Around the world

United Kingdom

Segway polo tourney held

At a college in the English town of Rugby, a somewhat unusual polo match is taking place. Instead of galloping horses and riders, the players hit the ball with a mallet - from a Segway. Described as a cross between polo and hockey on a motorized scooter with oversized wheels, Segway Polo is a modern take on the usually fast-paced sport long embraced by the elite.

Republic of Korea

Seoul's support likely for DMZ walk

The Republic of Korea said on Wednesday that it will likely support a proposed walk by prominent women, including US activist Gloria Steinem, across the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas, in what is planned as a call for the reunification of the two countries. The government plans to approve the planned walk next month if it confirms that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea officially supports it, said Lim Byeong Cheol, a spokesman for the ROK's Unification Ministry.

Germany

Balding man refused free wig

Baldness among older men is not a medical condition that requires health insurance companies to cover a toupee or wig, a German federal court ruled on Wednesday, rejecting a 76-year-old man's bid for false hair. The man from the western town of Contwig, who had suffered from a lack of scalp hair as well as eyebrows and eyelashes since 1983, had appealed his case against his insurance company to the Federal Social Court.

United States

Rights group wants to free 2 chimps

An animal welfare group has been granted a court hearing in which it will argue that two chimpanzees who live at a New York state university cannot be held captive because they are autonomous, intelligent creatures. New York State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Jaffe in the Manhattan borough of New York City issued on Monday an order that requires the State University of New York at Stony Brook on Long Island to defend its right in court to keep the primates, Hercules and Leo.

Man cited for shooting computer

Police in Colorado have cited a man for carrying his computer into an alley and then shooting it eight times with a handgun after what authorities said had been a long battle with the uncooperative machine. Lucas Hinch, 37, was cited for discharging a firearm within the Colorado Springs city limits after officers responded to a "shots fired" call early on Monday evening.

Australia

Trawler decision comes under fire

A decision to let a "super trawler" fish inside Tasmanian waters was criticized again on Wednesday after it was revealed that the trawler had accidentally killed four dolphins and two seals in its nets. The Geelong Star, the largest fishing boat in operation in Australia, had faced protests from local conservationists and the state government before the federal government allowed the boat to fish in Tasmanian waters.

Reuters - AP - Xinhua - AFP

(China Daily 04/23/2015 page10)