A roundup of today's other world news in brief
200 killed in trench collapse at gold mine
FREETOWN– At least 200 people were killed when a trench collapsed at an unofficial gold mine in Sierra Leone, the West African country's Ministry of Mineral Resources said yesterday.
The incident occurred in the Bo district in the south of the country, about 290km from the capital, Freetown. “Over 200 artisanal gold miners were killed when a . . . trench dug by the miners collapsed,” a ministry spokesman said. Unofficial gold mining is common in Africa, and miners usually have no professional training or equipment. – (Reuters)
Court rules against Anna Nicole Smith
LOS ANGELES– Anna Nicole Smith's estate will receive none of the more than $300 million (€222 million) she claimed her late husband had promised her, a federal appeals court said yesterday.
The ruling is the latest in the 15-year battle over the estate that oil magnate J Howard Marshall left after his death in 1995, aged 90. Smith married Marshall the previous year when she was 26 years old. She died of an overdose in 2007.
A state court previously ruled against Smith and in favour of Marshall’s son. A federal bankruptcy court later awarded her $474 million. Lawyers for the son’s estate say they hope the case is now at an end. – (Reuters, AP)