Rescuers are searching for two Britons after their sailing boat was hit by a large wave as they tried to head for port in rough seas off the north-west Portuguese coast.
Port officer Julio Rocha said a helicopter has joined the search for the men, aged 53 and 54, and that one 24-year-old male crew member was able to swim to safety at Povoa de Varzim.
The accident happened in darkness at about 3.30 a.m. yesterday when the men were trying to guide their yacht, Water Waves, through rough seas into a marina on the coast north of Porto.
Rocha said the men had been sailing from the northwestern Spanish port of Vigo when they hit a storm.
Swastika branding leads to lawsuit
The mother of a Navajo man with learning difficulties who was branded with a swastika is suing fast food giant McDonald’s and the owner of one of its New Mexico restaurants.
The civil action was filed on behalf of the victim, whose arm was branded with a heated metal coat hanger shaped into a swastika. Ex-Mcdonald’s employees Paul Beebe, William Hatch and Jesse Sanford, accused of the attack, allegedly encountered the victim at the restaurant. They have pleaded not guilty.
The lawsuit claims a McDonald’s owner in Farmington breached corporate policies requiring a safe environment for customers by hiring employees who had criminal backgrounds.
Airport attacked
Suspected secessionist rebels attacked Lubumbashi airport in mineral-rich southern Congo, sparking a three-hour shoot-out with soldiers that left a civilian guard dead.
Information minister Lambert Mende said the gunmen had not been identified. Flights at the airport carry mining executives and others between African capitals.
The attackers descended on the airport around 4 a.m. and soldiers rushed in reinforcements to drive them off. A civilian guard was killed and an army captain wounded, residents said.
Snake found on train
A one-metre boa constrictor that slithered away from its owner on a Boston underground train a month ago has been found in an adjoining carriage.
A commuter spotted Penelope the snake and alerted a train attendant at a Red Line station. Train attendant Sharon Lynch – a snake owner herself – caught her.
Penelope’s owner, 30-year-old Melissa Moorhouse of Allston, had travelled around with the snake around her neck and lost it between two stations on January 6.
Palin trademark bid
Former Republican US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her daughter are trying to trademark their names.
The ex-Alaska governor has filed paperwork with the US Patent and Trademark Office in November to register the trademark, but the federal office is seeking more information and examples of usage.
Mrs Palin’s daughter Bristol, a contestant on Dancing With The Stars last year, is also seeking to trademark her name, citing motivational speaking services in the field of life choices.
The Second City ‘den mother’ mourned
The woman known as the ‘den mother’ to alumni of Chicago’s famous The Second City comedy club, including early Saturday Night Live stars John Belushi, Gilda Radner and Bill Murray, has died.
Joyce Sloane’s daughter said her 80-year-old mother died “absolutely peacefully” in bed as she got ready to watch Jim Belushi on television.
Ms Sloane served as executive producer, founded its national touring company and co-founded the Toronto branch of The Second City. She is credited with discovering the Belushi brothers and Nia Vardalos of My Big Fat Greek Wedding fame. Other alumni include Steve Carell, Mike Myers and Tina Fey.
Reformist Saudis’ Facebook campaign
A group of Saudi Facebook activists have started a campaign calling for political and economic reforms, inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt that have been spurred by social networking groups.
The Saudi campaign is entitled ‘People Want Regime Reform’. Messages posted by yesterday urge a change to the constitutional monarchy and call for holding free and fair elections, respect of human rights and individual freedoms.