■ North Korea
Dear Leader can't sleep
Kim Jong-il's relentless push to advance the communist movement in his state has turned him into a bit of an insomniac, according to the North's state media. Kim is rarely seen in public except for sporadic trips to unidentified military bases and industrial plants. The strain of keeping an eye on all parts of the country means many sleepless nights for the North's "Dear Leader," official Rodong Sinmun reported. "I spend days and months on field guidance, so I've never slept comfortably for one night," Kim was quoted as saying on Thursday. "The people are concerned about my health and want me to rest if only for one day, but I cannot rest lest it slows the movement of the motherland," he said. Kim does manage to catch up on sleep in the car, which is "the sweetest kind," the newspaper quoted him as saying.
■ Japan
Pet hotel open for business
Pet owners can now embark on their travels safe in the knowledge that their dogs and cats will be living in the lap of luxury at a five-star "pet hotel" that opened on Thursday at Tokyo's Narita airport. The Pet Inn Royal boasts 170 well-appointed rooms for up to 250 animals, as well as veterinary and grooming services, an exercise field. The service is not limited to dogs and cats: rabbits, hamsters, and even ferrets are welcome at the inn. The rate for a standard cage starts at around ?4,000 (US$33) a night, and rises to ?20,000 for a deluxe suite. All rooms are fitted with air conditioning and purifiers to leave them smelling sweet for the next occupant. The operators of the inn are hoping to cash in on Japan's pet boom. The country is home to an estimated 19 million pets -- more than the number of children under 15.
■ Australia
Roof injures children
At least eight children were injured when a roof collapsed at an exclusive private school in Sydney, a hospital official and local media said yesterday. "There has been a roof collapse at a school," said Charles Maddison, a spokesman for Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital. The hospital was on standby to receive at least eight students and one teacher with mild to moderate injuries, he said. Local media reports said the incident occurred at the elite Ascham school in the eastern suburb of Edgecliff.
■ Australia
Storms kill three people
Wild storms that blew through Australia's southeast yesterday were blamed for the deaths of three people while another was missing amid widespread blackouts and damage, officials said. Two people died in New South Wales state when a light aircraft crashed in stormy conditions near the town of Condobolin and burst into flames, police said. The pilot and a passenger were confirmed dead but rescue teams, hampered by bad weather, had yet to recover the body of a missing passenger, police said. A man was crushed by a falling tree in Canberra as two small tornadoes lashed the city, uprooting trees, cutting power lines and damaging the two main hospitals, emergency services spokesman Peter Dunn said. In Canberra's surrounds, two storms ripped roofs from homes.
■ Cambodia
Brother beats sister to death
A brother allegedly beat his younger sister to death with a bamboo pole after he argued with her about whether he could make off with the family cow, police said yesterday. The deputy chief of police for Thmor Khol district in the northwestern province of Battambang, Poum Mot, said by telephone that Poup Porn, 39, had allegedly approached his sister, Poup Outh, 36, on Nov. 27 and demanded access to the family cow to take to market. However, she would not agree to sell it and the pair fought, at which point Poum Mot said witness accounts allege that Porn produced a bamboo stick and beat his sister four to five times with it until he realized she was dead.
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