■ Singapore
PM fails to see joke
Singaporeans are free to express their views about politics, but not to make light of it or poke fun at political figures, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) said during a television forum yesterday. "The TV shows in Taiwan turn politics into a joke," the Sunday Times quoted Lee as saying during the discussion late on Saturday. "In Europe and the United States, they make political figures the butt of the joke," Lee said. "I think it is not a good thing." The result of joking about political leaders is a lack of respect for them, he said.
■ Afghanistan
Rebel kills sleeping officers
A Taliban rebel posing as a traveler shot dead four policemen at a remote southern checkpoint after eating dinner with them and sleeping in their quarters, officials said yesterday. The assailant asked the officers if he could spend Friday night with them because he was walking alone along a stretch of road in Helmand Province, said Helmand provincial administrator Ghulam Muhiddin. After all the officers had gone to sleep, the man grabbed one of their rifles and opened fire, killing the four instantly, before a fifth officer woke up and shot him dead, Muhiddin said.
■ Japan
Stability key in troop pull-out
Tokyo may keep its troops in southern Iraq until a degree of political stability is restored in the country, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said yesterday, denying reports in local media that Tokyo might pull out by next month. Japanese officials have repeatedly said they will carefully consider security conditions, as well as plans of British and Australian troops stationed there, before deciding when it will withdraw its 600 troops from Samawah. Aso echoed the caution yesterday on a TV Asahi talk show, refuting media reports of an imminent withdrawal. "The creation of the Iraqi government is in no way complete ... We can't make definite decisions on withdrawal until the security and political situation becomes clearer," Aso said.
■ Hong Kong
Fitness fad questioned
A new fitness machine resembling a mechanical bull ride is proving popular among families, but does little to improve family fitness, a media report said yesterday. People have been snapping up the machine, which costs HK$5,880 (US$754), with sales in the territory outstripping those in Singapore and Taiwan, the South China Morning Post said. The machine mimics the trot of a horse in its front, back and lateral movements so that riders can supposedly firm and tone abdominal, hip and thigh muscles and increase cardiovascular fitness "without any conscious exertion." But fitness instructor Forrest Yau Chung-fai said that unless the saddle rocks like a bull ride, people would be better off taking a brisk walk.
■ India
Barking triggers tragedy
A New Delhi resident died of shock after his dog was shot at by another man who was furious that the dog barked at him, the Times of India reported yesterday. The daily said that Baba Singh was so incensed by the dog's actions on Saturday that he went home to get his revolver and returned to shoot the animal. When the dog's owner, Ravi Bhandari, confronted Singh the latter pointed the gun at his head and threatened to kill him. Bhandari complained of chest pain and fainted. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Veterinarians said the dog would survive, the paper said. The police said they were hunting Singh.
■ Liberia
Taylor's son nabbed
A son of former president Charles Taylor has been charged with passport fraud and is in US custody, a spokeswoman for the US immigration service said on Saturday. Charles McArthur Emmanuel, also known as Charles "Chuckie" Taylor Jr, was arrested at Miami International Airport on Thursday night after flying in from Trinidad, and was accused of lying about his father's identity in a US passport application.
■ Bahrain
Cruise boat lacked license
A cruise boat that capsized killing at least 57 people last week was not licensed to sail, an official said. Interior Ministry spokesman Colonel Tareq al-Hassan told reporters on Saturday that the ship's owner had applied for a license but never completed the procedures. "The owner of the ship had applied for a license in December 2005. He was asked to meet the regulations, the conditions, and he was given a list of regulations that were required," Hassan said. "He went away to complete the regulations but never came back to be licensed. So the ship is not licensed as a sailing ship but is registered as a fishing boat," he said.
■ Italy
Kidnapped child dead
The body of an 18-month-old toddler, whose kidnapping transfixed the nation, was found dumped near a river on Saturday, investigative sources said. Tommaso Onofri, who suffered from epilepsy, was snatched from his home on March 2. Police found the child's body near the city of Parma after they were led to the area by a mason, Mario Alessi, who had worked at the Onofri family's home. Alessi told investigators the crying child was killed on the night of his abduction as kidnappers tried to silence him. Police detained Alessi, his partner and another man. On the day of the abduction, two masked men armed with a knife and what appeared to be a toy gun entered the Onofri home, bound his parents and took Tommaso.
■ United States
Iranian threat highlighted
Tehran would respond to US military strikes against its nuclear sites with global attacks by intelligence operatives and Hezbollah teams, the Washington Post reported in an article on its Web site on Saturday, citing unnamed "intelligence and terrorism experts." Iran would attack US targets in Iraq and there is "growing consensus that Iran's agents would target civilians in the United States, Europe and elsewhere," the Post said. "US officials would not discuss what evidence they have indicating Iran would undertake terrorist action," it said. But the article quoted one "senior official" as saying that the matter is "a huge issue."
■ Sudan
Children start school
Thousands of southern Sudanese children will start school for the first time this week in a campaign backed by UNICEF. It is an effort to tackle the world's worst school attendance figures, wrought by Africa's longest running civil war between the Khartoum-based government and former southern rebels that ended in a peace deal last year. UNICEF hopes to double the current school attendance rate by the end of the academic year. UNICEF shipped in 2 million textbooks, 1.6 million pencils and pencil sharpeners to make sure that children have basics supplies for learning, though most classes will be held under trees as aid agencies work to build 1,500 new classrooms.
■ United States
Troubled, traveling toilet
The long, strange trip continues for Jerry Garcia's toilet. Police say the Grateful Dead leader's commode was stolen recently from a driveway along with three other toilets and a bidet, the Press Democrat newspaper reported on Saturday. Garcia's salmon-colored toilet was the subject of a legal battle before it was finally moved to Sonoma, to await shipment to a Canadian casino. It's unclear if the toilet was swiped by a wayward Deadhead or a thief remodeling a bathroom. Police have no suspects or leads. Henry Koltys bought Garcia's Marin County home for US$1.39 million in 1997 and removed the toilet and other items he planned to sell to raise money for a charity. After Koltys sold the house to a friend of the band's, the new owner sued to block the auction. The dispute was resolved and Koltys sold the toilet last month for US$2,550.
■ United States
Simpsons movie teaser
Television watchers' favorite animated Average Joe is on the big screen, if only for a moment. A 25-second teaser clip of the upcoming The Simpsons Movie is being shown to audiences for 20th Century Fox's Ice Age: The Meltdown, which opened on Friday. The clip features a deep-voiced announcer booming "Leaping his way onto the silver screen, the greatest hero in American history!" as a large S appears on the screen. It then cuts to Homer Simpson sitting on his couch in his underwear. When Homer hears the narrator say the movie will open July 27 next year, he says, "Uh, uh, we better get started."
■ United States
Stem cells from testes
Researchers said on Saturday they had transformed immature cells from men's testicles into powerful stem cells, which they then coaxed into becoming nerve, heart and bone cells. Their work has not been assessed by standard peer-review processes, but was presented at a meeting of stem cell researchers in Valencia, Spain. If other researchers can duplicate their efforts, the study offers a possible new source of valuable stem cells. The researchers, at Irvine, California-based PrimeGen Biotech LLC, worked with immature cells found in testes and ovaries known as germ cells. Scientists have hoped to use germ cells as a source of tissues for transplant and other medical uses.
■ Vatican City
John Paul II remembered
Pope Benedict XVI and Catholics across the globe, yesterday commemorated the first anniversary of the death of John Paul II, the former pontiff. Special Masses were being held in Roman Catholic churches in Karol Wojtyla's native Poland and around the world, with celebrations climaxing in the evening in St. Peter's Square. As many as 300,000 pilgrims, perhaps more according to some estimates, were gathering in Rome's famous piazza, where they planned to recite the rosary and hold a prayer vigil with Benedict XVI. The pope was to give a short speech at 9.37pm, the time of his predecessor's death.
■ Brazil
Foreigners detained
Police cracking down on sex tourism detained 118 tourists for failing to carry proper identification into nightclubs in a northeastern city, police said on Saturday. Authorities briefly detained 110 tourists early on Friday and another eight early on Saturday in the city of Natal, 2,450km northeast of Sao Paulo in Rio Grande do Norte state, federal police officer Luiz Pereira said. The tourists -- mostly from Portugal, Spain, Italy, France and Norway -- were held for not carrying their passports.
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