Priest, villagers defend Mafia boss
ROME (Reuter): A Sicilian priest, Father Antonio Caizzone defended suspected Mafia boss Sebastiano Ferrara and villagers demonstrated in support of Ferrara, arrested after two years on the run for murder, extortion and Mafia association.
"He is conscious of having done wrong but I put all this in the context of the early, difficult years of this village," Caizzone told La Stampa. "It had no light, water or drains when I came here. It had no dignity either and he, like many other youngsters growing up then, was dragged down by it all."
"With him around we had security," one villager said. "We could sleep with our doors open at night." - - - - Sex and double standards in Egypt
CAIRO (Reuter): About half of young Egyptian women approve of men having sex before marriage but disapprove of the women who agree to sleep with them, shows a rare survey of attitudes among Egyptian youth in the magazine Egypt Today.
Only 16 percent of the women would do it themselves. Asked if it was acceptable for a man, but not a woman, to have premarital sex, 47.6 percent of the women said yes.
The young males had very different ideas. One in three, twice as many as for the females, said they would have sex before marriage and only 2.9 percent drew the distinction between what is right for a man and what is right for a woman. - - - -
Biospherics don't mix with budgets ...
ORACLE, Arizona (Reuter): Biosphere 2, a project in the Arizona desert to develop a way to survive on Mars, is under a court-appointed receiver in an apparent profit-loss dispute.
The 7.2-million-cubic-foot (200,000-cubic-metre) enclosure of glass domes has been controversial since it began in 1991 with a yearlong experiment by eight "biospherians" to prove man can live outside Earth's atmosphere. The surrogate planet has crops, farm animals, insects, a rain forest, an ocean complete with fish, and a desert. The venture has 12 patents from work in Biosphere 2. One, "Airtron", looks like a house plant, and traps and digests toxic air pollutants in the home. - - - -
Arrgh! Boy growls at bear, saves sister
WINNIPEG (Reuter): A seven-year-old boy became the youngest Canadian to win a Medal of Bravery after growling at a black bear attacking his little sister.
"Each time I growled, like this -- Arrgh -- he took one step back," the Winnipeg boy, Julius Rosenberg, said after the award was announced.
The bear approached as Julius, then five, and three-year-old Barbie were eating outside their family's cottage at West Hawk Lake, Manitoba in September, 1992. The pair jumped into the lake but the bear followed, attacking Barbie. Julius saved her from the bear's grip. - - - -
Toddler wins Jaguar convertible
EDMONTON, Alberta (Reuter): A two-year-old Canadian girl won a luxury convertible sportscar in a raffle, a spokesman said.
Thirty-month-old Kayla Chambers' name was drawn for the C$82,500 ($59,600) 1994 Jaguar XJS in a March 24 raffle held by Edmonton Opera.
Kayla's grandfather, Ezra Chambers, 52, gave her the winning C$30 ($22) ticket last December as a Christmas present.
The Jaguar will be sold and the money put in a trust fund for Kayla. - - - -
Gang caught after making crime movie
HOUSTON (Reuter): Three teenagers involved in a crime spree were arrested after videotaping themselves in the act. The boys, aged 15 and 16, laughed as they blew up mailboxes, burned a home air conditioning unit and committed a series of other crimes, according to the Harris County constable's office. Their downfall came when they piled debris on a cycle path, then positioned the video camera to record cyclists running into the debris and tumbling over. A woman riding on the path found the camera and refused to return it. - - - - Young pilot breaks record with 2nd flight
SAN DIEGO (Reuter): Nine-year-old Rachel Carter stamped her name in the record books by becoming the youngest pilot to fly a plane across the United States -- twice. Rachel had already piloted herself into the record books last week when she flew coast to coast, accompanied by her father, Jimmy, beating the former record held by 11-year-old Vicki Van Meter of Meadville, Pennsylvania.
Ten days later, she was back home in Ramona, about 40 miles (64 km) northeast of San Diego, after landing a borrowed single- engine Piper Arrow. - - - -
Smirnov or Smirnoff? Vodka war rages on
MOSCOW (Reuter): Smirnov has proclaimed victory over Smirnoff in a saga of two vodkas, backing its assertion that the fiery, clear drink can be made only in Russia.
But Smirnoff, a vodka trademark held by a U.S. firm and produced in 19 countries, says the battle is not over. It will continue to sell its red and white bottles in Russia.
The battle between the Smirnoff label and Russian businessman Boris Smirnov has been raging for three years. Each side has taken legal action to prevent the other from using the family name in Russia. Smirnov says a decision by the Russian patent office Rospatent backs his case.