Late Briefing

RIO DE JANEIRO

Pressure gets to samba queen, 7,

She was cheered by legions of Carnaval fans, but 7-year-old Julia Lira, the youngest drum corps queen in memory at Rio’s lavish party, didn’t dance and broke down crying upon realizing she was the center of everyone’s attention early Monday.

Dressed in a sequined halter top and a miniskirt made of purple feathers, the youngster shuffled through the first 50 yards of the parade. Her father -- the president of the parading Viradouro samba group -- then took her by the hand and presented her to the crowd. She smiled big for the photographers.

But 10 minutes into the group’s parade and surrounded by dozens of photographers and TV cameras, the youngster broke down in tears and was immediately scooped up and taken away.

A judge ruled last week that the girl could take on the coveted role normally reserved for models and actresses. Children’s welfare groups complained, but the overwhelming response in Brazil had been a shrug of acceptance.

Carlos Nicodemos, director of the Rio de Janeiro state Council for the Defense of Children and Adolescents, two weeks ago asked a judge to keep the girl from dancing, arguing that “what we can’t allow is putting a 7-year-old girl in a role that traditionally for Carnaval has a very sexual focus.”

-- associated press LUFKIN, TEXAS

Rep. Wilson memorialized

The late Rep. Charlie Wilson has been remembered as a politician who took his work, but never himself, seriously at a memorial service in Texas.

The Dallas Morning News said that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is challenging Texas Gov. Rick Perry in next month’s Republican primary, joined those honoring the fun-loving Texas congressman Sunday in his hometown of Lufkin.

The 76-year-old Wilson died Wednesday of cardiopulmonary arrest.

Wilson funneled millions of dollars in weapons to Afghanistan through backroom deal-making, facilitating a mujahedin rebel victory over the Soviet Army in the 1980s.

He was known in Washington as “Good Time Charlie” for his reputation as a hard-drinking womanizer.

-- associated press TOKYO

Economy beats expectations

Japan’s economy grew faster than analysts had anticipated last quarter, reducing the risk of falling back into a recession even as deflation intensifies.

Gross domestic product rose at an annual 4.6% rate in the three months ended Dec. 31, the Cabinet Office said in Tokyo on Monday, more than the 3.5% median estimate of surveyed economists. The GDP deflator, the broadest measure of prices in the economy, fell a record 3%.

Exports led the expansion, aided by a global recovery that prompted manufacturers including Panasonic Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. to raise their profit forecasts this month.

-- bloomberg news SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

5 sentenced in terror case

A court has sentenced five Muslim men to prison terms of 23 to 28 years in Australia’s largest terrorist conspiracy.

Justice Anthony Whealy of the New South Wales Supreme Court handed down the sentences Monday, saying the men were motivated by “intolerant, inflexible religious conviction.”

The men, 25 to 44, were found guilty in October of conspiring to commit an act, or acts, in preparation for a terrorist attack between July 2004 and November 2005. They had stockpiled explosive chemicals and firearms to attack an unknown target.

The men had faced a maximum penalty of life in prison. Whealy has restricted the media from publishing the men’s names.

-- associated press WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND

Beached whales are euthanized

A pod of 28 pilot whales had to be put down by conservation workers after a mass stranding on a remote New Zealand beach, an official said Monday.

Department of Conservation workers found nine whales dead on Stewart Island’s West Ruggedy Beach on Sunday after they were alerted by a passerby, biodiversity manager Brent Bevan said.

Wild seas and strong winds made it impossible to mount a rescue for the 19 survivors, he said.

Conservation officials were forced to euthanize the animals, which otherwise would have suffered greatly, he said.

“There was no way we could attempt a rescue in those sea conditions,” Bevan told the Associated Press. “We could either euthanize the whales, or leave them to suffer on the beach for two days.”

-- associated press PHOENIX

Helicopter crash kills 3

A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said a helicopter crashed in north Phoenix, killing a child and two adults.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said the Eurocopter EC135 went down about 3 p.m. Sunday in a rural area known as Cave Creek. He said the helicopter caught fire after crashing.

Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Lindsey Smith said the helicopter was privately owned.

-- associated press MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

Man sentenced in incest case

An Australian man who fathered four children with his daughter over more than 30 years has been sentenced to 22 years in prison.

A county court in Victoria state handed down the sentence Monday. The 66-year-old man’s identity was withheld to protect his daughter’s privacy.

Prosecutors said the abuse started when the girl was 13.

The man pleaded guilty to two counts of indecently assaulting a girl under 16, 10 counts of incest and one of common assault.

-- associated press