World Vignettes

Care after publicityNEW YORK: A Pakistani immigrant who spent 6 1/2 years strapped to a hospital bed in New York after his head was smash...

Care after publicity
NEW YORK: A Pakistani immigrant who spent 6 1/2 years strapped to a hospital bed in New York after his head was smashed by a baseball bat has been moved into a special programme for brain-damaged patients.

8220;He8217;s now getting care he should have gotten back in 1991,8221; said Robert Abrams, a health-care lawyer who became an advocate for Ahsan Raja. Abrams said Raja was moved on Monday from Elmhurst Hospital in the Borough of Queens to a city facility in neighbouring Manhattan. Earlier this month, Abrams faulted New York city for keeping Raja as a charity case at Elmhurst rather than at a rehabilitation facility. He also said the restraints that bound him to his bed were not necessary. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani had said no long-term care facility would take Raja, and Luis R. Marcos, president of the city8217;s Health and Hospitals Corp., said Raja8217;s hands were kept in restraints because he has been violent. Since Raja8217;s case became public, his care has improved, he has been able to talkabout past experiences and to help find relatives, Abrams said. So far, a brother and sister have been found, he said. Raja, who was found beaten on a Queens street in 1991, has managed to stand, but 8220;we don8217;t know if he8217;ll ever be able to walk again,8221; Abrams said.

Snakes at airport
JAKARTA: Customs at Jakarta Airport seized 1,020 deadly Cobras due to be airfreighted to China and labelled live eels8217;. The snakes are a protected species in Indonesia and an exporter was arrested on Saturday on charges of smuggling them.

Traditional Chinese medicine makes considerable use of the Cobra8217;s gall bladder, blood and even its poison. Dealers in Jakarta mix a cocktail of the blood and gall bladder from a freshly killed Cobra for around 15,000 rupiah 1.20 as an alleged cure for impotence. In China a live Cobra fetches ten times as much.

Statue found
CAIRO: Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed a statue of the ancient god Osiris in the Nile Delta, the head of Egypt8217;s supreme council ofantiquities has said.

Gaballah Ali Gaballah said the bronze statue was found in a huge cemetery belonging to Egypt8217;s Roman period at San El-Hagar, 167 km northeast of Cairo. The 2-kilo statue stands 31 km high and had been buried with other ancient artifacts. Ancient Egyptians worshipped Osiris, god of the underworld his wife, Isis, goddess of fertility and their son, Horus.

Jackpot in US
RICHMOND: A single winning powerball lottery ticket worth a record 295.7 million was sold in this eastern Indiana town a stone8217;s throw from the Ohio state line, lottery officials have said. The winning ticket was bought at the Speedway, a gas station-convenience store. The buyer of the winning ticket chose the 161.5 million lump-sum payment rather than the larger jackpot spread over 25 years.

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Visa curbs eased
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has relaxed visa rules for Indian and Chinese nationals visiting the country as tourists. Indian nationals could get multiple-entry visas8217; from Malaysian diplomaticmissions in India if they could prove they were businessmen, tourists, VIPs or government officers. However, the issuance of visas to Chinese nationals should be sponsored by tour agencies.