Today's other stories in brief
Da Vinci follower's work sells for $1.5m
NEW YORK – A painting by a follower of Leonardo da Vinci once thought to have been done by the Renaissance master himself sold at auction for $1.5 million (€1.08 million), three times its estimate price.
Sotheby’s said the work, La Belle Ferronnière, which was the subject of a slander trial in the 1920s and which had been locked away in a vault for decades, sparked spirited bidding during the auction.
“Everybody was interested in its history . . . The fact is, at the end of the day it was beautiful . . . and the buyer had no interest in the speculation or in whom the artist was,” said George Wachter of Sotheby’s.
“He just loved the painting. He thought it was a powerful, beautiful work of art,” Mr Wachter said of the private collector who bought the portrait, thought to be of a mistress of Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan. – (Reuters)
Second US citizen held in North Korea
WASHINGTON – North Korea has informed the US it is holding a second American citizen, the US state department has said.
The US citizen “allegedly entered North Korea from China on January 25th”, state department spokesman PJ Crowley told reporters yesterday.
He said the US did not know the man’s identity and was seeking access to him through Sweden, which represents US interests in North Korea because Washington and Pyongyang do not have diplomatic relations.
North Korea’s official news agency said on Thursday it had detained an American who crossed into its territory from China, accusing the man of “trespassing” and saying it was interrogating him.
North Korea has been holding another US citizen, activist Robert Park, since December. – (Reuters)
Swine flu on decline, says WHO
GENEVA – The H1N1 flu is still spreading in north Africa, parts of eastern and southeastern Europe and areas of Asia, but is generally declining, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.
The pandemic virus is still the predominant influenza virus circulating worldwide, posing an increased risk to pregnant women and people with underlying medical conditions, it said. “Activity in general is decreasing,” WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said.
Much of the temperate northern hemisphere passed a peak of influenza transmission between late October and late November, the WHO said. But the H1N1 virus continues to transmit actively in north Africa, including Egypt, limited areas of eastern and southern Europe, and in parts of south and east Asia, including western India, according to the UN agency. – (Reuters)
Travolta's faith
NEW YORK – John Travolta, returning to the spotlight after the sudden death of his teenage son a year ago, said his faith had helped him get through the tragedy.
Travolta (55), a leading Scientologist, spoke to reporters about how he, wife Kelly Preston and daughter Ella were coping after 16-year-old Jett died of a seizure in January 2009.
“We work hard every day with our church on healing. And Kelly and I and Ella have all been working very hard and they’ve been helping us,” the actor said.
“So I think once you get yourself stable, then you’re able to reach out again. And I think this whole year, every day we’ve been working on stabilising ourselves, and it’s been successful so far.”
Travolta spent much of 2009 out of the public eye after Jett’s death during a family holiday. – (Reuters)