Boy’s science project prompts evacuation

SAN DIEGO: Fire officials said a San Diego middle school was evacuated when a student’s science project was mistaken for a bomb. Fire-Rescue spokesman Maurice Luque said a vice principal’s concerns prompted the evacuation of Millennial Tech Magnet Middle School Friday afternoon. Luque said an arson team took photos and x-rays of the empty plastic bottle with wires and determined it was harmless. Luque says the 11-year-old boy was trying to build a motion detector from instructions he found on the Internet and parts he bought online with help from his father. His parents did not realize that the object looked threatening. He said the student was “a genius-type kid” who undertook the project on his own, had no intentions of hurting anyone or causing any disruptions.

Debenhams offers post-divorce gift lists

LONDON: A chain of high-street shops on Monday launched a divorce gift list service amid a surge of married couples saying “I don’t” after the festive season. In a twist on the popular wedding list, through which newlyweds receive presents to help them into married life, retailer Debenhams came up with a new list to help divorcees stock up after leaving their ex-partner’s home. “Divorcing can be an expensive time and registering for a Divorce Gift List means that family and friends can help the newly separated begin their new life,” said Peter Moore, head of retail services at the chain. A “divorce means that one partner will be leaving the marital home and therefore be left without any essentials in their new house,” he said.

Taiwan artist carves ‘world’s tiniest tiger’

TAIPEI: A Taiwanese artist said Monday that he had completed the world’s smallest tiger sculpture, tiny enough to pass through the eye of a needle. Chen Forng-shean carved the animal, made of artificial resin and measuring just a millimeter (0.04 inches) in height, to mark the Year of the Tiger, which begins on Feb. 14. “The toughest part was painting the tiger’s tongue red,” the amateur artist, who works for the central bank, told AFP. Chen, who has devoted himself to miniature sculpture for the past 30 years, said it took him four hours a day for three months to finish the work.

Lost elections? Negative energy to blame

BUCHAREST: In the latest bizarre claim to come out of Romania’s presidential race last year, the loser and his wife have claimed he was subject to attacks of negative energy by aides of President Traian Basescu during a crucial debate. Former Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana who lost the Dec. 6 runoff, claimed Basescu ordered the attacks against him, Mediafax news agency reported Monday. “During the Dec. 3 debate ... people who were working for Basescu in this domain were present to the right of the camera. ... I saw them and I know who they are,” Geoana told Antena 3 television. Geoana fared badly in parts of the debate. His wife Mihaela Geoana said Saturday her husband “was very badly attacked, he couldn’t concentrate.” Former President Ion Iliescu dismissed the allegations as “discussions for naive people, for uneducated people,” according to Monday’s edition of the daily Gandul.

$1,500 compensation for bat bite

DELAWARE, Ohio: An Ohio county has agreed to pay $1,500 to a man who was bitten by a rabid bat and turned to a little-known state law that allows for compensation. Commissioners in Delaware County, north of Columbus, voted to provide 61-year-old David Froehlich with the maximum reimbursement under the law, even though he put in his request for the money two days late. The law allows a person hurt by a rabid animal to seek a county’s help with the medical bills. But the request must be made within four months of the bite, and Froehlich just missed the window. A prosecutor who reviewed Froehlich’s claim said he was surprised to learn of the law. Froehlich’s wife said her husband was bitten Aug. 22 and that insurance didn’t cover the $5,000 hospital bill.

— Compiled from agencies