A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Brazilian mudslide death toll rises
RIO DE JANEIRO – At least 207 people are still missing after Brazil’s worst landslides in decades, authorities said yesterday, as the death toll from the disaster in a scenic mountain region rose steadily to 727.
The list of missing people released by the Rio de Janeiro state prosecutor’s office – the first official estimate of the missing since the catastrophe struck a week ago – suggests the final toll could be close to 1,000.
Local officials in the worst affected towns of Teresopolis and Nova Friburgo said the number of missing was at least 300. Many are assumed to be buried under the avalanches of mud and water that destroyed hundreds of homes. – (Reuters)
Complaints filed against 'Baby Doc'
PORT-AU-PRINCE – Four Haitians, including a former UN spokeswoman, have filed criminal complaints against former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, accusing him of crimes against humanity.
The filings came yesterday, a day after Duvalier was briefly detained and charged by a Haitian state prosecutor with corruption and embezzlement and other alleged crimes during his 1971-1986 rule.
He returned unexpectedly to Haiti from exile in France on Sunday. Michele Montas, former spokeswoman for UN general secretary Ban Ki-moon, said she and three Haitians jailed during Duvalier’s rule had filed the complaints. – (Reuters)
Bungling burglars snort stolen ashes
MIAMI – Thieves snorted the cremated remains of a man and two dogs in the mistaken belief that they had stolen illegal drugs, Florida sheriff’s deputies have said.
The ashes were taken from a woman’s home in the central Florida town of Silver Springs Shores on December 15th. The thieves took an urn containing the ashes of her father and another container with the ashes of her two Great Danes, along with electronic items and jewellery, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said.
Investigators learned what happened to the ashes after they arrested five youths in connection with another burglary attempt at a nearby home last week. – (Reuters)