World Briefs

The US federal government proposed listing two seals that depend on sea ice as threatened species because of the projected loss of ice from climate warming.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will seek to list ringed seals found in the Arctic Basin and the North Atlantic and two populations of bearded seals in the Pacific Ocean as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Ringed seals are the main prey of polar bears, which were listed as threatened by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 2008.

For ringed seals, the proposed listing also cites the threat of reduced snow cover. (PA)

Summons for parents of baby in towed-away car

The parents of a nine-month-old baby who was left in a vehicle that was towed away in Denver have been cited with misdemeanour child abuse.

Police identified the parents as Guadalupe Torres-Sanchez and Rene Calderon, both 32.

Their vehicle was towed away last Tuesday because it was blocking a driveway. But the tow truck driver did not realise there was a baby inside.

The towing company said the baby was in a car seat covered with blankets.

The mother called 911 to report her car had been towed with her child inside. Shortly thereafter, the towing company called to report a child had been found in a towed vehicle.

Police said the baby was fine and was returned to the mother. (PA)

Carpark killer 18-year jail sentence

A US man was sentenced to 18 years in prison for fatally shooting another man during an argument over how close one had parked to the other.

Sixty-one-year-old Harry Ray Coleman, who was convicted in July of second-degree murder, was sentenced last Friday.

The fight started when 52-year-old Robert Schwerin became upset because Coleman’s Hummer was parked close to his GMC Yukon. (PA)

Mickey Mouse deal

Construction magnate Ron Tutor can now call himself a Hollywood mogul.

The chief executive of Tutor-Saliba Corp confirmed that the group of investors he leads closed on a deal to buy the award-laden studio Miramax Films from The Walt Disney Co. for $660 million.

The deal was announced in July, but its closing was delayed amid concerns about bank financing. (PA)

Dozens injured in Easter Island clash

A land dispute on Easter Island turned violent when riot police evicting islanders from their ancestral home were surrounded by rock-throwing protesters.

Dozens were injured in a seven-hours-long confrontation.

The clash began when officers moved in to evict 10 people from the home they had been occupying since ousting a government official from the property in September, Rapa Nui lawyer Maka Atan said.

The Rapa Nui resisted and the violence left 17 officers and eight civilians hurt, according to police.

Three islanders and one policeman were evacuated to mainland Chile for treatment. But protesters said that 19 islanders were injured and denied seeing any police hurt. (PA)

Crossbow murder charge for son

A Canadian man was charged with first-degree murder for fatally shooting his father in the back with a crossbow in a Toronto library as shocked mothers and children watched.

Zhou Fang, 24, appeared in court to face the murder charge a day after Si Cheng, 52, was killed in the library about an hour after a nearby school let out pupils for the day.

The judge ordered that Fang be held without bail. (PA)

Airport laser probe

US federal and state officials are investigating reports of lasers being pointed at planes landing at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it received nearly a dozen reports from pilots last week. All have involved planes landing at the airport from the north.

FAA spokesman Jim Peters said there were six incidents last Wednesday and several more earlier in the week. The pilots reported seeing green laser lights in their cockpits while on final approach. (PA)

War widow bill

The Japanese widow of a Marine killed in Iraq is a step closer to being able to emigrate to the US with the couple’s toddler son.

The US Senate passed a bill that would grant permanent residency to Hotaru Ferschke, the widow of Sergeant Michael Ferschke. The bill still must pass the House.

The two married by phone in 2008 while he was stationed in Iraq and she was in Japan. He died in combat a month later. (PA)