■ China
Celebration cuts power
A cannon that fired confetti at a grand opening celebration in Shanghai damaged power lines and cut electricity to scores of factories, offices and homes, the Shanghai Daily said on Wednesday. Shanghai Danone Biscuit Foodstuff Co was celebrating an opening in an industrial park west of the city when a 2m plastic strap that was accidentally ejected with the shredded paper wrapped around high voltage electrical cables, apparently causing a short circuit, the paper said. At least two people were trapped in elevators and neighboring factories have demanded compensation for damaged equipment and lost production, it said. A 50-member repair team needed five hours to get power running again, the paper said.
■ Singapore
Parliament dissolved
President S.R. Nathan dissolved parliament yesterday, clearing the way for general elections that will likely be dominated by the party that has ruled the country for more than four decades. No election date was immediately announced, but political observers have predicted that balloting would be held May 6. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) is not required to call elections before the middle of next year. The elections would be Lee's first since taking office last August. Lee's People's Action Party currently holds 82 of the 84 elected seats in parliament.
■ Thailand
Croc hunt underway
A 1,000-baht (US$25) reward will be given to anyone who catches one of the many crocodiles believed to be slithering through the canals of a central Thai district, an official said on Wednesday, as search teams continued a hunt for the stray reptiles. Experts from nearby fisheries departments poured into Lopburi province's Pattana Nikom district, 150km north of Bangkok. About a dozen of the reptiles are believed to remain at large after having escaped from area farms that breed them for their skin and meat. Eighteen crocodiles have already been caught since authorities started a search last Saturday, when one of the reptiles bit off a fisherman's finger while he was wading through a canal.
■ Hong Kong
British anthem banned
The British national anthem God Save The Queen has been banned at a cathedral service to mark Queen Elizabeth's 80th birthday, the South China Morning Post said yesterday. Church officials in the territory say playing the anthem during tomorrow's service would be a breach of "international protocol" now Hong Kong has reverted to Chinese rule. Organizers of the service told the newspaper they were "very disappointed" at the ban and would sing the hymn I Vow To Thee My Country instead, the daily reported. Paul Surtees, president of the Royal Overseas League that is organizing the service at St John's Cathedral in Hong Kong, said "Let's not forget that Queen Elizabeth II was queen of Hong Kong for 45 years."
■ Hong Kong
Soccer star to visit cop
Manchester United star Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is to visit a paralyzed policeman as his family battles to rouse him from a near-vegetative state, the South China Morning Post said yesterday. Solskjaer is to visit Jacky Chu, who was stabbed in the neck while on patrol last year, in hospital during a visit next month to launch a Manchester United Soccer School. Chu, 30, is an avid fan of the team and his family has been playing him videos of matches to try to revive him in hospital, the paper reported.
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