In Brief

Komodo Dragon kills boy JAKARTA – A rare Komodo Dragon has mauled a boy to death on an island that is part of the Komodo national park in eastern Indonesia, police said yesterday.

Mansur, nine, was defecating in a bush area on Komodo island on Saturday when he was attacked by a Komodo Dragon, Manggarai barat district police chief Buce Hello said. “The Komodo attacked him, bit him and tossed him around, and only released him after villagers came and threw stones at it,” Hello said.The island, one of the largest in the Komodo national park, has no medical clinic and the boy, a local villager, died shortly after the attack, he said.The park and the western and northern coastlines of neighbouring Flores island are the natural habitats of the giant Komodo Dragon, which is the world’s largest monitor lizard.The lizard can grow up to three metres in length and weigh up to 140kg.There are about 3 000 Komodo Dragons remaining in the park and surrounding areas, and although they are known to be vicious and aggressive, fatal attacks on humans are rare.* Sierra Leone readies peacekeepers FREETOWN – Sierra Leone plans to start contributing soldiers to African peacekeeping missions over the next few years following the end of its own civil war, the country’s top British military training officer said.Providing peacekeepers for conflicts around Africa would be a major achievement for an army long known for coup-plotting and chaos and which instilled as much fear in many civilians as rebels who fought in the former British colony’s 1991-2002 war.The West African nation’s army has been trained by British military experts since British soldiers intervened seven years ago to back what became the world’s biggest UN peacekeeping force and to help end more than a decade of conflict.* Harry in Canada for training OTTAWA – Britain’s royal bad boy-turned-soldier Prince Harry has arrived at a military base in Canada, where he is on shooting training for a possible deployment to Afghanistan, local media reported.An anonymous source cited by the Calgary Herald newspaper reported seeing the prince laughing and joking with soldiers in a cafe bar at the British Army Training Unit Suffield.”He was just talking to the boys.He just blends right in.I think he’s just a normal boy.He likes to enjoy himself,” the source was quoted as saying.Harry, 22, is a second lieutenant in the elite Blues and Royals regiment of the British Army’s Household Cavalry, responsible for 11 soldiers and four Scimitar reconnaissance vehicles.He has earned a reputation as a party prince, with British media widely documenting – and photographing – his antics at nightclubs.His regiment is training at the Suffield base, about 160 kilometres southeast of Calgary in the western province of Alberta.Nampa-AFP-Reuters”The Komodo attacked him, bit him and tossed him around, and only released him after villagers came and threw stones at it,” Hello said.The island, one of the largest in the Komodo national park, has no medical clinic and the boy, a local villager, died shortly after the attack, he said.The park and the western and northern coastlines of neighbouring Flores island are the natural habitats of the giant Komodo Dragon, which is the world’s largest monitor lizard.The lizard can grow up to three metres in length and weigh up to 140kg.There are about 3 000 Komodo Dragons remaining in the park and surrounding areas, and although they are known to be vicious and aggressive, fatal attacks on humans are rare. * Sierra Leone readies peacekeepers FREETOWN – Sierra Leone plans to start contributing soldiers to African peacekeeping missions over the next few years following the end of its own civil war, the country’s top British military training officer said.Providing peacekeepers for conflicts around Africa would be a major achievement for an army long known for coup-plotting and chaos and which instilled as much fear in many civilians as rebels who fought in the former British colony’s 1991-2002 war.The West African nation’s army has been trained by British military experts since British soldiers intervened seven years ago to back what became the world’s biggest UN peacekeeping force and to help end more than a decade of conflict.* Harry in Canada for training OTTAWA – Britain’s royal bad boy-turned-soldier Prince Harry has arrived at a military base in Canada, where he is on shooting training for a possible deployment to Afghanistan, local media reported.An anonymous source cited by the Calgary Herald newspaper reported seeing the prince laughing and joking with soldiers in a cafe bar at the British Army Training Unit Suffield.”He was just talking to the boys.He just blends right in.I think he’s just a normal boy.He likes to enjoy himself,” the source was quoted as saying.Harry, 22, is a second lieutenant in the elite Blues and Royals regiment of the British Army’s Household Cavalry, responsible for 11 soldiers and four Scimitar reconnaissance vehicles.He has earned a reputation as a party prince, with British media widely documenting – and photographing – his antics at nightclubs.His regiment is training at the Suffield base, about 160 kilometres southeast of Calgary in the western province of Alberta.Nampa-AFP-Reuters