The world - March 4, 2010

THURSDAY

Russian hikers stumbled across nearly 100 seemingly abandoned T-80 battle tanks covered in a deep layer of snow near a railroad station outside the Ural Mountain city of Yekaterinburg.

A pair of Canadian high school teachers were suspended after a videotaped performance of their erotic lap dance at a school pep rally became a sensation on internet video-sharing web sites and on the CBC.

FRIDAY

The Minneapolis appeals court overturned a lower court ruling and found a group of zombie-dressed protestors had been wrongfully detained for disorderly conduct. At the time, the protestors were dressed in zombie make-up to look like the “living dead” as they protested against consumerism in a shopping mall. The judges ruled police had no reason to imprison them for two nights simply for “dressing as zombies and walking erratically in downtown Minneapolis”.

Frederic DeChausse, a 71-year old TV producer in Illinois, was brought up on a number of felony and misdemeanor charges after being arrested for illegally recording and selling copies of his channel’s local polka program. One of those reported buying copies of the program is CNN new anchor Wolf Blitzer.

WEEKEND

An earthquake that measured 8.8 on the Richter Scale, one of the largest ever recorded, struck of the coast of Chile early Saturday, killing hundreds in the South American nation. The quake also sent slight tsunami waves across the pacific, forcing residents of Hawaii, Japan and the U.S. west coast to seek out high ground.

SeaWorld’s famous killer whale show returned at the Orlando theme park for the first time since Feb. 24, when Tilikum, a 12,000 pound orca, killed trainer Dawn Brancheau.

The colossal 3000-year-old red granite head of Amenhotep III, the grandfather of Tutankhamun, has been discovered in Luxor, Egypt’s Culture Minister said Sunday. The 2.5 meter high head belonged to a statue of Amenhotep III in a standing position wearing the Upper Egyptian white crown and clutching the royal insignia.

Sidney Crosby became a bona fide Canadian hero Sunday when he rocketed a goal through the legs of U.S. goalie Ryan Miller to give the Canadian hockey team a 3-2 overtime win in the Olympic hockey finale.

MONDAY

Aside from his smoking habit, President Barack Obama is fit for duty, according to the results of his first medical checkup as commander in chief. Doctors advised the 48-year-old president to eat better to lower his cholesterol levels.

Atrazine, one of the most commonly used and controversial weedkillers, can turn male frogs into females, researchers from UC Berkeley reported Monday. The study of 40 male frogs found their male organs mutated into female organs after exposure to the chemical. Approximately 80 million pounds of atrazine are applied annually in the U.S.

The Large Hadron Collider in Geneva was restarted by the European Organization for Nuclear Research after it had been shut down for 2.5 months for improvements and repairs. The collider smashes atoms at near light speed as scientists probe the beginnings of the universe.

TUESDAY

Washington’s unemployment rate rose to 9.3 percent in January, according to a report issued by the state Employment Security Division. Since January 2009, more than 108,000 workers have lost their jobs in Washington.

Haitian judge Bernard Saint-Vil said he needs to hear more testimony from witnesses before he will agree to release the two Idaho missionaries that have been jailed on charges of kidnapping children from Haiti to the Dominican Republic following the island’s Jan. 12 earthquake.

Iraq’s highest court renewed an arrest warrant for Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr for the murder of a cleric nearly seven years ago. Al-Sadr is believed to have been living in Iran for the past two years, and has been one of the United States’ top targets in the war on terror.

WEDNESDAY

Washington state changed its method of lethal injection executions from a three-drug combination to a single lethal drug.

Nissan Motor Co. announced a recall of about 540,000 pickups, SUVs and minivans to fix problems with brake pedals and fuel gauges.

German police detained a 26-year old nightclubber they caught trying to snort amphetamines off the top of their unmarked police car in Nuremberg.

Compiled by staff from a variety of sources.