World Briefs

Two of Britain's top museums said yesterday they had nothing to hide, after China announced it would dispatch experts to record relics abroad it says were looted from Beijing's Old Summer Palace.

Museums, libraries and private collections in the US, Britain, France and Japan will be targeted by the initiative, according to the director of Beijing's Yuanmingyuan, or Old Summer Palace, quoted in the China Daily.

China views the burning and pillaging of the Yuanmingyuan in 1860 by British and French armies as one of its greatest humiliations.

The British Museum in London, which has a substantial collection of Chinese artefacts, said it did not believe the Chinese initiative was aimed at seeking the return of any items, but simply to catalogue them.

A spokesman for London's Victoria and Albert Museum added that it "has not yet received any requests from researchers investigating whether we hold objects from the Summer Palace". But he added: "Should there be enquiries the museum would be happy to facilitate research into its collections." (AFP)

Leech clue helps police catch robber

A blood-swollen leech found at a crime scene eight years ago helped Australian police catch an armed robber through his DNA.

The case could be the first in which investigators have used DNA extracted from a bloodsucker like a leech or a mosquito to solve a crime.

The leech dropped off Peter Cannon as he and an accomplice tied a 71-year-old woman to a chair in her remote home in the Tasmanian woods in September 2001, and stole several hundred dollars in cash. Mr Cannon, now 54, has admitted aggravated armed robbery and faces a maximum of 21 years in prison when he is sentenced on Friday. (PA)

Unhappy landing

Rescuers had to use the signal from a crashed light aircraft pilot's phone to find him in the middle of a huge cornfield.

Badly injured James Trammell made an emergency call from the wreckage in Nebraska to say he did not know where he was.

Search teams were able to trace a GPS signal from the phone and located it to just hundreds of feet away from a small airfield. (PA)

School bans hugs

An Australian primary school has banned hugging and other displays of affection between boys and girls.

Students at Largs Bay Primary School in Adelaide were spoken to about "inappropriate behaviour" between boyfriends and girlfriends when the new school term opened last week, said head Julie Gale.

"We set strong standards of behaviour for our Year 6 and 7 students, who are seen as role models by our younger students," she said. (PA)

Pensioner footballer

A football captain is refusing to hang up his boots despite playing with the same team for more than half a century.

Grandfather-of-four Roger Craddock, who celebrated his 70th birthday last week, first played for Reigatians AFC in September 1957.

Now the captain of the club's sixth team, Mr Craddock, of Redhill, Surrey, who plays two or three games each season, marked his birthday by scoring a penalty against fellow Surrey side the Old Suttonians last weekend. (PA)

Driver stopped for 15 violations in 11 minutes

Authorities say an Italian man took reckless driving to new heights in 11 frantic minutes of traffic violations in eastern Switzerland. They said they first spotted the 47-year-old driver as he sped his jeep past an unmarked police car at 160 kph in a rainstorm on Sunday.

Driving dangerously close to other cars on the autobahn, he then allegedly ignored police attempts to pull him over - first with a stop sign, and then with flashing lights and sirens.

Police say the man drove through a construction zone at 140 kph, nearly twice the speed limit, before being stopped.

They seized the man's driver's licence, and a judge ordered him tested for medications and illegal drugs.

Police said the man racked up 15 traffic violations in 11 minutes. (PA)

The Queen in stitches

Canada's former PM Jean Chretien revealed he made the Queen laugh by uttering a swear word during a historic ceremony.

The statesman told the story after he was made a member of the prestigious Order of Merit by the Queen today during a private audience at Buckingham Palace.

The ex-premier appeared humbled by the honour and, when asked to describe how he felt, said: "What can I say but merci beaucoup?" The faux pas that had the Queen in stitches happened during the signing ceremony of the Constitution Act in Ottawa in 1982 that severed virtually all remaining constitutional and legislative ties between the UK and Canada. (PA)