■ New Zealand
Driver in double trouble
A man has been charged with drink driving twice in 24 hours -- once in a tractor, it was reported yesterday. The man was arrested after being seen driving his tractor erratically on the road near the South Island city of Dunedin on Friday night and held in police cells before being released on bail in the morning, Radio New Zealand reported. He was arrested again a few hours later after nine members of the public complained about the way he was driving a car. He will appear in court tomorrow on two drink-driving charges and another of driving dangerously.
■ Japan
N Korea watch scaled back
The nation has called off its round-the-clock surveillance of missile-related moves by North Korea, conducted by Aegis-equipped destroyers in the Japan Sea, a news report said. The three vessels, which have been on high alert since late May, will still patrol in the waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula but will be based at port because there are no longer imminent signs of missile tests by North Korea, Kyodo News agency reported on Friday, citing an unnamed defense official. A fourth Maritime Self-Defense Force ship that was keeping watch in the Pacific Ocean was recalled last week, the report said.
■ China
Sheyang blast toll rises
The death toll from an explosion at a chemical plant in Sheyang, Jiangsu Province, has risen to 22 but more than 7,000 people evacuated after the blast have now gone home, Xinhua news agency said yesterday. The blast, which occurred on Friday morning when a chemical reactor exploded during a test run, injured 28 others, including the chairman and general manager of the company, the report said. "Preliminary investigation showed improper operation by workers was mainly to blame for the accident," Xinhua said. The Sheyang blast had caused toxic chlorine gas to be released into the air, but it has already dispersed with little effect on the environment, Xinhua said.
■ Malaysia
Law students to go prison
Law students at the International Islamic University's will spend time in prison to get a taste of life behind bars, the < ■ China Face-loser discharged A Chinese farmer who received a partial face transplant after he was badly disfigured in a bear attack was recovering well and has been discharged from the hospital, the official Xinhua News Agency said yesterday. Li Guoxing (李國興), 30, who underwent surgery in the Xijing Hospital in Xian, thanked the doctors and nurses after being discharged on Friday, and said he was "very happy to go home," the report said. Two doctors were accompanying Li back to his home in a poor, mountainous village in Yunnan Province, Xinhua said. He will spend a week with his wife and two children before going back to the hospital for more treatment. ■ United Kindom Singer plans legal action George Michael is planning legal action against a photographer who snapped him cruising for sex on Hampstead Heath in north London, he revealed yesterday. The singer believes he is a victim of harassment and that he should not have to worry about who is watching him in the early hours. He has no plans, however, to take action against newspaper the News of the World, which last Sunday printed pictures of the star returning to his car on the heath after reportedly picking up a 58-year-old jobless van driver. ■ Ireland Strip poker contest no joke It started as an April Fool's joke but a bookmaker's proposal to hold the world's biggest strip poker contest will become reality next month. Paddy Power floated the idea as a joke but it generated so much interest -- and hundreds of requests to take part -- that the Dublin-based company decided to organize a contest. So next month, 200 poker buffs will risk baring all in an attempt to become the first World Strip Poker Champion. The winner will also receive a "Golden Fig Leaf" trophy plus ?10,000 (US$18,630) in cash. ■ Albania Nude tourists spark uproar Police were speechless when around 30 Scandinavian women went topless, shocking local bathers and causing an uproar in an Albanian beach resort. "Police only watched ... they could not approach the tourists because they spoke no English," a local newspaper in the southern coastal town of Sarande said. Albanian mothers dragged their children away and police received a barrage of complaints over the tourists. The Scandinavians left after two hours when their guide was informed that nude bathing was banned on public beaches. Nudity and topless bathing are taboo in Albania. ■ United Kingdom Taking candy from a bobby Two police officers have been arrested by colleagues on suspicion of stealing candy from the staff confectionery shop. An investigation was launched after "a significant stock loss" from the sweetshop at Hailsham Police Station in southern England, Sussex Police said on Friday. The shop operates by officers helping themselves to the candy and drinks before leaving money in a tin. The two officers, who have since been released on bail, have been suspended while "a number" of other staff and officers have also been removed from frontline duty while the candy-theft probe is carried out. "The integrity of our staff is very important to us and when we identify problems such as this, we act swiftly and positively to resolve the issues," Chief Inspector Tony Blaker said. ■ United Kingdom `Distressing' sign removed A woman has been ordered by police to take down a sign on her garden gate which read "Our dogs are fed on Jehovah's Witnesses." Janet Grove, who owns a terrier puppy, insisted the sign was a gentle joke to discourage callers at her front door. Her late husband put the sign up more than 30 years ago when members of the church called at their house on Christmas Day. But police were forced to act after receiving a complaint. "We were informed by a member of the public who found the sign to be distressing, offensive and inappropriate," a police spokesman said. "Officers attended the address and the sign was voluntarily taken down." ■ United States Bush gets a new neighbor The principle of being a good neighbor is about to be stretched to its limits in Crawford, Texas, where well-known peace activist Cindy Sheehan has bought a plot of land not far from the town's most famous resident, George W. Bush. Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq two years ago at the age of 24, will use the two-hectare plot as a permanent home for Camp Casey, the roadside peace protest that dogged Bush throughout last summer. The president traditionally spends a long August vacation at the ranch, but this year he is ending it days before the advertised start of Sheehan's protest. ■ Russia New law may stifle dissent Russian President Vladimir Putin approved late on Friday a new law against "extremism" that critics say could allow the country's authorities to crack down more on dissent. The law "is aimed at improving the definition of extremist activity by classifying socially dangerous actions as extremist," a statement on the Kremlin's Web site said. But opponents say it moves towards making criticism of the authorities by the media, opposition parties and rights groups a crime. ■ United States Birds poisoned at hospital An attempt to control pigeons at a hospital in Schenectady, New York, escalated into a hazardous waste incident as sick and dying birds falling from the sky forced a temporary shutdown of the emergency room. There were no reports of illness or injury from the incident on Thursday evening at Ellis Hospital, but several people went through decontamination after emergency crews discovered the poisoned birds. An exterminator used a pesticide to reduce the pigeon population on the hospital roof. ■ United States Gibson arrested for DUI Mel Gibson has been arrested for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol, authorities said. Gibson's Lexus was speeding on Pacific Coast Highway when deputies stopped him at 2:36am on Friday, said Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "He was going 87 miles per hour [140kph] in a 45-miles-per-hour [72kph] zone," Whitmore said. A breath test indicated Gibson's blood-alcohol level was 0.12 percent, Whitmore said. The legal limit in California is 0.08 percent. ■ United States Nevada wildfires raging After a week of lightning-sparked blazes, more than 755km2 of Nevada rangeland was burning or blackened -- the most land scorched by wildfires in the country this year, a national fire center said. Four of the more than 12 fires in the state on Friday accounted for most of the area burned, according to the National Fire Information Center in Boise, Idaho. One fire covers about 422km2 near the Big Rocks Wilderness. Oregon had the nation's second largest amount of land charred by wildfires, with 315km2 ablaze on Friday or already burned, the fire center said. The magnitude of the nation's wildfires has forced firefighters to adjust their tactics. "Because of the large number of fires going on in the West, we cannot get requested aviation or other resources quickly, which could be used for a direct attack," Bureau of Land Management Field Manager Helen Hankins said in Elko, Nevada.
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
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
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