■ India
Seahorse aphrodisiac tested
Indian scientists are hoping to discover once and for all whether seahorses are an aphrodisiac, a myth that has made the creatures a major hunting target for centuries and an endangered species. Seahorses have been eaten for more than 2,000 years and, as well as being a traditional way of improving sex-drive, are also thought to help respiratory problems. Now the National Institute of Oceanography in seaside Goa is teaming up with the National Centre for Cell Sciences to try to unravel the seahorse's mysteries.
■ Japan
War orphans win in court
A court yesterday ordered the government to pay compensation to scores of Japanese who were left behind in China as children in the closing days of World War II. It was the first ruling to blame the government for failing to take steps quickly to repatriate nationals and help them resettle in their homeland. The court ordered the central government to pay about US$4 million in compensation to 61 "war orphans." Japan sent some 320,000 settlers to Manchuria after its troops began occupying the province in 1931 and brought Henry Pu Yi (溥儀), who had abdicated as the Qing dynasty emperor 20 years earlier, out of seclusion to become the puppet emperor.
■ Malaysia
Policeman turned to crime
A former elite Malaysian policeman was shot and killed after robbing a petrol station and attempting to flee with 50,000 ringgit (US$13,700) in cash, reports said yesterday. The New Straits Times said that Stephen Yau, a one-time member of the elite Special Action Squad, was identified as the culprit in Wednesday's robbery in the capital, during which he was shot twice and died soon after. Yau had saved numerous lives while on the elite squad and received several recommendation letters before quitting in 1994, but had turned to crime to fund his taste for high living, the daily reported.
■ China
Pee before you board
An airline has calculated that it takes a liter of fuel to flush the toilet at 9,144m and is urging passengers to go to the bathroom before they board. As airlines come under increasing pressure to cut fuel expenditures, China Southern's latest strategy is to encourage passengers "to spend their pennies before boarding the aircraft," Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday. "The energy used in one flush is enough for an economical car to run at least 10km," Captain Liu Zhiyuan, who flies regularly between Hangzhou and Beijing, was quoted as saying.
■ United Kingdom
Diana report almost ready
The official report into the death of Princess Diana, which is widely expected to conclude that the 1997 Paris car crash that killed her was an accident, will be published on Dec. 14, the BBC reported on Thursday. Police, who will release the report, refused to confirm the release date. The report is the result of a three-year inquiry into the crash by former Metropolitan Police chief Lord Stevens. The inquiry, which is estimated to have cost as much as ?4 million (US$7.2 million), employed cutting-edge computer technology to reconstruct the crash scene.
■ United Kingdom
Preteen daters like a smoke
Children who start dating before their teens are at least twice as likely as other youngsters to become smokers, researchers said yesterday. The link was particularly strong in preteen girls who are increasingly taking up the habit. The results of the study published in the journal Addiction are troubling because most adult smokers started when they were adolescents and efforts to prompt them to quit, or to prevent children from starting, have had limited success.
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