Sirenomelia

'Little mermaid' of Peru has surgery to separate her legs SURGEONS are today attempting to repair a rare birth defect on Peru's "little mermaid".

Milagros Cerron, right, with mother Sara Arauco and Dr Luis Rubio, was born with legs fused from her thighs to ankles.

Only three children are known to have sirenomelia, or mermaid syndrome.

Her father Ricardo Cerron said: "I have faith in the doctors."

Bush dynasty could continue FORMER US President George Bush has said he would like to see his younger son, Jeb, in the White House too. Florida governor Jeb, 52, has said he won't try to take over from his brother in 2008 but his father told CNN that, although "now was not the time", he wanted him to run eventually.

Nasa 'has a ticket to Mars' NASA has enough funding to send astronauts to Mars and also back to the moon, its new top administrator, Michael Griffin, says. Most people in the US "want to make sure that as humankind expands into space, the United States is in the forefront," he said.

Afghan heroin market raided A NEW anti-drug squad in Afghanistan has raided the country's biggest narcotics market. Two tons of opium and 250kg of heroin were seized in the village of Bahram Shah. Hundreds of smugglers fled over the Pakistani border. Officials said the weekend raid proved it was tackling the drugs trade.

(c)2005. Associated Newspapers Ltd.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.