World Briefs

A 75-year-old woman arrested for single-handedly cutting off the internet in Georgia and Armenia yesterday tearfully insisted she was innocent and said she had never heard of the web.

In a case that has attracted worldwide interest, pensioner Hayastan Shakarian is accused of forcing thousands of people in both countries offline for hours after hacking into a fibre-optic cable while digging for scrap metal.

But Ms Shakarian, a Georgian of Armenian origin, said that she was just a “poor old woman” who was not capable of committing such a crime.

“I did not cut this cable. Physically, I could not do it,” she said, repeatedly bursting into tears as she spoke.

Ms Shakarian, who lives in the poverty-stricken Georgian village of Armazi, around 15 kilometres from the capital Tbilisi, said that she had only been collecting firewood.

“I have no idea what the internet is,” she added.

The pensioner has been charged with damaging property and could face up to three years in prison if convicted.

“My mother is innocent. She is crying all the time. She is so scared,” said her son, Sergo Shakarian. (AFP)

Notorious art thief

Notorious compulsive art thief and collector Stephane Breitwieser was charged with several new crimes yesterday after dozens of old masters were discovered at his home in France.

An investigating magistrate interviewed the 39-year-old in Strasbourg and charged him with one theft in France and with handling goods stolen in Belgium and Germany. Assistant prosecutor Claude Palpacuer said Mr Breiwieser had admitted some of the allegations against him.

A grand-nephew of Alsatian painter Robert Breitwieser (1889-1975), Mr Stephane won infamy in 2002 when he admitted stealing hundreds of works from museums, castles and palaces around Europe, supposedly for his own collection.

When he was finally arrested in Switzerland in 2001, his mother Mireille Stengel threw around 100 works of art worth several million euros into a canal, most of which were eventually recovered. However, she also completely destroyed several works, including some by German Renaissance painter Cranach and Flemish master Bruegel.

Investigators on Wednesday found 28 paintings at Mr Breitwieser’s flat, including two reported stolen from museums in Germany in 2007. (AFP)

Animal cruelty

A couple who turned a pub basement into a menagerie will stand trial next month accused of causing unnecessary suffering to animals.

Eric Buckley, 56, and his wife, Doreen, 46, of South Wales, kept a cat, 11 dogs, nine geese, a pony and two goats in the basement of a pub in the nearby village of Porth, where they occasionally stayed themselves.

The couple both deny causing unnecessary suffering and failing to meet welfare needs of the animals. (PA)

Mass graves

The number of bodies found dumped in mass graves in northeastern Mexico has risen to 72, after thirteen more corpses were uncovered by authorities, officials have said.

Experts on Thursday discovered two more graves in Tamaulipas state which “enabled us to find 13 more bodies,” a top state official, Morelos Jaime Canseco, told the Televisa network.

He added nine bodies had been found in one grave, and four in another. All were men, all were Mexican, and all had been killed recently.

Earlier this week 59 bodies were discovered in eight illegal mass graves on a ranch in the farming village of La Joya, in northeast Tamaulipas state. (AFP)

Prince’s adventure

Prince Harry’s Arctic adventure ended yesterday when repairs were completed to an ice runway, allowing him to fly home.

He had been delayed for 24 hours but turned the problem to his advantage and yesterday rejoined a team of wounded servicemen who are trying to reach the North Pole.

The extra day’s trekking will have been welcomed by Harry, whose time on the ice with the team was earlier cut short after bad weather delayed the start of their adventure

A spokesman for the group, who are aiming to raise £2 million for the Walking With The Wounded charity, said: “The team were sad to see him go after spending a considerable amount of time with him training, at base camp and on their first few days on the ice.”

Prince Harry, 26, spent three days training with the group last week at the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen and even jumped into sub zero Arctic water as part of his preparations while kitted out in an immersion suit. (PA)