■ India
Weaponry put on show
Security forces were on high alert across India as the country showcased its military might yesterday in its Republic Day parade which for the first time in years was held against a backdrop of improving ties with nuclear rival Pakistan. The holiday has become a major target for Islamic militants fighting New Delhi's rule in Indian Kashmir, who say the celebrations are part of Indian muscle-flexing in the region. The 55th Republic Day parade in the heart of New Delhi displayed newly-acquired tanks and aircraft and stressed India's strides in its march towards self-reliance in defense.
PHOTO: AP
■ Japan
Japan's `Crusoe' arrested
Japanese police have arrested on theft charges a man in his 50s who survived for more than 40 years as a latter-day Robinson Crusoe in the Japanese countryside, police and a report said yesterday. "A man who appeared to be around 55 years old was arrested on September 12, 2003, as he was trying to get money from a soft drink vending machine in Tsukuba City," some 50km north of Tokyo, a police official said. The man had no idea that Tokyo had hosted the Olympics in 1964 or that Emperor Hirohito died in 1989, the daily said.
■ New Zealand
Maori impose media ban
Indigenous Maori leaders yesterday banned mainstream media outlets from events on tribal lands to mark the signing of New Zealand's founding treaty in 1840, claiming that the non-indigenous press lacks neutrality on Maori issues. It's the second year that elders of the northern Ngapuhi tribe have decided to bar the mainstream media from the ground where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between Maori and British colonizers. Waitangi Day is a national holiday on Feb. 6 commemorated by all New Zealanders, with the main ceremonies marking the event traditionally held at the Waitangi meeting ground.
■ Thailand
Monks stop morning rounds
Buddhist monks have stopped making their morning alms-seeking rounds and schools have closed in Thailand's troubled far south as fears spread of an escalating religious conflict, officials said yesterday. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said a curfew may have to be imposed in the three southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat because of the continuing violence. All three provinces are already under martial law. In the latest of a series of murders, a police officer was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle on Sunday in Pattani, 730km south of Bangkok.
■ Bangladesh
Mystery disease kills 15
A mysterious disease stalking the northern villages of Bangladesh has killed three people in the last 24 hours, taking to 15 the number of deaths attributed to it, officials said yesterday. Health officials and experts refused to comment on whether the sickness could be the bird flu that has broken out in several other Asian countries. Doctors said many more people have caught the as yet unidentified disease, which causes high fever, headache, vomiting and spells of unconsciousness. Experts said samples taken from patients and people in affected villages were being tested in Dhaka and might be sent to the US for more tests to identify the disease. The disease has stricken chiefly young people.";
■ The Vatican
Pope blesses break dancers
In an unusual spectacle at the Vatican, Pope John Paul II presided over a performance of break dancers Sunday, who leapt, flipped and spun their bodies to a dance beat from a tinny boom box. The 83-year-old pontiff seemed to approve, waving his hand after each dancer completed their moves, then applauding for the entire group, from a cultural organization in John Paul's homeland of Poland. "For this creative hard work I bless you from my heart," he said. During the show, one dancer -- part of a Polish group that helps poor and marginalized youths -- planted his head on the inlaid marble floor of the Vatican hall and spun to loud applause from his group and from Vatican officials.
■ United States
Something to declare
A woman passed through security screening at New York's LaGuardia Airport with a stun gun and knife in her purse -- but later discovered the mistake herself and alerted authorities. The woman realized she was carrying the items after a short layover in Detroit and on her way to Denver on Saturday. "She immediately went, `Oh, my God, I'm not supposed to have these here,' and called the flight attendant over," said a Spirit Airlines spokeswoman. The pilot alerted Denver International Airport; police then met the plane at the gate and took the woman into custody for questioning.
■ United States
Motel fire kills six
Fire broke out in a five-story motel in Greenville, South Carolina, early Sunday while guests were asleep, killing six and forcing others to leap from windows or climb down bed sheets to safety, authorities said. At least a dozen people were injured, including at least five in critical condition at a burn unit in Augusta, Georgia. Guests and authorities said smoke filled the motel quickly.
■ United Kingdom
Book: Straw opposed war
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw privately opposed going to war in Iraq without the prior support of the UN, claims a new book on Prime Minister Tony Blair by London journalist Philip Stephens. He says the foreign secretary made his support conditional on explicit authorization for the war by MPs and a statement by the UK attorney-general that it was lawful. It is the second time reports have surfaced in books that Straw lobbied against going to war without the UN's support.
■ United Kingdom
Study backs birthing pools
Maternity units in British hospitals will come under pressure to make birthing pools more available after research suggested immersion in water cut the need for epidural anesthetics. A study by a team at Southampton General Hospital reported that first-time mothers undergoing slow labor were also less likely to need drugs to increase contractions. The women said they suffered less pain and were more satisfied with their freedom of movement than those having more standard treatment. But numbers subsequently requiring Caesarean or assisted delivery with forceps or suction equipment for the delivery remained about the same.";
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