Around the World briefs
By Associated Press
Defendants unmasked in court face cost of damage for allegedly felling famous 150-year-old tree
LONDON | Two men accused of cutting down the majestic Sycamore Gap tree concealed their faces from cameras as they arrived at court Wednesday but inside the courtroom they couldn’t hide from the cost of the damage they allegedly caused.
A prosecutor said the value of the roughly 150-year-old beloved tree that was toppled onto Hadrian’s Wall in northern England last year exceeded 620,000 pounds ($785,000).
“This is a case that will be instantly recognizable to you, indeed anyone hearing the charges read out,” prosecutor Rebecca Brown said in Newcastle Magistrates’ Court. “The prosecution say the tree was deliberately felled on Sept. 28 last year and the resultant fall damaged Hadrian’s Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The prosecution say these defendants are responsible as part of a joint enterprise.”
Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were each charged with two counts of criminal damage. One count is for allegedly cutting down the tree and the second is for damage to the adjacent wall built by Emperor Hadrian in A.D. 122 to protect the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire.
The sycamore’s regal canopy framed between two hills made it a popular subject for landscape photographers. It became a destination on the path along the wall after being featured in Kevin Costner’s 1991 film “Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.”
The nighttime felling on Sept. 28 caused widespread outrage as police tried to find the culprits behind what they called a deliberate act of vandalism.
Graham, 38, pleaded not guilty. Carruthers, 31, did not enter a plea.
The two wore suits and black masks when they arrived and left court. Graham wore a balaclava and aviator sunglasses and Carruthers had a black stocking pulled over his head.
Inside court, though, they had to remove their head coverings as Brown gave a detailed accounting — down to the pound — of the alleged damage they caused and how it was calculated.
The prosecutor said the tree was evaluated using a tool to calculate the cost of replacing a significant public tree that considers its size, the quality of its crown and canopy, and the number of people who could visit it.
Prosecutors also took into account the “serious distress” and economic consequences and social damage, Brown said.
Damage to the wall was assessed at more than 1,100 pounds ($1,400).
Brown said the case was complex due to the lengths investigators went, including consulting botanists, and using analysis from cell phone towers and license plate recognition technology.
District Judge Zoe Passfield said the case was “too serious” for the magistrates’ court and the next hearing was scheduled June 12 in Newcastle Crown Court.
Both men were released on bail.
Messi the dog comes to
Cannes for an encore
CANNES, France | The first star to arrive on the red carpet at the 77th Cannes Film Festival came on four legs.
Messi, the dog from the film “Anatomy of a Fall,” walked up and down the Cannes carpet on Tuesday ahead of the opening ceremony. Lines of tuxedo-clad photographers called out “Messi! Messi” while the border collie strolled past and climbed the stairs to the Palais des Festivals. There, he sat and held his front paws up in the air, like a movie star waving to the crowd.
For some 20 minutes, Messi had Cannes’ complete attention while frolicking on the carpet. His bark echoed down the Croisette. The red carpet went unsoiled.
For Messi, it was a kind of return to the scene of the crime. Justine Triet’s murder mystery “Anatomy of a Fall” last year premiered in Cannes where it went on to win the festival’s top award, the Palme d’Or. Messi — Snoop in the film — won the Palm Dog, a journalist-created prize for the festival’s top dog.
And as “Anatomy of a Fall,” in which the dog’s perspective holds certain keys to the whodunit, continued through awards season, Messi emerged as Hollywood’s favorite new pooch and a particularly cuddly Oscar campaign prop. He attended both the academy luncheon of nominees and the Oscar ceremony. “Anatomy of a Fall” won best original screenplay.
Messi isn’t in Cannes just for an encore bow/bone. The festival is shooting daily one-minute videos of Messi for French television that will be collected for a TikTok video. On Tuesday, he carried a camera stick in his teeth.
A U.S. museum curator was detained in Turkey on claims of spider smuggling. He says he has permits
ISTANBUL | A curator at the American Museum of Natural History was detained in Istanbul while allegedly attempting to smuggle spider and scorpion samples, Turkish media reported. The curator said he had permits from the government to conduct his research.
Lorenzo Prendini, an expert on arachnids at the New York-based museum, was held by police at Istanbul Airport while allegedly trying to take about 1,500 samples out of the country, news outlets reported.
The state-run Anadolu news agency reported Monday that Prendini was detained for allegedly attempting to smuggle species found in Turkey. In emailed comments to The Associated Press, Prendini said he had appeared before a judge and was released without charge.
Video published by the Demiroren News Agency showed officers searching hand luggage and removing plastic bags that appeared to be packed with dead spiders and scorpions.
Prendini said the police had disregarded permits from the Turkish government to conduct his research in collaboration with Turkish scientists.
“The police completely ignored this and relied on the testimony of an ‘expert’ who has a conflict of interest with my collaborators … and whose scientific research is highly questionable,” he said.
“The police have completely violated due process and it appears they would like to find me guilty in the court of public opinion.”
The museum’s website lists Prendini as the curator of its spider, scorpion, centipede and millipede collections. It says his research into spiders and scorpions has taken him to more than 30 countries.
The museum did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Thousands replaster Mali’s Great Mosque of Djenne, which is threatened by conflict
DJENNE, Mali | Thousands of Malians carrying buckets and jugs of mud joined the annual replastering of the world’s largest mud-brick building this weekend, a key ritual that maintains the integrity of the Great Mosque of Djenne in the center of the country.
The building has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage in Danger list since 2016. The mosque and surrounding town, a historical center of Islamic learning, have been threatened by conflict between Islamist rebels, government forces and other groups.
Djenne’s mosque requires a new layer of mud each year before the rainy season starts in June, or the building will fall into disrepair. The replastering event once drew tens of thousands of tourists each year. As with the rest of Mali, Djenne’s tourism industry has all but completely disappeared.
“The plastering of the mosque is a symbol of peace. The poor, the rich, everyone is here for this activity.” Amadou Ampate Cisse, a Djenne resident taking part in the event, told The Associated Press: “We will continue this tradition from generation to generation. We will pass it on to our children and they in turn will do the same.”
Traditionally, women and girls fetch water from the nearby river to mix with clay to make the mud, and men and boys climb the mosque and apply the new layer.
Moussa Moriba Diakité, head of Djenne’s cultural mission, said insecurity has threatened the annual event. “A lot of people talk about insecurity, and we hear that we can’t come to Djenne because there is insecurity,” he said.
Despite the disappearance of Djenne’s tourism industry, the maintenance of the mosque is something that must continue “at any cost,” Diakité said, to preserve the country’s cultural heritage.
Mali, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger, is battling an insurgency by armed groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Following military coups in all three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for security assistance.
—From AP reports
