■ New Zealand
Doctor opens brothel
A frustrated doctor has closed his medical practice in a small northern seaside settlement and plans to reopen his surgery as a brothel next month. Neil Benson closed his Cooper's Beach practice last year, complaining of a lack of support from health authorities, other doctors and the community. He has since been granted a brothel licence and plans to offer an upmarket service for tourists and locals in the town about 350km north of Auckland. "It's about providing a private service and maintaining confidentiality, which is what my medical practice was about -- so it's not a big leap, really," Benson said.
■ Singapore
Bridge plan prompts queries
Singapore said yesterday it has asked Malaysia to clarify reports that it planned to build a bridge halfway across the waterway separating it from Singapore, which hasn't agreed to build the other half. On Sunday, Malaysia's national news agency, Bernama, quoted Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as saying the project would go ahead to avoid higher construction costs in the future. Singapore says it is still evaluating the project's economic impact, but Malaysian officials have said the bridge's design will allow the city-state to link up later.
■ Singapore
Overeaters fill hospitals
Days of feasting in honor of the Lunar New Year have resulted in overeating and food poisoning with at least one hospital adding more staff, doctors said yesterday. Since the Year of the Dog was ushered in on Saturday, the ritual of reunion dinners at relatives' homes is well under way. Physicians advised consumption in moderation when faced with one huge spread after another. Dr. Wilson Chong, with Tan Tock Seng's Hospital's accident and emergency department, said overeating and food poisoning are the top complaints on the second and third days.
■ Japan
Elderly crime shoots up
Crimes committed by elderly people have risen sharply in the past 15 years, a trend that has officials worried as the population ages rapidly due to longer lifespans and a falling birth rate. Police data shows that people aged 65 and older accounted for more than 10 percent of those arrested or taken into custody for crimes other than traffic violations last year, compared with just 2.2 percent in 1990, the Asahi newspaper said yesterday, citing National Police Agency data. Theft topped the list of crimes committed by the elderly last year, while 141 elderly people were arrested for murder -- more than three times the number in 1990, the newspaper said.
■ Japan
Foreigner's claim rejected
A court yesterday rejected a lawsuit claiming discrim-ination against an African-American resident of Japan, Jiji Press reported. The 41-year-old designer living in Kyoto Prefecture demanded ?1.5 million (US$13,000) as compensation for being discriminated against because of his skin color. "It was inappropriate for the owner to have asked [the man] who was in front of the shop to leave ... but it cannot be recognized that [the owner] made remarks discriminating against black people," the Osaka District Court judge said in his ruling. The plaintiff said after the ruling that he felt like he was living in the US south in the 1950s. "I was treated lower than animals by the Japanese court," the tearful man said at a press conference.
■ Canada
Trapped miners safe
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