■ ChinaGas workers sentenced
A Chinese court has sentenced six gas company workers to prison terms of 3 to 6 years for errors that led to a gas well blowout in southwestern China last year that killed 243 people and injured thousands, state television reported yesterday. One woman's sentence was suspended for four years. An investigation by a team from the State Council found that a series of missteps by workers and negligence by gas field developers caused the disaster in Chongqing last Dec. 23 that created a 25km2 death zone. More than 64,000 villagers had to be evacuated from the area for about a week until emergency crews capped the well and workers cleaned up and buried corpses of cattle, pigs, chickens and other animals killed by the fumes.
■ Singapore
Foreign citizens welcomed
Singapore is encouraging more foreigners to take citizenship to boost its population, complementing incentives aimed at convincing couples to have more children, reports said yesterday. Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng said boosting the number of citizens through immigration was important because "babies take many years to grow up." Wong was quoted in the Straits Times as saying foreigners wanting to become permanent residents or citizens would soon be assessed not just based on their academic qualifications but also on their talent, skills and experience. Singapore's low birth rate has become a concern after the fertility rate hit an all-time low of 1.26 children per woman in 2003.
■ Malaysia
Bus floor falls under rider
A man hung on for dear life when the floor of the bus in which he was riding gave way while the bus was moving, the New Straits Times said yesterday. The floor in the area where the man was seated was covered by a plank that gave way. The driver drove on for a while until he was alerted by the bus attendant. The man, who was on his way to work, lost his mobile phone and wallet and sustained injuries to both shoulders.
■ Australia
Thieves sever man's arm
Armed men hacked off a man's arm as he attempted to stop them from robbing a Sydney club, police said yesterday. The victim immediately underwent surgery, but it was not clear if the limb could be reattached. Police said three men, wearing ski masks and armed with knives, entered the club in northwestern Sydney late on Friday and ordered the patrons around the main bar to lie on the floor. As people were obeying the order, two men began throwing chairs at the robbers. One of the bandits attacked one of the men, stabbing him and severing his forearm, police said. The robbers escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash.
■ Hong Kong
Scorpion stings shopper
A shopper was stung by a scorpion hiding in imported fruit she bought from a supermarket, a news report said yesterday. Filipina Teresa Cielos, 27, was given an antidote injection at a hospital after being stung by the scorpion at home, according to the South China Morning Post. A 4cm-long scorpion fell onto the floor and she hit it with a slipper. She took it to the hospital, where it started moving again, frightening doctors and nurses. Cielos had purchased Thai-grown lanzones -- known in Chinese as long ku -- at a Wellcome supermarket.
■ United KingdomRAF plane crash kills two
Two members of the Royal Air Force were killed, and a third injured, when a reconnaissance jet crashed during a training exercise, the British defense ministry said Friday. The Canberra plane -- one of the oldest in RAF service -- was practicing landings and take-offs at RAF Marham air base in Norfolk, in the east of England, when the accident occurred on Thursday evening. "A board of inquiry will be convened to investigate the accident," said RAF squadron leader (major) Rem Merrick. The twin-engine Canberra PR9 is a specialist high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft developed from a medium bomber designed for the British air force in the late 1940s.
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