Tue, May 04, 2004 page7

• World News Quick Take

  • AGENCIES
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  ■ Hong Kong
  Radio host forced to quit

  An outspoken talkshow host who is often critical of China quit yesterday, citing death threats and bemoaning the "suffocating" political climate in the city. In a pre-recorded message aired on his farewell Teacup in a Storm morning radio show, Albert Cheng said an increase in death threats he had received was causing him and his family enormous stress. "The increasing pressure I've been feeling physically and psychology-cally ... has put me on the brink of a breakdown," he said. Six years ago Cheng was stabbed six times by unidentified attackers outside his studio. "I finally took my doctor's advice [to quit]. It was the longest decision I had to make in my life," he said.

  ■ Japan

  Constitutional change urged

  Political leaders called yesterday for the nation to revise its US-drafted, pacifist constitution to allow more non-combat military opera-tions, saying the current model was no longer suited to the modern world. According to an opinion poll published in the Mainichi Shimbun daily, 78 percent of Japanese lawmakers favored changes to the document. A survey found last week that 53 percent of Japanese thought revision was needed.

  ■ Nepal

  Rebel roundup underway

  The Royal Nepalese Army said yesterday it has launched an operation to round up communist rebels in the kingdom's midwest following reports that guerrillas were planning a major attack. The operation began Thursday in Rukum district, about 400km west of Katmandu, and in a half dozen other districts known as Maoist rebel strongholds, an army spokesman said. He refused to say how many soldiers were involved but he did say the operation will provide rebels with an opportunity to surrender to the authorities. Officials said hundreds of troops have been deployed.

  ■ Hong Kong

  Widow mourns loss of cock

  An elderly widow whose beloved pet rooster's crowing drew complaints from neighbors reluctantly given the bird away after a castration operation failed to shut him up, the South China Morning Post reported yesterday. The 61-year-old woman said she slept in the same bed as the rooster and "cried and cried for weeks" after parting with the bird about a month ago, the Post reported. "He was more loyal than a dog. When-ever I called him from the living room he would come out from the kitchen saying `coo-coo,'" she was quoted as saying. The veterinarian who castrated the rooster only removed one testicle because of excessive bleeding, but the operation at least reduced the enthusiasm of the bird's early morning salutation, the report said. The widow defied public-housing rules by keeping the rooster, along with three ducks and two hens, in her apartment.

  ■ New Zealand

  Prudence saves hiker

  A last-minute decision to spend US$20 on renting an emergency radio locator beacon probably saved a hiker's life in the Southern Alps, police said yesterday. A rescue helicopter homed in on the beacon after high winds blew Dunedin hiker David Frazer off a path in the remote Mount Cook national park, according to Constable Kevin McGartland of Twizel police. The hiker's fall knocked him unconscious but he was able to activate the beacon when he recovered. He was treated for shock and hypothermia.

  ■ United States
  Buffett to advise Kerry

  Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor who has publicly criticized US President George W. Bush's tax cuts as favoring the wealthy, said he has agreed to serve as an economic adviser to John Kerry. Buffett, a Democrat, said Sunday that he and Kerry have spoken once -- when Kerry called to ask if Buffett would be willing to serve with a group of advisers that includes Roger Altman, deputy treasury secretary under Bill Clinton, and former Clinton economic adviser Gene Sperling. Neither Kerry nor anyone on the Massachusetts senator's economic advisory team have asked Buffett's opinion so far on economic policy, Buffett said, adding that he expects to hear from the other advisers soon.

  ■ Canada

  Flesh-eating disease strikes

  A woman has died and another patient is listed in serious condition following a new outbreak of the so-called "flesh-eating" disease in Canada. Both patients were treated at St. Joseph's Hospital in Saint John, New Brunswick, where the surviving patient remained in serious condition Sunday with necrotizing fasciitis, better known as flesh-eating disease, hospital officials said. A 37-year-old woman and another patient were discharged from the hospital after undergoing surgery last week, the hospital said. They were both subsequently rushed back to hospital and kept in isolation.

  ■ Saudi Arabia

  Dad pardons killer prince

  The father of a boy killed by a 19-year-old Saudi prince pardoned his son's killer 35 minutes before his scheduled decapitation in Riyadh, the daily Arab News reported. The handcuffed prince pleaded: "For the sake of God, please save my life. God will in turn save you from hell." Suleiman Al-Qadi changed his mind on hearing the plea. Prince Fahd shot 15-year-old Mundir Al-Qadi dead on Sept. 18, 2002 following a dispute with the prince's 15-year-old brother. According to the report, Prince Fahd was taken to the execution square wearing handcuffs and a blindfold on Saturday morning. Prince Fahd voiced his final plea to Mundir's father for pardon just as the executioner prepared to carry out the sentence.

  ■ Egypt

  Smugglers sentenced

  The ringleader of an Egyptian antiquities smuggling ring that shipped at least 300 pharaonic and other artifacts to Europe was sentenced Thursday to 35 years in prison. Twenty-five other members of the gang were sentenced by the Cairo criminal court from one to 20 years in jail, although some were tried in absentia. The longest sentence was handed down to Tareq Suissi, a businessman and senior official with the National Democratic Party, who was arrested last month and expelled from the ruling party.

  ■ Brazil

  Coffee's DNA mapped

  The genetic makeup of arabica coffee has been deciphered for the first time by Brazilian researchers in the hopes of making a better cup o' joe and cementing Brazil's place as the largest coffee producer in the world. A new database with about 200,000 DNA sequences will give scientists a deep understanding of what makes coffee tick, said a spokesman for the Brazilian Coffee Research and Development Association. The two years of research was aimed at helping Brazil produce more productive coffees as well as a "super-coffee" of higher quality.

  ■ United States
  Surveillance warrants jump

  The government's use of secret warrants to monitor and eavesdrop on suspects in terrorism and other intelligence investigations continued to climb sharply in 2003, with more than 1,700 warrants sought and all but three granted, the Justice Department reported on Sunday. Federal authorities made 1,727 applications last year before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a secret panel that oversees espionage efforts. This represents an increase of about 500 warrant applications over 2002 and a doubling of applications since 2001. The Justice Department said that in two of the three cases warrants were ultimately approved.

  ■ Morocco

  Bomb suspect arrested

  Moroccan authorities confirmed Sunday that Hicham Ahmidan, wanted by Spain in connection with the March 11 train bombings in Madrid in which almost 200 people died, has been arrested and faces charges of drug-trafficking. The country's National Security agency said that Ahmidan and alleged drug-trafficker Mustapha Chekri had been detained "following the issuing of an international arrest concerning him by the Spanish authorities." The warrant was issued on April 26, but Ahmidan was arrested more than a month ago in Tangiers.

  ■ Spain

  Protesters attack actors

  Attacks on performers and an attempt to burn down the theater marred the final performance of a play in Madrid entitled In God We Shit last Saturday. The play's protagonist argues that religion, like tobacco and alcohol, should be illegal for minors. The play's sold-out run reached an unexpected climax when a young man leapt from the stalls shouting: "Long live Christ the King!" He then tried to set fire to the set with a cigarette lighter, but was tackled by an actor before he could reach swaths of toilet paper decorating the stage. The play's author, Inigo Ramirez de Haro, said: "People though it was part of the performance." A second protester assaulted technicians and vandalized equipment before kicking and punching actors. Spectators later helped to restrain the attackers, who were arrested and detained in the theater's toilets.

  ■ Serbia

  Assassination suspect held

  A paramilitary leader linked to last year's assassination of Serbia's prime minister surrendered to Belgrade police, officials said. Milorad Lukovic, 39, surrendered Sunday in Belgrade, Interior Minister Dragan Jocic said. He had been sought since March 12, 2003, when reformist Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was slain. Lukovic, who led a dreaded paramilitary unit during the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo, has been tried in absentia since December along with 13 other military and gang figures.

  ■ South Africa

  Mandela's `bloody tired'

  Former South African president Nelson Mandela plans to gradually withdraw from public life, it was reported Sunday. He turns 86 in July, is "bloody tired" and intends to reduce his public appearances in order to continue charity work and finish writing his autobio-graphy, according to a source close Mandela quoted in South African newspapers. Since leaving the presidency in 1999, he has maintained a hectic schedule of appearances. Last week he won a standing ovation at the re-inauguration of President Thabo Mbeki.
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