■ China
Disco crackdown launched
Beijing has banned disco and other dance music in private rooms of nightclubs and karaoke bars to curb the flood of illegal drugs into the capital's entertainment venues, newspapers reported yesterday. "Because many drug takers regularly dance and go crazy to upbeat `disco' music in private rooms, police have specially requested karaoke machines not have this music," the Beijing Times said. Club owners are now expected to delete disco and "other forms of vulgar entertainment" from karaoke machines in private rooms, the newspaper said, as part of a "responsibility agreement" written up by police.
■ China
Anti-Japan protesters jailed
Authorities have jailed four people in connection with anti-Japanese rallies in Shanghai last year for three to seven months, a Japanese official said. "Arrests were made right after the original demonstration and the Chinese government has informed us of the result of the trials -- in these cases, the maximum penalty is seven months," Japanese Consul General Yuji Kumumuru said yesterday. "But we have not been fully informed of who these people were and we don't know which court has made the ruling," he said.
■ Pakistan
Five foreigners detained
Authorities have detained five foreigners -- four Turks and an Afghan -- traveling to the Afghan border on suspicion of links to al-Qaeda, security officials said. "They are all foreigners and might have links to al-Qaeda," said an intelligence official in Quetta. The five were traveling on a bus and detained at a checkpoint late on Thursday while on their way to the South Waziristan border region, he said.
■ Australia
Harriet dies at 176
A 176-year-old giant tortoise believed to have been studied by famed English naturalist Charles Darwin has died at the Australia Zoo in Queensland. Senior veterinarian John Hangar said the 150kg reptile died on Thursday night after a short illness. "She had a fairly acute heart attack and thankfully passed away quietly overnight," Hangar told ABC radio. Harriet was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest living animal. Harriet was hatched on the Galapagos Islands in 1830 and was taken to England by Darwin. She ended up at the Botanic Gardens in Brisbane sometime between 1850 and 1860 and eventually was moved to the Australia Zoo.
■ Sri Lanka
Civilians spooked by boom
A sonic boom from an air force Kafir jet was the cause of widespread panic among war-weary residents of Colombo yesterday, military officials said. The explosion was reported over the Pamunugama area, 12km north of the capital, yesterday morning, prompting the navy and the air force to carry out a search operation in the area. Air force spokesman Group Captain Ajantha de Silva said a training unit confirmed that the sound heard by residents was a sonic boom, a loud noise created when the jet passes through the sound barrier.
■ Cambodia
Sihanouk overcomes cancer
Former king Norodom Sihanouk said his cancer was pronounced cured by Chinese doctors and he is in good health in a speech broadcast on national television. Sihanouk abdicated in favor of his son, Norodom Sihamoni, after a shock announcement in October 2004 citing health reasons and his age, and then underwent lengthy chemotherapy treatment in Beijing to treat a recurrence of colon cancer. Sihanouk turns 84 this year. He is still regarded as a living god by many Cambodians, who see his return as an indication of political stability in the kingdom. He has suffered from a range of health problems in recent years, including high blood pressure and diabetes.
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