■ China
Bank sues graduates
A Shanghai bank is suing 68 college graduates for not paying back their student loans, the China Daily reported yesterday, calling the case merely the tip of the iceberg. The Wujiaochang branch of the Agricultural Bank of China was seeking repayment of some 760,000 yuan (US$95,500) from the students, the newspaper said. Some 3,000 to 4,000 student loans issued by the branch had defaulted, the paper said. With nearly 4.13 million graduates entering the nation's workforce this year -- 750,000 more than the previous year -- job opportunities and incomes have plunged, leaving many unable to pay back their loans.
■ China
Tunnel workers rescued
All 25 road workers trapped after a tunnel collapsed in Yunnan Province were rescued yesterday, the official Xinhua news agency said. The workers were trapped for 26 hours after the collapse occurred early Monday on a highway linking Guangnan and Yanshan. Xinhua did not say if any of the workers were injured. "The rescuers managed to get into the tunnel and get the trapped people out," Xinhua said. Fresh air, food and drink were provided to the workers in the 50m-long tunnel during the rescue operation, an official said.
■ China
Joint naval exercises held
US and Chinese missile-equipped destroyers held five hours of communications and other drills near Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Sunday, Xinhua reported yesterday. Admiral William Fallon, commander of the US Pacific Command, has pushed to upgrade ties between the two countries and invited Chinese officers to observe US naval exercises in the Western Pacific.
■ China
Uncle Shrimp dies
Veteran Hong Kong actor and Cantonese opera performer Kwan Hoi-shan (關海山) died of natural causes on Monday. Kwan, who had joined a Cantonese opera troupe at age 11, later moved into acting, joining Hong Kong TV station TVB in 1976, the Apple Daily reported. Among his film credits are Jackie Chan's Project A, about a naval officer assigned to police duty after pirates destroy his fleet, and the sequel, Project A II. Kwan won best supporting actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1992 for his role in Lee Rock, which also starred Andy Lau (劉德華). Nicknamed "Uncle Shrimp," Kwan suffered a stroke in 2001, which had left him partially paralyzed. He is survived by four daughters and two sons from four marriages.
■ China
Quake hits Xinjiang
A magnitude-5.4 earthquake shook Xinjiang early yesterday. The earthquake struck Hetian County at about 2am, said an official of the Xinjiang Seismological Bureau. No casualties or damage in the unpopulated area were reported. The region regularly suffers earthquakes, but injuries and damage are usually limited.
■ India
Weapons cache found
Soldiers shot dead two suspected Muslim rebels on Monday along the de facto border dividing Kashmir and recovered a large weapons cache, the army said yesterday. The arms cache was found in the Machil sector along the Line of Control. It included 429 detonators, two rifles, 10kg of explosives, three grenade launchers with 161 grenades, 22 anti-tank grenades, seven hand grenades, two bombs, six boxes of explosive devices and 1,300 rounds of ammunition. A statement by the authorities claimed that the weapons had been found in three forest hideouts to be used in the winter by the militants against security forces in northern Kashmir.
■ Japan
Imperial boy named
The first boy to be born into Japan's imperial family in nearly 41 years was named Prince Hisahito yesterday during a private ceremony at the Tokyo hospital. "Hisa" means "serenity," while the Chinese character "hito" -- traditionally used for heirs to the throne -- means "the highest moral standard." Prince Akishino, Emperor Akihito's second son and the father of the baby, placed a paulownia wood box containing the name written on a piece of handmade washi paper by his son's pillow. The baby, third in line to the throne after his uncle and father, was also given a personal crest -- the koyamaki, or umbrella pine. An opinion poll carried out by public broadcaster NHK after the birth found 56 percent of respondents thought the law should be revised to allow women and their children to also ascend the throne.
■ Malaysia
Tree shows face
A tree whose trunk shows what appears to be a scowling human face has attracted thousands of curious people to northern Penang state in the past week. Villagers have dubbed the betel nut tree a "ghost tree," with some claiming that the face -- which sports heavy brows and a wide nose -- changes every day. A villager said the curves of the face started forming on the tree a month ago, but that it only became distinct last Friday. The tree's owner, said she spotted the face imprinted on the trunk at the base of a palm tree-like frond about a week ago.
■ United Kingdom
Sean Combs loses to Diddy
Sean Combs is Diddy no more -- at least in the UK. The musician and entertainment mogul has agreed to drop the Diddy name as part of an out-of court legal settlement with London-based music producer Richard "Diddy" Dearlove, the law firm representing Dearlove said on Monday. Solicitors Jens Hills & Co said Combs had agreed to "rebrand his commercial activities" in Britain and would "no longer be able to trade in the UK as `Diddy.'" Combs' lawyer, Nigel Calvert, could not immediately be reached for comment. Combs -- formerly known as Puffy and Puff Daddy -- has used the moniker P. Diddy since 2001, but last year decided to be known solely as Diddy.
■ Germany
Bungling shoe thief caught
A bungling German thief stole a pair of shoes in two different sizes and was caught when he went back to the shop to fix his mistake -- decked out in the very clothes he had stolen, authorities said last Friday. Police in the city of Bielefeld said the shop owner recognized the 20-year-old shoplifter because the white shoes and sports jacket he wore were available only in his shop, and had been stolen just two days earlier. "You have to wonder why he went back into the shop in the stolen get-up," a spokesman for Bielefeld police said. "It seems he may not have been the brightest of thieves."
■ United Kingdom
Man admits to murder
A man cleared of killing a pizza delivery rider 15 years ago made British legal history on Monday when he admitted to her murder in the first case to go to court again after last year's reform of the double jeopardy law. Billy Dunlop, 43, was formally acquitted in 1991 of murdering Julie Hogg after two juries failed to reached a verdict. However, he admitted murder at London's Old Bailey on Monday before he was due to face another trial. His case was the first to be affected since the reform of the double jeopardy rule.
■ France
Rescuers save 43 people
A ship heading from Madagascar to the Comoros Islands sank in the Indian Ocean last weekend in bad weather, and 33 people were missing, a local official said on Monday. Of the 76 people on board, 43 people were rescued after the boat sank on Saturday, said Patrice Faure, a high-level official at the prefecture in Mayotte, a French island near the site of the shipwreck. Among those rescued were 23 people on a lifeboat. The boat, which left Madagascar on Friday, may have been overloaded, Faure said. The commander and three crew members of the Moubarak were taken into police custody for questioning, he said.
■ Italy
Recluse taken from flat
When health officials came to remove a woman from the apartment she had not left in more than two decades they had to don respirators to ward off the stench, news reports said on Sunday. The woman, named only as "Carmela," was in her late 50s, weighed about 30kg and had hair 2m long when officials came to take her to hospital, La Repubblica, Il Giorno and La Stampa reported. Firefighters and health officials in Macerata, a city about 200km northeast of Rome, found the apartment's windows sealed with adhesive tape and the shutters jammed shut. A bout of influenza 26 years ago terrified Carmela so much that she tried to seal herself off from germs by barricading herself in her home, the papers said.
■ United States
Photo project goes awry
A high school campus was locked down in Arlington, Texas, on Monday and swarmed by police officers responding to a call that turned out to be students wearing camouflage and carrying mock rifles as part of a photography project. The lockdown at Summit High School lasted about 30 minutes, on the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. "We had a little bit of a misunderstanding this morning," said Terry Morawski, director of communications for the Mansfield Independent School District.
■ Bahamas
Smith's son found dead
The 20-year-old son of Anna Nicole Smith has been found dead a few days after the former reality TV star and Playboy playmate gave birth to a baby girl. Authorities had not determined what caused the death of Daniel Smith, whose body was found on Sunday morning, said Robin Bonnema, a spokeswoman for Trimspa, the diet products company that has been endorsed by Smith. A statement on Smith's Web site said the son died suddenly. "We have yet to learn the cause of death but do not believe that drugs or alcohol were a factor," the statement said.
■ United States
Cyclist gets hit by two cars
A Greenville, South Carolina driver has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident after her car hit a bicyclist who was in the road waiting on an ambulance to treat him for injuries caused when he was hit by another car. Shannon Harris turned herself in to investigators on Sunday night after initially leaving the scene of the accident, Lance Corporal Kathy Hiles, a spokeswoman for the Highway Patrol, said in the Greenville News in a Monday story. The cyclist, whose name has not been released, was in serious condition at a local hospital, Hiles said, adding the man was not wearing a helmet and his bike lacked proper lighting.
■ Brazil
Infamous policeman slain
The most infamous policeman in the country -- blamed for the massacre of 111 prisoners in 1992 -- has been murdered at his upmarket apartment in Sao Paulo. Colonel Ubiratan Guimaraes, a former military police commander who oversaw the invasion of the Carandiru prison in 1992, was found wrapped in a towel and with a single bullet wound to his chest at around 10pm on Sunday. Police said there was no immediate sign of links to the recent wave of "terrorist" attacks in Sao Paulo that have claimed hundreds of lives -- principally policemen, prison guards and "suspects" -- since May.
■ United States
Radio host charged in killing
A popular radio talk-show host charged with killing his estranged wife was released from jail on Monday night after posting bond in Gretna, Louisiana. Bail had been set on Friday at US$250,000 for Vince Marinello, 69. He had been in jail on second-degree murder charges since Thursday. Mary Marinello, a 45-year-old respiratory therapist, died Sept. 1, a day after she was shot twice in the face as she stood in a parking lot. The attack was first described as a botched robbery, but Sheriff Harry Lee said that theory was discarded after surveillance tapes were examined. Deputies searched Vince Marinello's hurricane-damaged house and a friend's home. Lee said a handwritten checklist of the plans for the attack was found.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
IN PURSUIT: Israel’s defense minister said the revenge attacks by Israeli settlers would make it difficult for security forces to find those responsible for the 14-year-old’s death Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned the “heinous murder” of an Israeli teenager in the occupied West Bank as attacks on Palestinian villages intensified following news of his death. After Benjamin Achimeir, 14, was reported missing near Ramallah on Friday, hundreds of Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces raided nearby Palestinian villages, torching vehicles and homes, leaving at least one villager dead and dozens wounded. The attacks escalated in several villages on Saturday after Achimeir’s body was found near the Malachi Hashalom outpost. Agence France-Presse correspondents saw smoke rising from burned houses and fields. Mayor Amin Abu Alyah, of the