UK refugee professor's Fields Medal stolen
Rio de Janeiro, Aug 2: The world's most prestigious maths medal -- the Fields Medal -- was stolen from a British refugee professor just half an hour after he was awarded the prize here.
Caucher Birkar, 40, was one of the four joint winners of the medal -- regarded as the Nobel Prize of mathematics -- who were given the award at the International Congress of Mathematics on Wednesday, the Guardian reported.
Birkar had left the medal in a briefcase with his cellphone and wallet on top of a table in the pavilion where the event was being held. The security team later found the briefcase under a bench but the medal was missing.
Brazilian newspaper "O Globo" has claimed that the thief had already been identified from a security camera footage.
Organisers lamented the theft in a statement: "The organising committee of the International Congress of Mathematics profoundly regrets the disappearance of mathematician Cauchar Birkar's briefcase, which contained the Fields medal he received at this morning's ceremony."
"Images recorded at the event are being analysed. The organising committee is cooperating with local police authorities in their investigation," they said.
The ceremony was held at Riocentro, a convention centre on the western edges of Rio - a city struggling with soaring crime rates.
Birkar was born in Iran and moved to the UK as a refugee two decades ago.
The other three winners of the medal were Indian-origin Stanford University professor Akshay Venkatesh; Alessio Figalli of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and Peter Scholze of the University of Bonn.
The Fields Medal was first awarded in 1936 and since 1950 is presented every four years to up to four mathematicians under 40.
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Austrian police detain suspect in case of rat poison found in baby food jars on supermarket shelves
Vienna (AP): Police in eastern Austria say a 39-year-old suspect has been arrested after rat poison turned up in some HiPP baby food jars on supermarket shelves in central Europe.
HiPP, which recalled some of its baby food jars in Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic after the case came to light last month, said in a statement Saturday it was “greatly relieved” by the arrest, and would provide further updates as verified details come in.
The Burgenland State Criminal Police Office, under the direction of prosecutors, said a probe was launched after poison turned up in a baby food jar purchased at a supermarket in the city of Eisenstadt on April 18.
It said the suspect was being questioned, and that no further details would be immediately provided. The Burgenland public prosecutor's office has announced an investigation into suspected “intentional endangerment of the public.”
The Austrian Press Agency reported that an expert report on the toxicity of the poison was pending. A total of five tampered baby food jars were seized before they could be consumed, APA reported.
Authorities said previously they believe the tampering occurred in 190-gram (6.7-ounce) jars of baby food made with carrots and potatoes for 5-month-olds that were sold from SPAR supermarkets in Austria.
HiPP responded by recalling all of its baby food jars sold at SPAR supermarkets — which include SPAR, EUROSPAR, INTERSPAR and Maximarkt stores — in Austria as a precaution. Vendors in Slovakia and the Czech Republic also removed all of the brand's baby jars from sale.
The company said the recall was not due to any product or quality defect on its part, and said the jars left its facility in “perfect condition.”
Police said a customer at the time of the discovery had reported that a jar appeared to have been tampered with, but no one had consumed the baby food.
