■ India
Gigantic waves kill pilgrims
More than 500 Christian pilgrims who flocked to a famous southern Indian church for Christmas died in Sunday's deadly sea surge, reports said yesterday. Millions of the faithful visit the Vailankanni church every year, and many make the annual pilgrimage at Christmas. It is believed to be the most important shrine for Christians in the country and is located near Nagapattinam town in southern Tamil Nadu state, about 350km south of capital city Madras. Santhosh, 23, from southern Bangalore city, watched helplessly as eight family members were dragged into the ocean, after gigantic waves crashed down on eastern coastal India on Sunday.
■ Tanzania
Ten drown in ocean swells
Turbulent swells generated by the Asian tsunami killed at least 10 people in Tanzania, police in the East African country said yesterday. The 10, aged between 12 and 20, were swimming off beaches in the port city of Dar es Salaam on Sunday when they were swept away by strong seas, police contacted from neighboring Kenya said. "On Sunday, between two and five in the afternoon, there were very strong waves and 10 people who were swimming were drowned," said Alfred Tibaigana, regional police commissioner for Dar es Salaam. "The anchors of two oil tankers cut off and they drifted to the high seas, but were brought back after the storm."
■ Malaysia
Infant found on mattress
A 20-day-old baby has been found alive floating on a mattress in her parent's damaged restaurant in northern Malaysia after the region was slammed by tsunamis, reports said yesterday. S.Tulasi was sleeping in a room at the restaurant when the huge waves struck on Sunday in the holiday resort of Penang. The swirling waters swept her parents out of the restaurant. Luckily however, they later managed to claw their way back to the badly damaged building. "Thank God the mattress was floating in about 1.5m deep water and my baby was crying," the baby's father, A. Suppiah, told reporters. But others were not so lucky. Fisherman Zulkfli Mohd Noor, 42, and his wife lost their five children to the tidal waves.
■ Australia
Tide larger than usual
Unusual tidal surges are continuing to hit the coastline of Western Australia following the massive earthquake and tidal waves that devastated parts of Asia at the weekend, meteorologists said yesterday. Larger than usual waves and tidal surges have been reported since Sunday along the coast from Geraldton, 425km north of the Western Australian state capital of Perth, to Busselton, 232km south of Perth. The consequences of the earthquake were hard to predict, said forecaster Grant Elliot of the Perth Bureau of Meteorology.
■ Japan
Tourist numbers unchanged
Despite the devastation across southern Asia from earthquake-triggered tidal waves, Japanese tourists were still flooding into airports to fly abroad for New Year's celebrations. Japan's Kyodo news agency reported that 39,000 passengers were expected to fly out of Tokyo's Narita airport yesterday for overseas destinations. Sources with Japan Airlines and Thai Airways were quoted as saying that so far there had not been any impact on the number of Japanese passengers booked on flights headed for Bangkok.
■ Hong Kong
Tung denies wanting to quit
Tung Chee-hwa (董建華) has denied wanting to quit early after being subjected to a humiliating dressing-down by the Chinese president, a news report said yesterday. Tung's office said a report in Express Weekly saying he wanted to step down because of ill health before his five-year term is up in 2007 was "completely made up." A statement issued by Chief Executive Tung's office said there was "no factual basis" for the report, which quoted inside sources, according to the South China Morning Post. Express Weekly said Tung sent out secret signals that he wanted to step down early after being publicly criticized by Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) in early December.
■ Australia
Man in skirt freed from bin
A red-faced man wearing a mini-skirt was rescued by police on Sunday after he became wedged head-first in a clothing donation bin in an act of Christmas charity gone wrong. Police said a startled member of the public had alerted them after seeing what they first thought was a woman trapped in the charity clothing bin late on Christmas Day. Two patrol officers were unable to dislodge the man and a rescue squad was called. The unidentified 35-year-old man was eventually freed early on Sunday and told police he was donating clothes when he became stuck.
■ Israel
Army base to get makeover
A new army base going up in the northern part of the West Bank will be Israel's most colorful, painted in a dazzling array of pink, brown, purple, light blue and orange, an army weekly reported. The current edition of Bamahane, a publication for soldiers, carries a small picture of the Jalameh base, going up near the Palestinian town of Jenin. It shows the stark structure of two-story cement blocks joined at right angles painted in eye-popping shades of orange and pink. "I'm sick of seeing the ugly and depressing colors of military buildings -- always beige and gray," the officer behind the artsy project, Captain Itsik Koren, told the weekly.
■ China
Twelve people executed
Twelve people were executed in central China's Henan Province after their death sentences were read out during a mass rally, state media reported yesterday. The executions of the twelve were carried out Sunday in the Henan provincial capital of Zhengzhou, the Beijing Morning Post said, without specifying their crimes. The newspaper carried photographs showing the convicted criminals being transported to the execution ground on trucks with signs marked "Criminals Sentenced to Death."
■ Singapore
Maid jailed for assault
An Indonesian maid was jailed for three weeks in Singapore after clobbering her employer's mother on the head with a glass pot cover, news reports said yesterday. Desi Yanti, 19, was sentenced after admitted hitting the 57-year-old woman and lying to police about being raped in a separate incident, The Straits Times said. A district court heard Desi's female boss lived one floor above her mother, Lee Yit Ho. The maid decided to quit and started packing her belongings at her employer's flat, but when Lee found her packing, she pushed Desi into the kitchen, according to testimony. During the ensuing scuffle, Desi hit Lee with the pot cover, the court heard.
■ United States
Minnelli bangs head
Show business diva Liza Minnelli has been hospitalized in New York after falling out of bed and banging her head, according to E!Online Monday. The gossip site said Minnelli was rushed to hospital by city paramedics who found her unconscious in her bedroom when they responded to an emergency call from her bodyguard Monday morning. People magazine quoted a New York police source as saying that the 58-year-old Cabaret Oscar winner was sleeping when she rolled out of her bed.
■ United States
Ecstasy could save lives
The illegal club drug Ecstasy can trigger euphoria among the dance club set, but can it ease the debilitating anxiety that cancer patients feel as they face their final days? The Food and Drug Administration has approved a pilot study looking at whether the recreational hallucinogen can help terminally ill patients lessen their fears, quell thoughts of suicide and make it easier for them to deal with loved ones.
■ United States
Man faces jail over display
An Arizona man who every year turns his house into an extravagant Christmas display is facing the prospect of six months in jail after neighbors accused him of "malicious noise-making," according to local news reports Monday. Chris Birkett, 29, an ardent Christian disc jockey, spent an estimated US$90,000 over the last 19 years building his "Winter Wonderland" at his Scottsdale, Arizona, home. It features up to 150,000 lights in the shape of Santas, reindeer, "Nutcracker" characters, snowflakes, stars and American flags along with blaring Disney music and narration. Though it draws hundreds of onlookers every night, one set of neighbours sued, claiming that the event, which runs from Halloween through the New Year is a constant disturbance.
■ United States
Marine kills transsexual
Police in Los Angeles shot a US Marine to death after he allegedly killed a transsexual prostitute, officers said Monday. The active-duty Marine shot the prostitute after picking her up in Hollywood believing she was a woman, the Los Angeles Times said. The Marine, whom police did not immediately identify, was killed while allegedly brandishing a handgun during a confrontation with police, which followed a high-speed car chase through the city early Sunday, police said. Officers first tried to subdue the military man with beanbag rounds, but eventually used live ammunition. A handgun was recovered at the scene, said a police spokeswoman.
■ United States
Bottle keeps bubbly bubbly
New Year's Eve revelers will be able to celebrate a little longer this year thanks to a resealable champagne bottle that keeps sparkling wine bubbling for days. Andre Champagne Cellars is introducing a new improved screwcap bottle for champagne that allows drinkers to re-cork the bottle, which will allow them to have just one glass and keep the rest fresh. The Andre cap twists on and off a set of grooves on the neck of the bottle. The closely held Andre test marketed the new bottles on its US$4 Andre champagne in November last year and is rolling them out across the US this holiday season. The company hopes the bottle will encourage consumers to drink more champagne throughout the year, instead of just during holidays and special occasions, said Jake Whately, associate brand manager at Andre.
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Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
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