Fast food justice

A restaurant in Malaysia called McCurry won its battle with the American fast food chain McDonald's. A court in Kuala Lumpur ruled against a claim by the burger chain that McCurry had committed a trademark infringement and was trying to pass itself off as part of the McDonald's global empire. The owners insisted that the "Mc" prefix stood merely for "Malaysian chicken" but say they may now open more McCurrys.

Aides for Nicolas Sarkozy ordered short people to stand behind the diminutive President of France while he made a speech, to make him look taller. The group was hand-picked from the 1,400-strong workforce as Mr Sarkozy gave a televised speech at the motor technology factory in Normandy. Presidential officials were said to be anxious to avoid a repeat of a previous visit to Normandy for the anniversary of the D-Day landings when the 167cm tall president was filmed standing next to the 186cm Barack Obama.

New weapons to fight Somali pirates were unveiled at an exhibition of defence equipment in London. They included the Laser Dazzle System that can cause temporary blindness to incapacitate pirates from up to 915 metres away. Other non-lethal devices offered to ship owners included a radar that can track a rubber dingy at 15 miles and a second invention that sends a signal to shut down its engine.

Intelligence reports claimed that Israel was involved in the mysterious disappearance of a Russian cargo ship. The Maltese flagged Arctic Sea was discovered off the coast of West Africa last month after reports that it had been taken hostage by pirates. A number of men were said to have been arrested and charged by the Russians, who intercepted the ship. Several reports, apparently confirmed in Tel Aviv, now say that the Arctic Sea was carrying a Russian-made air-defence system for Iran rather than a cargo of timber for Algeria. Israeli intelligence is said to have tipped off the Russians, who created the piracy story as a way to divert the ship and remove the surface-to-air missile system.

Flash floods in Turkey that followed the heaviest rain in 80 years left at least 30 people dead, with many still missing. Istanbul and the north west of the country were the worst hit, with 13 lorry drivers killed in a single incident, when storm waters swept through a vehicle park. Elsewhere, seven women on their way to work in a suburb of Istanbul were drowned when their minibus was overwhelmed.

A giant woolly rat and a frog with fangs were discovered living in an extinct volcano in Papua New Guinea. The Bosavi woolly rat, which weighs more than 1.5 kilos and is the size of domestic cat, was found by a BBC film crew, along with around 40 other species unknown to science. It had never encountered humans before and was completely tame. Other creatures included a fish named the Henamo Grunter because of the noises it made with its swim bladder.

Supporters of Hamid Karzai claimed he had won the Afghan presidential election by securing more than 50 per cent of the vote, despite claims of widespread fraud. There were reports of phantom polling stations returning votes only for Mr Karzai, the incumbent, who will now not have to face a second-round run-off. His main challenger attacked President Karzai, saying he was manipulating the electoral body supervising the count. In an interview with the BBC, Abdullah Abdullah said the election "has been corrupt, and their malpractice is now widespread. I think it's not for the good of the country that somebody who commits massive fraud rules the country." An international body overseeing the election has ordered a recount in areas of suspicious voting patterns.

Scientists unlocked the DNA of Phytophthora infestans, the pathogen behind the Irish potato famine. More than a million people died of starvation when the Irish potato crop succumbed to the blight between 1845 and 1852. Researchers at Dundee University and the Scottish Crop Research Institute say the pathogen's DNA shows it is highly adaptable and can change quickly, making it more difficult to combat. The disease costs the worldwide potato industry about Dh18 bn a year.

A British commando and several Afghans died in a rescue operation to free a kidnapped journalist. Stephen Farrell, of the New York Times, was investigating a Nato air attack on two hijacked fuel lorries when he was taken hostage near Kunduz in the north of the country. An Afghan colleague travelling with him died in the rescue, as did a British special forces soldier. A Taliban commander was also reported to have been killed. There was criticism of Mr Farrell in Britain, with accusations he had put other lives at risk by ignoring warnings not to go into such a dangerous area.

A Bolivian priest claimed his attempt to hijack a passenger plane in Mexico was a divine mission. The crew and 104 passengers of the Aeromexico flight from Cancun to Mexico City were released unhurt after the plane landed at the international airport in the capital. Jose Mar Flores, 44, told police that hijack was inspired because the date, 09/09/09, was the satanic number 666 turned upside down.

Barack Obama became the first president in living memory to be called a liar in front of a joint session in Congress. President Obama was addressing Congress to defend his health reforms and dispel what he claimed were "bogus claims" by opponents of the plan. Half way through the speech, he was interrupted by a cry of "you lie" from the Republican Congressman Joe Wilson, of South Carolina. The president looked startled, as Democrats replied with cries of "shame".

At nine seconds, nine minutes and nine hours on the evening of the ninth day of the ninth month, 2009, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, swiped his personalised travel card and boarded the first train to depart on the new Dubai Metro. Sheikh Mohammed and several carriages full of dignitaries took the Metro from Mall of the Emirates to the end of the red line al Rashidiya. Regular passengers were able to use the Metro for the first time the next morning. One of the first commuters was Azab Abw Warda, 20, an Egyptian student who has lived in Dubai for 16 years. Normally Mr Warda would have driven to his university in Sharjah, but said: "My car is in the garage." Only 10 of the 29 stations are open but the rest are due for completion by early 2009. jlangton@thenational.ae