In Brief

Spiders ‘live’ in ear of boy ALBANY, Oregon – These guys were not exactly Snap, Crackle and Pop.

What began as a faint popping in a 9-year-old boy’s ear – ‘like Rice Krispies’ – ended up as an earache, and the doctor’s diagnosis was that a pair of spiders made a home in the ear. “They were walking on my eardrums,” Jesse Courtney said.One of the spiders was still alive after the doctor flushed the fourth-grader’s left ear canal.His mother, Diane Courtney, said her son insisted he kept hearing a faint popping in his ear – ‘like Rice Krispies’.Dr David Irvine said it looked like the boy had something in his ear when he examined him.When he irrigated the ear, the first spider came out, dead.The other spider took a second dousing before it emerged, still alive.Both were about the size of a pencil eraser.Jesse was given the spiders – now both dead – as a souvenir.He has taken them to school and his mother has taken them to work.* Student editor detained in Tehran A second editor of a student publication in Iran has been detained following days of unrest in one of Tehran’s most prestigious universities.Scuffles broke out last week between reformist and right-wing students at Amirkabir University, after several works were accused of insulting Islam.However, the editors say the offending articles were forged.Right-wing students have called for a purge of liberal and Western influence from higher education establishments.Reports say groups of reformist students were guarding the editors of the student publications in their dormitories to protect them from arrest.One had already been arrested but three remained free.When the students tried to move the three editors to Amirkabir University they were stopped by unknown people and the editor of a publication called Atiye was taken away.* Day 3 for Rodrigues and co CAPE TOWN – The third day of judgement got under way in the Cape High Court yesterday in the trial of alleged baby killing mastermind Dina Rodrigues and four alleged hitmen.Rodrigues, Sipho Mfazwe, Mongezi Bobotyane, Zanethemba Gwada and Bonginkosi Sigenu are accused of the murder of six-month-old baby Jordan-Leigh Norton in June 2005.Judge Basheer Waglay had completed 86 pages of his 150-page judgement by Friday afternoon.Every word of the judgement is being interpreted into Xhosa for the benefit of the four men standing as Rodrigues’ co-accused.Nampa-AP-BBC-Sapa”They were walking on my eardrums,” Jesse Courtney said.One of the spiders was still alive after the doctor flushed the fourth-grader’s left ear canal.His mother, Diane Courtney, said her son insisted he kept hearing a faint popping in his ear – ‘like Rice Krispies’.Dr David Irvine said it looked like the boy had something in his ear when he examined him.When he irrigated the ear, the first spider came out, dead.The other spider took a second dousing before it emerged, still alive.Both were about the size of a pencil eraser.Jesse was given the spiders – now both dead – as a souvenir.He has taken them to school and his mother has taken them to work.* Student editor detained in Tehran A second editor of a student publication in Iran has been detained following days of unrest in one of Tehran’s most prestigious universities.Scuffles broke out last week between reformist and right-wing students at Amirkabir University, after several works were accused of insulting Islam.However, the editors say the offending articles were forged.Right-wing students have called for a purge of liberal and Western influence from higher education establishments.Reports say groups of reformist students were guarding the editors of the student publications in their dormitories to protect them from arrest.One had already been arrested but three remained free.When the students tried to move the three editors to Amirkabir University they were stopped by unknown people and the editor of a publication called Atiye was taken away. * Day 3 for Rodrigues and co CAPE TOWN – The third day of judgement got under way in the Cape High Court yesterday in the trial of alleged baby killing mastermind Dina Rodrigues and four alleged hitmen.Rodrigues, Sipho Mfazwe, Mongezi Bobotyane, Zanethemba Gwada and Bonginkosi Sigenu are accused of the murder of six-month-old baby Jordan-Leigh Norton in June 2005.Judge Basheer Waglay had completed 86 pages of his 150-page judgement by Friday afternoon.Every word of the judgement is being interpreted into Xhosa for the benefit of the four men standing as Rodrigues’ co-accused.Nampa-AP-BBC-Sapa