World Briefs

A young emperor penguin stranded in New Zealand has survived two medical procedures and now has an offer of a lift home.

However, the bird many are calling Happy Feet after the light-hearted 2006 film is not out of danger yet. It remained on an intravenous drip yesterday and faces another procedure tomorrow to remove more sand from its digestive system.

If it does pull through, a businessman wants to take it by boat to Antarctica next February.

Jackson tribute

Jermaine Jackson performed a nostalgic tribute concert to his late brother Michael to mark the second anniversary of the King of Pop’s death as part of the 12th Indian International Film Awards festivities in Toronto, Canada.

Wearing a Michael Jackson-inspired outfit, complete with a red military-style jacket, V-neck white shirt and fitted black slacks, Jermaine sang a medley of his sibling’s hits including Scream and Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.

Death blaze charges

Prosecutors in China’s commercial hub of Shanghai have charged 26 people with bribery and other crimes in connection with an apartment-building fire last year in which 58 people died.

Officials said welders caused the blaze by ignoring safety precautions. The prosecutor’s office said those charged include government officials, construction company heads and supervisors, and welders who lacked the proper qualifications. Charges include bribery and misuse of power.

Pope goes online

The Vatican is taking a leap into the world of new media this week with the launch of a news information portal which Pope Benedict XVI himself may put online with a papal click.

Vatican officials said Benedict has been following the development of the portal – www.news.va – which will for the first time aggregate information from the Vatican’s various print, radio and television media in a one-stop-shop for Holy See news.

The portal is being launched on Wednesday, the 60th anniversary of Benedict’s ordination as a priest. Mgr Claudio Maria Celli, who heads the Vatican office which developed the portal, said Benedict may put the site online himself with a click from the Apostolic Palace.

World’s ugliest dog

Yoda’s short tufts of hair, protruding tongue, and long, seemingly hairless legs were enough to earn her the World’s Ugliest Dog title at the Sonoma Marin Fair in Northern California. Owner Terry Schumacher of Hanford, California, said the 14-year-old Chinese crested-Chihuahua cross has come a long way since she was found abandoned behind an apartment building. She added that she first thought the 0.9kg dog was a rat.

Yoda’s distinction comes a year after a one-eyed Chihuahua named Princess Abby claimed victory in the contest.

Virgin Mary vision

Thousands of people have gathered in the southern Bosnian village of Medjugorje to mark the 30th anniversary of the disputed apparition of the Virgin Mary.

Christian pilgrims from around the world climbed a hill above Medjugorje where six children claimed they saw the vision in 1981. Unlike Fatima in Portugal or Lourdes in France, the Roman Catholic Church is cautious about calling the sightings authentic, and has not formally approved Medjugorje as a shrine site.

Last year the Vatican started formally investigating the apparitions which the six - now adults – claim still occur regularly. The lack of official recognition has not stopped the remote village from thriving. Some 40 million faithful have visited its shrine so far.

Corruption soars

Little has been accomplished to end the relationship between corruption and the conflict in Afghanistan despite a decade of US-led military efforts, according to a new report.

The International Crisis Group’s 46-page report provides a sobering analysis of a culture of corruption in Afghanistan, which includes collusion with the Taliban at high levels of government.