A round-up of today's other stories in brief
UN cars set on fire in Ivory Coast
UNITED NATIONS – Forces loyal to Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to resign after a disputed presidential election, have begun attacking and burning UN vehicles in the main city Abidjan, a UN spokesman said yesterday.
The secretary general (Ban Ki-moon) is deeply concerned about the attacks, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said in a statement. – (Reuters)
GM chickens that do not spread H5N1
LONDON - British scientists have developed genetically modified (GM) chickens that cannot transmit bird flu infections – a step that in future could reduce the risk of avian flu spreading and causing deadly epidemics in humans.
Scientists from Cambridge and Edinburgh universities said that while the transgenic chickens still got sick and died when they were exposed to H5N1 bird flu, they did not transmit the virus to other chickens they came into contact with. H5N1 bird flu has been circulating in Asia and Europe, since 2003. – (Reuters)
Injured fox shoots hunter in leg in Belarus
MOSCOW – A wounded fox shot its would be killer in Belarus by pulling the trigger on the hunter’s gun as the pair scuffled after the man tried to finish the animal off with the butt of the rifle, media said yesterday.
The unnamed hunter, who had approached the fox after wounding it from a distance, was in hospital with a leg wound, while the fox made its escape, media said, citing prosecutors from the Grodno region.
“The animal fiercely resisted and in the struggle accidentally pulled the trigger with its paw,” one prosecutor was quoted as saying.
Fox-hunting is popular in the picturesque farming region of northwestern Belarus, which borders Poland. – (Reuters)