Print

Mail

wiki links

World News Quick Take

■ China
Carey's fur coat missing
A US$7,500 fur coat donated by pop diva Mariah Carey and intended for Mongolia's poor has disappeared, a leading animal rights group said on Thursday. Carey donated the fur coat to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) which said it had since been lost on its way to Mongolia, where it was to be given to nomads to help them keep warm in the winter.

■ China
AIDS activist disappears
A prominent AIDS activist has gone missing after meeting police, the activist's organization said yesterday, in a suspected clampdown ahead of World AIDS Day. Four police officers showed up at the Beijing offices of Aizhi, an AIDS advocacy group, on Friday morning and questioned Wan Yanhai (萬延海) for much of the day, the group said in a statement on its Web site. Around noon, Wan, with police still present, ordered colleagues to cancel a symposium on AIDS, blood safety and legal rights that was scheduled for today, the group said. He has not been heard from since 6pm.

■ Hong Kong
One in five wants new look
One in five global consumers said they would consider having cosmetic surgery and Russians are most receptive to the idea, a survey by ACNielsen said. Nearly half of Russians surveyed said they would be prepared to have cosmetic surgery when they are older, followed by Greeks and people in Baltic countries. However, 94 percent of Hong Kongers were against having surgery to enhance their looks as were 92 percent of Indonesians and 91 percent of Japanese and Malaysians. Teenagers and 20 somethings were more receptive to the idea of cosmetic surgery later in life.

■ Philippines
Arroyo goes for check-up
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was brought to a hospital yesterday for a routine medical examination, a senior aide said. "This is just an executive check up. There is no cause for concern," presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor said in a radio interview. Arroyo, 59, was hospitalized for two days in late June after suffering from diarrhea, which doctors said was triggered by stress that had lowered her resistance to infection. She was back in the hospital a month later because of the flu. Defensor said.

■ Japan
Kyoto may ban billboards
The ancient capital of Kyoto plans to ban billboards on top of buildings and blinking neon signs to improve the city's landscape, news reports said yesterday. Kyoto, dotted with old temples, shrines and other historical sites, is known for its beauty and is a popular tourist destination. But just like many other big cities, Kyoto's streets are not free of eyesores like gaudy billboards and glaring neon signs. Kyoto plans to ban all rooftop billboards as well as neon signs that flicker. The city plans to revise its regulations on outdoor advertisements by March and the offending signs are expected to be removed completely in six years.

■ Bangladesh
Millions get polio vaccine
Hundreds of thousands of volunteers and health workers fanned out across the country yesterday to vaccinate some 24 million children under the age of 5 against polio, following an outbreak of new cases earlier this year. Parents with children lined up in about 120,000 immunization centers, many at bus and railway stations, airports, schools, community centers and in remote villages, to eradicate the deadly disease that resurfaced after an absence of about five years, the Health and Family Planning Ministry said.

■ India
Kashmir raid kills three
Government forces raided a hide-out of suspected Islamic militants in the Indian portion of Kashmir early yesterday and an ensuing gunbattle left two soldiers and one rebel dead, police said. Another two soldiers were critically wounded in the fighting in Nildora, a forested village 65km south of Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state, said Hemant Lohia, a deputy inspector-general of police. Suspected insurgents resorted to heavy gunfire and threw hand grenades as government soldiers approached their hide-out, Lohia said. Two soldiers and one suspected rebel were killed in the fighting, he said, adding that the wounded soldiers have been hospitalized.

■ Thailand
Death sentences commuted
Two Thai fishermen convicted of raping and murdering a 21-year-old British tourist on New Year's Day have had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment, their lawyer said yesterday. Bualoy Kothisit, 23, and Wichai Sonkhaoyai, 24, were sentenced to death after a speedy trial in January but won a reprieve this month after an appeal. "The court commuted their death sentences on the ground that they had voluntarily confessed their crime," lawyer Prompatchara Namuang said. The victim's mother Elizabeth had called for life in jail, saying her daughter would not have believed capital punishment an appropriate sentence.

■ United States
Church embraces vandals
Congregants of a church that was badly vandalized have collected "love baskets" full of electronics for the three suspects. "The judge will give them consequences, but as a congregation we want to reach out and extend love and mercy to them," said Jason Reimer, a pastor at the South Hills Evangelical Church. "A lot of us, whether we're churchgoers or not, have been in their shoes before and have made some bad choices. But God forgives us," he said. Justin Wurth, 18, Duane Barry, 19, and Tyler Pearce, also 19, are accused of breaking into the church just before midnight on Nov. 12.

■ United States
Democrats put Iraq on notice
Support for the fledgling Iraqi government is not unconditional, and Iraq should expect changes in the the nation's role, incoming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on Saturday. "In the days ahead, the Iraqis must make the tough decisions and accept responsibility for their future," Hoyer said during the weekly Democratic radio address. "And the Iraqis must know: Our commitment, while great, is not unending," he said. Hoyer's comments were taped on Wednesday, before an escalation in sectarian violence in Iraq. At least 215 Shiites were killed in bomb and mortar attacks on Thursday in Sadr City.

■ United States
Free stove, baby up for grabs
A classified ad that offered a free baby boy on the Craigslist Web site was under investigation by police on Friday although the posting was believed to be a hoax. The ad was posted to the "free stuff" section of the site early on Thursday alongside offers for free turkey dinners, a set of crutches and an electric stove. The writer, who said he was in San Diego, claimed that his ex-girlfriend had the baby a few weeks ago. "Now he just sits in my closet and cries," the ad stated. "I'm not too sure how to deal with it." The posting added: "Batteries not included. Transaction final. No returns." Craigslist removed the ad shortly after it appeared.

■ United States
`Frankenrice' approved
The Agriculture Department approved for human consumption a type of genetically engineered rice that had contaminated domestic rice supplies last summer. The USDA said on Friday that its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service decided to deregulate the experimental long-grain rice after a review of scientific evidence indicated it was as safe as its traditionally bred counterparts. In August, trace amounts of LLRICE601, dubbed "Frankenrice" by critics, were found in storage bins in Arkansas and Missouri. Bayer CropScience AG, a German company with headquarters in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, sought approval for the rice after the contamination was discovered.

■ United States
Shops allegedly running guns
Two Pennsylvania sporting goods stores are suspected of illegally exporting weapons and doing business with individuals the government has linked to war crimes and drug trafficking, authorities said on Friday. No charges have been filed against the
D&R Sports Center stores in Nanticoke and Bloomsburg or their owners, brothers Mark and Theodore Komoroski, who deny any wrongdoing. However, authorities suspect the stores have been illegally exporting binoculars, firearms and other equipment to Russia, Kuwait, Germany and Japan without the required federal license, according to court documents.


This story has been viewed 1149 times.