■ Australia
Nuclear waste may stay
The Australian government suggested yesterday it could reverse plans to send nuclear waste offshore, following reports that the plan was scuppered because of fears of toxic waste falling into terrorists' hands. "The reality is that Australia needs to find a site -- a very safe repository -- for its own nuclear waste and we'll be working towards that," Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane told ABC. "And I only hope we have the support of the [state] premiers in a sensible debate this time around." Several states have already refused to take the nuclear waste which is generated mostly from scientific and medical research. Australia has no nuclear power stations, although there has been increasing debate in recent weeks about a possible shift to atomic energy in order to counter global warming blamed on emissions from fossil-fueled fired power plants. Prime Minister John Howard's Cabinet is due to meet in Canberra today and the issue of the disposal of low and medium-level waste is thought to be on the agenda.
■ China
Typhoid seen in flood area
At least three people have died from typhoid in China amid seasonal flooding that has already killed more than 200 people. The three perished in the township of Taizhimiao and in the hardest-hit province of Hunan, where 75 people have died and 46 others are missing after three days of torrential rain. China Daily said authorities have stockpiled medicine and were offering free inoculations against typhoid and dysentery. Typhoid fever spreads when food or drink is contaminated by feces carrying the bacteria that cause the disease. It is common in the developing world, but is usually treatable with antibiotics.
■ India
Train derailment kills two
A speeding passenger train derailed in Madhya Pradesh yesterday killing two people and injuring 29 others, police said. The "holiday special" Chittorgarh-Mhow express jumped off the track a few kilometers short of Ratlam station. Three coaches and the engine derailed, a local government official told the PTI news agency. The train was on its way from Chittorgarh in Rajasthan, a popular tourist destination because of its palaces and temples, to Mhow in Madhya Pradesh.
■ Thailand
Buddhist beheaded in south
A Buddhist man has been beheaded in the south, police said yesterday, the fourth decapitation of a Buddhist since violence erupted in the region 18 months ago. Police found the body of the 59-year-old rubber plantation employee at his hut in Yaha district of Yala Province late on Sunday. "We believe it must have been the work of those militants," a police officer said by telephone.
■ China
Beijing to add more police
Beijing is to boost its police force by 10 percent to ease the burden on officers who were overworked and suffered from psychiatric and medical problems, state media said yesterday. Many of the capital's 63,500 police suffer from conditions such as high blood pressure and hyperglycemia due to their "unhealthy living and working habits," Xinhua news agency reported. "It should be a young and strong team but medical checkups in recent years show that policemen have a higher death rate than other groups," it said. Authorities were planning to hire 6,500 new officers. Beijing police are mainly engaged in handling criminal activities and handling hazardous substances, Xinhua said.
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