Hopes fade for priest tied to 1,000 helium balloons

Brasilia Hopes were fading last night for a Brazilian priest who floated aloft on Sunday tied to 1,000 giant party balloons and has not been seen since, though several of the helium-filled balloons were found floating at sea. Father Adelir de Carli, 41, soared into the sky from the southeastern town of Paranagua, sitting in a harness attached to the white, red, yellow, green and pink balloons, and wearing a thermal outfit and helmet.

He was trying to draw attention to his campaign to provide rest stops for long-distance truck drivers, and to enter into Guinness World Records. A known adventurer, he had already made a previous similar flight with 500 balloons in January that reportedly took him as high as 5,000 meters (16,400ft). But bad weather this time pushed his makeshift contraption out to sea off Brazil’s southern coast, and in his last contact with police on Sunday night he said that he was encountering problems. Parishioners in his church were praying for him. (AFP)

Fighting adds to drought threat

Geneva The worst drought in a decade and renewed fighting between Islamists and government troops has put 2½ million people in Somalia at risk of death, the United Nations said. (AFP)

Stray dogs save abandoned child

Delhi Stray dogs rescued a baby girl abandoned under a mound of mud and leaves in eastern India, a government official said yesterday. The newborn child was discovered when a pack of dogs began barking and alerted villagers to her whereabouts in Narhan, in Bihar state on Sunday. (AP)

Anthem ‘insult’ at cinema

Bangkok A man who refused to stand for the Thai royal anthem at a cinema was charged with insulting the monarchy. He could face 15 years in jail. (Reuters)

Catching post saves baby

Albany A New York postwoman saved the life of a baby girl while delivering mail by catching her after she fell from a second-storey window. (AP)

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