■ New ZealandPraying doctor in hot water
A doctor who used prayer and alternative medicine exploited a patient for money and was guilty of professional misconduct, the Medical Practitioners' Disciplinary Tribunal found. Dr. Richard Gorringe of the North Island city of Hamilton could be banned from practising medicine as a result. One patient told the tribunal that Gorringe raised his hands over her and said, "Lord God Almighty, strike the bacteria from this woman's body." He said the prayer had killed a rare bug she had and then charged her for medicine to remove the "dead" bug from her system. Gorringe said in yesterday's New Zealand Herald that he would appeal the finding and said experts who gave evidence at the hearing did not understand his treatment.
■ Cambodia
King says sorry for criticism
King Norodom Sihanouk has apologized to his son after heavily criticizing him and his party for its humiliating loss in last month's general election. Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party won the July 27 polls and is expected to take 73 of the 123 seats in the National Assembly when official results are announced next month. The royalist FUNCINPEC party led by Sihanouk's son, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, came in third and is projected to win 26 seats, down from 43 in the last elections.
■ Vietnam
Miss Vietnam missing
The sensational mystery of missing Miss Vietnam took a new twist yesterday when local media reported she had contacted them to say she was not kidnapped, but on holiday recovering from exam stress. The disappearance of Vietnam's first-ever Miss World contender has captivated the communist country, which only last year officially recognized the national beauty pageant. At least five official newspapers featured the story with competing explanations as to where the beauty queen might be and why. Pham Thi Mai Phuong, 18, disappeared last week and her family said they believed she was kidnapped.
■ Japan
`Loanshark king' busted
Japanese police have arrested the country's "loan shark king" in a crackdown on the rapidly expanding illegal moneylending industry. Police suspect that Susumu Kajiyama is behind a network of more than 1,000 moneylending rings that have channelled billions of yen into the coffers of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's most powerful underworld organization. Hours after Kajiyama, 53, turned himself in to police in Tokyo, dozens of riot police raided the headquarters of Goryo-kai, a smaller gang whose boss is suspected of helping Mr Kajiyama earn ¥10 billion (US$85 billion) over three years for their Yamaguchi-gumi bosses.
■ Cambodia
Khmer Rouge files secured
Thousands of documents alleging atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge have been dispatched to the US, Britain and France, after a series of security threats, officials said yesterday. Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) said 70 percent of evidence collated by the center for use in the pending genocide trial was now safely secured in those countries. He said the Cambodian government had warned him that threats from members of the former Khmer Rouge had been received and the documents were sent to the United States, Britain and France for safe keeping.
■ CanadaOttawa implements Kyoto
Canada announced its first steps toward implementing the Kyoto Protocol, pledging Tuesday to spend C$1 billion (US$720 million) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Initial measures of an overall plan first made public last year include incentives for people and businesses to reduce their dependence on energy. The package is expected to cut Canada's emissions by up to 20 megatons a year, far short of the Kyoto treaty's requirement of a 240-megaton reduction by 2010. Another series of more comprehensive measures -- including binding deals with large industrial emitters and tough fuel-efficiency standards for new cars -- are under negotiation.
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