■ Australia
Politicians too drunk: Greens
Instead of engaging in sober debate, politicians in Australia's oldest legislature have been accused of drinking too much and drafting laws with slurred speech and red noses. Lee Rhiannon of the minority Greens Party says some members of the New South Wales state parliament are obviously under the influence of alcohol when they return to its debating chamber after taking breaks. "After dinner ... things get a bit raucous," The Sydney Morning Herald yesterday quoted as Rhiannon saying. The august institution, set up in Sydney in 1822, has two restaurants and a bar as well as it own liquor store. "People have very poor views of politicians," said Rhiannon who wants authorities given the power to expel drunken legislators from the state parliament until they sober up.
■ Hong Kong
More beggars being arrested
Beggars are being arrested in record numbers in Hong Kong as more people from China are allowed into the territory, a news report said yesterday. Ninety beggars were arrested in the first two months of this year, a third of the total for all of last year, the South China Morning Post reported. The highest proportion of beggars are from China and police say the increase in begging coincides with the easing of travel restrictions on Chinese visitors. Only 1.5 million people from China visited Hong Kong in 1997 but the number shot up to 8.4 million last year. Most come from southern China, where average earnings are vastly lower than in Hong Kong.
■ China
Former editor jailed
A former editor in chief of one of China's biggest newspapers, the Guangzhou Daily, has been sentenced to four years in prison for taking bribes, the government said. A former president of Guangzhou Daily's parent company and other employees also have been punished in a sweeping corruption investigation in Guangzhou, China's southern business capital. Former editor in chief He Xiangqin was convicted Sunday of taking bribes totaling nearly US$90,000 in a series of schemes, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday. The ex-editor was accused of taking bribes and kickbacks from Hong Kong suppliers to her newspaper's printing operation from 1996 to 2000 and from two employees in exchange for promotions, Xinhua said.
■ Hong Kong
Chicken restrictions relaxed
Hong Kong will let poultry traders buy frozen chickens from China once again, but the dealers threatened yesterday to strike until officials lift a ban on live imports imposed during Asia's bird flu outbreak. Chicken stalls at markets were closed yesterday for mandatory cleaning, but the head of the Hong Kong Poultry Wholesalers and Retailers Association, Steven Wong, said the entire industry would shut today to protest measures that are costing it millions of dollars.
■ Australia
Spell-casters booted
A Sydney bar owner has expelled a group of drinkers after accusing them of casting spells in his pub. "People found their behavior strange and threatening ... casting spells on bars in the hotel or clearing bars with certain spells," Tony Green, owner of the Greenwood Hotel, told The Sydney Morning Herald. "They talk about casting spells and they brought with them, I believe, a small cauldron. I think they behaved as though they are witches," Green added.
■ United States
Bush to answer questions
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