IN BRIEF (Page 8)

JFK's prankster past uncovered

BOSTON - Years before he captained the torpedo boat PT-109, ran for office or set the United States on a path to put a man on the moon, president John F. Kennedy was a troublesome teen whose hijinks nearly got him kicked out of his prestigious boarding school.

Syria's equine enthusiasts revive races

BUWAIDER, Syria - Perched on his chestnut steed Shams, teenager Munzer triumphantly held up his first place trophy at a rare horse race staged in an opposition-held area of Syria.

Whale experts' huge breakthrough

WASHINGTON - Scientists think they have answered a whale of a mystery: How the ocean creatures got so huge so quickly.

'Tweeting' tree grows its followers

THE HAGUE - A 30-year-old poplar on the campus of Wageningen University and Research has begun tweeting about its growth in relation to changes in soil-water conditions, temperature and air humidity.

Lantern tradition keeps the home fires burning

CAIRO - "Traditional handmade lanterns will never lose their appeal in Egypt during the month of Ramadan," said 42-year-old lantern maker Hussein Sayyid on Wednesday from his workshop in Cairo's al-Qalaa neighborhood.

Disney's Bambi still breaks hearts at 75

LOS ANGELES - A timeless tale of an adorable fawn and his forest pals, or the death of childhood innocence? Either way, and nearly 75 years on, Disney classic Bambi packs as powerful a punch as it ever has.

Rocket launch puts NZ in space race

WELLINGTON - A private New Zealand-based company joined the exclusive space-race club on Thursday with the successful launch of a Rocket Lab test craft named Electron.

Dutch funeral exhibition digs up the latest in death trends

AMSTERDAM - Coffins decked out with board games, grave sites doubling as vegetable patches or children's toy "funeral building bricks" complete with a hearse and crematorium - just some of the latest trends for dealing with death.

Honor for UN's fallen 'heroes'

NEW YORK - At a corner of the north lawn at the UN headquarters, peacekeepers and diplomats led by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres mourned in silence on Wednesday morning for fallen peacekeepers who lost their lives while serving under the UN flag.

Ballet's goal on firm footing

BEIJING - For Japanese ballerina Yoko Morishita, performing The White-Haired Girl went way beyond an intriguing mix of Western art and a Chinese story.

RIP Mr. Bond: 007 actor dead at age 89

LONDON - Actor Roger Moore, who earned international fame playing British secret agent James Bond in seven movies, died of cancer on Tuesday at the age of 89, his family said.