■ India
Nuclear missile tested
India yesterday tested a
new version of its nuclear-capable Prithvi missile, which has an enhanced range that could easily reach the capital of Pakistan, the Press Trust
of India reported. The new medium-range missile can reach between 150km and 200km. The test was done at the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur. India routinely tests its missiles and some two dozen tests have been done so far for the Prithvi since 1988. The Indian Army has already deployed the missile. The new version has been developed for
the Indian Air Force and
was fired from a mobile launcher, the news agency reported.
■ China
No gifts for judges
China has issued a new
set of regulations aimed
at cracking down on its corrupt judicial system, forbidding judges from accepting cash and gifts
in return for favorable verdicts, state press reported yesterday. "A judge is banned from accepting money, gifts and securities from one party of the lawsuit and his [or her] lawyer as well as their invitation for dinner and entertainment and are also not allowed to borrow things, including vehicles, from them," Xinhua news agency said, citing the new regulations. Judges were also "banned from meeting one party of a lawsuit and his [or her] lawyer in private and lawyers are forbidden to meet the judge of his [or her] case in private either," it said.
■ China
Spy PC game banned
China has banned a Norwegian-made computer game involving a spy-for-hire chasing military secrets in China because it allegedly blackens the country's image, the government
said yesterday. The State
Press and Publication Administration said the game, Project IGI2: Covert Strike, violates Chinese regulations prohibiting games that hurt China's national dignity and interests. The game allows players to pretend they
are a freelance mercenary tracking down illegal computer technology.
■ Australia
Dead man had bike cache
The death of a suspected bicycle thief has saddled police with an intriguing problem -- what to do with his houseful of bikes. Police said yesterday the man, who was in his 60s, died last week while trying to steal
a bike in Melbourne. They
did not elaborate on the
cause of death. Officers discovered the cache of about 1,000 bicycles when they went to inform the man's relatives in the nearby town of Geelong of his death. "In every room including his bedroom, bathroom and kitchen there are bikes, bike helmets, parts, chains, seats and tires ... it's something else," said Senior Sergeant Adrian Benny.
■ The Philippines
Huge cake planned
Bakers in a Philippine
town hope to take the
cake, using three tonnes
of strawberries, a tonne of flour and thousands of eggs. They plan to create the world's largest strawberry cake with a base 4.9m by 7.3m and a strawberry-shaped top towering 2.7m. Event organizers hope the cake will eclipse the record held in Florida for the biggest flat strawberry
cake. The giant dessert
will be served to more than
40,000 people expected to
gather today for an annual strawberry festival in La Trinidad, a mountain town in the northern Philippines.
■ Costa Rica
Cow gets cab ride
Police pursuing suspected criminals on Thursday managed to stop the suspects' taxi and were stunned to find that their back-seat passenger was a cow. The two suspects were accused of stealing the cow outside the city of Heredia, just north of San Jose. They somehow managed to force the animal into the back seat of a cab and tried to make their escape, police said. TV images showed the cow placidly staring out of the back window of the taxi at the police officers. The two men were taken into custody and the cow was to be given back to her owner, reports said.
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