■ China
Serial killer executed
China yesterday morning executed one of its worst serial killers in recent history, who reportedly murdered 67 people in the course of a three-year rampage, local media said. Yang Xinhai, 35, was put to death a fortnight after he received his sentence at the Luohe City Intermediate People's Court in central China's Henan province, the sina.com Web site reported. Yang, characterized as an introverted drifter, had not appealed his death sentence, according to the report. Executions in China are usually carried out with a bullet to the back of the head. Yang was said to have bicycled from one murder scene to the next beginning in 2000, and was not caught until November last year.
■ Indonesia
Bob Dole offered new job
Indonesia's government has asked former US Republican senator Bob Dole to act as a Washington-based consultant for it, a foreign ministry official said yesterday. "Bob Dole has expressed his readiness as a counsel for Indonesia on a case-by-case basis," foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said. "The Indonesian government would like to count on him as a friend to help our representatives in Washington." Dole currently works as a special counsel to a major Washington law firm.
■ Vietnam
Mourners killed by coffin
Two mourners were crushed to death by a falling coffin in Vietnam when a hearse overturned, a local police officer said yesterday. A small converted truck was carrying the coffin of Nguyen Thi Cao and around 20 mourners on a 60km trip from Ho Chi Minh City to the birthplace of the deceased in Tien Giang Province, said police officer Le Anh Vu. As the hearse was rounding a corner in Long An province, it went into a ditch, and the bulky wooden coffin crushed the dead man's son, Nguyen Van My, 45, and Luong Thi Anh Nguyet, Vu said. My and Nguyet were taken to Long An provincial hospital but died soon after admission, Vu said.
■ The Philippines
Kissing record broken
More than 5,000 couples locked lips on Valentine's Day in Manila yesterday, in the hope of beating the world record for the number of simultaneous kisses. Dubbed "Lovapaloza," the mass 10-second smooch followed a Friday night countdown into the most romantic day of the year. "We were looking for an event really to mark Valentine's Day meaningfully," said Manila's Mayor Lito Atienza, who led the event by kissing his wife. Atienza said 5,100 couples took part to beat the old record of 4,445 kissing couples in Chile last month.
■ Australia
Tycoon to the rescue
Billionaire Australian businessman Richard Pratt could call himself a good Samaritan yesterday after playing a crucial part in the rescue a Japanese round-the-world yachtsman drifting helplessly on the edge of the frigid Southern Ocean. Masayuki Kikuchi, 67, broke both arms when his self-righting 13m yacht rolled over in a storm, 4,000km southwest of Perth. His emergency beacon bounced off a satellite and was detected by the Canberra-based Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which formed a rescue party. The authority's Ben Mitchell said that because the yacht was so far from shore, Pratt was asked for the use of his super-long-range Global Express executive jet to help locate the missing adventurer. The recycling tycoon's plane, with a Japanese interpreter aboard, pinpointed the yacht's location and guided a cargo ship to it.<
■ Great Britain
Cocklepickers deny blame
Two Chinese workers arrested over the drowning of 19 presumed Chinese immigrants who were collecting shellfish on the northwestern English coast denied responsibility Friday for the deaths of their colleagues. Asylum seekers Gua Lin, 30, and Lin Mu Lung, 29, survived last week's tragedy off the English coastal resort of Morecambe, an incident that prompted calls for a clampdown on the exploitation of migrant workers. British police have been investigating whether the dead were being used for cheap labor by "gangmasters." Seven people were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, with all subsequently released on police bail.
■ Great Britain
Police chief covets `phaser'
A British police chief has revealed the type of weapon he would most like to see officers carry in the future, it was reported yesterday -- a disabling "phaser gun" of the sort used in the television show Star Trek. The gun -- which Deputy Chief Constable Ian Arundale admitted might not be developed for many years -- would be able to turn "someone's brain off," he was quoted as saying by The Guardian. Arundale, who is head of the Association of Chief Police Officers' use-of-firearms units, said, "What we would like in the future is a Star Trek-style phaser that, perfectly safely, temporarily switches someone's brain off so that officers move in," Arundale was quoted as saying.
■ Ivory Coast
Gbagbo wants cleansing rite
President Laurent Gbagbo is demanding a post-war purification ceremony in Ivory Coast's insurgent-held north, saying he won't make his promised first visit there until traditional chiefs spiritually cleanse rebel turf of blood. Gbagbo initially had said he would visit the main rebel stronghold of Bouake on Feb. 16 to formally proclaim the end of a civil war that split the world's largest cocoa producer in two. Rebels had opposed the visit, saying they had not been consulted. "This war ... has been and still is the source of deep sorrow and pain for the Ivorian people and foreigners living on its soil," Gbagbo said.
■ Mexico
Fonda marching for victims
Actress Jane Fonda and playwright Eve Ensler were to join thousands of protesters in a march across the US-Mexico border Saturday to demand justice for the hundreds of women killed here since 1993. "I'm a woman and I feel these mothers' pain like a dagger in my heart," an emotional Fonda told reporters after meeting with some of the mothers of the victims late Friday. "I'm here to show my support." Actresses Sally Field and Christine Lahti were also expected to take part in the massive march.
■ Canada
Fight in Dalai Lama queue
A man who hoped to buy tickets for the Dalai Lama's upcoming public appearance in Vancouver became so irate that he started a fistfight, according to reports late Friday. The Tibetan Buddhist leader and Nobel Peace Laureate is due to speak to audiences in the British Columbia city on Apr. 18. An organizer, Victor Chan, told the Vancouver Sun that in at least one case, fisticuffs ensued when an unsuccessful enthusiast learned that the events were sold out within 20 minutes. "The man who got in a fight must want a more meaningful life, but he's still got a long way to go," Chan said.
■ United States
Bush lied, says poll
A new poll shows a majority of Americans think US President George W. Bush lied or deliberately exaggerated evidence relating to Iraq's weapons programs to justify the war. The poll's results also show declining support for the war in Iraq and that the public is questioning Bush's honesty, the Washington Post said. Asked whether the Bush administration intentionally exaggerated or lied about its evidence that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, 54 percent of the respondents said yes, while 42 percent said no in the Post-ABC News poll. Fifty-two percent said Bush was "honest and trustworthy," down 7 points since late October and his worst showing since the question was first asked in March 1999.
■ United States
Political novice uses Web
A self-proclaimed outsider who's trying to unseat a nine-term congressman has put his campaign on the virtual auction block. Jeffrey Vance, a political neophyte, is offering shares in his fledgling campaign on eBay at US$20 a pop. Vance, 42, who's seeking the Democratic nomination to take on California Republican Representative Wally Herger, said he quickly realized he would go nowhere without money. But his platform is grounded in the belief that special interests are to blame for some of the nation's problems. So, trying to follow in the footsteps of national politicos exploiting the Internet, Vance is offering US$20 certificates "of Democratic freedom." So far, the certificates are not being snapped up too swiftly.
■ United States
Prince walks into trouble
Royalty, shmoyalty. The guy was walking on the wrong part of the street. Like many a commoner before him, His Royal Highness Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Prince Charles' younger brother, was scolded by police for ignoring the strict pedestrian code on upscale Belle Meade Boulevard, in Nashville, Tennessee. Proper use of the boulevard has long been a sore point among Belle Meade residents. They have decreed the only legal place to walk on the boulevard is on the inside lanes facing traffic, and pedestrians must move to the grassy median if traffic is coming. The Belle Meade police pointed this out -- politely -- to His misplaced Highness. It appears the prince was otherwise well treated in Nashville, or as he put it: "I've been spoiled rotten."
■ United States
Lab animals perish
Thirteen monkeys and dozens of hamsters used in disease research at a US government laboratory in Montana died after a heater malfunctioned and the temperature climbed to 37oC. Many other animals in the same room were not harmed, said Marshall Bloom, associate director of Rocky Mountain Laboratories. The animals that died last weekend were used to research chronic wasting disease and similar disorders. An alarm sounded but it was not designed to alert security staff, he said.
■ United States
Americans love `I love you'
Nearly three-quarters of Americans -- not counting those who live alone -- say "I love you" at least once a day, according to a new poll. The poll, conducted in November by Chappaqua-based Reader's Digest and the Gallup Organization, asked 1,000 adults living in households how often they said the three little words to their spouse or children. Seventy-three percent claimed they said it once a day, including 71 percent of men and 74 percent of women.
END OF AN ERA: The vote brings the curtain down on 20 years of socialist rule, which began in 2005 when Evo Morales, an indigenous coca farmer, was elected president A center-right senator and a right-wing former president are to advance to a run-off for Bolivia’s presidency after the first round of elections on Sunday, marking the end of two decades of leftist rule, preliminary official results showed. Bolivian Senator Rodrigo Paz was the surprise front-runner, with 32.15 percent of the vote cast in an election dominated by a deep economic crisis, results published by the electoral commission showed. He was followed by former Bolivian president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga in second with 26.87 percent, according to results based on 92 percent of votes cast. Millionaire businessman Samuel Doria Medina, who had been tipped
ELECTION DISTRACTION? When attention shifted away from the fight against the militants to politics, losses and setbacks in the battlefield increased, an analyst said Recent clashes in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Jubaland region are alarming experts, exposing cracks in the country’s federal system and creating an opening for militant group al-Shabaab to gain ground. Following years of conflict, Somalia is a loose federation of five semi-autonomous member states — Puntland, Jubaland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle and South West — that maintain often fractious relations with the central government in the capital, Mogadishu. However, ahead of elections next year, Somalia has sought to assert control over its member states, which security analysts said has created gaps for al-Shabaab infiltration. Last week, two Somalian soldiers were killed in clashes between pro-government forces and
Ten cheetah cubs held in captivity since birth and destined for international wildlife trade markets have been rescued in Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia. They were all in stable condition despite all of them having been undernourished and limping due to being tied in captivity for months, said Laurie Marker, founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which is caring for the cubs. One eight-month-old cub was unable to walk after been tied up for six months, while a five-month-old was “very malnourished [a bag of bones], with sores all over her body and full of botfly maggots which are under the
BRUSHED OFF: An ambassador to Australia previously said that Beijing does not see a reason to apologize for its naval exercises and military maneuvers in international areas China set off alarm bells in New Zealand when it dispatched powerful warships on unprecedented missions in the South Pacific without explanation, military documents showed. Beijing has spent years expanding its reach in the southern Pacific Ocean, courting island nations with new hospitals, freshly paved roads and generous offers of climate aid. However, these diplomatic efforts have increasingly been accompanied by more overt displays of military power. Three Chinese warships sailed the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand in February, the first time such a task group had been sighted in those waters. “We have never seen vessels with this capability
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