■ Hong Kong<
Park's rail line unveiled
With the help of Donald Duck and a cloud of silver confetti, officials unveiled a new rail line yesterday for Hong Kong Disneyland -- the world's first train route specifically dedicated for a theme park. The 3.5km train line, which cost HK$2 billion (US$257 million), will be able to shuttle about 10,000 passengers per hour to the park, set to open Sept. 12, said Disneyland and the city's Mass Transit Rail Corp. The trains' windows and the straphangers are shaped like Mickey Mouse, while the ceiling and the sides of the train are painted red, yellow, purple and blue.
■ Australia
Family forced to pay old fine
Officials are demanding explanations after the Aboriginal family of Olympic gold medal sprinter Cathy Freeman was forced to pay a 55-year-old debt before they could bury a relative. The debt dated back to when Freeman's great grandmother died a pauper in 1950 and the Queensland state agency responsible for providing aid to Aborigines failed to pay the bill to have her buried. Freeman's mother only learned of the unpaid bill when arranging for the recent burial of a niece and being told she would first have to repay the debt -- now valued at A$990 (US$775).
■ China
39 miners rescued
At least 39 coal miners were rescued yesterday from a flooded mine in the city of Jiaohe, while a search was under way for as many as 30 others, the government said. Some 69 miners were reported trapped when the Tengda Coal Mine flooded early on Sunday. Xinhua News Agency said 39 miners were rescued, but didn't give details and said rescuers were looking for the other miners.
■ Hong Kong
China sickness not bird flu
A flu outbreak has sickened about 280 people in a Guangdong Province village, but early tests show it was not caused by the bird flu virus that has jumped to humans and killed dozens of people, the Hong Kong government said yesterday. The victims suffered mild symptoms including fever, cough and muscle pains, and none needed hospitalization, the government said in a statement, citing health authorities in Guangdong. The statement didn't say when the outbreak occurred.
■ Kyrgyzstan
Kulov to run for president
Former security chief turned key opposition leader Felix Kulov formally announced yesterday his candidacy for presidential elections in July, which were called after the ouster of this ex-Soviet republic's longtime leader. Kulov said he decided to enter the race in a bid to bring "stability, interethnic accord and unity to the nation and the people." He is expected to be the main challenger to acting President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
■ India
Sex change fails to win girl
An Indian who became a man to marry a female relative was dumped after the surgery, a newspaper reported yesterday. Twenty-nine-year-old rubber tapper Kuttiyamma, born with both male and female genitals, had been in love with the relative, Laura, 25, for 15 years before having surgery to become a man and change her name to Binu, the Hindustan Times reported. But Laura became engaged to another man and Binu is suing her for breach of trust after spending 50,000 rupees (US$1,150) on the sex change operation.
■ Togo
Three killed in poll violence
At least three people were killed and 20 others injured in Togo as voting ended in tense presidential elections marred by claims of massive fraud. Late on Sunday opposition supporters wielding machetes and clubs had erected barricades to protest alleged irregularities. Witnesses also said that police opened fire in four districts. The violence came after voters turned out in force Sunday to elect a successor to Gnassingbe Eyadema, the hardline ruler for 38 years, with both opposition and the ruling parties trading accusations of "massive fraud." Voters had a choice essentially between Faure Gnassingbe, the 39-year-old son of the late leader, and his main challenger Emmanuel Akitani Bob, 74.
■ United Kingdom
Failed abortion leads to suit
A 20-year-old Scottish woman is suing a hospital where she had an abortion in 2001 after one of her twins survived the operation. Stacy Dow, who is raising her now three-year-old daughter Jayde with her parents, said late on Sunday she is seeking ?250,000 (US$475,000) to cover the costs of raising the child. She said the hospital in Perth, Scotland where she had her operation had failed "to take reasonable care to establish that the termination had been successful." Dow was 16 when she learned in early 2001 that she was pregnant and immediately decided to have an abortion. Although the operation was declared a success, she realized several weeks later after visiting a doctor that she was still pregnant with one of her twins.
■ Czech Republic
Prime minister resigns
Prime Minister Stanislav Gross officially resigned yesterday, ending months of political uncertainty after a housing scandal tore apart his government. Europe's youngest leader at 35 stepped down as part of a deal reached last week that will see his former three-party coalition government re-form under Regional Development Minister Jiri Paroubek. Gross, a member of the leftist Social Democrats, has denied any wrongdoing in the financing of a luxury Prague flat six years ago. But he was forced out by the Christian Democrats, who demanded he step down as a condition of returning to the government after leaving several weeks ago.
■ Ethiopia
Obelisk return complete
Thousands of Ethiopians cheered the return of the final section of the Axum obelisk from Italy yesterday, completing the handover of the treasure plundered by fascists 68 years ago. Trucks began hauling the three sections of the 24m monument from Axum airport for reassembly at its original site in the ancient city, which has for years watched arguments and logistical problems delay the obelisk's return. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi praised Italy's government for helping to return the obelisk, the first section of which arrived on April 19, which was plundered by fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
■ United Kingdom
Rabies prevention mulled
Efforts are being made across Western Europe to prevent the re-emergence of rabies, particularly in the growing fox population, state authorities in Germany reported in the New Scientist magazine. Officials from four German states and from French areas across the border were to begin a vaccination campaign to contain the disease, which is always fatal if left untreated until symptoms appear.
■ Ukraine
Chernobyl survivors march
Hundreds of survivors of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster marched in Kiev on Saturday demanding greater compensation from the government, which rarely exceeds US$50 a month. Nineteen years ago today, reactor No. 4 at the power station exploded, sending radioactive fallout across Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and northern Europe. Seven million people are thought to have suffered from the effects of radiation after the 1986 disaster, while 4,400 deaths are attributed to it. The plant's last reactor was shut down in 2000; the decommissioning process continues.
■ Iraq
Abducted diplomat freed
A Pakistan embassy official who was freed by hostage-takers after two weeks in captivity in Iraq has called home and told his family he is fine. Malik Mohammed Javed was abducted on April 9 in Baghdad after leaving his residence to pray at a mosque. The Pakistani government said after his abduction that he was in the custody of a previously unknown Islamic militant group, Omar bin al-Khattab. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry had said that the Omar bin al-Khattab group demanded a ransom for Javed's release.
■ Iraq
Suspects in crash detained
US troops have detained four more suspects in the downing of a civilian helicopter in Iraq last week, raising the number held to 10. US troops and Iraqi security forces detained the men after receiving tip-offs from local residents about Thursday's attack, which killed 11 people, including six US security guards. Video tapes released by an insurgent group showed the Russian-made Mi-8 helicopter was shot down by some sort of rocket. It was the first civilian aircraft to be downed in Iraq. Besides the Americans, the three-man Bulgarian crew of the Bulgarian-owned helicopter and two Fijian guards were also killed.
■ Israel
Popular ex-president dies
Ezer Weizman, a World War II fighter pilot who helped found the Israeli air force and later served as the country's seventh president, died on Sunday after a long illness. He was 80. Weizman, who built a modern air force that crippled enemy aircraft on the first day of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, later became a dove who helped shape peace with Egypt and the Palestinians. A nephew of Israel's first president, Chaim Weizmann, he was a popular president despite upsetting many with his outspoken views on homosexuals, women and the Bible. He was one of the founders of the Likud party in 1973 and in 1977 engineered the stunning victory of right-wing Likud leader Menachem Begin and was rewarded with the defense ministry. Weizman played a prominent role negotiating both the Camp David peace accords in 1978 and the treaty with Egypt in 1979.
■ United Kingdom
Genes and alcohol linked
Genetic make-up influences the amount of alcohol people drink, according to a new British study conducted at the University of Bristol and published in The Pharmacogenomics Journal. According to the researchers, a version of the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) was strongly linked to alcohol consumption. The team analyzed the drinking habits of around 1,000 people and focused on the dopamine receptor gene, which controls chemical signaling in the brain. The DRD2 gene is linked to the "high" that people derive from drugs, including alcohol. Those lacking the gene are thought to have less of a high and thus to be less susceptible.
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
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
ON ALERT: A Russian cruise missile crossed into Polish airspace for about 40 seconds, the Polish military said, adding that it is constantly monitoring the war to protect its airspace Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the western region of Lviv early yesterday came under a “massive” Russian air attack, officials said, while a Russian cruise missile breached Polish airspace, the Polish military said. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a series of deadly aerial attacks, with yesterday’s strikes coming a day after the Russian military said it had seized the Ukrainian village of Ivanivske, west of Bakhmut. A militant attack on a Moscow concert hall on Friday that killed at least 133 people also became a new flash point between the two archrivals. “Explosions in the capital. Air defense is working. Do not