■ China
Jailed dissident freed
Uighur dissident Rebiya Kadeer was released from jail yesterday on medical parole. "Rebiya Kadeer has been released and she is presently on a plane for the United States," said John Kamm, head of the rights group Duihua Foundation. Kadeer was among the most prominent members of the Uighur ethnic group in the largely Muslim Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. She was charged in 1999 with "providing secret information to foreigners" and ordered jailed for eight years after a secret trial. Her release coincided with the US announcing it would not propose a motion criticizing China at this year's session of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva.
■ China
Bus explodes, kills 30
An explosion on a passenger bus killed about 30 people and injured at least seven early yesterday in eastern Jiangxi Province. The double-decker bus was travelling overnight from Shenzhen to Zhejiang when the explosion happened at 4am on an expressway near Shangrao city. The force of the blast was so strong that it damaged nearby houses and injured several people outside the bus, the agency said. Police were still unsure of the exact death toll because of the devastation caused by the explosion, or the cause of the blast.
■ China
Joint exercises planned
Russia's army chief Yury Baluyevsky arrived in China yesterday to plan the first joint military exercises between the two countries. The chief of general staff was expected to hold talks with his counterpart Liang Guanglie in Beijing, then go to Sanya, a seaside military base. His trip is aimed at bringing the neighbors closer militarily, boosting cooperation between them, and "better coordinate the fight against terrorism." The two sides are due to hold their first-ever joint military exercise in August or September. They will include the army, navy, air force units and submarines.
■ Japan
Mob attacks wrong man
Two gangsters apologized to the man they had repeatedly stabbed at his apartment after realizing he was not the one they were looking for. Ken Nakasuji, 28, and Masahiko Ohtsuka, 21, were arrested for allegedly trying to kill a 27-year-old businessman. The assailants, who were after a man who had money troubles with the gang, stormed the apartment after the man opened the door at 7am. During the ordeal, the victim said they had the wrong man and gave his name and place of work. The assailants soon realized he was right. "Sorry. It was a mistake. You almost died," one of the assailants told the victim. "If you tell this to the police, we will kill you." The victim apparently looked like the man the gangsters were looking for and lived in the same apartment building.
■ Philippines
Bad pasta ruins graduation
Eighty-four children and parents were hospitalized yesterday for food poisoning after they ate contaminated spaghetti. The victims, aged one to 44 years, ate the spaghetti after graduation rites at a daycare center. The victims suffered abdominal pains, vomiting and diarrhea one hour after eating the food. Preliminary laboratory results showed the poisoning was caused by staphylococcus, a bacteria that grows when food is not properly prepared and stored. A team of epidemiologists has been dispatched to the area to further investigate the incident, the second mass poisoning in the Philippines this month.
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