Stinking flower blooms

GENEVA: Thousands have flocked to Swiss city of Basel to see a giant, stinky flower bloom for the first time.

The amorphophallus titanum, or corpse flower, is in full glory before the bloom wilts on Sunday. The plant is 17 years old and has never bloomed before.

Visitors haven't been deterred by the stench of rotting flesh the flower emits to attract insects for pollination.

The 6.6-ft tall flower is native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. — AP