A round-up of other stories in brief
Three hacked to death in Kenya clashes
NAIROBI -Attackers hacked three people to death with machetes in a slum in Kenya's capital yesterday in ethnic clashes triggered by President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election last month, witnesses said.
Armed police chased youths in Nairobi's Huruma neighbourhood and some residents started to leave with their belongings on their heads. "I saw three people dead, killed by pangas [ machetes], slashed on the head, cuts on the back and a hand chopped off," said freelance cameraman Samuel Oduor. - (Reuters)
Boeing 777 inched to hangar base
LONDON -The damaged Boeing 777 aircraft that lost power mid-air as it approached Heathrow airport last Thursday was safely moved to an engineering base last night after it was painstakingly transported inch by inch from the southern runway at the airport.
The aircraft started its slow 500m journey from the end of the southern runway to British Airways' base at Hatton Cross yesterday afternoon. The jet, positioned outside a hangar, will now remain there while investigators try to determine what caused the malfunction. - (Reuters)
Miscarriage risk for coffee drinkers
CHICAGO -Pregnant women who drink two or more cups of coffee a day have twice the risk of having a miscarriage as those who avoid caffeine, US researchers said today.
The study, they said, provides strong evidence that high doses of caffeine during pregnancy - 200 milligrams or more a day or the equivalent of two cups of coffee - significantly increase the risk of miscarriage. And they said the research may finally put to rest conflicting reports about the link between caffeine consumption and miscarriage.
"Women who are pregnant or are actively seeking to become pregnant should stop drinking coffee for three months or hopefully throughout pregnancy," said Dr De-Kun Li of Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, whose study appears in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. - (Reuters)
Cubans vote in assembly election
HAVANA -Cubans voted in parliamentary elections yesterday that could start a transition to a post-Castro government in Cuba after half a century of rule by the Communist revolutionary.
Even though he has not appeared in public for almost 18 months, ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro was on the slate of 614 uncontested candidates for 614 seats in the rubber- stamp national assembly which is due to holds its first session on February 24th. - (Reuters)
Havel hospitalised over heart problem
PRAGUE -Former Czech president Vaclav Havel was taken to hospital with a heart problem but is feeling well, Czech television reported yesterday.
Mr Havel (71) was admitted to hospital on Saturday with heart arrhythmia, the television said. - (Reuters)