Authorities in Arizona, US, are stepping up a programme to put mosquito-gobbling minnows into the stagnant pools of foreclosed or abandoned homes to prevent an outbreak of West Nile virus.

Public health workers in Maricopa County are breeding thousands of mosquito-fish to gobble up larvae that thrive in the green pools of abandoned homes. The tiny, silvery fish are being offered to residents and municipal authorities across the parched desert county, which has thousands of swimming pools, and one of the highest foreclosure rates in the US.

West Nile virus, which came to the US from Africa in the late 1990s, is now endemic in the county. Severe cases can produce high fever, stupor, tremors and paralysis, and can prove fatal.

The fish are proving an attractive alternative to chemicals or pesticides.

Murdered in supermarket queue row

A couple have been accused of murdering a man who died after he was assaulted in a supermarket in southwest London, police said yesterday.

Kevin Tripp, 57, died in hospital late on Wednesday night after suffering a head injury during an incident at the Sainsbury's store in Colliers Wood, Merton on Tuesday evening.

Media reports said Mr Tripp had been attacked in a case of mistaken identity after a row about queue-jumping.

On Thursday, Tony Virasami, 37, appeared at Wimbledon magistrates court charged with his murder. His partner, Antoinette Richardson, 37, has also been charged with murder.

Wind laboratory blown away

A casualty of powerful storms that hit the Kansas State University campus on Wednesday was the Wind Erosion Lab, which the university said was destroyed by an apparent tornado.

"The damage on campus is extensive," said Tom Rawson, the university's vice president for administration and finance. "The Wind Erosion Lab is gone. There is significant damage to the engineering complex."

Storms and tornadoes raked Kansas overnight and caused an estimated $20 million damage at the university campus in Manhattan. No one was injured, a spokesman said.

One of the damaged buildings housed the university's nuclear reactor, but the nuclear reactor itself remains unharmed, the university said.

Killer fungus in compost heap

There could be a killer hiding in your compost heap.

British doctors warned gardeners yesterday of the danger posed by a common fungus after a previously healthy man died from breathing in fungal spores found in dead plant material.

The unusual case involved a 47-year-old who came into contact with the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus, and was admitted to hospital after a week of coughing and chest pain.

"The patient's partner revealed that his symptoms had started less than 24 hours after he had dispersed rotting tree and plant mulch in the garden, where clouds of dust had engulfed him," doctors reported.

Aspergillus spores are often found in decaying plant matter and are capable of triggering an allergic response.

Armpit sniffer gets jail, cane

A Singapore man with a penchant for sniffing women's armpits was sentenced to 14 years in jail and 18 strokes of the cane for molesting his victims, a local newspaper reported yesterday.

The 36-year-old, who the Straits Times said was mentally unstable, had previous convictions for drug and sex-related offences.

He molested 23 women over the course of 15 months, smelling their armpits and touching them in lifts, staircase landings and their homes. He was caught after a housewife reported him to the police.

The court meted out the jal term, normally reserved for hardcore criminals, saying the man was likely to commit crimes again.