■ China
Stress taking toll on men
Men in Shanghai are aging quicker due to stress, pollution and unhealthy lifestyles -- a problem which is further driving down an already slowing birthrate, according to a recent survey. About 20 percent of Shanghai men under age 40 suffer symptoms of early aging, including fatigue, irritability, incontinence and sexual dysfunction, according to the study by the city's Renji Hospital. That's double the percentage during the 1980s. The study showed a drop in male fertility. Just 79 out of 1,360 men who visited a local sperm bank for checkups last year were found to be "fully qualified" sperm donors. Shanghai's severe crowding, polluted air and water and intense competition are blamed for many health problems.
■ Australia
Fetus mistakenly laundered
Health authorities ordered an inquiry into how a stillborn baby fetus was accidentally collected in hospital laundry and put through a washing machine. The Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne said the foetus was mistakenly taken away with the washing and discovered by shocked laundry workers four days later. "The small and hard to detect fetus was accidentally collected with the linen and has now been returned," she said. The fetus, which died in utero at 18 weeks, was delivered with its surviving twin 14 weeks later.
■ Pakistan
Two killed in pup's defense
A Pakistani woman opened fire with a shotgun to save her puppy from being attacked by a bigger dog but accidentally killed two children and wounded two others. The 19-year-old woman has been charged with the murders of a boy of 10 and a seven-year-old girl in Kabirwala. The woman was taking the puppy for a walk when a big dog pounced on it. As she cried out, local people gathered to watch the scene but none offered help. Instead, the spectators laughed at the puppy's plight. The woman rushed home, took her father's shotgun and returned to the scene where she shot at the big dog. Stray pellets from the gun hit the attacking dog but also injured four children. Two of them died in hospital. Both dogs were injured but survived.
■ Australia
Roaches overkilled
An overzealous attempt to rid a Thai restaurant of cockroaches sparked an explosion that blew the eatery apart. Three men were hospitalized with burns after they set off 36 cockroach fumigation devices known as bombs -- generally aerosol cans filled with chemicals -- which apparently exploded after their contents came into contact with an oven pilot light. John McMillan, manager of fire investigations, said the huge blast lifted the roof off the Tamarind restaurant. ``The restaurant owner has used the principle that if you use twice the soap, you get your hands twice as clean. He's just overdone it,'' McMillan said.
■ China
Buddhist dance sparks ire
A troupe of deaf female dancers, famous in China for a Buddhism-inspired performance, are slamming other dancers and an underwear maker for allegedly copying their art. The group, known as China Disabled Persons' Art Performing Troupe, decided on legal action to stop them. In the performance of "The Thousand-Hand Goddess of Mercy," dancers give the illusion of being one person with a large number of arms. Gracewell, a leading underwear maker, is applying for a patent for its stocking packaging design, with an Indian woman in a pose similar to that struck by the dancers. Wang Yuan, the troupe's artistic supervisor, accused the underwear maker of "trampling the culture of Guanyin [the Goddess of Mercy] and smirching the noble feelings of the Chinese."
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