GLOBAL SNAPSHOT

A Titanic sale

LONDON: A letter written by one of the Titanic’s passengers a day before the ocean liner sank has sold for £126,000 ($A212,000) at an auction in England. The handwritten note, on embossed Titanic stationery, was penned by passenger Alexander Oskar Holverson on April 13, 1912 — the day before the ship hit an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic, killing more than 1500 on board.

Mugabe dumped

GENEVA: The World Health Organisation has reversed its decision to make Robert Mugabe a goodwill ambassador after an international outcry. At the weekend officials announced Zimbabwe’s 93year-old dictator could encourage other African governments to reduce heart disease, cancer and diabetes. This was despite the fact he has overseen the collapse of his country’s economy, causing greater poverty and average life expectancy to fall by 17 years. And yesterday the WHO released a statement saying the appointment had been “rescinded”.

Jailed for a touch

DUBAI: A British tourist who touched another man’s hip in a bar to avoid spilling a drink has been sentenced to three months jail for indecency. Jamie Harron, a 27-year-old electrician, was on a two-day stopover in the UAE after working in Afghanistan. His accuser, a Jordanian man, called police and claimed Mr Harron had been “very drunk” in the bar and “repeatedly” touched him. Mr Harron claims he was moving through a crowded bar holding a drink, and held a hand in front of him to void spilling it.

Bombers strike

ABUJA: Three female suicide bombers killed 13 people and wounded 16 in the northeastern city of Maiduguri on Sunday, security sources said.

The first bomber detonated her explosive belt around 9.45pm local time in front of a small restaurant in the capital of Borno state. The two other bombers followed minutes later.

Landslide kills

KUALA LUMPUR: Rescuers have found two more bodies buried by a landslide at a construction site in northern Malaysia, bringing the death toll to 11. Fire and rescue officials say the body of a Bangladeshi was retrieved early yesterday but rescuers were still trying to bring out the body of a Malaysian worker trapped deep under the rubble. A hillside crashed down early on Saturday at the site where two 49-storey condominiums are being built in northern Penang state.