■ China
Mudslides maroon tourists
Mudslides caused by torrential rains have trapped more than 1,200 tourists in a scenic spot in southwestern China, cutting off traffic and electricity and flattening houses, Xinhua news agency said on yesterday. Rescuers had set out to save the tourists trapped in the Hailuo Valley in Sichuan province and search for at least one person missing after two residential buildings in the area were smashed by sudden flows of mud and rock, Xinhua said. "The torrential rains also damaged highways, bridges and power stations, cutting off traffic and causing a blackout in the region," the report said, citing a source from the local government. State media previously said this year's floods and mudslides had killed 560 people by late June, a month in which torrential rains caused many rivers to burst their banks and mountain torrents to smash through villages in southern China.
■ Malaysia
Tiger rescued from the pot
A Malaysian resident rescued a wild tiger cub from a Chinese restaurant, fearing it was destined for the cooking pot, a newspaper reported Friday. S.H. Foo, paid a large amount of money to the restaurant on Monday to save the cub, before handing it to wildlife authorities, the Star said. It said Foo did not reveal how much he paid, but the amount is believed to be more than 10,000 ringgit (US$2,600). Foo or wildlife officials were not immediately available for comment. The Star said the skinny and frightened cub, which appeared to be three months old, was caught recently by villagers in the northern state of Pahang and sold to the restaurant in Kuala Lumpur.
■ Vietnam
Chopsticked, but not blinded
A man who had a chopstick poked 13cm into his right eye during a drunken row in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday has not only survived but has also retained his sight, doctors said yesterday. "The chopstick was stabbed into the patient's right eye socket with a strong force," said Dr. Ho Dai Duong. "It went through the man's eye, right nose-throat palate, then crossed the left palate to his spine." The 40-year-old man was stabbed by one of his friends during a drinking session. During a one-hour operation, surgeons were able to remove the broken chopstick and save the man's eye and sight. He is not considering pressing charges against the friend who stabbed him, the doctor said.
■ Australia
Ex-soldier suspected
Former soldier Mathew Stewart is suspected of being a masked gunman who appeared in a videotaped terror message this week threatening attacks against the West, newspapers reported yesterday. He had served as a private with the UN peacekeeping force in East Timor before he was discharged on psychiatric grounds from the Australian army in 2001 and apparently disappeared overseas. The masked man wearing a balaclava and speaking with an Australian accent appeared on Dubai-based Al-Arabiya TV in what purported to be an al-Qaeda videotape made in Afghanistan. Stewart's family has told the police that the man in the video was not Mathew. US forces reportedly found documents identifying Stewart as an al-Qaeda recruit when they raided a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan in 2002.
■ Australia
Kiwi charged with cruelty
A New Zealand man described as a finance industry professional appeared in a Sydney court yesterday charged with animal cruelty, bestiality and drug offences after the deaths of 17 rabbits and a guinea pig. Police said the the 36-year-old man was arrested in his Sydney office at about 1am yesterday after an investigation during which police worked with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He was charged with 18 counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, one count of bestiality and two counts of possession of cannabis for offences committed between July 20 and Aug. 20, police said. He was ordered held in custody until his next court appearance on Aug. 19.
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