■Afghanistan
Bomb kills owner
A man carrying a bomb in a Kabul bazaar was killed when it exploded prematurely, the Afghan capital's police chief said yesterday. The bomb exploded around a market 12km east of the city center, killing the suspected bomber, Basir Salangi said. There were no other casualties. The intended target was unclear, Salangi added. The bazaar is close to an Afghan army training center and the main International Security Assistance Force base, Camp Warehouse. A suicide car bomber killed four German ISAF soldiers on the same road near Camp Warehouse on June 7. Twenty-nine German troops were also injured in the attack on their bus, and a passerby was killed.
■ China
Tactless banquet refunded
A pair of newlyweds in China have won a refund for their wedding banquet after sad songs were played throughout the festivities, a news report said Wednesday. As the couple toasted their marriage with guests at a restaurant in Keqiao, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, morose Chinese songs including You Took Away My Woman and Why Do You Love Someone Else Secretly were played in the background. The couple were given an 80 per cent discount on the banquet, which cost US$180 per table, after they threatened to report the restaurant to the local consumer association, the Hong Kong edition of the China Daily newspaper reported.
■ India
Mechanics sabotage drains
About 230 municipal workers, identified by distinct yellow arm bands, will watch over 115 rain water drains in the Indian capital, it was reported yesterday. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has classified the drains as "vulnerable," after it was discovered a group of unscrupulous car mechanics were blocking them with garbage and plastic bags, in order to wreck roads and increase auto repairs.
■ Thailand
Police tracking wine case
Thai police yesterday were investigating the source of a batch of poisonous fake wine that killed two people and left seven others seriously ill. The commander of Thailand's Tourist Police, Major General Panya Mahmen, dismissed reports that the wine was produced by a member of the Russian mafia who intended to export the deadly liquid to the US for "terrorist" purposes as a hoax perpetrated by a key suspect in the case.
■ Cambodia
Khmer Rouge wife dies
Wife of supreme Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, known as "Brother No. 1," died of old age and chronic illnesses in a former rebel stronghold in remote northwestern Cambodia, officials said yesterday. Khieu Ponnary, 83, suffered from dementia for years, but fell seriously ill about three years ago, officials said.
■ China
Jealous wife takes action
A jealous wife has put up explicit posters around a city in western China advertising for a new boyfriend for her husband's teenage lover, the South China Morning Post reported yesterday. The advertisements plastered around the streets of Chengu, Sichuan Province, give the full name and details of the 19-year-old girl the woman suspects of sleeping with her husband, according to the Post. The teenager is furious about the posters which appeal for a man who is "good in bed" to get in contact with her, according to the paper.
■United Kingdom
Doctors unready for SARS
The British Medical Association admitted yesterday that the National Health Service was so unprepared for the recent international outbreak of SARS that it gave general practitioners (GPs) urgent advice to buy protective masks and gloves from the nearest branch of B&Q. GPs without the masks, gloves, goggles and aprons were even advised to consider giving consultations through letter boxes. The association's annual meeting in Torquay called for better preparation for epidemics and bio-terrorist attacks after hearing evidence of the panic response to the world alert about SARS in March.
■ United States
Alcatraz's rocks marketed
The cash-strapped US National Park Service has come up with a novel way to raise money. It's selling parts of its notorious prison island Alcatraz rock by rock. The rocks are sold in boxes to tourists at the island's gift shop for US$4.95 a piece. They come from sections of the San Francisco Bay prison, like a decaying cell house and a guards quarters that are being renovated as part of a US$7.7 million project. Modelled on similar schemes adopted at the Berlin Wall and the Golden Gate Bridge, the project has the added advantage of saving workers the bother of having to ship the debris off the island.
■ Nigeria
Strike paralyzes country
A general strike over fuel prices that has paralyzed business in Nigeria entered its third day on yesterday and threatened to hit the heart of the country's oil-dependent economy. Faltering negotiations between union leaders and the government adjourned on Tuesday night without accord. At least eight people have died since the umbrella Nigeria Labour Congress launched the walkout on Monday amid violent clashes between police and union militants. The senior oil workers' union PENGASSAN raised the stakes on Tuesday by threatening a "total shutdown" of Nigeria's oil industry if the strike was not resolved by Sunday night.
■ United States
Bush fills war chest
US President George W. Bush raised a record US$34.2 million in the last three months, dwarfing a field of nine Democrats led by former Vermont Governor Howard Dean's Internet-driven US$7.5 million haul. Bush, who broke his own record of US$29.7 million in a single quarter in 1999, collected nearly two-thirds of his donations at a nationwide series of fund-raisers in the last few weeks. Contributions came from 95,000 donors in all 50 states and 82 percent of US counties. Bush will vastly outspend his Democratic rivals in the 2004 race, raising as much as $200 million to run for the Republican nomination even though he is unopposed.
■ United States
Student shoots teacher, self
A student shot and wounded a teacher and then killed himself Wednesday at a high school in the southern German town of Coburg. The teacher was shot in the thigh by the 16-year-old student. The student had entered a classroom at the high school armed with a pistol and fired a number of shots. The female teacher was hit in the leg when she tried to take the handgun away from him. Other students barricaded the door to the classroom and the teenage gunman then shot himself.
Agencies
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number