■ Hong KongSARS sufferer recovers
The last of Hong Kong's critically-ill SARS patients is out of danger and has been moved out of intensive care into a convalescence ward, health officials said yesterday. The recovery of the 56-year-old patient, a private doctor who was infected by his medical-student son almost five months ago, means the territory's death toll from the outbreak should remain at just under 300. A total of 299 people have died of SARS in Hong Kong and 1,755 were infected, the highest toll anywhere in the world outside China. Fourteen people remained in hospital yesterday.
■ China
Diplomat leaves post
A tense two-month standoff between Iraq's former ambassador to Beijing and his staff ended peacefully after the envoy voluntarily left the embassy, an Iraqi diplomat said on yesterday. The US has asked China to expel Muwafak al-Ani, appointed ambassador by ousted President Saddam Hussein in January and recalled by Iraq's post-war administration in June, said diplomats -- one from a non-Asian nation and one from an Asian nation. China has waited patiently on the US expulsion request, hoping al-Ani would quietly leave the country. It was unclear if al-Ani had left or would be allowed to remain in China.
■ Australia
Teen abortions skyrocket
Teenagers in Australia are among the most sexually active in the world, a report released yesterday showed. The country also has the sixth-highest teenage pregnancy rate in the developed world, and abortions are now the second most common reason young women are admitted to hospital.
■ Thailand
Music producer shoots self
A music producer who had just finished a meeting with a young client at a crowded Bangkok restaurant pulled out a pistol and fatally shot himself as horrified patrons looked on, news reports said yesterday. Sekkarat Amattayakul, 34, a music producer for Grammy Entertainment, committed suicide on Sunday only moments after he finished a business meeting with 18-year-old singer Pornpatcharaya Suphanrat. The singer was quoted by The Nation newspaper as saying Sekkarat had asked to meet with her to discuss her album. During the 20-minute meeting, she said, Sekkarat agreed to repay 80,000 baht (US$1,900 dollars) he owed her. Sekkarat's sister was quoted as saying he had tried on two previous occasions to commit suicide by taking an overdose of sleeping pills.
■ Australia
Man's crime surfaces
Police finally got some satisfaction in the case of a stolen Rolling Stones cassette. David Leahy, was convicted last week of stealing the tape from a store in the city of Cairns in 1982, the latest edition of the Gympie Times newspaper reported. He was ordered to appear in court after police stopped him driving through the town of Gympie, 300km north of Brisbane, capital of Queensland state, and discovered an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Magistrate Paul Johnstone last Friday fined Leahy A$200 (US$130) for shoplifting and another A$300 (US$195) for not appearing in court. "The law will always catch up with you some time," Johnstone told Leahy in court. Leahy's lawyer, Steve Cavanagh, said: "The offense occurred so long ago, his recollection is very vague, as you can imagine."
■ United StatesPowell planning to step down
US Secretary of State Colin Powell and his deputy Richard Armitage have indicated that they do not intend to serve a second term at the State Department even if President George W. Bush is re-elected, The Washington Post reported yesterday. Citing sources familiar with the conversation, the newspaper reported that Armitage recently told national security adviser Condoleezza Rice that he and Powell would leave on Jan. 21, 2005, the day after the next presidential inauguration. According to the newspaper, Powell has indicated to associates that he would be leaving for personal reasons rather than any differences over the administration's foreign policy.
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