■ China
Needles removed from brain
Doctors in China have removed three sewing needles embedded in a man's brain for nearly 29 years, state media reported yesterday. The man, surnamed Guo, and his parents had no idea how the needles got into his head, but doctors who performed the unusual operation said someone likely stuck them through a membranous space in his skull when he was a baby. "It's not possible for a needle to penetrate the skull otherwise, because the skull is extremely hard," said Zhang Zhiqiang, a neurosurgeon. Guo only found out about the needles after an X-ray in 1994 for a brain injury. Till now, no one had dared carry out the surgery. Guo has been in normal condition since the operation.
■ South Korea
Heaviest snow in 100 years
The biggest snow storm in March for 100 years blanketed the central region of South Korea overnight, forcing schools to close and bringing traffic to a standstill on Friday. The storm, which began late on Thursday afternoon, dumped more than 18cm of snow on the capital Seoul, the largest one-day snowfall in March since the Korea Meteorological Administration began recording data a century ago. Nearly 50,000 workers were mobilized in the capital to clear frozen roads and treacherous sidewalks. "The snow is still drifting and we may get another 5cm to 10cm in Seoul today," the meteorological agency official said on yesterday.
■ Japan
Thieves make huge heist
Two men robbed a jewelry shop of gems worth ?3.5 billion (US$31.5 million) in broad daylight in Tokyo's upscale Ginza shopping district, police said. "Two men visited the shop as customers ... One of them threw some liquid over a store clerk and punched him while the other broke into the showcases ... with a hammer," a police officer from a nearby station said. They stole several items including a diamond necklace priced at ?3 billion from the Le Supre-Diamant Couture de Maki store, according to the store's manager. The 21-year-old shop clerk sustained minor injuries to his face, another officer said.
■ Hong Kong
Thieves steal `sacred trees'
A gang of thieves suspected to be stealing "sacred trees" from rural Hong Kong and selling them in China has been arrested, police said yesterday. The gang is suspected to have stripped hillsides of Buddhist pine trees, or Podocarpus macrophylla, which are revered in China and can fetch up to US$6,000 each. Eleven men aged 17 to 48 were arrested after a sea and land chase off the coast of Hong Kong's rural New Territories on Thursday, a police spokesman said. They were being questioned yesterday. The past year has seen a surge in thefts of the trees, which are believed in China to have mystical powers.
■ China
Chemicals flood river
Nearly 1 million people in southwestern China were without water after chemicals spilled from a factory into an important Yangtze River tributary, state media and a government official said yesterday. Authorities shut down water supplies Tuesday after a combination of synthetic ammonia and nitrogen from the Sichuan General Chemical Factory leaked into the Tuo River in the densely populated province of Sichuan, the Chinese-language Shanghai Morning Post reported. Water supplies for four residential areas were severely polluted, and could remain cut for several days, the report said.
■ Brazil
Corruption probe blocked
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