From The Sunday Times
March 7, 2010

World news in brief

Gunmen rob poker tournament

Armed robbers stormed a luxury hotel in central Berlin and raided a poker tournament last night. Armed with machineguns, machetes and hand grenades, the raiders made off with the jackpot of £726,000. Several of the 1,000 players were injured. “There was panic, and people jumped underneath tables before they tried to escape through the emergency exit,” said a bystander. The tournament was being shown live on the internet.

Mubarak undergoes surgery

The Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, temporarily handed over power to the prime minister, Ahmed Nazif, as he underwent a gall bladder operation in Germany yesterday. The 81-year-old leader, right, who has governed for nearly three decades, was staying at a hospital in Heidelberg. Mubarak, who been president since 1981, has looked weak at recent public appearances. The operation was said to have been successful.

Bear Attack

An Asiatic black bear bit off a woman’s fingers at a zoo in the America state of Wisconsin after she ignored signs that warned against trying to feed the animal. The 47-year-old woman lost a thumb and a forefinger, and two fingers were partially severed. Her boyfriend was bitten as he tried to rescue her. The bear will not be put down.

Apology Anger

Thirty-eight staff at the Danish daily Politiken yesterday published a letter protesting at its decision to apologise for printing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Kurt Westergaard, one of the cartoonists, who this year was the subject of an attack at his home, said it had betrayed its duty to uphold freedom of speech.