Brazilian boy's custody granted to U.S. father

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 1 (Xinhua) -- A Brazilian court ruled Monday evening that the boy Sean Goldman, whose custody is being disputed by his American father and Brazilian stepfather, is to return to the United States.

The court ruling said the child's stepfather Joao Paulo Lins e Silva with whom Sean has been living so far, must return the boy in 48 hours. The Federal Police will monitor the family to avoid an escape attempt.

Nine-year-old Sean have lived in the U.S. with his parents, David Goldman and Bruna Bianchi, until he was four. After the parents divorced in 2004, the mother was granted full custody and moved back to Brazil.

Since then, a fierce court battle has been occurring with the father alleging that Bianchi kidnapped his son. Last year, the case took a new direction when Bianchi died of complications from the birth of her daughter.

The Goldman case became famous over the years after David Goldman appeared in several U.S. talk shows. In March, when Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited Washington D.C., he discussed the case with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama, saying Sean's case was to be decided by the courts only.

Sean's stepfather Lins e Silva said he will appeal against the judge's decision. According to his lawyer Sergio Tostes, the judge did not take into consideration Sean's repeated statements that he wished to stay in Brazil with his sister and stepfather.

"It is a violence never seen before in the Brazilian courts," Tostes said.

Man stands trial for murdering wife in New Zealand

WELLINGTON, June 2 (Xinhua) -- A man stood trial on Tuesday in Auckland on charges of murdering his wife and abandoning his young daughter at a railway station in Melbourne.

Nai Yin Xue, 55, of Chinese origin, was charged with murdering his wife An An Liu, 28, in September 2007.

When asked to enter a plea in the High Court in Auckland on Tuesday, Xue denied that he was guilty, saying that he was innocent, Radio New Zealand reported.

The jury has been selected and is made up of 12 women.

Qian Xun Xue, 3, was found alone in Melbourne a few days before her mother's body was discovered in the boot of a car in Auckland, according to the report, which did not tell when the body was found.

Xue was arrested months later in the United States.

No further reports about the case are available.

Priest dismissed for beating drug patients

BEIJING, May 29 (Xinhuanet) -- A Serbian Orthodox priest -- who headed a drug addiction treatment centre -- was fired by the Serbian Orthodox Church after a video showed him beating and punching patients with a shovel.

Bishop Artemije announced Wednesday dismissal of priest Branislav Peranovic at the Crna Reka center, about 300km southwest of Belgrade,Wednesday.

Artemije saidan investigation has been ordered into Peranovic's activities and the centermay be shut down if investigators determine violence occurs there.

It is open for the time being, after numerous pleadings by the patients -- there are around 200 people currently receiving treatment at the centre -- and their parents, the Bishop said.

"We are also asking state authorities to investigate the matter and punish those responsible," hesaid.

(Agencies)

Panda Lin Hui in Thailand delivers first baby

BANGKOK, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Lin Hui, the female panda in a zoo of Thailand's northern province of Chiang Mai delivered her first baby on Wednesday morning, Thailand's Zoological Park Organization Director Sophon Damnui said.

Earlier, local media reported that Lin Hui delivered twin babies, but later the zoo officially announced that it was not the twin pandas, but it was only a baby panda.

Shortly after shaking and pushing, Lin Hui delivered her baby at 10:39 a.m., local time, Prasertsak Boontrakulpoonthawee, head of the zoo's panda section, said.

The newly-born panda is estimated to weight 200 grams, according to Sophon.

However, the zoo could not identify the gender of the newly-born panda since Lin Hui does not let zoo officials to get close to it, Sophon said.

In February 2009, Lin Hui was impregnated with artificial insemination.

Lin Hui's delivery was already reported to China's government and has asked China to send baby panda experts to Chiang Mai, said Prasertsak.

On Thursday at 2.0 p.m. Thailand's time, two experts of baby pandas from China will arrive at Thailand to take care of the newly-born pandas in Chiang Mai, said Sophon.

Female panda Lin Hui and male panda Xuang Xuang have been on loan from China to Chiang Mai zoo since 2003, as part of a panda research program.

The loan agreement will see the two pandas and their offspring returned to China after 10 years.

Hero horse recommended for bravery medal in Australia

SYDNEY May 27 (Xinhua) -- A retired police horse which saved four sheep and two goats from being burned to death during a fierce bushfire in Australia in February has been recommended for a bravery medal on Wednesday.

The big Clydesdale horse named Paddy rounded up the smaller animals and had them stand under his massive frame as the bushfire raged through their paddock on February 7 in Victoria.

The terrible bushfires killed 173 people and countless livestock, making it the deadliest bushfire in Australian history, but the heartwarming story of Paddy the hero horse is one bit of good news.

Paddy served in police parades as a drum horse and was retired to the farm of former police officer Mike Salmon at Happy Valley north of Melbourne.

Salmon said he released the sheep and goats from their pens into Paddy's paddock, hoping they would evade the fire.

He watched in amazement as the big horse rounded up the animals and sheltered them under his great frame.

Salmon hosed the horse down every half hour or so but Paddy never moved as embers fell from the sky.

"If the sheep moved Paddy rounded them up and brought them back to the corner where they waited under him," Salmon told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio network.

The horse has been recommended for a bravery award with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Canadian governor eats seal heart raw to support hunters

BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Canada's Governor General Michalle Jeancut out the heart of a seal and ate it rawto show her support for the country's seal hunters.

Jean, the representative of Queen Elizabeth II as Canada's head of state, gutted the seal and swallowed a slice of the mammal's heart lateMonday during an official Arctic trip.AEU vote earlier this month banned seal products on grounds that the seal hunt is cruel.

Sheknelt over the carcass of a freshly slaughtered seal and used a traditional ulu blade to cut through the flesh and slice off some meat. She then asked one of her hosts: "Could I try the heart?"

Jean said it was "absolutely delicious" and tasted "like sushi," according to images broadcast by a television channel.

"And it's very rich in protein," she added.

As she wiped the blood off her fingers with a tissue, Jean explained her support for Canada's traditional Inuit seal hunt and trade, which some fear will be devastated by a European ban on seal products.

Jean expressed dismay that people would call the traditional hunting practices inhumane.

(Agencies)

Zookeeper killed in tiger attack in New Zealand

WELLINGTON, May 27 (Xinhua) -- A zookeeper died on Wednesday after being attacked by a white tiger at a wildlife park near New Zealand's North Island city of Whangarei, Radio New Zealand reported on Wednesday.

Police said Dalu Mncube was killed by a white tiger while cleaning an enclosure with another keeper at the Zion Wildlife Gardens.

Despite the best efforts of the other staff members who rushed to his aid, the male tiger would not let Mncube go and he died at the scene from "tearing" injuries to his head, torso and lower leg, the radio reported.

The white tiger, one of only 120 in the world, has been put down and the park has been closed, while police and Department of Labor staff investigate further.

Eight foreign tourists on a tour of the park have witnessed the attack. The park is home to 42 rare lions and tigers.

Ugandan police investigates man forcing wife breast-feed dogs

KAMPALA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The police in eastern Uganda is investigating a case in Pallisa district where a woman was forced by her husband to breast-feed his dogs, a police spokesperson said here on Tuesday.

Judith Nabakooba, Uganda Police Force spokesperson told Xinhua by telephone that Nathan Amoloi forced his wife Jennifer Alupot to breast-feed his five puppies since his cows were taken by her family as bride price.

"Investigations are still going on, the man was arrested but later released on police bond," Nabakooba said.

Police arrested Amoloi on May 4 but released him the following day and label his wife an insane woman.

Matia Kasaija, minister of state for internal affairs said that a team of investigators from the Criminal Investigation Department headquartered in Kampala will be sent to Pallisa to bring the case to a logical conclusion.

"This is a serious matter. I will ensure that this woman gets justice," Kasaija was quoted as saying by the state-owned New Vision daily on Tuesday.

"How can a man force his wife to breast-feed dogs? How can such a thing happen in this modern world where we have Police?" he wondered, promising to hold accountable the police officers in the district if investigations show they mishandled the case.

The couple, now 11 years in marriage, lost its third-born-child, who was sharing his mother's breasts with the puppies, to suspected rabies early last year. Rabies is a fatal viral disease that causes acute inflammation of the brain in humans and other mammals.

"I produced four children but one of them died last year. I now have a three-month-old baby but my husband has been forcing me to share the breast milk with his five puppies," Alupot was quoted assaying by the New Vision.

Alupot's case has caused angry reactions especially from women activists calling for the hanging of Amoloi.

The Association of Female Lawyers in Uganda has offered free legal services to Alupot to ensure she gets justice.

Man sucks snake venom to save his dog

BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhuanet)-- A farmer saved his
dog's life without caring for his ownafter sucking rattlesnake venom out
of his canine'snose.

Bobby Jenkins began feeling ill after he sucked the venom. Hedidn't bother to go to a hospital until he took
his dog, Tank,to the vet.

Jenkinsreceived four vials of antivenin.
Hehasrecovered now and sohis dog.

Tank had been bitten after running under some
equipment on the family ranch.

(Agencies)

Migrant worker gets jail term for setting time bomb on city bus

GUANGZHOU, May 27 (Xinhua) -- A local court in south China's Guangdong Province Tuesday convicted a migrant worker who set a time bomb on a city bus last August of jeopardizing public security and sentenced him to six years in prison.

When contacted by Xinhua Wednesday, Haizhu District Court in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, confirmed that after the verdict was read out, Huang Xin, the convict, told them he believed the penalty was too heavy and would appeal his case.

The court was told that Huang Xin, 25 and a native of Binyang County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, worked as a transient worker with a factory in Huadu District of Guangzhou. He had also developed a hobby playing a lottery game called "mark six".

Around 3 p.m. Aug.21, Huang got onto a city bus No.125 with a homemade time bomb which was attached to a letter for Guangzhou City Mayor Zhang Guangning demanding Zhang and Guangzhou Nanfang Metropolis Daily, a local newspaper, to text message the winning lottery numbers to his cell phone. He placed the bomb beneath a seat close to the rear tires on the left before he got off, said the prosecutors.

The bomb went off around 4 p.m. on the same day when the bus was passing through Haizhu District, a downtown area in Guangzhou, blowing a hole in the bus deck.

The accident didn't cause any death or injuries as there was only one passenger and the bus driver onboard when the explosion occurred.

Huang was detained from his factory dorm the next day. He was formally arrested in September.

The Haizhu District Court opened its first hearing on Huang's case in January, but didn't produce a ruling because Huang's lawyer insisted his client's behavior was weird -- asking for the lottery's winning numbers by issuing a threat to the mayor and even the newspaper -- and demanded an assessment of Huang's mental fitness.

Tuesday's hearing was focused on Huang's mental health.

The prosecutors Tuesday presented a certificate produced by Guangzhou Mental Illness Hospital claiming Huang had not suffered a history of mental illness and was fully capable of controlling his actions when he was committing the crime. The certificate was signed and sealed by three medical doctors.

The prosecutors theorized that Huang planted the time bomb on the city bus in order to get the lottery's winning numbers. "Though he alerted the police about the bomb, Huang asked the police for the winning numbers with a new threat saying there would be an explosion on the bus," said one prosecutor, who blamed poor education for Huang's strange behavior.

The court ruled that Huang had committed a crime that endangered the safety of lives and the health of the public, and of corporate property.

On hearing the penalty, Huang expressed remorse and demanded lenient treatment by the court.

According to Chinese laws, Huang should submit a written document within ten working days from Tuesday if he intends to appeal his case to a higher court.

Girl: not all roads lead to romance

BEIJING, May 25 -- A young man tried to impress his
girlfriend by swimming to the middle of a river using one hand while holding a
bunch of red roses with the other.

Yang, 27, of Zhejiang province, was hoping to keep
the girl after they've been together for four months.

On Tuesday morning, he swam 40 m and then climbed up
a contrete island in the middle of the river posing as The Thinker, a famous
work by French sculptor Auguste Rodin, for at least 30 minutes. He asked police
to bring his girlfriend to see him otherwise he wouldn't leave.

The girl, Wang, 23, of Jilin province, showed up but
wasn't flattered with Yang's scheme.

(Source: China Daily/Modern Jinbao)

Village told to change name or it won't exist

BEIJING, May 25 -- A village had to change its name, or character, because
the name includes two rarely used Chinese characters that can't be found in a
new police computer system.

The characters for "Tang" and "Lu" have been used for decades but Tanglu
residents who tried to get a marriage certificate had trouble since the
computers didn't recognize their hometown marked on their ID cards.

The system also became a problem for those seeking employment, travelers
and those doing real estate transactions.

Some villagers and experts said changing the village's name is damaging to
their culture and customs but police said it would be too expensive to change
the computer programs.

(Source: China Daily/Yangcheng Evening News)

Grateful dog helps master collect and guard bottles

A dog is showing his appreciation to his new master by collecting empty bottles for him in Dalian city, Liaoning province.(Xinhua Photo)
Photo Gallery

BEIJING, May 24 -- A dog is showing his appreciation to his new master by collecting empty bottles for him in Dalian city, Liaoning province.

Wang, who makes a living by collecting and selling empty bottles, saw the small dog sobbing outside his house one morning in April.

After Wang gave the dog some food and water, it refused to leave and struck with him.

The dog is also a good guard. If anyone takes a bottle from his truck, the dog chases after them and barks until the bottle is retrieved.

(Source: China Daily)

Bad environment makes birds good singers

BEIJING, May 24 -- A hostile environment and inconsistent weather may explain why some birds become better singers than others, and also likely have superior learning and mating skills, a study said Thursday.

The research is based on a large-scale study of mockingbirds in different habitats carried out by researchers at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) in Durham, North Carolina, the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and McGill University.

"As environments become more variable or unpredictable, song displays become more elaborate," said Carlos Botero, a post-doctoral researcher at NESCent.

"Survival and reproduction become more complicated when weather patterns are unpredictable because you don't know when food will be available or how long it will be around."

And for female birds, "the consequences of picking a mediocre mate are magnified in harsher climes," he said.

Male mockingbirds sing mainly to impress mates, so superior singing skills suggest that a male is a good catch, according to Botero. But males that sing more complex songs also "tend to carry fewer parasites, and have offspring that are more likely to survive," Botero said.

Songbirds are not born knowing how to sing, and have to learn their songs over time. Botero and colleagues believe that this song-learning ability is a sign of broader learning ability.

"Birds that sing better are telling others, at least indirectly: Hey, I'm a good learner," said Botero.

Botero searched sound archives around the world and traveled the southern hemisphere to tape bird songs in the wild, recording nearly 100 tracks from 29 mockingbird species.

He later used computer programs to convert each sound recording into a sound graph, then compared the patterns to a database of temperature and precipitation records.

The study appeared in the US journal Current Biology.

(Source: China Daily)

Angry passerby pushes a "suicide jumper" off a bridge in S China

GUANGZHOU, May 23 (Xinhua) -- A passerby pushed off a
would-be "suicide jumper" off a bridge in Guangzhou city, southern China's
Guangdong province, for he was "too angry about the jumper's selfish activity,"
Saturday's China Daily reported.

Passerby Lai Jiansheng (L) pushes off a
would-be "suicide jumper", Chen Fuchao,off Haizhu bridge in
Guangzhou city, southern China's Guangdong province, May 21, 2009. (Photo:
Guangzhou Daily)
Photo
Gallery

The jumper, Chen Fuchao, attempted to become the
twelfth "suicide jumper" of the Haizhu bridge which has gained a reputation as a
macabre tourist destination after attracting 11 would-be suicide jumpers since
the start of April.

Chen Fuchao falls off a
bridgeafter being pushed by Lai Jiansheng in Guangzhou city,
southern China's Guangdong province, May 21, 2009.(Photo: Guangzhou
Daily)
Photo
Gallery

Lai Jiansheng, the 66-year-old man happened to pass
by the Haizhu bridge on Thursday morning when he found Chen sit at the bridge
threatening to jump off and had held up traffic around the bridge for almost
five hours.

Chen wanted to kill himself because he was in 2
million yuan of debt following a failed construction project.

After knowing the situation, Lai volunteered to talk
with the Chen to persuade him. After denied by the police, he broken through a
police cordon and climbed up to where Chen sat.

Lai first greeted Chen with a handshake, and then he
pushed him off the bridge. Chen fell 8 meters onto a partially-inflated
emergency air cushion, damaging his spine and elbow in the fall.

"I pushed him off because jumpers like Chen are very
selfish. Their action violates a lot of public interest," Lai said.

Lai Jiansheng greets the crowd after he
pushed off would-be "suicide jumper" Chen Fuchaoon Haizhu bridge in
Guangzhou city, southern China's Guangdong province, May 21,
2009.(Photo: Guangzhou Daily)
Photo
Gallery

"They do not really dare to kill themselves. Instead,
they just want to raise the relevant government authorities' attention to their
appeals," he added.

Lai was taken away by police after the incident. Chen
is now recovering in hospital.

Police sources said many suicidal people had
financial troubles, such as unpaid wages and some suffered from medical
conditions and injuries from workplace accidents.

"Traffic across the Haizhu Bridge, which is widely
regarded as an important scenic attraction, become worse," said a spokesman with
the Guangzhou public security bureau.

He said the situation caused chaos to residents,
adding that the city had to send a rescue vessel, an ambulance, several police
cars and fire engines each time when there was a "jumper."

Nepali Sherpa scales Qomolangma for historic 19th time

BEIJING,May 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Nepalese Apa
Sherpa climbed Mount Qomolangma for a record 19th time, breaking his own record
set last year.

The 49-year-oldSherpa reached to the top
ofthe world's highest peakThursday morning, officials said.

ASalt Lake City resident since 2006, Sherpa has
made it to the summit of Everest 19 of the past 20 years and completed the
amazing task for eight straight years. The next closest total was 16 going into
this spring's climbing season.

The 5-foot-4, 120-pound Sherpa from the village of
Thame said: "Up to the 17th time in 2007 I climbed as a professional, as part of
my occupation," according to the Web site tracking the progress of his most
recent expedition.

"But last year I climbed to raise funds for a school
in Thame. In addition to raising money for Nepali school kids." Apa also plans
to remove more than two tons of garbage from Mount
Qomolangma.

The summit season on Everest begins in late April and
May when a small window between the spring and summer monsoon offers the best
conditions for making the ascent.

More than 100 climbers have already made it to the
top this spring season, in which 29 expedition teams are in action.

(Agencies)

Wow! a giant shoe

A girl looks at a giant shoe, which is 140cm long, 66cm wide, 50cm tall and weighs 60kg, at a shoe shop in Lianyungang, a coastal city in east China's Jiangsu province, May 21, 2009. This shoe was made of high-quality pure leather and is displayed for promotional purpose. (Xinhua/Wang Chun)
Photo Gallery

A kid views a giant shoe, which is 140cm long, 66cm wide, 50cm tall and weighs 60kg, at a shoe shop in Lianyungang, a coastal city in east China's Jiangsu province, May 21, 2009. This shoe was made of high-quality pure leather and is displayed for promotional purpose. (Xinhua/Wang Chun)
Photo Gallery

Russian woman to challenge ban on female train drivers

BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Her appeal to drive metro trains was turned down by the Supreme Court, but 22-year-old Anna Klevets will challengeRussian lawthat prohibits womenfrom driving.

The Supreme Court Thursday rejected a St. Petersburg woman's appeal on the grounds that women cannot work with dangerous heavy equipment, Itar-Tass news agency reported.

Klevets will now appeal to a St Petersburg court to challenge the working conditions on the city's metro and make it acceptable for women, newspaper Izvestia said, quoting lawyer Galina Yenyutina at the Centre for Social and Labour Rights.

"We need to create equal, safe working conditions, so that men as well as women can work in safety," she said.

Klevets applied to work as an assistant driver on the chandeliered underground system in Russia's second city, St Petersburg, last November. But she was turned down following the ban on women driving trains.

(Agencies)

Pet tortoise grows up to 40kg in S China

Two kids frolick with a giant
tortoise weighing over 20 kg, at Jiaji Township, Qionghai City, south
China's Hainan Province, May 21, 2009. A local citizen surnamed Huang
purchased then a quarter-kg-weight African spurred tortoise, or the Geochelone
sulcata in Latin, and brought it back to breed as a pet some 4 years ago.
Now it has grown up to over 40 kg. (Xinhua/Meng Zhongde)
Photo Gallery

A giant tortoise weighing over 20 kg
grazes on the grass, at Jiaji Township, Qionghai City, south China's
Hainan Province, May 21, 2009.(Xinhua/Meng Zhongde)
Photo Gallery

Utah boy beats record for most snails on face

BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhuanet) -- An 11-year-old Utah boy covered his face with 43 live snails to break a world record of putting the most snails onface.

Fin Keheler from Sandy allowed 43 of the slimy mollusks to be put on his face Saturday. He wants the Guinness World Records to verify his effort.

Keleher had to keep 37 snails on his face for ten seconds. It took him two tries before he was successful and when he counted them, 43 of the slimy creatures had stayed on his face.

The snails were gathered from neighbors' gardens and Keleher'sfamily helped put them onhis face.

(Agencies)