■ United States
Chinese couple given asylum
A federal appeals court ruled that a Chinese woman who suffered through a rape-like gynecological exam in China met US Congress' definition of persecution, opening that door for her and others to qualify for political asylum after resisting population control policies. Li Xuming and her boyfriend, Yu Xinkui, who live in the Sacramento area, fled China in 1998 after a series of run-ins with Chinese authorities because of their relationship and applied for asylum in the US. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled their treatment under the Chinese government clearly qualifies as persecution and therefore the couple should be allowed given asylum.
■ South Korea
Security aides reshuffled
President Roh Moo-hyun replaced his national security aides yesterday in a reshuffle triggered by a rift over his administration's ties with the US, South Korea's biggest ally. Kwon Chin-ho, a former deputy head of the National Intelligence Service, replaced Ra Jong-yil, who coordinates all security-related issues for Roh. Roh also appointed a new national defense secretary, replacing Kim Hee-sang with Yoon Kwang-ung, a retired navy commander. The secretary post focuses mainly on military affairs. The president's office said there will be no change in the government's foreign affairs and security policy.
■ India
Suspected killers detained
Indian police have detained three people in connection with the death of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's grand nephew, who was thrown off a moving train, newspapers reported yesterday. Railways police officer V.K. Bhalla was quoted as saying three men from the northern town of Mathura had been detained. Manish Mishra, 21, grandson of Vajpayee's sister Vimla Mishra, was hurled from a train last Saturday after he tried to stop a group of men from harassing women passengers.
■ Japan
Teachers sue government
Hundreds of public school teachers sued the Tokyo government yesterday, arguing that forcing them to stand before the Rising Sun flag and sing the national anthem at school ceremonies violates the constitutional right to freedom of speech. The move comes after the Tokyo Board of Education in October ordered schools to make sure the flag was hung at school assemblies such as graduation and called for penalties for teachers and staff who refuse to stand at attention and sing.
■ Australia
Dinky's trivial pursuit
A howling success in outback Australia, Dinky, a singing and piano-playing dingo, is about to be immortalized in a board game. The three-year-old native wild dog has won a nationwide competition to identify the Australian with the most trivial feat, to star in a question in a 20th anniversary edition of the local version of the board game Trivial Pursuit. The dingo was saved from a wild dog-culling program as a six-week-old pup by Jim Cotterill, the owner of a roadhouse in central Australia, who soon discovered his new pet had talent. Dinky began impromptu performances whenever Jim's two daughters played the piano and, with a little encouragement, would also strut across the keyboard.
■ United States
Judge rues rape jibe
A Florida judge who made disparaging comments about a rape victim apologized and withdrew from the case. Judge Gene Stephenson said on Thursday he hoped that the victim accepted his apology. "The remarks were inappropriate," he
said. "It's something I've never done before and won't do again." Stephenson, 70, said he didn't remember making the comment on Monday, but transcripts indicated he said, "Why would he want to rape her? She doesn't look like a day
at the beach." Stephenson made the remark after looking at a photo of the beaten and bruised victim as attorneys discussed a plea agreement.
■ Zimbabwe
Police ban policy launch
Zimbabwean police on Thursday banned Morgan Tsvangirai's opposition party from launching its long-awaited and detailed proposals to rebuild the country's crumbling economy. Using the nation's draconian security laws, officers prevented the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) from meeting international diplomats and journalists to announce their new economic program, called Restart. Police said they did not have the manpower to arrange security for the meeting yesterday. Officers raided MDC offices last week and seized many documents, including versions of the Restart program.
■ Sweden
Popular chef gets the chop
A Swedish chef said on Thursday he was shocked to find out he will lose his job because his cooking was too good. An engineering firm in central Sweden said they won't renew chef Richard Norberg's contract because he attracts too many people to the company's cafeteria. The ABE engineering company in Oernskoeldsvik, 380km north of Stockholm, leased the cafeteria service to Norberg six years ago. Since then, his traditional Swedish pancakes, pea
soup and pork chops have attracted a growing stream of visitors. The cafeteria's lunch crowd had tripled to 300 guests since it opened, Norberg said.
■ Somalia
Warlords sign agreement
Rival Somali warlords blamed by civilians for a decade of bloodshed staged a rare show of unity on Thursday by signing an agreement on a transitional charter intended to rebuild the Horn of Africa country. In a breakthrough for the faltering peace efforts held in Kenya, the agreement establishes a federal system that will be used for five years by a transitional administration while a new constitution is written. The accord is notable because it was signed by top militia leaders whose chronic feuding has been marked by massacres, kidnappings, forced displacement of villages and towns as well as theft of land and livestock. The next phase of talks will focus on power-sharing and electing MPs.
■ United Nations
Benefits for gay staffers
UN staffers can now receive benefits for their gay or lesbian partners if their country of nationality recognizes same-sex marriages or domestic partnerships, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a new directive. The decision, which will apply to staffers from less than a dozen countries, was welcomed by the UN gay and lesbian rights organization GLOBE, which has pushed for years for equal benefits for same-sex partners. The new policy takes effect on Feb. 1.
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