■ China
Mao now an MC
Mao Zedong (毛澤東) is experiencing a revival in northeast China, but in an unlikely role -- as a wedding MC. Li Shouxin, an actor in his 50s and a dead-ringer for Mao, was in great demand among soon-to-be-weds in Changchun, Jilin province, and played the part at an average five to six weddings a month, the China Daily said on Friday. "At weddings, Li begins with a typical Mao-style wave to guests before greeting people in the strong Hunan brogue of the leader's home province," the report said.
■ Myanmar
Blast near luxury hotel
Myanmar's military rulers said yesterday that they were hunting down the people behind a small bomb blast outside the luxury Traders Hotel, official media reported. "The authorities concerned are trying to expose the culprits of the explosion," the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper said, in a three-sentence report on the blast. The small bomb went off on Friday evening near the sign for the Traders Hotel, on a busy street in downtown Yangon, but caused no injuries and little damage, according to security officers.
■ Singapore
More freedom needed
Singapore's education minister has defended the country's university system but conceded academic freedom needed to evolve after a British university scrapped plans to set up a campus in the conservative city-state. Tharman Shanmugaratnam told the pro-government Straits Times yesterday that Singapore recognizes academic freedom as critical for any world-class university and that it places no restrictions on what scholars can study here.
■ India
Endangered lions to move
At least nine rare lions have died in Asia's only lion sanctuary in India, forcing authorities to arrange a new home for the big cats. A lioness died from pneumonia in the Gir National Park on Thursday, taking the death toll in the last three months to nine. "Our volunteers told us that this is the second lion to die of pneumonia since September," Raj, secretary of Gujarat Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said. The Gir grassland has become a dense forest due to floods and rains, which have caused a rise in humidity and lead to the lion deaths.
■ Vietnam
WTO entry `unlikely'
The country's ambassador to the WTO, Ngo Quang Xuan, said his nation is unlikely to join the WTO when its ministers meet in Hong Kong in December, due to a "lack of goodwill'' from the US in concluding negotiations with the country. Xuan said Vietnam has done its best to meet WTO's accession requirements and has concluded negotiations with 21 WTO members -- including the EU, Japan and Canada -- but it still has to finish talks with other members, including the US. The ambassador blamed the US for making demands of Vietnam that cannot be met.
■ Pakistan
Mukhtar Mai to visit US
Mukhtar Mai, the Pakistani woman whose gang rape in 2002 on the orders of a village council caused international outrage, said that she planned to visit the US next week to receive an award from Glamour magazine. The magazine is honoring women around the world who have struggled for women's rights in a ceremony on Nov. 2. Mukhtar was scheduled to come to the US in June to speak to a women's rights group, but Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf barred her from traveling, contending that the visit would tarnish Pakistan's image. His decision was met with protests by rights activists, and the restrictions were lifted after criticism from US officials.
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