Briefly World

Claims by Seouls military that its counter-fire hit North Korea hard after the North shelled a South Korean border island were called into question by satellite images published Thursday

Satellite shows S Korean shelling ineffective

SEOUL: Claims by Seouls military that its counter-fire hit North Korea hard after the North shelled a South Korean border island were called into question by satellite images published Thursday. Military officials,trying to deflect charges that they responded feebly to the deadly November 23 attack on Yeonpyeong,said their return fire was believed to have caused considerable damage,but ruling party legislator Kim Moo-Sung said the Norths artillery positions apparently escaped unscathed.

Girls hired as drug mules via Facebook

KUALA LUMPUR: International drug syndicates are using social networking site Facebook to recruit young Malaysian women as drug mules,Deputy Foreign Minister Richard Riot said Thursday. Riot said men in the syndicates,many from Nigeria and South Africa,picked up their unsuspecting victims on Facebook,promising them rewards to carry packages. These girls are being lured by the men on Facebook,these men chat with them,become friends,gain the girls trust,then use them as drug mules to smuggle narcotics, he said.

Thieves in Spain rob art van,including Picasso

MADRID: Spanish police and media say hooded thieves have stolen a van containing some 20 pieces of art reportedly including works by Picasso,Colombian artist Fernando Botero and Spanish sculptor Eduardo Chillida. Police said on Thursday the van was taken from a warehouse near the town of Getafe on Madrids outskirts. Police refused to say exactly what was stolen but the Spanish newspaper El Mundo and other media said it included a Picasso drawing,and paintings,engravings and sculptures from some of the other artists.

Mobile egg house makes waves in China

BEIJING: An egg-shaped tiny but compact mobile home built by Dai Haifei,a Chinese office worker,is being touted as an answer to provide affordable accommodation to migrant labourers flocking to Beijing in search of work. 24-year-old Dais new home cost him 1,000,and its only drawback is that it has no toilet. The home accommodates a one-meter-wide bed and has facilities for washing. It is made of bamboo and jute bags filled with sawdust and grass seeds. When the spring comes,my home will grow grass, he said.