World Briefs

A West Midlands hospital trust has issued an unreserved apology after an 18-centimetre set of forceps was left inside a patient following a routine operation.

The Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which is facing legal action after Donna Bowett was left in agony, said it had since taken a number of steps to improve safety standards.

Ms Bowett told The Sun she was left in "horrendous" pain by the mistake after undergoing surgery to remove her gall bladder at Redditch's Alexandra Hospital last year. The 39-year-old nurse told the newspaper she underwent an MRI scan before the forceps were finally revealed by an X-ray. (PA)

Cocaine among roses

A week before Valentine's Day, a consignment of cocaine was found hidden among 20,000 roses from Latin America at Amsterdam airport, Dutch authorities said yesterday.

The roses, a popular Valentine's Day gift, arrived last Sunday on a flight from Bogota, Colombia, which stopped over in Puerto Rico. The drug was found in cellophane packets hidden in boxes containing the roses.

Three people in the Netherlands were arrested and police found a total of nine kilos of cocaine in their possession, including the seized shipment, with a street value of about €1.3 million. (Reuters)

Baltic in the Baltic Sea

A Polish dog rescued from the frigid Baltic Sea after a long journey on an ice floe is again braving those waters - this time safely onboard the ship whose crew saved him.

Wearing a bright orange lifejacket, Baltic the dog embarked on a three-day mission alongside his new owner Adam Buczynski, a seaman who pulled him to safety from an ice sheet in the Baltic Sea last month.

Mr Buczynski said the dog seemed stressed by the commotion of preparing for the trip, with footage showing the dog sitting on his lap, his head buried between Mr Buczynski's legs, but every care is being taken to ensure he has a pleasant journey - the crew is taking anti-nausea pills for Baltic in case he gets seasick. (PA)

Berlusconi to e-mail girlfriends

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said yesterday he would e-mail Valentine's Day wishes to "all my girlfriends".

Mr Berlusconi's second wife Veronica Lario announced she wanted to divorce him last year after he attended the 18th birthday party of an aspiring model in Naples.

The 73-year-old Prime Minister later became embroiled in a sex scandal when an escort said she was paid to sleep with him at his Rome residence. He says he has never paid for sex but has acknowledged he is "no saint".

Asked at a book presentation about his plans for Valentine's Day, a smiling Mr Berlusconi replied: "I'm using my computer and sending wishes to all my girlfriends." (Reuters)

Beware of the veil

An Arab ambassador called off his wedding after discovering his wife-to-be, who had worn a face-covering veil whenever they met, was bearded and cross-eyed, the Gulf News reported yesterday.

The envoy had only met the woman a few times, during which she had hidden her face behind a niqab, or face-covering veil. After the marriage contract was signed, the ambassador attempted to kiss his bride-to-be, upon which he discovered she had facial hair and was cross-eyed.

The ambassador told an Islamic Sharia court in the United Arab Emirates that he was tricked into the marriage as the woman's mother had shown his own mother pictures of her sister instead of his bride. He sued for the contract to be annulled and also demanded the woman pay him $136,000 for clothes, jewellery and other gifts he had bought for her.

The court annulled the contract but rejected the ambassador's demand for compensation. (AFP)

St Valentine's scam

Lonely men looking for love around Valentine's Day are being warned of an artificially-intelligent cyber scam which seduces its victims into revealing credit card details.

The Flirt Bot was discovered by security specialists PC Tools after targeting a user on MSN's instant messaging service yesterday.

The programme pretends to be a 21-year-old female and strikes up a conversation with its victim. After discussing the colour of its "panties", it suggests the user logs on to a webcam site to chat more intimately - this linked site then asks for credit card details as a proof of age. (PA)

Saved by public support

A New Zealand teenager stole his own injured puppy from a clinic to save it from being put down - a measure deemed necessary because the family could not afford expensive surgery.

But the story looks to be set for a happy ending after the plight of Bronson Stewart, 19, and his five-month-old dog Buck, who was hit by a car, stirred the local community into action to raise money for the £1,110 vet's bill.

"I just knew I had to get my dog back. He's like my brother," Mr Stewart said in a TV interview which sparked the public show of support. The money raised will pay for repairs to the dog's broken leg. (PA)