■ South Korea
Court upholds convictions
The Supreme Court yesterday upheld the convictions of several prominent officials for secretly transferring money to North Korea ahead of a historic 2000 inter-Korean summit, a news report said. Lim Dong-won, an intelligence chief in former president Kim Dae-jung's government, and three others had appealed lower court convictions for illegally remitting US$100 million to Pyongyang in violation of foreign currency regulations. They were all sentenced to suspended jail terms. Kim Dae-jung, who was never investigated or indicted, finished his five-year term in February.
■ Japan
Koizumi defends shrine trips
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said yesterday that he could not understand why China denounces his annual pilgrimage to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine. "I am still very much puzzled about why people in foreign countries say it is no good that I convey my condolences to my own country's war dead," Koizumi said on the private Asahi network. He made the remark when asked to comment on criticism by Chinese leaders on his visit to the shrine, which honors the nations' 2.5 million war dead, including 14 Class-A war criminals.
■ Hong Kong
Protesters slam China move
Opposition lawmakers marched to Hong Kong's government headquarters yesterday to protest Beijing's decision to dictate political reform policy -- a move seen as suppressing the territory's democratic aspirations. Protesters from the Democratic Party chanted "the move restricts Hong Kong people from ruling Hong Kong." One demonstrator dressed in a black cape stepped on printed Chinese characters saying "direct elections" in footage broadcast on Hong Kong's Cable TV, which said about 30 people participated in the peaceful march. China announced on Friday that its top legislative panel would interpret provisions in Hong Kong's mini-constitution that detail how the territory's leader and lawmakers are chosen.
■ Australia
Terror efforts beefed up
Australia is to step up its war on terror again by expanding its key intelligence agency and bolstering anti-terrorism powers under new laws approved by the cabinet, Prime Minister John Howard announced yesterday. Coming in the aftermath of the Madrid bombings, which claimed more than 200 lives, Australia's new laws would allow suspects to be detained by police for questioning for up to 24 hours rather than for an initial period of four hours, as under current legislation. Howard said more agents would be recruited for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.
■ China
CCP falls prey to pirates
Hollywood and the Chinese Communist Party now have at least one thing in common -- they're both victims of China's rampant copyright rip-offs. Police in Xian have detained two people for printing and selling fake copies of the Communist Party's latest rules against corruption, Xinhua news agency reported. The pamphlets, first published last month, were made required reading for party members and became instant bestsellers, Xinhua said late on Saturday. The temptation was apparently too much for one Xian bookstore owner, who later admitted to scanning the two pamphlets and giving the copies to a local printer who churned out 14,000 fakes, Xinhua said.
■ Brazil
Storms slams south coast
A child died in a collapsed house and seven fishermen were missing and feared dead yesterday as a large spiraling storm lashed the coast of southern Brazil, Civil Defense officials said. However, Brazilian and US meteorologists disagreed over whether the storm was a hurricane -- the first on record in the South Atlantic. The Americans say it is a hurricane, the Brazilians disagree. The storm, dubbed Catarina by meteorologists, hit the coasts of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil's southernmost states, late Saturday with heavy rains and winds of up to 97kph. The storm damaged homes, downed trees and knocked out power for several hundred thousand people across some 40 municipalities, according to civil defense officials in the two states.
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