Arsenic scare prompts evacuation in Australia (AFP)

SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian officials on Sunday urged residents and visitors to a remote outback cattle station to leave, after a number were found to have high levels of arsenic in their blood.

The Northern Territory coroner has declared Mount Bundy Station, 130 kilometres (80 miles) south of Darwin, a restricted area and called for the 140 residents to be evacuated.

"The evacuation was a precautionary measure to ensure people's safety and limit any further people from being potentially exposed to the arsenic source," Darwin Police Commander Kym Davies said.

A 17-year-old boy from Mount Bundy Station died in May, and while no official cause of death has been identified, arsenic poisoning is thought to have contributed to the death.

Eight other long-term residents of the station have been found to have elevated levels of arsenic in their system, police said, adding that the cattle station would remain closed until the arsenic source was found.

"Prolonged exposure is usually needed to record elevated levels of arsenic," said Northern Territory Chief Health Officer Doctor Barbara Paterson.

"All of the eight people who have recorded elevated arsenic levels have received medical attention and will be offered follow-up attention."

Arsenic is naturally occurring and chronic exposure to the element is linked with cancers of the liver, kidney, bladders and skin, as well as heart disease.

Fatal arsenic poisoning is rare in Australia, with a Royal Darwin Hospital spokeswoman saying there were only two such deaths between 1964 and 2007.

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German train evacuated over terrorism scare

BERLIN (AP) — German police say 250 passengers were evacuated from a high speed train as authorities feared a possible terror attack.

Stuttgart Federal Police spokesman Steffen Zaiser said Friday there was "sufficient threatening evidence" to fear an attack on the train from Berlin, bound for Interlaken, Switzerland.

He said police and sniffer dogs searched the entire Inter City Express train near the southwestern city of Freiburg around midday, but did not find explosives or any other dangerous material.

Zaiser declined to elaborate on the reasons for the search, citing the ongoing investigation. The DAPD news agency cited a police source as saying that a CD-ROM found on the train pointed to an Islamic terrorist link.

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'Crazy' killings scare beach towns

Police stand near a spot where remains were found Monday in Nassau County on New York's Long Island. STORY HIGHLIGHTSDive teams planned to look in waterways on the north side of the barrier islandOne resident says his wife and daughter are scared to come homeAnother resident: "It kind of creeps me out" to have been driving past bodiesPolice are investigating another possible set of remains in the suspected serial killings (CNN) -- As police on New York's Long Island were sending dive teams to search for clues in a string of suspected serial killings Wednesday, area residents were trying to come to terms with the grisly crimes.

People who live near where bodies have been found said the "eerie" and "frightening" findings have left some families shaken.

"It's just crazy," said Walter Arnold, 65, who -- along with his wife Dolores -- brought up five children in a house on Long Island's West Gilgo Beach. "My wife is scared to come home for the first time. My daughter is frightened. It's just horrible."

But others said that because of what's known about the killings and the victims, they are not afraid of being targeted. The four victims who have been identified thus far were all women who advertised prostitution services on websites such as Craigslist, police have said.

Tourism and real estate professionals on Long Island said the apparent string of killings does not seem to have affected business.

Police said Monday they were examining a skull found on the outskirts of a bird sanctuary in Long Island's Nassau County, potentially the ninth set of remains discovered in the probe. About four hours earlier, a New York state police officer and his cadaver dog spotted another set of remains about a mile and a half away. On Tuesday, police said both the skull and the remains were determined to be human.

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