Digest

The skinny

By TIMES STAFF
Published July 3, 2007

When in Maleka, avoid the bats like the plague

This is so not what the Malaysian state of Melaka's tourism board needed. Scientists have discovered a new bat-borne virus that causes respiratory illness in humans, and they named it the Melaka virus. "Melaka is a good state, beautiful and peaceful, not the birthplace of diseases, " Chief Minister Ali Rustam said. Melaka is a popular vacation spot in Malaysia, with many historical sites. The scientists named the virus after discovering it in a family in the area. But Ali doesn't care and said the government will lodge a formal protest.

If home is a castle, one is on market

Bucking the trend of a deflating real estate market, Dominic Hapsburg, a New York architect, is trying to unload his family's property in Europe. The location isn't great, perched on the side of a cliff in Transylvania though when it was built in the 1300s, that location was a big bonus to fend off the invading Ottoman Turks. But it has history. Vlad the Impaler slept here. And that led to Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, which led to the castle being dubbed Dracula's Castle. Hapsburg, a royal heir in Romania, tried to sell it to local authorities last year for $80-million. Now he hopes to get $135-million for it on the open market.

Watch out for pig pieces on parkway

A sudden shift in a loaded truck caused it to tip Sunday, spilling its load all over the Edens Expressway near an entrance ramp to Skokie, Ill. What made the unfortunate situation worse was that it was a load of pig parts. Pig ears, pig feet and pig grease. Everywhere. And if you've never driven at high speeds on pig fat, well, it's not easy. So the road was closed for seven hours. Turns out, it's not easy to clean up, either. Workers spread sand, rock salt and hazmat foam on the road to improve traction. No one was hurt.

He lost her heart, but won the lawsuit

This one could require some note-taking, so pay attention: Arthur Friedman of Chicago thought it would spice up their sex life if his wife, Natalie, fooled around with other people. So she did. When she started having feelings for one of the men, German Blinov, Friedman sued. And he won. Blinov was ordered to pay Mr. Friedman $4, 802 last week in an alienation of affection case, where spouses can sue for lost love. Blinov doesn't deny having the relationship, but was surprised to learn he could be sued for it. Us, too. "He backstabbed me, " Arthur Friedman told the Chicago Sun-Times. "What he did was wrong." He did not explain what he thought the right resolution might have been.

Compiled from Times wire services and other sources by staff writer Jim Webster, who can be reached at jwebster@sptimes.com.

[Last modified July 3, 2007, 02:38:25]