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Monday, 10 December 2012

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Fresh rioting over British flag

UK: Rioting broke out in Belfast late Friday in the latest violence to flare up in Northern Ireland over a decision by councillors not to fly the British flag all year round.

Tensions have risen in the British province since Belfast's council voted on Monday to limit the number of days the Union Jack can fly over the City Hall to 17, outraging loyalists who believe Northern Ireland should retain strong links to Britain.

Eight police officers were injured during clashes close to the city centre on Friday night and five people arrested, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said.

Two cars were set alight while eyewitnesses said protesters hurled stones, bricks and bottles at the police.

“This behaviour is unacceptable. These people are wrecking their own communities and putting lives at risk,” said Assistant Chief Constable Will Kerr of the PSNI.

AFP


Track down giant pythons for cash

US: Floridians keen to protect the fragile ecosystem of the Everglades will have their mettle tested next month as the wildlife service seeks help in eradicating the giant Burmese python.

The public has been asked to join in a month-long hunt for the invasive species, which, lacking natural predators, snacks on native birds, deer, bobcats and other large animals, some of them protected.

Cash prizes as high as $1,500 will be up for grabs when January 12 kicks off a month-long program of “harvesting” the giant snakes, organized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

“Increasing public awareness about Burmese pythons and how this invasive species is a threat to the Everglades ecosystem, including native wildlife, is the goal of the 2013 Python Challenge,” a statement said.

The high-octane environmental challenge is open not only to “python permit holders” but also ordinary members of the public, the press release stipulated.

First found in Florida's Everglades swamp in 1979, where it may have been abandoned by a pet owner, the Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus) took only 21 years to become an established species there.

Current estimates indicate there are now hundreds of thousands slithering across southern Florida. In August, University of Florida scientists examined a record 5.36-metre (17-foot-seven-inch) specimen that had 87 eggs.

AFP


Archeologist sues over Indiana Jones skull

US: 2012 A Belize archeologist is suing the makers of a blockbuster “Indiana Jones” film for using a likeness of a so-called Crystal Skull, which he says is a stolen national treasure.

Dr. Jaime Awe claims the skull was stolen from Belize 88 years ago, and that filmmakers had no right to use a model of it in 2008's “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.

In a lawsuit filed in Illinois this week, Awe is demanding the return of the Crystal Skull, which he says is a national treasure, from a treasure-hunting family who allegedly stole it, said the industry journal Friday.

But the legal action also targets Lucasfilm, its new owner the Walt Disney Co. and Paramount Pictures which released the film by Steven Spielberg, for allegedly using a replica “likeness” of the skull.

“LucasFilm never sought, nor was given permission to utilize the Mitchell-Hedges Skull or its likeness in the film,” says the lawsuit, a copy of which was published by the Hollywood Reporter.

“To date, Belize has not participated in any of the profits derived from the sale of the film or the rights thereto,” it added. The movie grossed about $786 million worldwide.

The skull is one of four valuable Crystal skulls seized from Belize -- the others are on display in London, Paris and Washington.

AFP


Japan heist remains unsolved, 44 years on

JAPAN: On a rainy morning in December 1968, a police motorcyclist screeched to a halt in front of a cash-laden Tokyo bank vehicle and ordered four men to get out, warning it was about to explode.

Seconds after the cop ducked underneath the car, plumes of smoke began billowing up and he screamed at them to flee.

“It's dynamite. It's going to blow!” he yelled, sending the terrified men running for their lives.

Then he calmly climbed behind the wheel and drove off with 300 million yen, never to seen again.

It was Japan's biggest-ever cash heist, netting the crook the equivalent of $3.6 million today, and leaving a mystery that remains unsolved 44 years later, having eluded some of Japan's top investigative minds.

The huge police probe cost over $12 million and involved hundreds of detectives -- two of whom died of exhaustion working the case -- who questioned a staggering 118,000 people.

Decades later the crime continues to captivate the nation, having spawned books, movies, TV dramas and a comic book series. It continues to inspire Internet chat room conversations.

Many older Japanese still remember what they were doing when they heard of the audacious theft, the anniversary of which falls on Monday.

The statute of limitations ran out after seven years and one of Japan's biggest ever police investigations was folded up.

Although the cash heist record has since been rewritten -- it is now held by a $7.4 million sting on a Tokyo security company last year -- the “300 Million Yen Robbery” lives on in the popular imagination.

AFP

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