News briefs
BY Wire reports
Thursday, December 06, 2012
12/06/12 at 4:57 AM
Brussels: Serbian ambassador jumps to his death
Serbia's ambassador to NATO was chatting and joking with colleagues in a multistory parking garage at Brussels Airport when he suddenly strolled to a barrier, climbed over and flung himself to the ground below, a diplomat said.
By the time his shocked colleagues reached him, Branislav Milinkovic was dead.
His motives are a mystery. Three diplomats who knew Milinkovic said he did not appear distraught in the hours leading up to his death Tuesday night.
Belgian authorities confirmed that the ambassador had killed himself. "It was indeed a suicide," said Ine Van Wymersch of the Brussels prosecutor's office.
Paris : Historic French chateau mistakenly bulldozed
Residents of a sleepy French village in Bordeaux have been left dumbfounded after discovering their local 18th-century chateau was completely bulldozed "by mistake."
The mayor's office in Yvrac said Wednesday that workers who were hired to renovate the grand 140,000-square-foot manor and raze a small building on the same estate in southwest France mixed them up.
"The Chateau de Bellevue was Yvrac's pride and joy," said former owner Juliette Marmie. "The whole village is in shock. How can this construction firm make such a mistake?"
Local media reported that the construction company misunderstood the renovation plans of the current owner, Russian businessman Dmitry Stroskin, to clean up the manor and restore it to its former baroque glory.
The Hague, Netherlands : 4 killed, 7 missing after North Sea ship collision
Four crew members died and seven were missing in the icy waters of the North Sea, after a cargo ship collided with another vessel and sank off the Dutch coast Wednesday night, rescuers said.
"We can confirm that four bodies have been found, along with 13 people rescued alive," said Coast Guard spokesman Marcel Oldenburger.
He said a massive air and sea rescue operation involving several helicopters, two navy patrol ships and even one of the ships involved in the collision would continue through the night in an effort to find the remaining seven sailors.
The 485-foot Baltic Ace collided with the 440-foot container ship Corvus J 40 miles off the coast of the southern Netherlands. The Baltic Ace had a crew of 24 that was forced to abandon ship as it sank.
London : U.K. treasurer says more spending cuts needed
Britain's Treasury chief George Osborne said Wednesday that the recovery of the U.K. economy is taking longer than he had hoped and warned more spending cuts will be needed to get public finances under control.
With official growth forecasts cut, Osborne had little room for maneuver but said he was trimming departmental spending to generate more investment in infrastructure.
Doha, Qatar: More funds sought to fight climate change
The world's poorest nations on Wednesday called for significant financing to cope with the impacts of global warming, setting up a potential clash with rich countries that could slow progress on reaching a global climate pact by 2015.
Rich countries, including the United States, said at U.N. climate talks in Doha that they have fulfilled promises to provide more than $30 billion the past three years and remain committed to providing $100 billion a year by 2020. But developing nations want that financing increased gradually starting next year - a commitment the European Union, United States and Japan are not willing to make.
Associated Images:
The hounds of the Saltersgate Farmers Hunt find themselves in the snow at Low Kingthorpe Wood, England, as snow fell across the country on Wednesday. ANTHONY CHAPPEL-ROSS/AP
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