Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Thatcher's son arrestedin alleged coup plot
CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- Mark Thatcher, the son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was arrested today and charged with helping to finance a foiled plot to overthrow the government of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea.
Thatcher, a 51-year-old businessman who has lived in South Africa since 2002, was arrested at his Cape Town home shortly after 7 a.m. and taken before the Wynberg Magistrate's Court, where he was charged with violating South Africa's Foreign Military Assistance Act.
"We have evidence, credible evidence, and information that he was involved in the attempted coup," police spokesman Sipho Ngwema said before the arraignment. "We refuse that South Africa be a springboard for coups in Africa and elsewhere."
Thatcher was placed under house arrest and given until Sept. 8 to post bail of 2 million rands, or nearly $300,000. Defense lawyer Peter Hodes said Thatcher was arrested on suspicion of providing financing for a helicopter linked to the coup plot.
Police continue searchfor stunt motorcyclists
ST. LOUIS -- Authorities searching for a pack of highway stunt motorcyclists blamed for a wreck that seriously hurt five people in a sport utility vehicle say the case demonstrates how devil-may-care, high-speed antics can harm more than the daredevils.
"There's a common misconception that if motorcyclists are in an accident, they're going to only hurt themselves. This proved that wrong," Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Brian Geier said Tuesday.
A handful of motorcyclists were on Highway 364 Saturday when they changed lanes and cut off a Ford Explorer, forcing that vehicle to swerve to the right and hit a Chevrolet Suburban.
The Suburban tumbled down an embankment, ejecting most of its eight occupants. Five people in that vehicle were seriously injured; the other three sustained lesser harm. Only one was wearing a seat belt.
Dangerous dead snake
CEDARVILLE, N.J. -- In this case, police say a dead snake was more dangerous than a live one.
Michael File received several small lacerations on his back Sunday as the result of being whipped with a dead six-foot-long black snake, state police said. File, 26, wasn't wearing a shirt during the assault by Kenneth Davis, 42, authorities said.
Davis later was assaulted by File with a baseball bat, authorities said.
Police said they learned that Davis had been attempting to let the snake, which was alive when the incident began, crawl into File's residence. File's father, whose name was not available, saw the snake approaching, stepped on it and beat it to death with a piece of wood.
Police said Davis, who had been drinking, then became angry and pushed the elder File. Michael File told Davis to leave the property, whereupon Davis picked up the snake, twirled it over his head and assaulted Michael File with it, police said. File then grabbed a baseball bat and took aim at Davis' head, police said. Davis was treated for head lacerations.
Davis was charged with simple assault. Police Sgt. Sean Day said charges against File are likely.
Humpback whale trapped
ANNAPOLIS ROYAL, Nova Scotia -- A hydroelectric plant in Nova Scotia remained closed Tuesday after a wayward humpback whale swam through the underwater gates connecting the facility with the Atlantic Ocean. Officials said the 20-foot whale was chasing a school of herring late Monday when it passed through the sluice gates of the Annapolis Tidal Power Plant, which generates electricity from the flow of the Bay of Fundy's record-high tides. The whale was still trapped late Tuesday.
Typhoon hits Taiwan
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Typhoon Aere battered northern Taiwan today, triggering a mudslide that buried a church and killed a father and his daughter as the storm's eye churned toward China, where nearly 250,000 people were being evacuated. The new fatalities pushed the death toll to nine.
Aere was spending most of today drenching parts of central Taiwan that were prone to deadly flooding and landslides.
As forecasts showed the typhoon heading toward China, authorities there evacuated 249,000 people from coastal areas, the Chinese government said.
Aere's center was bearing down on China's southern province of Fujian and was expected to pound the area through Thursday, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Associated Press