■ Japan
Five die in group suicide
Five youths -- three women and two men -- were found dead in a car in central Mie Prefecture yesterday, in what police said was possibly another case of the growing trend of group suicides. The authorities said a police officer on a patrol found a car parked at a parking lot in the city of Yokkaichi Thursday morning. It was a rented car and the five were believed to have breathed in carbon monoxide from charcoal stoves. Some ashes were found from the charcoal stoves in the car the authorities said, adding that the five were believed to have died a few days ago. An increasing number of people, mainly youths, have been committing group suicide in Japan.
■ Australia
Police in crocodile blunder
Australian authorities trapped and killed a 1.8-meter saltwater crocodile that was taken from a woman's home and mistakenly released into a popular swimming hole, an official said oyesterday. Police in the northwestern town of Kununurra removed the crocodile from the woman's home in March, after she found the animal in her laundry room. The crocodile had been left there by a friend of the woman's son. The friend, a licensed crocodile catcher, had apparently planned to take it to a crocodile sanctuary the following day. Mistaking the man-eating saltwater crocodile for the less-dangerous freshwater species, police released it into the nearby Lily Creek Lagoon, a popular swimming and bird-watching area with a motor-home park and other accommodations on its shores. After realizing the officers' blunder, wildlife officers set traps around the lagoon and warned residents to stay away.
■ China
`Murderer' wants settlement
A Chinese man jailed for 11 years for murdering his wife who later turned up alive is claiming more than US$500,000 for his troubles. She Xianglin, a former security guard in central Hubei province, asked for 4.3 million yuan (US$519,600) in compensation for torture, confinement and economic loss. She, who said he was tortured into confessing to the murder, was jailed in 1994 and only freed after his wife reappeared in March this year. The case made headlines across China and sparked outrage over the country's arbitrary legal system and police brutality.
■ Australia
Ministry messes up e-mail
The foreign ministry apologized yesterday for a travel advisory which warned that Australia's western city of Perth is dangerous at this time of year. Subscribers to the foreign affairs department's e-mail travel advice received an overnight advisory reading: "This is a message to let you know that Perth is dangerous at this time of year." The department, which sometimes irritates neighboring nations with its warnings of overseas terrorism threats, said the message was mistakenly sent by an outside contractor while testing a new mail system, and has taken action to ensure that test messages will not be sent out again.
■ China
Huge Ferris wheel planned
Shanghai plans to build the world's tallest Ferris wheel with a diameter of 170m by 2008, which would best the current recordholder, Britain's London Eye. The Shanghai wheel would be built atop an entertainment complex housing a theater and other attractions. A revolving restaurant will be 130m up. Shanghai is busily upgrading its attractions in preparation for the World Expo, which it will host in 2010. The wheel, to be called the Shanghai Star, will overlook the city's Hongkou factory district. Each rotation will take 30 minutes, allowing it to carry up to 26,000 riders per day, each one paying 100 yuan (US$12). It will cost about 2.6 billion yuan (US$314 million).
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