■ Australia
Army called to attack toads
A state government called yesterday for the army to be deployed against an invasion of toxic toads. Battalions of imported cane toads are marching relentlessly across northern Australia and the West Australian government wants soldiers to intercept the environmental barbarians. State Environment Minister Mark McGowan has written to Defense Minister Brendan Nelson asking permission to use soldiers based in the neighboring Northern Territory to kill the toads.
■ Philippines
Activist gunned down
Two gunmen shot dead a peasants' group official in the latest attack on activists in the south, police and activists said yesterday. Tito Marata, a media officer from the leftist Brotherhood of Farmers (KMP) was shot dead by two men on a motorbike on Saturday in the city of Oroquieta, police said. The KMP, in a statement, blamed the killing on the government of President Gloria Arroyo, citing her efforts to boost the budget of the military to crack down on communist insurgents. Leftist groups charge that more than 93 of their members have been killed in attacks since Arroyo came to power in 2001.
■ Australia
Money delayed births
An announcement in the government's May 2004 budget that a "Baby Bonus" of A$3,000 (US$2,250) would be paid for each child born on or after July 1 that year saw more than 1,000 births delayed, two economists say. Leigh said that using daily births data, he and Melbourne Business School economist Joshua Gans found that there were more births on July 1, 2004 than on any other date in the past 30 years.
■ Philippines
Sex education on hold
The education department has stopped the distribution of sex-education modules to public high schools following strong opposition by the Roman Catholic Church, an official said yesterday. Education Secretary Fe Hidalgo issued the order after receiving "negative feedback from the community" about the sex-education program, said Assistant Education Secretary Vilma Labrador. It was not clear if the program was merely being put on hold or cancelled. The influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has opposed the sex-education program.
■ China
Africans to study desert
African officials and technicians will head to China in August to learn about its experience fighting the desert, state media reported yesterday. The visitors will spend their time mostly in Gansu Province that is at the forefront of the nation's battle to stem the encroaching desert, Xinhua news agency said. "They will spend about 25 days in the field across Gansu and neighboring provinces and regions to learn how to choose plants for desert control and how to set up windbreaks," said Man Duoqing, a local desert control official. The effort comes as China appears to be stepping up its ties with resource-rich Africa, reflected in an ongoing seven-nation tour of the continent by Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶).
■ Thailand
PM offers to rebuild Buddhas
The country has offered to take the remains of Afghanistan's blasted Buddhas of Bamiyan and rebuild the two 1,600-year-old statues. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said yesterday he made the proposal to reconstruct the statues, which were destroyed by the former Taliban regime, to Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the sidelines of an Asian security summit. "I told President Karzai that Thailand, as a Buddhist nation, is sorry that the Taliban destroyed the Buddha statues, and I asked for the rubble of the statues, so we could reconstruct them," Thaksin said. Karzai said it was a "good idea" that he would discuss with his government, Thaksin told reporters.
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