British woman arrested over murder of 8 babies

LONDON • A British female healthcare worker has been arrested on suspicion of murdering eight babies and trying to murder six others after an investigation into deaths at a neonatal unit in northern England, police said yesterday .

The arrest came after an inquiry into the deaths of 17 babies and 15 "non-fatal collapses" between March 2015 and July 2016 at The Countess of Chester Hospital's neonatal unit.

Police, who launched their investigation in May last year, would not give further details about the arrested woman, who was simply described as a healthcare professional.

REUTERS

Court summons Zuma's son over fatal car crash

JOHANNESBURG • Former South African president Jacob Zuma's son Duduzane has been summoned to appear in court on July 12 to answer homicide charges over a fatal car crash in 2014, authorities said yesterday.

State prosecutors initially decided not to charge Duduzane after his Porsche 911 sports car ploughed into a minivan taxi in Johannesburg, killing one woman and seriously injuring another who later died in hospital.

The National Prosecuting Authority reversed its decision after Duduzane's father was ousted as head of state by the ruling African National Congress in February.

REUTERS

Science hope for threatened koalas

PARIS • Australia's koalas, their very existence imperilled by disease, bushfires, car strikes, and dog attacks, face a more hopeful future thanks to scientists cracking their genetic code, a study said yesterday.

A mammoth effort by more than 50 researchers in seven countries uncovered 26,558 koala genes, yielding vital DNA clues for vaccines against diseases such as sexually transmitted chlamydia, which blinds the cuddly critters and leaves them infertile. The DNA code should also boost koala breeding programmes, according to the study published in Nature Genetics.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE