■ BangladeshBomb blast wounds four
A bomb in an abandoned shopping bag exploded at a market in central Bangladesh yesterday, wounding four people, a news report said. Police were investigating the early morning blast in Gazipur, a town 32km north of the capital Dhaka, United News of Bangladesh said. The wounded were taken to the hospital, UNB said. One was released after getting medical treatment. The explosion comes after a grenade attack killed 20 people and injured about 300 at an opposition political rally in Dhaka on Aug. 21. That attack triggered nationwide protests and clashes between police and demonstrators, leaving hundreds injured.
■ Thailand
Unsafe at any speed
Bangkok transport officials posted notices on some of the city's buses yesterday urging young passengers not to have sex while riding in the vehicles. The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority came under fire from commuters this week after a study revealed that scores of colleges students were engaging in intercourse, usually in the rear seats of the darkened buses during the evening commute from classes. Cloth curtains on bus windows along Route 12 -- an air-conditioned route that has seen an especially high number of trysts -- have been removed because some lovers were using them to cover themselves. Notices on all the Route 12 buses now advise: "Thai women should preserve old culture about sexual behavior."
■ Thailand
One man's money troubles
Doctors in northern Thailand surgically removed more than 2kg of coins from a man who was operated on after complaining of severe stomach pains, media reports said on yesterday. Sanguan Pongsuwan, 37, was admitted to Phayao hospital, 580km north of Bangkok, Tuesday night, suffering from a stomach ache, ITV reported. Petch, Sanguan's mother, said her son has been suffering mental illness and was undergoing treatment. "When I gave him money, particularly coins, he always disappeared to the toilet" she recalled.
■ Australia
Bank robbers escape
Heavily armed police blocked five lanes of traffic on one of Sydney's busiest streets for more than three hours yesterday in a failed attempt to catch two bank robbers. At least two men escaped the bank undetected after an extended siege involving a police helicopter, specialist negotiators and several heavily armed police officers prowling an upscale harbor-side suburb. Police were called to the scene early yesterday morning after an employee arrived at the bank to find a security door open and two men inside. The woman was grabbed by one of the robbers as she tried to leave the premises, but managed to wrestle free before alerting police.
■ Cambodia
`Dog kitten' dies
The owner of a dog which he claimed had miraculously given birth to a kitten confirmed yesterday that the kitten had died four days after it was born. He denied reports that its canine mother had contributed to the death by biting the strange offspring. Owner Te Huot said the kitten died last Saturday of natural causes after he fed it a bowl of cow's milk, but that visitors and worshippers were still welcome since he had embalmed the creature and it was now on display in a jar of alcohol, taking pride of place atop a specially constructed shrine. He said the kitten's alleged mother, a ten-year-old bitch called Knou, was devastated by the "miracle kitten's" death.
RSS