BLACK SERPENT, impressive in the heats, can advance his claims in the 4 Home Superstores Stakes by taking the first of tonight’s semi-finals at Curraheen Park.

A COURT in Nepal yesterday sentenced notorious criminal Charles Sobhraj, also known as the ‘Serpent’ and the ‘Bikini Killer’, to life imprisonment for killing an American backpacker in 1975.

A serial killer known as the Serpent, who for decades evaded charges of drugging, robbing and murdering more than a dozen tourists, was today being questioned about killings almost 30 years ago in Nepal.