Sunday, August 23, 2009
Probe of death reveals cruelty by other soldiers
COLUMBUS — The U.S. military says the investigation into the death of an Ohio soldier in Iraq revealed cruelty and maltreatment by other soldiers.
Lt. Col. Kevin Olson, a spokesman for Multi-National Division-South, says the evidence of maltreatment became clear during the investigation of the Aug. 4 death of Pvt. Keiffer Wilhelm.
The Department of Defense says the 19-year-old Wilhelm, of Plymouth in northern Ohio, died in Maysan province, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a noncombat- related incident.
The military said Friday that four Multi-National Division-South soldiers have been charged with cruelty and maltreatment of soldiers in their platoon.
Olson says there is no direct evidence the soldiers’ alleged misconduct caused Wilhelm’s death.
Wildlife officials offer reward in grizzly killing
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it is offering a reward for information leading to the conviction of whoever illegally shot one of Montana’s largest grizzly bears.
The carcass of the bear named Maximus because he stood 71‚Ñ2 feet tall and weighed about 800 pounds was found Aug. 12 on a ranch in northern Montana. The bear had been dead about a month.
Special Agent Brian Lakes says he didn’t know the exact size of the reward, but it would be “substantial.”
Lakes says he also is investigating two other illegal shootings of grizzly bears.
German professors suspected of bribery
BERLIN — German prosecutors are investigating about 100 professors across the country on suspicion they took bribes to help students get their doctoral degrees, authorities said Saturday.
The investigation is focused on the Institute for Scientific Consulting, based in Bergisch Gladbach, just east of Cologne, which purportedly acted as the intermediary between students and the professors, said Cologne prosecutor’s spokesman Guenther Feld.
Feld confirmed reports of the investigation in both Focus magazine and the Neue Westfaelische newspaper but would not give further details.
According to the two publications, students paid between $5,700 to $28,500 to the company, which promised to help them get their doctoral degrees through its extensive contacts within university faculties.
It was not clear whether the students knew that bribes were being paid. The professors are being investigated on suspicion of fraud, Feld said.
Patient gets tongue, jaw during face transplant
MADRID — Hospital officials say Spain’s first face-transplant patient — the first anywhere to get a new tongue and jaw — has been so pleased by his new appearance that he smiled.
Surgeon Pedro Cavadas says the 43-year-old man, who underwent the surgery Tuesday at La Fe hospital in the eastern city of Valencia, may go home in about a week. The man lost part of his face more than 10 years ago due to radiotherapy.
Cavadas said the patient will need to learn to eat and speak intelligibly again after more than a decade of not being able to, but he saw himself in a mirror and was so happy that he smiled.
Hospital officials said Saturday the patient, whose name has not been released, continued to make good progress.
Wildfires threaten suburbs of Athens
ATHENS, Greece — Dozens of wildfires broke out across Greece, torching olive groves, cutting off villages and sending residents fleeing Saturday as one of the largest blazes swept perilously close to the capital’s northern suburbs.
The fires north of Athens were reported in an area more than 25 miles wide and forced authorities to evacuate two large children’s hospitals, campsites, villages and outlying suburban areas threatened by blazes that sent huge clouds of smoke over the capital and scattered ash on city streets.
Anti-aircraft missiles were removed from a base north of Athens threatened by fire, the army said.
Local officials said the fire damaged power lines, causing blackouts and water-supply outages in many areas after nightfall.
Municipal officials said dozens of houses had been destroyed, but the government’s Civil Protection Agency did not confirm those reports.
Associated Press