■ Australia
Homosexuality immoral: poll
More than a third of Australians believe homosexuality is immoral, according to a survey of 25,000 people released yesterday by independent think tank the Australia Institute. The institute's Michael Flood said that half of respondents in some regions said that homosexuality was immoral. "It's partly about contact and exposure to gay and lesbian communities," Flood said. "We find that people who are younger, people in city areas and women in particular are less likely to believe that homosexuality is immoral." The research also showed that Roman Catholics were the most tolerant of homosexuality compared with other faiths.
■ China
Naked swimmers shock
A heatwave in China has led to a rash of nude swimming this summer, sparking a moral debate over whether such skinny-dips should be allowed, a newspaper reported yesterday. "I was totally stunned and flushed at the first sight of these naked men," the China Daily quoted Zhao Yanjie as saying. Zhao, who lives near a river bank in Liaoning Province, was moved to call on police to prevent such behavior after she and her family stumbled upon a group of nude bathers while out for an evening stroll. "How can they do such disgraceful things in public?" she asked. The swimmers were unrepentant. "We can fully relax ourselves and merge with nature," a swimmer who declined to give his name told the newspaper.
■ China
Skeletons found in attic
Workers demolishing a house in Shanghai last week made a startling discovery: seven human skeletons in the attic. The house's former owner said the skeletons were collected by her brother when he was a medical student four decades ago, the Shanghai Daily newspaper reported. Police confiscated the bones for examination but haven't commented on the case. The former owner, Shu Changjing, said her brother and his classmates found the bones in a cemetery. She said they remained in her attic because other students' parents objected to keeping them. It wasn't clear whether collecting the bones from a cemetery violated Chinese law. "I could only say that it was not proper to do so according to the current rules," said a woman who answered the phone at the city's Health Bureau. "But that case happened a long time ago and it is really hard to tell if it is legal or not to keep skeleton samples."
■ Japan
Hiroshima cenotaph defaced
A suspected right-wing extremist vandalized a memorial for the victims of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima, scraping off a reference to Japan's war effort as a mistake, officials and news reports said yesterday. The cenotaph for the bomb victims at the center of Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park was defaced on Tuesday night, Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba said. "Such an act not only tramples the hearts and souls of Hiroshima and those wishing for world peace, but also desecrates the spirits of atomic bomb victims," Akiba said in a statement. Kyodo News agency reported that police yesterday arrested Takeo Shimazu, a member of a right-wing group. Hiroshima police refused to confirm the report. Shimazu reportedly objected to the criticism of Japan's imperial policies in Asia in the 1930s and 1940s. The memorial says: "Let all the souls here rest in peace, as we will never repeat this mistake."
■ United Kingdom
Dinghy liaison stopped
RSS