■ Indonesia
No pardon for bombers
Three Islamic militants on death row for their roles in the 2002 Bali bombings will not request a presidential pardon, a prosecutor said yesterday, as public calls mounted for their rapid execution. Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, Imam Samudra and Ali Ghufron turned down the chance to ask for a pardon when they met with prosecutors and judges on Wednesday in their cells on Indonesia's prison island of Nusakambangan, said a prosecutor who took part. The three have said they carried out the attacks on two nightclubs packed with foreign tourists to avenge the deaths of Muslims in Israel and Afghanistan. The attacks killed 202 people.
■ China
Babies for sale on the Web
Shanghai police are investigating advertisements offering babies for sale on a Chinese Web site, state media said yesterday. The ads, which appeared on Oct. 16, promised babies under 100 days old from the impoverished Henan Province at prices of 28,000 yuan (US$3,500) for boys and 13,000 yuan for girls, the China Daily said. More than 50 people browsed the posting before it was quickly removed. The sale of children and women is a nationwide problem in China., the poster claimed to be offering the infants to help millions of couples unable to have children. "Whoever is behind the post could face years in prison or even the death sentence," the newspaper said.
■ Malaysia
PM's wife dies
Malaysia went into mourning yesterday for Endon Mahmood, the well-liked wife of the prime minister, who died after a long battle with breast cancer. Endon was a well of inspiration for Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, but friends dispelled any notion that he might now lose his appetite for power. Parliament was adjourned until Monday as a mark of respect and all local TV stations broadcast prayers. The death came in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, during which devout Muslims believe the departed receive special blessings. The soft-spoken Endon was diagnosed with cancer in 2002.
■ Vietnam
`Billionaire' monk caught
Police are to prosecute a self-proclaimed monk and medicine man who claimed he had US$2.5 billion in cash, gold and diamonds stolen from his house, state media reported yesterday. The 46-year-old showed reporters US$400,000 in cash as proof of his claims that thieves had broken into his Hanoi home and made off with the loot, which would amount to more than 5 percent of the nation's economy. According to the Lao Dong daily, police were not taken in and, on probing his past to unearth the source on his extraordinary wealth, discovered he had been illegally operating as a doctor.
■ New Zealand
Rat breaks swiming record
A rat has made a record ocean swim of 400m between two islands, University of Auckland scientists reported yesterday. The rat was released onto one of a cluster of small islands in the Hauraki Gulf off Auckland in an experiment aimed at improving ways of keeping offshore bird sanctuaries free of rodents. The scientists were puzzled when they could not find it again, said researcher James Russell. Signs of the rodent, including fecal DNA that matched samples taken before its release, then appeared on an island, 400m away.
■ United Kingdom
Let there be light
How many men does it take to change a light bulb in a British church? Thanks to the EU's "Working at Heights Directive" the answer is four -- over three days at a cost of more than
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