■ JapanSecret anti-terror plan set
Japan's army has worked out a secret plan to deal with possible large-scale terror attacks by North Korea, a press report said yesterday. The plan, based on the presumption up to 2,500 North Korean agents could infiltrate Japan, calls for the deployment of ground troops at 135 key facilities, including government buildings and nuclear power plants, Kyodo News said. Reflecting the office's strong concern about North Korea, the plan pointed to possible attacks such as the assassination of leading figures and the use of chemical and biological weapons, the report said.
■ Japan
Half say country's unsafe
More than half of Japanese think their country has become unsafe, and many blame their uneasiness on misbehaving youths and illegal foreign workers, according to a government poll. The Cabinet Office survey, conducted in July, questioned 3,000 Japanese about safety and security, and 2,097, or 70 percent, responded. The survey, released on Saturday, found that 54.7 percent of those who responded felt that Japan isn't safe, while 42.5 said their country is. More than 80 percent said they or people close to them had been a victim of a crime -- primarily burglaries, pickpocketing and purse-snatchings, as violent crimes are relatively rare. In 2003, crimes by foreigners accounted for less than 1.5 percent of crimes in Japan -- the same as the non-Japanese proportion of the population.
■ Thailand
Dead bodies likely tourists
The bodies of two people have been found stripped and dumped at one of Thailand's best-known national parks, police said yesterday. The pair, suspected to be Asian visitors, were found by the side of the road late Friday at Khao Yai National Park, near the capital Bangkok. One of them had been shot in the chest. The discovery came as the search continued for a policeman accused of shooting dead two British tourists at Kanchanaburi in western Thailand 10 days ago. Premier Thaksin Shinawatra ordered a major search for the policeman amid fears that the killing of foreign tourists could hit the kingdom's tourist industry. Police could not identify the sex and nationality of the bodies, but they said colorful tattoos suggested they were tourists from elsewhere in Asia.
■ China
Lab on Everest planned
China will set up a scientific research station on Mount Everest to observe and research atmospheric and environmental changes in the Himalayan region, state press said yesterday. The station would be set up next year near Base Camp at 5,200m on the world's tallest mountain, Xinhua news agency said. The station will study links between the atmosphere on and the plateau and the global atmosphere, the exchange between ground atmosphere and tropospheric atmosphere and global environmental changes, said Ma Yaoming of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
■ Australia
Reptiles seized in raid
Hundreds of snakes and at least three crocodiles were seized in a home, wildlife authorities said yesterday. Neighbors called authorities after an offensive smell began emanating from the house in Sydney's southern suburbs. Humane society officers and police who raided the home on Saturday found 184 live and about 200 dead reptiles. Customs officers said they planned to interview the home's owner, a registered snake handler named in media reports as Bradley McDonald.
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