A round-up of today's other world news in brief
Salmonella fears prompt US nut recall
WASHINGTON – US food safety officials have recalled more than 450 tonnes of pistachio nuts from more than 30 states after traces of salmonella were found in batches sold by a California company.
The US Food and Drug Administration said pistachios grown by Setton Farms were found to be contaminated with multiple strains of the bacteria. Kroger, one of the largest supermarket chains in the country, has recalled pistachio products from stores in 31 states.
Salmonella poisoning can cause severe diarrhoea, fever and abdominal cramps and is especially dangerous in young children and frail and elderly people. – (Guardian service)
6 take simulated 105-day Mars trip
MOSCOW – Six European men embarked on a 105-day simulated trip to Mars at a Russian space institute yesterday to test how humans would cope with the long isolation.
The volunteer crew of four Russians, one German and a Frenchman sealed themselves in the maze of cramped compartments in an imitation spaceship.
A padlock was clamped on the giant metal hatch of the warren, the focus of a project which space officials said was a small step towards eventually sending people to Mars. – (Reuters)
Massive security for Nato summit
STRASBOURG – Around 30,000 French and German police were today moving into position around three cities on both sides of the Rhine before a Nato summit involving US president Barack Obama and 25 other leaders.
The meeting on Friday and Saturday in the French city of Strasbourg and the German cities of Kehl and Baden Baden, follows the tightly monitored G-20 summit in London. French defence minister Michele Alliot-Marie said it was France’s biggest security operation in years.
She warned of possible terrorist acts and clashes over Afghanistan. – (AP)
Symbolic avenue of Booker trees
LONDON – Booker Prize judges planted an avenue of trees yesterday in a symbolic gesture intended to compensate for all timber used to produce the books entered for the prestigious award. The group planted 13 oak saplings in a woodland site in Essex to mark the “Booker Dozen” – the 13 titles longlisted for the award. – (PA)
Baggage handler along for the ride
NEW YORK – A luggage handler flew from New York to Boston after falling asleep in the cargo hold of a JetBlue airliner but was unharmed and not charged with any crime.
Massachusetts state police said the 21-year-old man was discovered in the cargo hold when the aircraft landed at Boston’s Logan airport on Saturday.
Boston media reported the man fell asleep with the luggage in New York and that baggage handlers in Boston were shocked to discover him when they opened the cargo door. – (Reuters)
Vatican orders inquiry into order
VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict has ordered an investigation of an influential Catholic order whose founder was discovered to be a sexual molester and to have had at least one child with a mistress.
The Legionaries of Christ announced the inspection, known in church language as an “Apostolic Visitation”, yesterday. The conservative Legionaries have been shaken over the past several years by a string of scandals tied to their founder, Father Marcial Maciel, who died last year at the age of 87.
Last month, the order said it had found evidence that he had lived a double life for decades. – (Reuters)