■ The PhilippinesBreast-fondler arrested
A 25-year-old man was arrested by Philippine police after three of his neighbors complained that he fondled their breasts. Policewoman Virginia Monton said Mark Mugel was arrested in Tondo district after his third victim -- who happened to be a "martial arts expert" -- kicked him several times Thursday evening, prompting bystanders in the slum area to join in. Prior to Mugel's encounter with the martial arts expert, Monton revealed that he had similarly fondled two other women that day. During interrogation, the suspect told police he had a "crush" on the women and they all had "big breasts."
■ China
Law protects Great Wall
Seeking to protect one of China's greatest landmarks from commercial encroachment, Beijing has restricted development close to the Great Wall of China and made it a crime to damage its structure. No new development will be permitted within 500m of the wall while commercial activities within three kilometers of it must undergo a special approval process, news reports said quoting a new law passed on Thursday. The law bans carving, painting, or plundering of stones or bricks from the wall and prohibits developers from setting up shops and stalls upon it.
■ The Philippines
Abducted farmers killed
Soldiers have recovered the bodies of three farmers who were abducted by suspected Muslim extremist rebels in a remote southern Philippine village. The men -- two brothers and their cousin -- were seized from their farm in the village of Sibulao outside the southern port city of Zamboanga on Tuesday. Soldiers found their bodies in nearby Calabasa village two days later, a military report said. Police believe guerrillas from the Abu Sayyaf group used the men as guides in the mountains north of Zamboanga, about 850km south of Manila. The men were found with machete wounds and their throats had been slit.
■ Thailand
Editor shot dead
A Thai newspaper editor has been shot dead in the seaside resort of Pattaya, becoming the third editor of the publication to be killed in recent years. Four gunmen travelling on two motorcycles accosted 42-year-old Pattaya Weekly editor Manop Maneechan as he was leaving a function on Friday night, and shot him 11 times, killing him instantly. Investigators said they suspected Manop was targeted because of several personal conflicts he was involved in. "He was having problems with influential figures and used his paper to launch smear campaigns against his opponents," said a police spokesman.
■ Bangladesh
Mudslides kill 23
Mudslides triggered by heavy rains in southern Bangladesh left at least 23 people dead and four missing, local officials said yesterday. The affected area, near the tribal town of Ramgarh in the southern Khagrachari hills, has been lashed by Monsoon downpours since Thursday. Rescue workers said seven people were buried alive under mud and stones rolling down the frontier hills in the worst-hit remote village of Talmonipara. Ten other deaths in the landslips were reported from rain-swept hamlets at the foot of the hills, police said. An entire family of six was crushed under the weight of falling debris in nearby Panchari valley.
■ ItalyBacteria saves art
Art restorers in Pisa have found that a bacterium can do the job no chemical has managed to achieve: reveal part of a vast medieval fresco which was covered with a layer of glue during an unfortunate restoration attempt half a century ago. Scientists from Milan University have shown that the bacterium Pseudomonas stutzeri, applied with water on cotton wool, can eat through 80 percent of the glue in about 10 hours. Chunks of the 14th and 15th-century series of frescoes at the Camposanto cemetery were removed for repair and restoration in the 1950s.
RSS