Man throws acid at toddlers in Istanbul

ISTANBUL • Turkey was in shock yesterday after a man threw acid at toddlers at a popular restaurant in Istanbul, injuring seven, media reports said. A three-year-old was left scarred and partially blind, while another six children suffered burns after the man sprayed them with acid in the playroom of the Develi restaurant in the Atasehir district, the Hurriyet daily said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

137th execution in Saudi Arabia this year

RIYADH • Saudi Arabia yesterday carried out its 137th execution this year, putting to death a citizen for murder. Mohammed al-Qahtani had been convicted of gunning down a fellow Saudi with an automatic weapon in an argument. Most executions in the kingdom are carried out by beheading with a sword, in what the government says is a deterrent. Rights experts have raised concerns about the fairness of the trials.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Satellite helps farmers monitor cows, pastures

SYDNEY • Australian farmers managing cattle stations as large as some European nations will soon be able to monitor their cows and pastures from space as part of "groundbreaking" technology, scientists say. The technology, developed with government and private funding, taps into a satellite passing overhead to record the weight of herds daily while monitoring pasture conditions - a task usually impossible due to the stations' vast sizes and remote spots.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE