Statue of Obama as a boy moved to Jakarta school

Statue of Obama as a boy moved to Jakarta school

JAKARTA, Indonesia — A statue of Barack Obama as a boy was placed late Sunday night at the Jakarta elementary school the U.S. president once attended, after its display in a public park prompted backlash in the Indonesia capital.

The re-placement of the bronze statue a week after it disappeared from public view was a low-key event officiated by the school’s principal and three local education officials.

The likeness based on a childhood photograph shows a 10-year-old Obama smiling at a butterfly perched on his outstretched thumb.

Many Indonesias are proud of Obama’s connections to Indonesia, but detractors of the statue’s park display argued an Indonesian hero should be honored instead.

‘Test-tube’ babies grow up to be fairly normal

SAN DIEGO — More than 30 years after the world greeted its first “test-tube” baby with a mixture of awe, elation and concern, researchers say they are finding only a few medical differences between these children and kids conceived in the traditional way.

More than 3 million children have been born worldwide as a result of what is called assisted reproductive technology, and injecting sperm into the egg outside the human body now accounts for about 4 percent of live births, researchers reported Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The majority of assisted- reproduction children are healthy and normal, according to researchers who have studied them. Some of these children do face an increased risk of birth defects, such as neural tube defects, and of low birth weight, which is associated with obesity, hypertension and Type 2 diabetes later in life, the researchers said.

Israel adds West Bank shrines to heritage sites

JERUSALEM — Israel is adding two key West Bank holy shrines to its list of national heritage sites, the prime minister said Sunday, staking a claim that angered Palestinians, who want Israel out of the West Bank.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, addressing a session of his Cabinet at a heritage site in the Israeli Galilee, said the two sites were late additions to the list, reflecting pressure from settlers and other nationalists to widen the heritage category to include Old Testament sites in the West Bank.

Search continues for victims of mudslides

FUNCHAL, Madeira Islands — Rescue workers in Madeira dug through heaps of mud, boulders and debris Sunday, searching for victims buried by floods and mudslides that have killed at least 42 people on the popular Portuguese island.

Residents looking for missing loved ones were directed by local authorities to the resort’s international airport, where a makeshift morgue has been set up.

More than 120 other people were injured and an undetermined number were missing, possibly swept away or smothered, authorities said, adding the death toll could still rise.

Group calls for warnings on food about choking risk

CHICAGO — The nation’s largest pediatricians group thinks more foods should have warning labels about choking hazards.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is calling for sweeping changes in the way food is designed and labeled to prevent kids from choking. The group’s report was released today in the journal Pediatrics.

Choking kills more than 100 children in the United States every year, and thousands more are treated in emergency rooms. Food, including candy and gum, is among the leading culprits.

Doctors say risky foods should be cut into pea-sized pieces for small children. Those foods include hot dogs, raw carrots, grapes and apples. Some say things such as hard candies, popcorn and peanuts shouldn’t be given to young children at all.

Shuttle lands in Fla.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Endeavour and its six astronauts returned safely to Earth on Sunday, making a rare nighttime landing to end a mission that resulted in the virtual completion of the International Space Station.

The shuttle’s on-time arrival took some by surprise. All day, forecasters said rain and clouds probably would scuttle any touchdown attempts. But the rain stayed away and the sky cleared just in time. Mission Control waited until the last possible minute before giving commander George Zamka the go-ahead to head home. The 3-mile-long runway was awash in xenon lights.

Associated Press