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Scientists have discovered the "beautifully preserved" bones of about 20 dodos at a dig site in Mauritius. Little is known about the dodo, a famous flightless bird thought to have become extinct in the 17th century. No complete skeleton has ever been found in Mauritius, and the last full set of bones was destroyed in a fire at a museum in Oxford, England, in 1755. Researchers believe the bones are at least 2,000-years-old, and hope to learn more about how dodos lived. A team of Dutch and Mauritian scientists discovered the bones in a swampy area near a sugar plantation on the south-east of the island. — BBC
Austrian hostages
freed in Yemen
VIENNA, Dec 24: Two Austrian tourists kidnapped in Yemen have been released safe and sound, Austrian foreign ministry spokeswoman Astrid Harz said here early Saturday quoted by Austria's APA news agency. One of the freed hostages, architect Peter Schurz, told an official who was sent to Yemen that the kidnappers had treated him and Barbara Meisterhofer "correctly and politely" during their ordeal. Harz said the two wanted to have a good sleep in a hotel as their next priority. They had been snatched Wednesday. — AFP
Actress Laura Dern marries
singer Ben Harper
LOS ANGELES, Dec 24: Actress Laura Dern, star of such films as "Rambling Rose" and "Jurassic Park," has married her longtime boyfriend, singer-songwriter Ben Harper, Us Weekly magazine reported Friday. The couple, who began dating in 2000 and have two children together, son Ellery, 4, and daughter Jaya, 1, were wed Thursday in a sunset ceremony attended by more than 150 friends and family at a private home in Los Angeles, according to the magazine's Web site. — Reuters
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