■ India
Flash floods kill 157
Rescuers in the flood-ravaged northeast have recovered a further 37 bodies, taking the death toll from flash floods and landslides in the region to 157 in the past five days, an official said yesterday. Thirty bodies were recovered from paddy fields and deserted houses in Assam's Goalpara district, the area worst affected by the floods, a rescue official said. "We were sleeping when flood waters surrounded us in a flash, and before I could react I saw my son swept away," said a distraught Hamid Islam, a farmer from Bolbola. Officials said nearly 100,000 people had been displaced in the state.
■ China
Beijing justifies detainment
Officials insisted yesterday its jailing of US-based Chinese activist Yang Jianli (楊建利) is in line with Chinese law, following appeals by US lawmakers for his release. "Yang has been sentenced to five years imprisonment on the charge of espionage and illegal border crossing by the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "The verdict is based on clear facts with true and ample evidence, and the application of the law is correct," it said. Yang, who runs a Boston-based foundation that advocates democratic change in China, was meeting with Chinese dissidents and laid-off workers when he was detained in 2002. He was sentenced in May to five years in prison. US officials urged China to parole Yang, saying he was initially denied access to lawyers in violation of international law.
■ Hong Kong
Victorious Lau slams Beijing
An outspoken pro-democracy Hong Kong lawmaker yesterday accused China of interfering with the territory's legislature and trying to influence the membership of its key committees. Legislator Emily Lau (劉慧卿) said she suspected Beijing had begun manipulating the 60-seat Legislative Council (LegCo) after she was surprisingly elected to head the crucial finance committee on a 30-28 vote. She said the win had stirred a "hornets' nest" and shocked Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa (董建華) and China's liaison office here. As a result, she added, they had begun a witch-hunt to find the pro-Beijing "culprits" who had voted with the democrats.
■China
Condoms made available
The once-conservative city of Beijing plans to set up 1,000 condom vending machines in a bid to curb the spread of AIDS, state media said yesterday. The machines will be installed in hotels, bars and university campuses and sell "quality-guaranteed" products at one yuan (US$0.12) a piece, Xinhua news agency reported. As a novelty, the vending machines will also appear in construction sites, in an apparent attempt to reach out to the millions of migrant workers who crowd the capital. It is believed that migrant workers, who are away from their families for months or years on end, are among the top customers of local prostitutes.
■ Bangladesh
Another general strike called
The country was brought to a near-standstill yesterday for the 19th time this year by a general strike called by the main opposition to coincide with the government's three years in office. Security was tightened for the shutdown called by the Awami League, which has stepped up its campaign to oust the government since an Aug. 21 grenade attack on a party rally killed 21 people. Most educational institutions and businesses remained closed.
■ France
Bombers made demands
A mysterious group that claimed responsibility for a bombing at the Indonesian Embassy here made an array of demands before the blast that included the withdrawal of a French law banning Muslim head scarves in schools, judicial officials said. Friday's 5am explosion outside the Indonesian mission left nine people injured by a spray of glass shards, punched a small crater into the sidewalk and puzzled police. An e-mail signed by an unknown group calling itself the Armed French Islamic Front received later Friday demanded the release of two Islamic extremists serving life sentences for deadly bombings in Paris in 1995. It also demanded a ban on publications "aimed at sabotaging Islam in France," judicial officials said Saturday.
■ Germany
Far-right parties join forces
Leaders of two German extreme-right parties were quoted on Saturday as saying they plan to join forces for upcoming elections. Germany's nationalistic, anti-immigrant far right currently has no seats in the national parliament, but plans by the National Democratic Party and the German People's Union underscored the rightists' resurgence after the far right won up to 9 percent of the vote in two state elections last month. A government attempt to outlaw the National Democratic Party for promoting hate crimes failed when Germany's supreme court threw out the case, saying it was too weak. Up to three veteran neo-Nazi activists are expected to run for seats on the NPD's national executive this month, Der Spiegel reported Saturday.
■ United Kingdom
Blair losing popularity
More than one in three Britons say Prime Minister Tony Blair should resign over the Iraq war but a clear majority do not blame him for the beheading of a British hostage in Iraq, an opinion poll showed yesterday. In the first comprehensive sounding taken since the death of Kenneth Bigley, the YouGov poll in the Mail yesterday showed 36 percent of voters wanted Blair to step down.
■ Lithuania
General election vote starts
Lithuanians began voting yesterday in a general election expected to bring a change of government and help restore faith in a young democracy unsettled by a scandal that led to the head of state's removal this year. The ex-Soviet Republic's 2.65 million voters started casting their ballots at 7am. Opinion polls have given the Labor party, founded only a year ago by millionaire Viktor Uspaskich, the strongest chance of winning power through a coalition government. The vote is being closely watched by Russia, which until 1991 ran Lithuania. Vilnius joined both NATO and the EU this year and sees its future with the West, although it retains economic ties with Russia.
■ United Kingdom
Liverpool mourns Bigley
The city of Liverpool was united in grief on Saturday for its worst day since the Hillsborough football disaster 15 years ago. At midday people across the city observed two minutes of silence in memory of Kenneth Bigley, the Liverpudlian murdered by his captors in Iraq. As Bigley's face smiled from newspapers, flags were flown at half-mast and people queued to sign books of condolence at venues around the city.
■ United States
Rumors fed by Bush's bulge
Campaign aides to US President George W. Bush on Saturday laughed off rampant Internet speculation about whether Bush was wired to get help from advisors during his first debate with Senator John Kerry. "It's not true. It's ridiculous," Bush campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel said. A still photo from TV footage of Bush as he debated Kerry on Sept. 30 in Coral Gables, Florida, appears to show a small, boxy shape between his shoulder blades. Campaign officials declined to discuss it further because they weren't certain a bulge even existed and did not want to appear to take seriously what they consider a "wild accusation."
■ United States
Malnourished kids recover
A year after four malnourished boys were taken from their adoptive home in New Jersey, the children have doubled in weight and are rapidly recovering from years of neglect, state officials said. A neighbor found 19-year-old Bruce Jackson rummaging through the trash for food before dawn last Oct. 10. The teen was so small -- 20.25kg and 120cm tall -- that police thought he was only nine or 10 years old. He now is around 45kg and nearly 150cm tall, an official said. The three younger boys -- Michael, Keith and Tyrone -- are now living in a foster home together. Two adopted sisters and a foster sister were of normal size.
■ United States
Cash boost for key states
The House of Representatives on Saturday unanimously approved US$14.5 billion for hurricane victims and struggling farmers as Congress moved a step closer to showering money on Florida and other pivotal states in the upcoming elections. After weeks of delay over everything from budget cuts to milk subsidies, House-Senate bargainers added the natural disaster aid to a US$10 billion military construction measure. With both chambers holding rare weekend sessions to clear bills before election day on Nov. 2, the House passed the measure 374 to 0 and recessed for the campaign. Senate passage was possible as early as yesterday.
■ United Kingdom
Scottish parliament opens
After 300 years and a seemingly bottomless well of public money, Scotland's controversial parliament building was officially opened on Saturday and hailed as a "landmark for 21st-century democracy."Addressing the members of the Scottish Parliament and dignitaries -- including film star Sir Sean Connery and writer Alexander McCall Smith -- Queen Elizabeth II acknowledged the difficult birth of the building, but said the energy, flair and determination for which Scots are renowned the world over would ensure its success. More than 1,000 people -- VIPs, politicians and ordinary Scots -- took part in a procession, known as the Riding, through the Old Town to Holyrood.
■ United Kingdom
Stricken sub due to dock
A Canadian submarine being towed to the Scottish coast following a fire that claimed the life of an officer was expected to dock yesterday at the naval base at Faslane near Glasgow. The fire aboard the diesel-powered HMCS Chicoutimi occurred off the west coast of Ireland on Tuesday afternoon, soon after it had been handed over to the Canadian navy by Britain. Three crewmen were airlifted to Sligo hospital in Ireland, and one of them died of smoke inhalation soon afterwards. The vessel was left drifting in heavy seas and without power.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
‘POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE’: Leo Varadkar said he was ‘no longer the best person’ to lead the nation and was stepping down for political, as well as personal, reasons Leo Varadkar on Wednesday announced that he was stepping down as Ireland’s prime minister and leader of the Fine Gael party in the governing coalition, citing “personal and political” reasons. Pundits called the surprise move, just 10 weeks before Ireland holds European Parliament and local elections, a “political earthquake.” A general election has to be held within a year. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, leader of Fianna Fail, the main coalition partner, said Varadkar’s announcement was “unexpected,” but added that he expected the government to run its full term. An emotional Varadkar, who is in his second stint as prime minister and at
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia