■ Thailand
Police issue piranha alert
Thai police have issued a warning that flesh-eating piranhas may be lurking in Bangkok's waterways. "Let me warn people who live by the river or canals to be careful when going into the water," said a police colonel, according to a report Sunday in the Bangkok Post news-paper. Although none of the fish, native to South Amer-ica, have yet been found in Bangkok's network of rivers and canals, authorities fear they could be there. Police raids on wildlife dealers illegally trading piranhas may have inspired others to release their stock into waterways, the paper cited a wildlife official as saying.
■ Thailand
Man overdoses on durian
An elderly man in northern Thailand died after eating a large amount of durian, a pungent but wildly popular fruit that can overheat the body's metabolism, a news report said yesterday. Thavin Chaiya, 68, purchased one of fruits on Sunday in Chiang Mai province and was feasting with friends on the durian's yellow flesh. Villagers were quoted by The Nation newspaper as saying Thavin suddenly called for water and then his eyes bulged and he fell to the floor and began convulsing. He died on the way to hospital. Medical officials said he was the second person to die from eating durian in the past month.
■ South Korea
Deceitful wife must pay
A court ordered a woman to pay her husband 50 million won (US$42,380) in com-pensation for having a baby with another man. The 26-year-old woman told her husband in February 2002 she was pregnant with his baby, and demanded that they marry. The man grew suspicious when relatives complained that the baby didn't look like him at all.
■ Saudi Arabia
Wife-beater sentenced
A husband who severely battered his wife, a popular TV presenter, has been sentenced to six months in jail and 300 lashes, a newspaper reported yesterday, after a national outcry in Saudi Arabia. Muhammad Bakar Yunus Al-Fallatta repeatedly smashed his wife's head into the walls and tiled floor and dumped her unconscious at hospital on April 4, Arab News said. Rania al-Baz, who suffered 13 facial fractures and is still having reconstructive surgery, agreed to have photographs of her injuries published in the press in a campaign to raise awareness of a kingdom-wide problem. Al-Fallatta was found guilty Saturday of severe battery after an attempted murder charge was dropped.
■ Pakistan
Security stepped up
Police stepped up security patrols yesterday while Islamic hardliners called for a nationwide strike after a leading pro-Taliban cleric was gunned down, touching off massive rioting by his followers. The situation was tense but there was no immediate outbreak of violence following a day of unrest that saw police fire tear gas and warning shots to disperse rioters who set fire to banks, shops, a police station and a KFC fast-food restaurant. Police formed a special task force to investigate the slaying of Nazamuddin Shamzai, a cleric in his seventies who had been a strong supporter of the Taliban.
■ Great Britain
Terror measures considered
Britain is considering radical anti-terrorism measures, including closed-door legal hearings overseen by "security-cleared" judges and restrictions on suspects, in in an attempt to tackle Islamic terror groups, according to a newspaper report yesterday. The ideas, part of a Home Office review launched in February, come amid growing concern that the 562 arrests under Britain's current anti-terror laws since the September 11 attacks in the US have led to only 14 convictions, the Financial Times reported. The closed-door hearings would be part of a two-tier trial system.
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