeologists say they have identified the 4th-century marble sarcophagus believed to contain the bones of St Paul. The sarcophagus lies beneath the high altar of the Basilica of St Paul outside the Walls in Rome where tradition holds that the apostle was buried.
Rabies from donor
Frankfurt: Three people in Germany are critically ill after getting rabies through organs received from one donor. The three, who are in hospitals in Hanover and Marburg, got the kidneys, pancreas and lungs of a woman who had visited India in October. (AP)
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Hacker viewed agent’s e-mail
Los Angeles: A hacker who broke into the network of a telecommunications company and read the e-mails and personal details of hundreds of customers, including a Secret Service agent who was on his trail, pleaded guilty to a felony hacking charge.
Nicholas Lee Jacobsen, 21, a computer engineer who lives in Oregon, faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 (£133,000) fine. The break-in targeted T-Mobile USA Inc, which has 16.3 million customers. (AP)
Amazon dispute
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Brasilia: Brazil will send 2,000 soldiers to the Amazon region of Anapu where an American nun was shot dead in a confrontation between residents and loggers. Meanwhile, two gunmen shot dead a former leader of the Rural Workers Union. (AP)
Dose of Ecstasy
Columbia: US troops with post-traumatic stress disorder will be given MDMA, the active ingredient in the club drug Ecstasy, in tests to see if it relieves the condition. The Food and Drug Administration has included war veterans in the trial in South Carolina.
Papal recovery
Vatican City: The doctor who treated the Pope’s “breathing crisis” said yesterday that the pontiff made a swift recovery and is in good health. “The recovery time was more rapid than we initially predicted,” said Rodolfo Proietti of Gemelli hospital. (AP)
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Graft charges
Nairobi: Five former senior Kenyan government officials appeared in court to deny charges of abuse of office. They are the first high-level officials in President Kibaki’s administration to be charged in connection with alleged corruption. (AP)
Ill wind for sharks
Jacksonville: Four hurricanes that struck Florida last year helped to reduce shark attacks to their lowest level in more than a decade. The winds deterred swimmers and sharks fled to deep water. There were 12 attacks in 2004, against 30 the previous year. (AP)
Khmer Rouge killer jailed
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Phnom Penh: Cambodia’s Supreme Court upheld a guilty verdict on a former Khmer Rouge commander sentenced to life in prison for the 1994 abduction and murder of three Western backpackers, bringing an 11-year legal saga to an end.
Chhouk Rin, aged 51, who had remained free on bail while appealing a previous court decision in November 2003, was arrested and jailed immediately for ordering the murder of Mark Slater, a Briton, and two others. (AFP)
Thatcher in court
Cape Town: Sir Mark Thatcher will appear in court tomorrow to answer questions about a botched coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea. Sir Mark admitted violating South Africa’s anti-mercenary laws by unwittingly helping to finance the coup attempt. (AP)
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Kim’s birthday
Seoul: North Korea marked the 63rd birthday of its leader Kim Jong Il with feasts for the elite, and dancing soldiers in the capital, Pyongyang, amid tension with neighbouring South Korea over an announcement last week that it had nuclear weapons. (AP)
Pandas return
Beijing: Pandas are migrating into forest areas restored by the Government, state media reported. Panda droppings have been found in the Qinling mountains of Shaanxi province, where a sub-species of the giant panda lived 30 years ago. (AFP)