■ United Kingdom
Was Elvis from Scotland?
Elvis fans have a new shrine to their hero -- a remote Scottish hamlet named this week as the ancestral home of the king of rock 'n' roll. After six years' research, writer Allan Morrison says the singer was the direct descendant of blacksmith Andrew Presley who lived 300 years ago in the Aberdeenshire village of Lonmay. "It was like striking gold," he said of his research in the US and Scotland. Morrison found records showing that Andrew Presley married Elspeth Leg in Lonmay on Aug. 27, 1713. Their son became the first Presley in America when he arrived in North Carolina in 1745.
■ Germany
Violinists want pay rise
Violinists at a German orchestra are suing for a pay raise on the grounds that they play many more notes per concert than their musical colleagues -- litigation that the orchestra's director on Tuesday called "absurd." The 16 violinists at the Beethoven Orchestra in Bonn argue that they work more than their colleagues who play instruments like the flute, oboe and trombone, and also say a collective bargaining agreement that gives bonuses to people who play solos is unjust.
■ Iraq
Rocket strikes hotel
Attackers fired a rocket that struck a hotel housing foreign contractors and journalists in Baghdad early yesterday. There were no reported casualties. The rocket hit the Sheraton hotel, hotel guards said. The lobby of the hotel, which has been attacked before, was strewn with glass. Guards said there were no casualties. The rocket slammed into a sixth-floor concrete ledge that forms the roof of a banquet room, said security guard Rabah Nasser. Earlier, guards said the hotel had been struck by a rocket-propelled grenade.
■ United States
Parents hold boy in cellar
A Salt Lake City couple who allegedly chained the man's 12-year-old son in the basement for two months -- freeing him only to eat and go to school -- has been charged with child abuse. Sheriff's deputies were called to the couple's home after receiving a telephone complaint, said spokesman Sergeant Rosie Rivera. A sibling showed authorities a pair of handcuffs he said were used to chain his brother in the basement, according to charging documents. Mark Gray, 40, and his wife Christina, 35, were being held on US$25,000 bail Tuesday.
■ United Kingdom
The `most irritating phrase'
"At the end of the day" has been voted the most irritating phrase in the English language, pipping "at this moment in time," and the constant use of "like," as if it were a form of punctuation. "When readers or listeners come across these tired expressions, they start tuning out and completely miss the message -- assuming there is one!" said John Lister, spokesman for the Plain English Campaign which carried out the survey. The group surveyed its 5,000 supporters in more than 70 countries. "Using these terms in daily business is about as professional as wearing a novelty tie or having a wacky ringtone on your phone," Lister said.
■ Japan
Activists land on islands
Japan said yesterday that seven Chinese activists had landed on a disputed island chain in the East China Sea which is claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan. The activists landed on the Senkaku Islands, known as Diaoyu in China, around 7:20am, and the Japan Coast Guard sent a patrol vessel to order them to leave, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda. "The Senkaku Islands are Japan's sovereign territory. It is extremely regrettable that foreigners illegally landed there," Fukuda told a regular press conference, adding that Japan would protest to China. "We have discussed this matter many times with China," he said.
■ China
Fingerprinting sparks anger
China yesterday complained about plans by the US to fingerprint its citizens applying for non-immigrant visas, calling it a discriminatory move that infringed on human rights. "This measure has caused strong dissatisfaction among the Chinese people and in different social circles," the foreign ministry said on its Web site, a day after it called off its human rights dialogue with the US. The foreign ministry statement said China had made "solemn representations" to the US through diplomatic channels on the fingerprinting issue. "They pointed out that this measure is discrimination against Chinese citizens. It has harmed the Chinese citizen's dignity and right to privacy. It is a method that infringes on their human rights." it said.
■ Indonesia
Bird flu on the wane: officials
Authorities have rejected a UN assertion that bird flu is spreading in the country, insisting that the number of new cases has fallen sharply in recent weeks, a media report said yesterday. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization said this week that the virus has extended its range in Indonesia. But officials from Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture said the number of provinces with bird flu fell from 51 last month to 14 and the total number of chickens dying from the virus dropped from 1.6 million in December to 966,000 last month.
■ China
Activist jailed for letter
A longtime Chinese democracy activist has been sentenced to two years in prison for signing an open letter calling for political reform ahead of a landmark meeting of Communist Party leaders, a human rights group said. Ouyang Yi was tried on subversion charges in secret at the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court on March 16, the New York-based group Human Rights in China said Tuesday. A man who answered the telephone at the court in the southwestern province of Sichuan said he "didn't know" any details about the case and could not confirm that it had been tried at that court.
■ China
`Moral quality' focus of plan
The Chinese Communist Party wants to strengthen its presence in the nation's schools, as it seeks to improve the "moral quality" of the nation's youth, the education minister said yesterday. In a policy that will impact 367 million children and teenagers in China, the party will strive to improve its organization throughout the educational system, according to Zhou Ji. "Strengthening the leadership of the Communist Party is a guarantee for us to further promote the educational development and reform in China," he told a briefing in Beijing.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was