■ Malaysia
Toilet revolution planned
The deputy prime minister has called for a "toilet revolution," saying dirty facilities frighten away tourists and reflect poorly on the country. Opening the nation's first ever "toilet expo" on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said the cleanliness and beauty of a country's toilets were a measure of how civilized it was. "Try to imagine dirty, disgusting toilets that make you nauseous -- these will surely give us a negative image," Najib was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.
■ Japan
Shrine may revise exhibit
Officials at Yasukuni shrine are to revise part of an exhibition that says Japan was forced into World War II by the US, a person involved in the project said yesterday. However, the changes to a military museum on the site of the shrine will not include Japan's actions in China and Korea, said Hisahiko Okazaki, a political commentator who has been asked to help oversee the revisions. "We are going to put a more objective commentary concerning Japan's entry into World War II," Okazaki said.
■ Mongolia
Dalai Lama boosts faith
The Dalai Lama elevated a group of Mongolian monks into the Buddhist priesthood's higher ranks yesterday, bolstering the country's traditional faith, which is struggling to re-establish itself following decades of communist persecution. With hundreds of onlookers gathered under outside, the secret initiation ceremony was held in a temple at Gandantegcheling monastery, the main seat of Mongolian Buddhist worship and learning in Ulan Bator. No details were released and it wasn't known how many monks had been promoted.
■ Malaysia
Prince's kids can visit mom
A prince who snatched his two children from their Australian mother 14 years ago said he had no objection to their trips to visit her in Australia, but that they wouldn't stay permanently, news reports said yesterday. Raja Bahrin Raja Ahmad Shah, a member of royalty in northeastern Terengganu state, told the Malay-language Utusan Malaysia newspaper that he was "not so cruel as to stop them from visiting their mother." Raja Bahrin took his son Iddin and daughter Shahirah, who were then nine and seven respectively, from the home of his divorced wife, Jacqueline Pascarl-Gillespie, in Australia's southern city of Melbourne in 1992.
■ Nepal
Maoist rebels clash
Rival factions of Maoist rebels clashed in the south, beating each other with batons and rocks, and wounding at least 18 people, an official said yesterday. The fighting, between the mainstream Maoists and a group who were expelled earlier in the week, took place late on Thursday in the remote town of Kalaiya, about 400km south of the capital, Kathmandu, said Bhola Siwakoti, chief administrator in the area. "The clash erupted as a group of Maoists organized a demonstration to protest against their [former] local leader's decision to expel them from the party," Siwakoti said. The local mainstream leader, Jameen, who goes by just one name, told reporters that they were expelled for their involvement in extortion, intimidation and other criminal activities.
■ Japan
North Koreans denied entry
Six North Koreans who sought to attend a religious conclave were denied entry visas under tightened restrictions in the wake of Pyongyang's missile tests last month, a news report said yesterday. The Justice Ministry refused permission for six North Koreans representing Christian and Buddhist organizations to enter the country in order to attend a conference that begins today in the western city of Kyoto, public broadcaster NHK said. They were denied entry on the grounds that "they appeared to be linked to North Korean government authorities," the Justice Ministry said.
■ India
Relatives rage over arrests
Relatives of Indian nationals arrested in the Netherlands for allegedly behaving suspiciously on a flight to India that returned to Amsterdam claimed yesterday their detention was motivated by racial and religious prejudice. Dutch prosecutors said on Thursday that all 12 suspects were being released after finding no evidence of a terrorist threat aboard the Northwest Airlines flight to Bombay. Relatives and friends of the men in Bombay remained unhappy despite their release.
■ Malaysia
US boycott launched
Muslims yesterday launched a boycott of US goods in protest over Washington's support for Israel, which is under attack here for its military campaign in Lebanon. The Muslim Consumer Association of Malaysia (MCAM) said it will call on the public to stop buying products from three high-profile US companies -- Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Colgate-Palmolive -- in the predominantly Muslim nation. The boycott aims to protest "US support of Israel's military actions" against Palestine and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. "To buy and trade with US goods is to actively support the illegal Israeli occupation in Palestine and the war in Lebanon," Azmin Ibrahim, a MCAM representative said.
■ United Kingdom
Cows `moo' with an accent
Cows have regional accents, a group of British farmers claims, and phonetics experts say the idea is not as far-fetched as it sounds. Lloyd Green, from southwest England, was one of a group of farmers who first noticed the phenomenon. "I spend a lot of time with my Friesians and they definitely `moo' with a Somerset drawl," he said, referring to the breed of dairy cow he owns. "I've spoken to the other farmers in the West Country group and they have noticed a similar development in their own herds. I think it works the same as with dogs -- the closer a farmer's bond is with his animals, the easier it is for them to pick up his accent."
■ United Kingdom
Watch the road: survey
Ignore that stunning view and keep your eyes on the road because admiring beautiful scenery or dramatic buildings is putting drivers at risk, according to a survey released on Thursday. Research found that 27 percent of drivers were distracted by breathtaking countryside such as the Lake District while 12 percent said their eyes wandered to admire famous landmarks. Men, who previous studies have reported are distracted by attractive pedestrians or billboards featuring scantily clad women, were worse offenders than women. "Our advice to motorists, when driving on unfamiliar roads, is that it's even more important than usual to concentrate on your driving -- no matter how beautiful or fascinating the surrounding landscape may be," said Ian Parker, managing director of Privilege Insurance which carried out the survey.
■ United States
Segregated `Survivor' panned
New York City officials planned a rally to protest CBS' decision to divide teams by race on the new season of its hit reality show Survivor, arguing that the idea promotes divisiveness. "The idea of having a battle of the races is preposterous," City Councilman John Liu said on Thursday. "How could anybody be so desperate for ratings?" For the first portion of the 13th season of Survivor, which premieres on Sept. 14, the contestants competing for the US$1 million prize while stranded on the Cook Islands in the South Pacific will be divided into four teams -- blacks, Asians, Latinos and whites. Liu, who has Asian heritage, said he was launching a campaign urging CBS to pull the show because it could encourage racial division and promote negative typecasts.
■ United States
Texas man executed
A man convicted of robbing and then fatally shooting a man was executed by lethal injection in Livingston, Texas, on Thursday, marking the 19th execution so far this year in the country's busiest capital punishment state. Justin Fuller had acknowledged being present when 21-year-old Donald Whittington III was abducted and robbed in 1997, but maintained he did not kill the victim or show the body to friends. In a brief statement before his death, Fuller thanked his family and friends for their support. "Let everyone know that you must stay strong for each other," he said. "Take care of yourselves." He told the warden standing next to him, "That's it." As the lethal drugs began to take effect, he looked at his parents and said, "I love you."
■ Venezuela
US complains of mail search
The US embassy in Caracas on Thursday accused Venezuelan soldiers of violating diplomatic protocol by illegally searching embassy baggage that was being trucked from the capital's airport. Relations between Venezuela and its chief oil client the US have become increasingly tense as Venezuela President Hugo Chavez spars with Washington. "National Guard officials violated diplomatic norms carrying out an illegal revision of the diplomatic baggage of the US embassy," embassy spokesman Brian Penn told local television. "The State Department in Washington has been informed of this incident." Venezuela's Deputy Foreign Minister Maripili Hernandez said the trucks were stopped and the cargo inspected on Thursday morning because of paperwork irregularities and because it had failed to clear customs.
■ Brazil
Crime bank accounts shown
Investigators said on Thursday they have identified more than 400 bank accounts allegedly used to help finance the organized crime group behind a series of attacks in the state of Sao Paulo earlier this year. A list of the accounts and 110 suspects linked to the them was handed to federal and state prosecutors, the Sao Paulo State Public Safety Department's press office said in a statement. Prosecutors will decide whether the accounts, some of which belong to business owners, can be seized and blocked for further investigation. They will also decide whether to issue arrest warrants for the suspects named named as account holders. In addition, authorities gave prosecutors nearly 1,000 phone numbers linked to the accounts. The authorities said the accounts were likely used to launder money for the First Capital Command, an organized crime gang anchored in the country's overcrowded and loosely controlled prisons.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia
ON ALERT: A Russian cruise missile crossed into Polish airspace for about 40 seconds, the Polish military said, adding that it is constantly monitoring the war to protect its airspace Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the western region of Lviv early yesterday came under a “massive” Russian air attack, officials said, while a Russian cruise missile breached Polish airspace, the Polish military said. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a series of deadly aerial attacks, with yesterday’s strikes coming a day after the Russian military said it had seized the Ukrainian village of Ivanivske, west of Bakhmut. A militant attack on a Moscow concert hall on Friday that killed at least 133 people also became a new flash point between the two archrivals. “Explosions in the capital. Air defense is working. Do not