■ Hong Kong
Fish imports halted
China has halted imports of freshwater fish to Hong Kong following the discovery of cancer-causing chemicals in some species, a media report said yesterday. The ban comes amid growing concerns over the safety of food imported from China following the discovery last week of the banned carcinogenic chemical malachite green in eels and a number of other freshwater fish species. Local RTHK radio said Chinese authorities had imposed the ban after two more samples were fund to be tainted with the man-made dye. It comes ahead of a planned three-day halt by Hong Kong fishmongers in sales of mainland fish after malachite green -- an industrial dye used as a disinfectant on fish farms -- was discovered in some samples last week.
■ China
Too sensitive for Trump
China's edition of American tycoon Donald Trump's reality TV show The Apprentice will drop the mogul's "you're fired" catchphrase to avoid upsetting Chinese sensitivities, a report here said yesterday. Chinese traditionally frown on behaviour that causes embarrassment to others and the shaming outbursts typical of Trump's TV test of contestants' business acumen have been toned down for Chinese audiences. Instead of receiving their marching orders, failed contestants may be politely told "you will have a better opportunity somewhere else," the show's presenter, Beijing property tycoon Pan Shiyi told the Sunday Morning Post. "Chinese people give others face," Pan was quoted as saying. "To tell somebody he's fired in such a tone, especially when this person has literally not been hired, is not the Chinese way."
■ China
Sexual harassment banned
Yesterday sexual harassment was outlawed and domestic violence was made a crime in a bid to shore up the legal protection of women. The amendments were adopted by China's legislature on its last day of meetings. Xinhua news agency said the law will now state "that gender equality is part of national policy in China." "According to the amended law on the protection of women's rights, it is prohibited to subject women to sexual harassment and victims have the right to file complaints to related authorities," it said. Legislation against domestic violence and the coercion of women into sex-related work was also put on the statute books.
■ Malaysia
Public resigned to bribery
The majority of Malaysians are opposed to corruption but most pay bribes anyway due to a sense of helplessness over rampant graft, according to a new survey. The Merdeka Center, an independent opinion research firm, found that 76 percent of Malaysians believe the level of corruption is "serious" but one in three would bribe police in order to evade a traffic offence. "A number of people felt it was simply cheaper to pay the bribe than to pay the fine," Merdeka Center director Ibrahim Suffian said yesterday, adding that citizens felt it was too much of a "hassle" to object.
■ Singapore
Toilet college to open
The world's first toilet college is to open in Singapore to teach cleaners how to improve their lavatory washing skills, according to local broadcaster Channel NewsAsia. The first batch of 30 students from a local cleaning company will start their training at the Toilet College in October, it said on its Web site. The college is being set up by the Singapore-based World Toilet Organization. "We are going to train the toilet cleaners to upgrade himself or herself to a level where he or she can take care of the entire toilet, including changing bulbs, repairing leaky taps ... technical cleaning, taking away urine salt inside the toilet," said Jack Sim, president of the World Toilet Organization.
■ Myanmar
Leader `hale and hearty'
Myanmar's military leader Senior General Than Shwe, variously rumored last week to be ousted from power or gravely ill, is "hale and hearty and working full time," a senior spokesman for the ruling junta said yesterday. Myanmar Information Minister Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan, Police Chief Khin Yi and Home Minister Major General Maung Oo held a two-and-a-half-hour press conference with the Myanmar media yesterday to clarify various mysteries in the secretive state. Kyaw Hsan denied rumors that Than Shwe had been ousted from power or flown to Singapore for medical treatment, saying the chief was "hale and hearty and working full time."
■ Malaysia
Students to be watched
About 200 Malaysian students ordered out of Pakistan's madrassahs, or Islamic seminaries, last month will be watched by police in case they have been exposed to militant activities, local media said yesterday. The Malay Mail, citing an unnamed source, said authorities feared a backlash after the students were ordered to leave by Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf shortly after the London bombings. "They may perceive the move as anti-Islam by Westerners to curb them from furthering their education in the religion," the source said.
■ Iran
Judge shot twice, survives
A hardline Iranian judge survived an assassination attempt in western Tehran yesterday. A judiciary spokesman told ISNA that Mohammad-Reza Aqazadeh, a judge from the town of Malard, west of Tehran, was shot twice in front of his house by unidentified culprits. The judge has been transferred to the Baqiatollah hospital in Tehran where he is undergoing surgery for wounds to his eye and hand. He is expected to survive. Aqazadeh is the second hardline judge targeted by assassins this month.
■ Israel
Sharon's son indicted
The oldest son of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was indicted yesterday on corruption charges in connection with fundraising activities for one of his father's election campaigns. Omri Sharon is suspected of setting up fictitious companies to conceal illegal contributions during the 1999 campaign, when his father won the chairmanship of the Likud Party and became its candidate for prime minister. Omri Sharon is a member of the Israeli parliament. He has already agreed to waive his parliamentary immunity to face the corruption charges.
■ Russia
Bomb explodes under train
A bomb exploded under a passenger train in the violence-plagued Russian region of Dagestan, derailing the locomotive and two cars but causing no injuries. An officer sent to the blast site to investigate was shot and wounded. The blast late Saturday occurred near the site of a train bombing on July 25 that killed one person and wounded four others. The bomb's strength was equivalent to about 5kg of TNT.
■ Austria
Pranksters annoy village
British tourists have left the residents of one charming Austrian village vexed by constantly stealing the signs for their oddly-named village. Only one kind of criminal ever stalks the sleepy 32-house village near Salzburg on the German border -- cheeky British tourists armed with a screwdriver. Local authorities are hitting back with the signs now set in concrete. Police chief Kommandant Schmidtberger said, "We will not stand for the F---ing signs being removed. It may be very amusing for you British, but F---ing is simply F---ing to us. What is this big F---ing joke?" Local guide Andreas Behmueller said, "Every American seems to care only about The Sound of Music. The Japanese want to see Hitler's birthplace in Braunau. But for the British, it's all about F---ing."
■ United Kingdom
Dog takes the train home
When Archie the black labrador lost his owner at a Scottish station, he jumped aboard the first train home. Owner Mike Taitt lost sight of Archie at Inverurie station, near Aberdeen. "When he could not find me, he simply took the right train home. He's been on that train before. I am convinced he knew it was the right one." Taitt said. Closed-circuit television footage shows the dog waiting for his master at the station before watching the Aberdeen to Inverness train pull in. Unable to find his owner, the black labrador decided to avoid a long walk home by nipping aboard the 20:38. He got out at the right stop, Insch, twelve minutes along the line to the bemusement of signalman Derek Hope. "There was a train conductor standing with Archie on the platform saying he had got on at Inverurie but didn't have a ticket," Hope said.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese