■ New Zealand
Thieves steal tiki penis
Masked thieves armed with a chisel stole the penis of a wooden Maori figurine, or tiki, at the entrance of a public library in northern New Zealand, police said. Security cameras captured pictures of three masked men using the chisel to remove the tiki's penis early on Sunday morning. The figurine is one of two indigenous Maori designs that stand on pou or posts astride the entrance to the library in Whangarei. Carver Kerry Strongman said the theft had damaged the "mana" or pride of the city. Police said they were at a loss to explain the theft, particularly as a nearby statue of Tangaroa, the Maori god of the sea, was better endowed. Strongman said he would begin work immediately on a carving that would restore the tiki to its original state.
■ Singapore
Britons accused of ATM theft
Three 21-year-old Britons were to appeal in court yesterday on charges of theft and computer misuse for allegedly using dozens of counterfeit ATM cards to make withdrawals from cash machines, police said. The three men, who were not identified, were arrested on Wednesday evening while using an ATM machine. A search of the men yielded 35 cloned ATM cards, many with the PIN numbers attached, police said in a statement. The statement said the ATM cards were cloned with data stolen from European bank accounts.
■ South Korea
Killer sentenced to death
A serial killer who murdered 13 people and injured 20 in 25 separate attacks has been sentenced to death. A Seoul district court said it passed the highest possible sentence because Chung Nam-kyu showed no remorse for his crimes and there was a danger he would repeat them, the JoonAng Daily reported yesterday. "The accused prepared for his crimes with gloves and masks and tried to commit the perfect crimes. ... The motives were not financial or based on individual grudges but were done for his own satisfaction," the judgment said. Chung was quoted as saying after the sentence that his life had been "a mess."
■ South Korea
North has nuke tunnel: paper
North Korea has built an underground tunnel for possible use in a nuclear test, a South Korean newspaper reported yesterday, amid concerns that the communist nation may be planning such a move. A 700m deep shaft has been built with a horizontal tunnel running nearby at Mount Mantap in North Hamkyong province on the North's northeast coast, the English-language JoongAng Daily reported, citing Chung Hyung-keun, a lawmaker from the opposition Grand National Party. Chung obtained the information from the National Intelligence Service, the South's spy agency, according to the report.
■ China
Tiananmen prisoner released
A Chinese factory worker has been released after serving 17 years in jail for setting fire to a military vehicle during the Tiananmen Square democracy protests, he said on Thursday. Zhang Maosheng was 21 years old in 1989 when he was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on charges of counterrevolutionary arson. His sentence was commuted to life in prison and then reduced several times for good behavior. Reached at his mother's Beijing home, Zhang, now 38, confirmed that he was released on Sept. 13 after 17 years and three months in jail. He declined to speak further, saying that the conditions of his parole forbid him from talking to the media.
■ United Kindom
Longevity preferred to sex
A large number of Britons would be prepared to give up sex if it meant they would live to be 100, according to a survey yesterday. The Mori research found that 40 percent would pass on the passion for longevity, although far more women (48 percent) were willing to make the sacrifice than men (31 percent). However nearly all (94 percent) would not give up their friends or family in order to reach their century while a half thought scientists should keep trying to prolong people's lifespans. Private health care provider BUPA commissioned the survey as part of a debate on the aging population.
■ Canada
Package still a mystery
An investigation into the origins of a suspicious package found on an Air India flight this week has stumped police, now forced to enlist help from British and Indian authorities, officials said on Thursday. Air India Flight 188 was ordered back to the Toronto airport late on Monday after a passenger found the package in the aircraft's bathroom about an hour after takeoff, police said. "We're still trying to determine how the package got onboard with all the security measures in place," Constable Jennifer Bryer said. "And, we're contacting other agencies in Britain and India to assist in the investigation."
■ United States
Town set to disappear
Within days, the tiny town of Elkport will be wiped off the map. It is rare that a 150-year-old community disappears, but the heavy rains that caused Elk Creek to swell and breach its dike in May 2004 were anything but ordinary. Within hours, the northeast Iowa town was consumed by floodwaters that left homes under as much as 4.6m of water, prompting a disaster declaration by President George W. Bush. The northeast Iowa town has been deserted ever since. Despite efforts to mow lawns, keep weeds down and fly the American flag at the community center, Elkport has the feel of a ghost town. Workers prepared structures for demolition this week.
■ Canada
Blueberry patch pinched
Thieves stole an entire blueberry patch, or 20,000 bushes worth about C$75,000 (US$65,000), amid skyrocketing berry prices, police said on Thursday. The bandits struck overnight earlier this week and left a "large mess in the field," Constable Casey Vinet of the Abbotsford police in British Columbia province said on Thursday. The farmer had the blueberry bushes delivered and intended to have them planted, but when his laborers showed up, the plants were gone, he said. "I've been here 13 years and it's the first time I've ever heard of blueberries being stolen," Vinet said. "Sometimes folks are caught stealing a few stalks of corn for personal use, but never an entire field."
■ South Africa
Unions back Zuma
The main labor federation demanded yesterday that Jacob Zuma be reinstated as the country's deputy president after a judge threw out a graft case against the veteran leader. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), a key ally of the ruling African National Congress party, also said all charges against the former leader, who was sacked last year, should be scrapped "once and for all." "The COSATU ... has reiterated its earlier demand for all charges to be permanently dropped," spokesman Patrick Craven said.
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
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
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