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Thailand customs seizes $700,000 in ivory from Kenya
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Nearly half a tonne of ivory worth more than $700,000 (£447,000) has been seized at the airport in Thailand's capital Bangkok, customs officials say.
The elephant tusks were hidden in wooden boxes on a flight from Kenya.
Ivory shipped to Thailand is often made into carvings or jewellery, or sold on to other countries such as China for what is said to be medicinal use.
The trade in ivory is banned under an international convention, CITES, to prevent the poaching of elephants.
"The items had been labelled 'Goods to Declare' as handicrafts," Tawal Rodjit, director of customs at Suvarnabhumi airport said.
Mr Tawal said he believed it was destined to be converted into accessories.
The penalty for trafficking endangered species or their parts is "up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine four times the value of the items seized", he said.
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Needles found in Delta Air Lines on-board sandwiches
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The FBI has opened an investigation after needles were found in sandwiches served on four Delta Air Lines flights bound for the US from the Netherlands.
The needles, which the authorities said appeared to be sewing needles, were found in five sandwiches prepared by the Amsterdam-based Gate Gourmet.
One person flying to Minneapolis was injured. Needles were also found on two flights to Atlanta and one to Seattle.
Delta said it was taking the matter "extremely seriously".
In a statement, the airline said it was co-operating with the FBI and the authorities in the Netherlands and was working with Gate Gourmet "to ensure the safety and quality of the food" served on board.
James Tonges, who was travelling on one of the flights, said he felt a needle in his mouth after biting into a sandwich.
"When I pulled it out of my mouth it was very clear," he told ABC News. "I cleaned the food off and it was about a one inch-long straight needle."
Delta spokeswoman Kristin Baur told the Associated Press news agency that flights attendants stopped serving the sandwiches as soon as the first needle was discovered, and alerted other flights. Passengers were served pizza instead.
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School children sing happy birthday to former South African President Nelson Mandela as he turned 94 on July 18, 2012, at Batsogile Primary School in Soweto
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A woman carrying oranges on her head walks to a party in honor of Nelson Mandela in Mvezo, South Africa, on July 18, 2012.
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Former U.S. President Bill Clinton visits former Nelson Mandela at his home in Qunu on July 17, 2012, the day before Mandela's 94th birthday
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Moxibustion boxes are fixed on children's heads as they receive a traditional Chinese medical treatment as part of a 'Winter Diseases Treated in Summer' event at a hospital in Qingdao, Shandong province on July 18, 2012.
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A woman blows on a moxibustion box fixed on her daughter's head in Qingdao on July 18, 2012.
Moxibustion, a form of traditional Chinese medicine also called 'dong bing xia zhi', is a treatment that usually takes place during the 30 hottest days of summer. The idea is to build up hot energy (yang) at this time of year when it is at its peak in the human body; this is believed to prevent or reduce winter ailments such as tracheitis, asthma, rhinitis and rheumatoid arthritis which are said to be caused by the invasion of cold energy (yin) when yang is at a low level.
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Nepalese people prepare to burn straw effigies of Ghanta Karna, symbolic of demons, during a festival celebrated after paddy planting in Bhaktapur on the outskirts of Katmandu, Nepal on July 17, 2012. The festival is believed to ward off evil spirits, and bring peace and prosperity.
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Nepalese migrant Suraj Maharjan, 14, collects donations with his face painted during the Ghanta Karna, or Gathemangal, festival in Kathmandu, Nepal on July 17, 2012. Suraj, who migrated from Palung village to the capital of Katmandu, became a symbolic demon known as 'Bhoot' to celebrate the festival. The 'Bhoot' collects donations and receives food from the community. At the end of the festival, people drag him with straw effigies to a nearby river.
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Climbers make their way Aiguille du Midi at 12,605 feet, a part of the Mont Blanc mountain near Chamonix ski resort, France, on July 17.
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A climber tackles a part of the Mont Blanc mountain near Chamonix ski resort in France on July 17, several days after an avalanche in the area claimed nine climbers
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Dan Morrissey leans on a tree near Meyers Lake where his daughter Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, 8, disappeared last Friday on July 17, in Evansdale, Iowa. The girls' bikes were found Friday afternoon near a bike trail at the edge of the lake.
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Nasa Indians charge a soldier in Toribio, southern Colombia on July 17. Dozens of Indians attacked half a dozen soldiers guarding communication towers on the outskirts of the town.
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Indigenous natives drag Colombian army sergeant Rodrigo Garcia out of his military post on Mount Berlin in Toribioon July 17, 2012
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A soldier tries to stop another from shooting in the air.
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Army sergeant Rodrigo Garcia leaves with tears in his eyes after he was forced out of his military post on Mount Berlin on July 17, 2012.
Nasa Indians near Toribio in southern Colombia have demanded security forces and leftist rebels stay off their land. Local people decided to expel a group of soldiers from the area after clashes resulted in eight people being wounded and several houses damaged
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Half of Dot's Restaurant is moved off its foundation by crane in Wilmington, Vt. on Tuesday. Dot's, a southern Vermont landmark that was heavily damaged by flooding from Tropical Storm Irene last August, is being rebuilt. The building had to be cut into two pieces before the crane could lift it up. The side of the building hangs over the Deerfield River, which turned into a raging torrent during the storm, tearing through the family-style restaurant, nearly reaching the second story.
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Patty and John Reagan, co-owners of Dot's Restaurant, display a calendar from the kitchen of their restaurant with each day checked off up until the day Tropical Storm Irene came last August.
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Patrick Karabaranga, a warden at the Virunga National Park, sits with an orphaned mountain gorilla in the gorilla sanctuary in the park headquarters at Rumangabo in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Tuesday. The Virunga park is home to some 210 mountain gorillas, approximately a quarter of the world's population. The four orphans that live in the sanctuary are the only mountain gorillas in the world not living in the wild, having been brought here after their parents were killed by poachers or as a result of traffickers trying to smuggle them out of the park. "They play a critical part in the survival of the species" says Emmanuel De Merode, Director for Virunga National Park. He adds that the ICCN does not currently have access to the gorilla sector of the park due to the M23 rebellion
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A Virunga National Park ranger from the Congolese Wildlife Authority (Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, ICCN) stands at an observation post at Rumangabo at the edge of the Virunga Park in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday. The ICCN is responsible for patrolling the national park, which is home to approximately 210 mountain gorillas, around a quarter of the world's remaining population. M23 rebels now occupy Rumangabo and several other locations within Africa's oldest national park, which is also affected by other armed groups.
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A bloodhound and his handlers from the Congolese Wildlife Authority (Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, ICCN), along with ICCN park rangers, take part in a training exercise at an airstrip in Katale in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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A competitor exercises as he waits backstage during the 2012 International Bodybuilding and Fitness Invitation Championship in Hong Kong on July 14. Participants, who darken their skin with tanning products and apply oils to increase shine, do a series of mandatory poses and display their best shaped muscles to a panel of judges who assign points based on their appearance.
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Krakow, Poland: cyclists in the rain during the 69th Tour of Poland
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Málaga, Spain: penitents take part in the Virgen del Carmen brotherhood procession during the Carmen day celebrations
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Madrid, Spain: police cadets attend a graduation ceremony
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Molinaseca, Spain: a man uses a hose to fight a fire
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Taxi drivers demonstrate outside the Houses of Parliament in protest over their ban from dedicated Olympic traffic lanes and, judging by the current mood of drivers in London, they're not alone
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Dame Kelly Holmes delights pupils from her old school, Hildenborough, at Tonbridge Castle. She brought them the Olympic torch on day 60 of the relay
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Eden Project employee Neil Stark is having a fun day at work today trying out the new zip wire attraction which opens to the public this week at the project in St Austell. The new 740-metre wire, currently the longest in England, allows the public a bird's-eye view of the rainforest and gardens
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People pass a closed train station in Athens during a four-hour strike by railway employees
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New mum Princess cares for one of her white lion babies in Kempten, Germany. Princess gave birth to six cubs last week
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Salvadoran Paralympic wheelchair racer Luis Morales shows his gloves after a training session at Nacional Magico Gonzalez stadium in San Salvador. Morales will compete in the 100 metre road cycling event at the summer Paralympic Games in London
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The army are used to tough conditions but these corrugated huts will be their home during the Olympic Games. The temporary camp has been set up in Hainault forest country park for military personnel who will be making up the security operation during the games
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A tank operated by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, is seen through the scope of a weapon of a member of the Free Syrian Army in Qusseer neighbourhood in Homs July 15, 2012.
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A resident walks amidst the debris of a house destroyed by a flash flood in Sujia village of Zhaotong, Yunan province July 17, 2012. The flood caused by heavy rain falls in Sujia Village of Zhaotong since Sunday, left 2 dead and 8 injured. Torrential rain last week affected more than 2 million people in several southern Chinese provinces, according to local authorities, Xinhua News Agency reported.
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Oscar Pistorius of South Africa trains before the men's 400 meters event at the 23rd International Athletics Meeting in Lignano Sabbiadoro July 17, 2012. After striving to qualify for the 400 metres at the London Olympics for six years, Oscar Pistorius believes he will now be better placed to run at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016. The South African, who wears carbon fibre blades, will become the first double amputee to compete in the Olympics.
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A woman crosses a road as activists from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), detained by police during a protest against price hike in essential commodities, hang onto the doorway of a bus along with their fellow protestors while shouting slogans in Kolkata July 17, 2012. Placard reads: "Stop the extraordinary rise in prices of essential commodities".
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Chief Executive of G4S Nick Buckles is seen through a tinted car window as he leaves the Houses of Parliament in London July 17, 2012. Buckles admitted his management of the London Olympics staffing scandal had embarrassed the British government and left the world's biggest security firm's reputation in tatters as he fought to save his job on Tuesday. G4S has been at the centre of a political firestorm, and has lost about 650 million pounds ($1 billion) in market value, since it announced it could not provide the promised 10,400 Olympic security guards just two weeks before the Games.
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A man poses for a photograph near a 3D painting at the 2012 Magic Art Special Exhibition in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province July 16, 2012. The event will run till August 6 in Hangzhou. Picture taken July 16, 2012.
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Police officers watch over what appears to be a dead body at a crime scene following a shooting in Scarborough, a suburb in east Toronto, July 17, 2012. Reports say at least two people are dead while 19 others have been injured including an infant following a shooting in Scarborough on Monday night.
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People gather at the scene of a train derailment in the Giza neighbourhood of Badrashin on the outskirts of Cairo July 17, 2012. The train was travelling from southern Egypt towards Cairo when it derailed in a Cairo suburb on Tuesday and 15 people were injured, security and medical officials said, denying early reports that passengers had died in the crash.
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A labourer smokes a cigarette after replacing a pair of wheels on his pushcart along a road in Karachi July 17, 2012.
Good job!!
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Teenaged fans react as Canadian singer Justin Bieber performs at an early morning promotional event in Sydney July 18, 2012.
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Syria ministers 'killed in blast'
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Syria's Defence Minister, seen here on the right was reported to have been killed in the attack along with his deputy as was the President's BiL, Assef Shawkat
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The country's Interior Minister was reportedly injured in the blast
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Journalists were unable to access the scene making it difficult to verify exactly what occurred
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Attila Ban guilty of murdering Heathrow hotel colleagues
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A Heathrow airport hotel receptionist who hid in a bed for two days after killing two of his colleagues has been found guilty of their murder.
Attila Ban, 32, stabbed to death Tibor Vass and Alice Adams in the Radisson Edwardian Hotel's staff accommodation last August, the Old Bailey heard.
Ban evaded police, investigators and a pathologist by climbing into a divan bed, which Mr Vass's body was lying on.
Miss Adams had been stabbed 22 times. All three had worked at the hotel.
Ban had denied murder but admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Mr Vass, a student from Hungary, had been due to return home.
The court heard that Ban, who is also Hungarian, had developed a crush on Mr Vass and was devastated when he found out that he was due to leave. Mr Vass was heterosexual and did not return his feelings.
Miss Adams, of Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, had only been working at the hotel for three weeks. She was described as popular and fun-loving.
Ban was described as cold and manipulative by Det Insp John Finch who said Ban was obsessed with Mr Vass and may have thought: "If I can't have him, no-one can."
Police were called after Ban, who had climbed into the bed with his mobile phone and a bottle of water, updated his Facebook page, saying "I would like to wake up from this nightmare", and all three failed to turn up for work.
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Alice Adams and Tibor Vass were found in premises behind the Radisson Edwardian Heathrow Hotel
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Eva Rausing death: Husband charged with burial delay
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The husband of millionairess Eva Rausing is due in court later charged with delaying her burial.
American-born Mrs Rausing was found dead in the bedroom of the couple's house in Cadogan Place, Belgravia, on 9 July.
Hans Kristian Rausing, 49, whose family is said to be worth more than £4bn, has been charged with preventing the lawful and decent burial of her body.
He is due to appear at West London Magistrates' Court later.
Police are treating the death of Mrs Rausing as "unexplained" and a post-mortem examination held last week failed to establish a formal cause of death.
Mr Rausing was stopped by police on 9 July on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
A subsequent search of the couple's home led to the discovery of Mrs Rausing's body.
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Spain's banks facing 156bn euros of risky loans
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Spain's banks had 155.84bn euros ($191bn; £122bn) of loans on their books in May that are at risk of not being repaid, the highest since 1994.
The figure for "doubtful" loans is 8.95% of total lending extended by Spanish banks, the Bank of Spain said.
Much of the potential bad loans relate to the bursting of Spain's property bubble and descent into recession.
The figure underlines the weakness of many Spanish banks, which in 2008 had doubtful loans of 3.37% of all lending.
Last month, eurozone countries agreed to provide up to 100bn euros to support Spanish banks and put risky loans into a "bad" bank.
Further details of the arrangements will be discussed at a eurozone finance ministers meeting on Friday.
In May, Bankia had to be bailed out by the Madrid government.
Spain has the highest unemployment rate in Europe at 24%, and property prices have been falling at an annual rate of more than 10%
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Italy mozzarella magnate Mandara held over mafia links
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Italian police have arrested the head of one of Italy's biggest mozzarella makers on charges he had close ties to the mafia.
Giuseppe Mandara - who once dubbed himself the "Armani of Mozzarella" - was arrested with three associates near Naples, police said.
They accused Mr Mandara of collaborating with the Casalesi clan of the Naples-based Camorra mafia.
His Mandara Group firm is also accused of producing counterfeit cheese.
The company allegedly mixed cow's milk with more expensive buffalo milk that is the key ingredient in the trademark soft white cheese, and passed off batches of provolone cheese as a more expensive kind, AFP news agency reported.
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Great stuff. Browsing through this thread wakes me up from my Thai surroundings. There is another world out there and amazing things are happening in our time. I get too caught up in the banal life of the Thai countryside.
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A helicopter fights fire that started close to Bairro da Milharada near Odivelas, Portugal on July 18 2012.
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A fireman fights fire that started at Moleanos near the city of Alcobaca, Portugal, on July 18, 2012
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Flames move towards houses in Funchal, on the Portuguese island of Madeira July 18, 2012. More than 1000 firefighters are trying to extinguish forest fires after temperatures rose up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit in several areas of the country.
