World Briefs

Singer Sir Elton John has said he wants to adopt a 14-month-old boy from an orphanage in Ukraine who has "stolen his heart".

Sir Elton, 62, was visiting the country with his Aids foundation and during his visit he performed Circle of Life for the children, some there because their parents had died of Aids. At a press conference later he and partner David Furnish, 46, were asked whether they thought of adopting and Sir Elton announced he would like to adopt one of the children, Lev.

He said: "David and I have always talked about adoption, David always wanted to adopt a child and I always said 'no' because I am 62 and I think because of the travelling I do and the life I have, maybe it wouldn't be fair for the child.

"But having seen Lev, I would love to adopt him. I don't know how we do that but he has stolen my heart. And he has stolen David's heart and it would be wonderful if we can have a home. I've changed my mind." (PA)

Microwave fish fingers

From the land of fish and chips, beans on toast and deep-fried Mars Bars come fish fingers specially designed to be crispy, not soggy, when they come out of the microwave.

Seafood producer Young's said its Micro Fish Fingers - which go on sale next month - are the product of "long overdue" thinking.

"It optimises all the obvious potential for fish fingers to compete in the market for nutritious quick snacks," said Young's marketing controller Charlotte Broughton.

Until now, fish fingers have been best baked in conventional ovens or fried.

Due in UK supermarkets next month, Young's Micro Fish Fingers "could be the fast-food breakthrough of the decade", opined the Grocer, the food industry trade journal in Britain. (AFP)

'Spanish king looks like Castro'

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has joked that Spanish King Juan Carlos' new beard was similar to Fidel Castro's, in his second meeting with the monarch since the two clashed at a summit in 2007.

"He has grown a beard, like Fidel," Mr Chavez said to the King before the two held talks at the monarch's Zarzuela palace in Madrid on Friday.

"It is to change my look a bit," said the monarch, who grew the beard during his summer holidays on the island of Majorca.

At the Ibero-American summit in Chile in November 2007, King Juan Carlos sparked a diplomatic row when he turned to Mr Chavez - who had been repeatedly interrupting a speech by Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero - and said: "Why don't you shut up". (AFP)

Donkey bombs

Colombian leftist guerillas exploded bombs strapped to two donkeys, killing two workers who were clearing illicit drug crops and wounding six soldiers.

The attack, near Colombia's frontier with Venezuela, came during an operation to eradicate coca leaves used to make cocaine that is shipped by smugglers to the streets of Europe and the US.

"Two people were killed and six soldiers were wounded," Police General Orlando Pineda told reporters.

Driven back by President Alvaro Uribe's hardline security campaign, Colombia's Farc guerillas often use ambushes, home-made landmines and other devices to attack soldiers. (Reuters)

Reality show dispute

Nine young Turkish women taking part in a Big Brother-style TV show were too afraid to leave a villa in Istanbul for fear of facing a $33,000 fine each, one contestant said yesterday.

Turkish military police raided the villa in Riva, a district of Istanbul last week after receiving a complaint that women were being held in confinement.

Cameras in the villa with a pool had filmed the women 24 hours a day, providing a live stream of images for internet users (www.bizevdeyiz.tv).

"One of our girls called her mother to save us from here as we could not get out," contestant Buse Kazdal said, adding they managed to borrow a phone from a producer.

The women had answered an advert seeking contestants for a women-only Big Brother-style TV show. They passed an audition and selection process before entering the house. The women signed a contract agreeing to stay there for three months and would face a fine of 50,000 lira each if they left early, or had contact with the outside world. (Reuters)