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World News Quick Take

■ Thailand
Bird flu cases confirmed
Thailand confirmed more outbreaks of deadly bird flu among chickens and wild ducks in provinces near Bangkok yesterday. "The H5N1 bird flu virus was found in wild ducks that live near Bangkok in Phathum Thani province," Agriculture Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said. "We are worried because wild ducks move freely all over the place, hence the virus could easily spread to more areas." Early this year, the H5N1 virus killed 24 people
The government also said yesterday it would not cull wild storks, as it had said it would, even though officials believe they carry the virus.

■ China
Shanghai storm kills 7
A violent thunderstorm swept through Shanghai, killing at least seven people, damaging almost 200 homes and sinking a cargo ship, the government and state media reported yesterday. One worker suffocated and five others were injured when strong winds caused an exhibition platform they were working on to collapse. In a separate accident, a gantry crane was blown down, killing one person and damaging 50 homes, the state-run newspaper Shanghai Daily reported. Five other residents were killed in other storm-related accidents across the city, the report said. The tempest destroyed another 130 homes and sheds and triggered electricity outages, local media reported.

■ China
Beijing warns Dalai Lama
Beijing made clear to the Dalai Lama yesterday that there is no chance of negotiations for his return home until he publicly declares both Tibet and Taiwan are part of China and halts his "splittist" agenda. "Only when the Dalai Lama really gives up his pursuit for `Tibet independence,' stops separatist activities against China, declares in public that he recognizes Tibet is an inalienable part of China and so is Taiwan, will we contact him for negotiations," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue (章啟月).

■ New Zealand
Children in car theft ring
Children as young a ten were involved in a gang that stole more than 200 cars, the Dominion Post newspaper reported yesterday. The newspaper quoted police as saying they had arrested seven of the young thieves in dawn raids on their homes in the South Island city of Christchurch. One 14-year-year old was remanded in custody but was also charged with escaping after he got away. Senior Sergeant Neville Hyland said many of the cars had been stripped of parts, burnt out, used to commit burglaries and driven at high speeds.

■ Hong Kong
Girls jailed in torture case
Three Hong Kong school girls aged 12 to 16 face jail for torturing a teenager who had a burning cigarette held to her nipple, a news report said yesterday. The 16-year-old victim was photographed naked and had urine poured over her, according to the South China Morning Post. The 90-minute ordeal began when the three attackers grabbed the girl after accusing her of "badmouthing" them, Hong Kong's Eastern Court was told on Monday. The three attackers pleaded guilty to a variety of charges arising from the incident in February. Magistrate Bina Chainrai remanded them in custody for sentencing later this month.

■ Saudi Arabia
Saudis in sex scandal
Two young men from prominent Saudi families are under investigation on charges of orchestrating and filming a sexual assault on a 17-year-old Saudi girl by a Nigerian driver, a senior official said yesterday. The scandal broke out after the accused circulated footage of the assault through mobile phones equipped with cameras. The clip shows the secondary school girl pleading as she is assaulted by the driver, while one of the two young men, apparently her former boyfriend, hurls abuse at her. The 19-year-old Saudi, who had fallen out with the girl, was egged on to exact revenge by the second Saudi accused, aged 23, after she rebuffed the latter's advances.

■ France
`Hate attack' raises doubts
Doubts arose late Monday over an alleged anti-Semitic attack on a mother and her baby on a Paris suburban train. The alleged attack, in which the woman said a gang of six youths had cut her clothes and drawn swastikas on her body, has drawn fierce condemnation from politicians. But police sources said they were puzzled by "contradictions" that had emerged since the alleged incident Friday and the lack of confirming evidence. Investigators said closed-circuit cameras at the station where the 23-year-old woman said the attackers had alighted did not reveal the presence of six youths. Police were continuing to check all video-surveillance cameras along the line.

■ United Kingdom
Bottled water for pets
Pampered pets in the UK will soon be able to swig their own designer bottled water. Mouth-watering flavors including chicken and chlorophyll -- to combat bad breath -- are to be offered to Britain's pet dogs, cats, hamsters, birds and even snakes and lizards after the success of PetRefresh in the US. British pet owners, who already spend a billion pounds a year on mineral and bottled water, could end up splashing out a lot more to give their pets a drink. A 2-liter bottle of PetRefresh sells for US$9.50 in the US. The water was the idea of Bill Fels, an American businessman who noticed his dog, Jason, was refusing to drink tap water.

■ United States
Reagan to speak
Ron Reagan, youngest son of the late US president Ronald Reagan, said on Monday that he would speak at the Democratic National Convention this month in Boston. The speech will deal exclusively with loosening restrictions on stem cell research, and Reagan, who has spoken critically of President George W. Bush, said he would not use the occasion to criticize the administration. "I am not going to the convention to make a political speech," Reagan said in an interview on MSNBC, where he is a political commentator. Scientists theorize that the cells, which give rise to all other cells and tissues in the body, could yield treatments for Parkinson's disease, diabetes and, perhaps, Alzheimer's disease, which Ronald Reagan had.

■ United States
Coach wants to be Senator
A former NFL coach is considering a run for a US Senate seat, following a path already blazed by the likes of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and former Minnesota governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura. Former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka, better known to his fans as the irascible "Iron Mike," is mulling a run for public office.

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