■ Cambodia
Transvestite maimed
Two unidentified Japanese men chopped off the penis of a transvestite they mistook for a woman with whom they wanted to have sex. The victim, a bar worker who liked to dress and act as a female, was on his way to work when two Japanese men invited him to have sex for US$20, apparently believing he was a woman. Discovering he wasn't, the two grabbed a knife and cut off his penis, before fleeing in a car. A staff member of Phnom Penh's Calmette Hospital confirmed yesterday that 18-year-old Heng Ya was receiving treatment after his sex organ was completely severed.
■ Tibet
Massive snowfall hits
Heavy snowfall in a remote mountainous part of southwestern Tibet has claimed the life of at least one person and left 2,481 injured, mostly with frostbite. The massive snowfall has also killed 24,000 head of livestock in 10 counties where animal husbandry forms an essential part of the local economy. Tibetan government departments have allocated US$2.2 million for disaster relief in the area around Shigatse city. The central government has earmarked another four million US$480,000 to ensure affected herdsmen have enough food for the rest of the winter.
■ Malaysia
Forest fires under control
Heavy thundershowers brought some relief early yesterday from heat and smoke billowing from forest fires in Malaysia, but air quality remained unhealthy and residents were warned to curtail outdoor activities. The blazes in six Malaysian states including Selangor -- which surrounds Kuala Lumpur -- are now under control, with many already doused, said local Government Minister Ong Ka Ting. "Until the air quality improves, schools should halt all outdoor extracurricular activities and postpone sports meets," Ong said. Forest fires often break out in the region during dry spells due to fires set as an illegal land-clearing method, or to carelessly discarded cigarettes.
■ Australia
Cyclone batters island
Cyclone Percy tore across the Pacific island group of Tokelau, causing widespread damage and injuring one person. In Tokelau, a New Zealand protectorate of 1,400 people, the storm caused widespread damage. Winds of 200kph swept across Tokelau and were expected to build to 230kph in the next 24 hours. The atoll's only school was largely destroyed as the storm tore down trees, power and telephone lines. Residents in the immediate coastal area fled inland or were evacuated to stronger houses. Percy is the fourth storm in a month to hit the South Pacific.
■ Japan
Longest tunnel completed
The world's longest land tunnel was completed in Japan yesterday when the last bedrock was blasted away to open the 26.5km route, developers said. However the railway tunnel in the Hakkoda mountains, 550km north of Tokyo, was only expected to keep the record for a few months since longer tunnels in Switzerland and Spain are near completion. It will take several more years before the Japanese tunnel's interior is reinforced with concrete and rail tracks are laid. The Hakkoda tunnel, near Aomori city on the northern tip of Japan's main island of Honshu, will be used for an extension of Japan's Shinkansen (bullet train) service due to open in 2010. It overtakes the 25.8km Iwate Ichinohe tunnel on the same line as the world's longest land tunnel.
■ Russia
Nuclear fuel deal inked
Russia and Iran signed a deal yesterday on returning spent nuclear fuel from the Bushehr nuclear plant, Russia's Itar-Tass news agency reported from Bushehr. The document had been expected to be signed on Saturday but was delayed by 24 hours as talks continued. Tass said Russia's nuclear energy chief Alexander Rumyantsev and the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, had signed the document at the plant in Iran.
■ United States
Iran's nukes investigated
Investigators found evidence of a meeting 18 years ago between Iranian officials and associates of the scientist dubbed the father of Pakistan's nuclear program that resulted in a written offer to supply Tehran with the makings of a nuclear weapons program, The Washington Post reported. Citing unnamed foreign diplomats and US officials, The Post said the secret 1987 meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, between Iranian officials and Abdul Qadeer Khan's associates. Iran bought centrifuge designs and a starter kit for uranium enrichment. There is evidence the country used Khan's offer as a guide to acquire some of the pricier items elsewhere, the Post said.
■ United States
Fallon takes Command
Admiral William Fallon took over leadership of the US Pacific Command, America's largest military command Saturday. Fallon succeeded Admiral Thomas Fargo, who is retiring after 35 years in the Navy. "I pledge to you a dedication to the task of enhancing stability and to setting conditions for a security environment in this region and throughout the world in which people can truly live in peace and confidence," Fallon said during the ceremony attended by General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Fallon, 60, previously was commander of the US Atlantic Fleet and the Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia.
■ United States
`The Gates' vandalized
An art installation in New York City's Central Park was vandalized Saturday. "The Gates," which consists of 7,503 outsize orange drapes spread across 23 miles, were vandalized with markers. Three New Jersey men were quickly arrested. The speed of the proceedings might have had something to do with the suspects writing their own names on four gates, according to police. At about 1:30am Saturday, officers came across the three men, Gregory Giarnitta, 19; John Leonard, 20; and David Jones, 19, in the park. The three were later arrested and charged with making graffiti, criminal mischief and possession of a graffiti instrument, though no markers were recovered.
■ Botswana
``Miss HIV'' crowned
A Botswana beauty pageant crowned 32-year-old Cynthia Leshomo "Miss HIV" yesterday in a contest aimed at fighting the stigma of the killer disease that has infected more than a third of the population. The twelve contestants -- aged 21 to 35 and coached by Miss Botswana 2004 -- strutted on a catwalk in front of almost 500 people at an exclusive hotel resort in the capital Gaborone. They said they wanted to show there was life after an HIV diagnosis. "This beauty pageant is beauty with a purpose," said the winner, Leshomo."We should pull everybody out of that fear of stigmatism."
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
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
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was