■China
Shamed boy kills himself
A 10-year-old schoolboy in western China killed himself in shame after a teacher pulled down his trousers and spanked him in front of his classmates, a news report said yesterday. Teacher Zou Weiming meted out the punishment to pupil Chen Cai after accusing him of taking his son's toy at the school in Chongqing, the South China Morning Post reported. The boy killed himself that evening by drinking a tin of pesticide, the newspaper said. The teacher was fired and the incident publicized to educate other teachers.
■ Japan
Pana Wave facilities raided
Police yesterday raided buildings occupied by a doomsday cult in an attempt to gauge the potential threat posed by the white-clad group, media reports said, although the group is being investigated only on suspicion of registering vehicles under a false name. "The search is nationwide, but we cannot link it to any other offences," said a spokesman for Tokyo police. The cult, which calls itself Pana Wave Laboratory, reportedly believes the world will end later this month and that communists are trying to kill its 69-year-old leader by using electromagnetic waves. Earlier this month, National Police Chief Hidehiko Sato referred to the cult's behavior as "grotesque."
■ The Philippines
Noisy burglar caught
A clumsy thief was caught in the Philippines after he made too much noise in carting away his loot and fell off the stairs of the house he was robbing, police said yesterday. Police officer Nick Mangundayao said Cristopher Carvajal was arrested before dawn Monday shortly after attempting to flee the house of his intended victim in Manila's Quiapo district. Mangundayao said the 25-year-old suspect suffered broken bones after he fell from the stairs of the house he was robbing as the owner shouted at him. "The owner was roused from his sleep because of too much noise Carvajal made while trying to cart away several appliances, including a karaoke machine," he said.
■ Singapore
Parents jailed for neglect
A mother and father who let their baby boy suffer three months of pain without taking him to see a doctor for his broken limbs were each jailed for nine months, it was reported yesterday. Both the father, Jumaat Muhamad Zin, 34, and mother, Hayati Abdul Hamid, 30, were sentenced for neglect, The Straits Times said. The child, who was never given a name, died when he was seven months old in March 2000 from an acute intestinal obstruction. He was out with his parents when he developed breathing difficulties, and a concerned passerby called emergency services, the district court was told on Tuesday. The broken arm and thigh came to light in the post-mortem that followed.
■ New Zealand
Ban on hitting kids shelved
The New Zealand government has shelved a move to make it illegal for parents to hit their children pending an education campaign on other methods of discipline, it was announced yesterday. The move followed a dispute in Cabinet in which Minister of Youth Affairs John Tamihere, a father of five, stoutly defended the "right of parents to give their kids a slap." Two other ministers, in charge of justice and social services, wanted to change the Crimes Act, which exempts parental smacking from criminal assault charges, following a complaint from the UN.
■Iraq
Looters will be shot
The new US administrator for Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, is preparing a series of security-related measures that include permitting soldiers to shoot looters on sight. Bremer, outlining his approach at a meeting with senior staff members, also said he was eager to hire more police officers and ban Baath Party members from serving above a certain rank in future governments, it was reported. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iraq's cities have faced widespread looting, and a failure to ensure safety and security are among the chief complaints of Iraqis with US forces.
■ United States
Legislators go into hiding
State troopers in Texas on Tuesday were hunting for some of the 59 Democratic state legislators who went into hiding to avoid voting on measures they say would aid their Republican opponents. The Democrats, members of the Texas House of Representatives in Austin, executed their secretly coordinated plan late on Sunday, vanishing in order to prevent the legislative body from reaching a quorum. They said their aim was to frustrate a bill which would help Republicans by redrawing constituency boundaries, along with other proposals for spending cuts which they argued would harm the poor.
■ United States
Reporter investigated
The US attorney's office in Manhattan has asked The New York Times for information about Jayson Blair, the former staff reporter who was found to have committed widespread fabrication and plagiarism in news articles. The newspaper would not say what specific information was requested, but said it had not received a subpoena. Catherine Mathis, the newspaper's spokeswoman, said, "Consistent with longstanding practice, The Times intends to contest any subpoena that seeks news gathering documents or information protected by the First Amendment or any other laws."
■ Germany
Train dragging sparks probe
Rail authorities cracked down on safety procedures on Tuesday after an incident last week when a train pulled out of a station with a woman caught by the arm. The 35-year-old woman was helping an elderly female passenger board the train when the automatic door closed. Her left arm was pinned between the door and the frame. She clung to the rear corner of the car and finally got a foothold on hydraulic cables between that car and the next one as the train accelerated to 120kph. The train had nearly reached the next station several kilometers away when the driver of another train spotted her and sounded the alarm. Paramedics who treated her at the scene said she was distraught but had suffered only superficial abrasions.
■ Peru
Fujimori indicted for murder
A Peruvian judge Tuesday indicted former president Alberto Fujimori in two mass murders in which 25 people were killed and asked the Peruvian Supreme Court to pursue trials. Judge Jose Luis Lecaros found that the former president "knew about, coordinated and financed" a military death squad, which carried out the assassinations in 1991 and 1992. Fujimori also holds Japanese citizenship. The Tokyo government thus far has refused to extradite Fujimori, 64, so he can face trial in Peru, where he is also accused in various corruption cases.
■Russia
Nyet' for Moscow concert
A large group of Russian lawmakers is trying to ban a concert by Paul McCartney in Red Square next week, describing it as "absolutely senseless and blasphemous." More than 100 have signed a petition protesting at the place where the Soviet leaders Lenin, Stalin and Brezhnev, and the pioneer cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, lie buried in Moscow being used for a rock concert which carries, they say, "a covert political meaning." Asked why he and his fellow lawmakers did not oppose a recent concert in the square by the tenor Placido Domingo, Alexei Mitrofanov said: "We don't have anything personal against McCartney. An opera concert in a cemetery is different and can be considered more appropriate than a rock concert." Sir Paul has never performed in Russia. The Beatles were censored by Brezhnev's government, which would only let the Soviet press criticise rock music, derided as the "belch of western culture"
■ Afghanistan
Norwegians shot in attack
Suspected Taliban sympathizers shot and wounded two Norwegian peacekeepers Tuesday, in a daytime ambush north of the Afghan capital, Kabul. A spokesman for the 22-nation peacekeeping force, Isaf, said the two soldiers were attacked at a school in the village of Mir Bacha Kot in the Shomali plain between Kabul and Bagram, where US and coalition forces have their main base. They had helped to rebuild the UN-funded school and were at its inauguration when unidentified gunmen shot at them. Last night the Norwegian foreign ministry said one of the men had serious injuries and the other minor ones. They were being treated at a hospital in Kabul.
■ Austria
Leader accused of racism
President of the Austrian Jewish community Ariel Muzicant accused Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel on Tuesday of ill-will against the Jewish community. Schuessel was giving him "the feeling that his goal is the liquidation of the community," charged Muzicant in the early edition of yesterday's Standard newspaper. Muzicant referred to differences over financing security for the Jewish community. He claimed Schuessel has said on several occasions that the Austrian government would not pay for "come-down Mossad agents" as security men. Schuessel's spokeswoman has denied this. But Muzicant insisted although he had not heard them personally, he had been told the Chancellor's words by reliable sources.
■ Colombia
Abducted priest freed
A Catholic priest abducted two days ago by an unidentified illegal armed group was released Tuesday with his driver in northern Colombia. Alfredo Guerra said that he and his driver were abducted by an armed commando as they were heading to Valledupar in Cesar province. The priest did not identify his kidnappers but said he had been treated humanely. In Valledupar and environs, Marxist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army, as well as the right-wing paramilitary United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia, are all known to operate. Nine days ago, FARC executed 10 hostages during a botched government rescue attempt. Among those killed in cold blood were the governor of Antioquia Guillermo Gaviria and former defence minister Gilberto Echeverry.
Agencies
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