■ 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.
■ United Kingdom
Virtual church has demons
The world's first Internet church has fallen victim to virtual demons, some of whom have been logging on as Satan and unleashing expletives during sermons. The "Church of Fools" was launched last week in London as a chance for Christians to worship interactively by choosing a 3-D animated character who kneels, sings hymns, talks to others, hears a sermon and shouts "Hallelujah." Worshippers who log on can also give money via mobile phone. "We have had problems from a small number of worshippers, which happens in any Internet chat room, and we are bothered about individual harassment, which we are taking seriously," said site editor Stephen Goddard.
■ Bangladesh
Rhino's death laid to sex
The death of a male rhino at a Bangladeshi zoo might have been caused by an injury suffered during a violent courtship. Rhinos are known for their aggressive behavior during courtship and mating, which often involve long chases and biting. Officials at Dhaka zoo said Wednesday the most likely cause of death was a leg injury caused by "insane conduct during reproductive activities," the official news agency BSS said. The average Indian rhino weighs between 1,800kg and 2,700kg. The dead rhino's mate was reported healthy.
■ Canada
Gay marriage rights widen
Canada's recognition of gay marriage is being extended to would-be immigrants. The country's Immigration Department confirmed Wednesday that it has begun recognizing same-sex marriages in processing immigration applications. However, the change only applies to couples in which one spouse is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and only if the couple married in Ontario, British Columbia or Quebec -- the provinces that allow such marriages. "This will improve the lives of loving and committed same-sex couples who want to live in Canada," Immigration lawyer El-Farouk Khaki said.
■ Franc
Picasso painting missing
French police are investigating the disappearance of a painting by Pablo Picasso painting valued at US$3 million from a warehouse owned by Paris' Pompidou Center, police said Wednesday. The oil-on-canvas "Nature Morte a la Charlotte" was last seen on Jan. 12 at a restoration studio at a warehouse in northwest Paris, the officials said on condition of anonymity. The painting, which measures 54cm by 65cm, was completed in 1924 and belongs to the Fine Arts Museum of Nancy, a city in eastern France, the officials said. The disappearance of the painting was discovered Friday by an unidentified manager of the Pompidou Center, who immediately alerted authorities, the officials said.
■ United States
Man sues over shy bladder
A man who says he was fired by Caterpillar Inc because he wasn't able to urinate for a drug test sued the equipment giant, alleging discrimination. The plaintiff said Wednesday he suffers from paruresis, more commonly known as shy bladder syndrome, and was physically unable to urinate into a specimen cup, despite having drunk 1.2 liters of water and being given three hours to complete the task. Tom Smith, a 55-year-old assembly line worker, was suspended by Caterpillar a day after the aborted test in November, and dismissed on Dec. 5.
■ United States
Sperm bank rules tighten
Men who acknowledge having had homosexual sex within the previous five years will not be allowed to make anonymous sperm donations under new rules that the Food and Drug Administration was expected to announce yesterday. New York State already bars gay men from donating sperm anonymously, and most of the nation's sperm banks have similar restrictions because of concerns over transmission of HIV. A prominent gay rights group denounced the new federal rules. Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, called the regulations are misplaced because HIV tests are fast and very effective.
■ Antarctica
Romance freezes over
A couple having a romantic getaway in an Antarctic chalet found their passion cooled when they were caught in the worst polar storm for 30 years, with 200kph winds and temperatures of -50?C. But they survived. Barbara Rennie, one of 10 people currently staying at New Zealand's Scott Base on the island, met Derek Richards during the four-month winter night in Antarctica. Alaskan-born Richards is spending the winter at the US's McMurdo base, just under 2km from Scott Base. Wind-blown snow quickly clogged the chimney of their hut, and they were forced to switch off their diesel heater because of the risk of fumes.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At 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
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese