■ Denmark
Heroin found in swords
Police said on Wednesday they had found heroin worth more than US$1 million that had been smuggled into the country from Pakistan in the hollowed-out blades of 25 antique sword replicas. They made the discovery after raiding the apartment of a British man who had died earlier from a drug overdose along with a woman of unknown nationality in a hotel room in Copenhagen. Detectives found 740g of heroin of 70 percent purity in the metro-long engraved blades of the decorative swords. "The blades were the last place we thought to look and it was a surprising place to find the drugs," said Ole Wagner of the drugs squad.
■ Germany
Retiree flushes fortune
A German pensioner flushed bundles of old banknotes worth a small fortune down the toilet because he thought they were now worthless, police in the northern city of Kiel said on Thursday. "He flushed the cash down the loo because he didn't think it was worth anything," said police spokesman Uwe Voigt. Police said he dumped some DM60,000 -- which the euro replaced in 2002 -- into the bowl, unaware they could still be exchanged for about 30,000 euros (US$37,000). Sewage workers recovered about half the sodden currency from the 64-year-old's plumbing. The remaining notes created a bottleneck in local sewers, where most were fished out.
■ Egypt
Nation hopes to broker talks
The government said on Thursday it was hoping to spearhead an initiative to bring Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert together for direct talks. Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in Cairo: "We are working towards the establishment of negotiations and to halt one-sided Israeli measures." Referring to Olmert's plans to determine Israel's final border with the West Bank without peace talks, Aboul Gheit said "one-sided" measures would further complicate the situation in the region and hinder a comprehensive solution to the conflict.
■ Nigeria
Opposition launches party
The supporters of Vice President Atiku Abubakar launched a political party on Thursday to oppose President Olusegun Obasanjo's alleged plan to run for re-election next year. The Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) was formed by Atiku allies who left the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) when Obasanjo supporters launched a bid to amend the Constitution to allow him to run for a third term. Atiku wants to contest next year's presidential election and he has been rallying opponents of Obasanjo. ACD members include the former national chairman of the PDP Audu Ogbeh, the former speaker of the lower house Ghali Umar Na'Abba, legislators and some former ministers.
■ Burundi
S Africa asked to mediate
Burundi's government has asked South Africa to mediate in peace talks with its only remaining rebel group, an official said on Thursday, after negotiations scheduled in Tanzania this week failed to begin. In an attempt to bring lasting peace to a country scarred by a 12-year civil war, President Pierre Nkurunziza said this month talks with the Hutu Forces for National Liberation would focus on getting the rebels to join new security forces. Tanzania has taken the lead in wooing the FNL to the bargaining table, but South Africa has long led Burundi's peace negotiations.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was