■ China
Farmers riot in Shenzhen
About 1,000 Chinese poultry farmers clashed with police and held an official hostage in a riot that injured more than 10 people after authorities tried to demolish allegedly illegal farm buildings, newspapers reported yesterday. The farmers wielded sticks and threw rocks to resist the demolition Wednesday in Shiyan village in Shenzhen. Police dispatched 300 officers armed with water cannons to dispel the crowd, the report said. Newspaper pictures showed rows of officers in riot gear and a car turned on its side.
■ China
Doctor prescribes frogs
A patient in southern China nearly died after being told by his doctor to eat six raw frogs a day in an attempt to cure his illness, a news report said yesterday. The man from Meizhuo, Guangdong province, followed the prescription for 20 days, gulping down a total of more than 130 frogs to try to cure his cervical vertebra illness. He fell ill and was told by surgeons the treatment had nearly killed him.
■ Hong Kong
China defied
Defying a warning from China, Hong Kong's opposition lawmakers pressed ahead with a motion in the legislature criticizing Beijing for ruling out quick democratic reforms here, but it was defeated by pro-Beijing legislators. China said last month it wouldn't allow direct elections for Hong Kong's next leader in 2007 or for all lawmakers in 2008. Beijing said a quick move toward democracy would threaten political stability and the economy. Citizens will be allowed to pick only half of the Legislative Council's 60 members in September elections -- with the rest picked by special interest groups.
■ Liberia
Aid rushed to stranded ship
A French navy ship rushed to help 430 Liberian refugees stranded without food or water on a drifting ferry off the West African coast, French navy and UN officials said Wednesday. A French air force plane located the Dona Elvire off the Ivory Coast port of San Pedro. "We have had confirmation that the boat has been found" 222km from the coast, said Geert Van de Casteele, UN refugee agency field office chief in Tabou. The ferry sent a distress signal Tuesday after its engines failed 20 nautical miles from shore. Van de Casteele said the refugees would be shipped to their original destination.
■ China
Tycoon awaits fraud verdict
Shanghai property tycoon Zhou Zhengyi (周正毅), one of China's top businessmen, has been tried on charges of stockmarket fraud and falsifying documents, but no verdict was issued, an official said yesterday. "The trial took place on the 18th and 19th... We will choose another time to announce the verdict," an employee at the Shanghai Number One Intermediate People's Court said. Zhou was tried on charges of manipulating share prices and falsifying registered capital reports, the China Securities Journal said yesterday. He was arrested last September and charged after being held under house arrest since May 2003.
■ United States
Military jams garage doors
A new military radio system is jamming remote-control garage doors in communities near Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. During testing last week of the US$5.5 million two-way radio system at Eglin, homeowners in Niceville, Valparaiso and Crestview reported that their garage door openers failed to work. Air Force officials said on Tuesday that the contractor, Motorola, will try to minimize the problem by running the system at different frequencies from those used by garage door openers. "I want my garage door opener to work, too," said Colonel Russell Miller.
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