■ China
Sociologist jailed for leaks
A court jailed a sociologist for 20 years for leaking state secrets, the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said yesterday. Lu Jianhua (陸建華), 46, a sociologist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was convicted by the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court on Monday, the Hong Kong-based watchdog group said in a statement. Lu did not hire a lawyer. Lu's case appeared to be linked to the imprisonment of Ching Cheong (程翔), a Hong Kong-based reporter for the Straits Times in Singapore, who was jailed for five years for allegedly spying for Taiwan.
■ Afghanistan
Helmand governor sacked
The government has fired the governor of its biggest drug-producing province, while clashes and a suicide bombing killed six militants and wounded six US-led coalition troops, officials said on Monday. Mohammad Daud was replaced by Asadullah Wafa over the weekend as governor of Helmand Province. Helmand accounts for 42 percent of the country's poppy crop, according to UN estimates -- and is also a center of Taliban resistance. A Western official in Kabul said Daud, who had been governor for about a year, was a "high-integrity guy" and said media reports claiming the US wanted him replaced were false. The official, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject, said he didn't know why Daud was removed.
■ China
Luxury hospital filling up
The first ``five-star'' hospital -- with golf course and karaoke bars -- is already half booked ahead of its opening on Monday, even though its cheapest room costs more than US$5,000 a month, the Shanghai Daily reported. Shanghai's Xiyue Postnatal Hospital is meant for new mothers, the paper said. The hospital offers luxury rooms for mothers and children, as well as a swimming pool, golf course, tennis courts and even karaoke bars for visitors, the paper said. While the hospital's cheapest room is priced at just 40,000 yuan (US$5,115) a month, a luxury, two-story suite that has separate bedrooms for mother, child and baby sitter -- along with a karaoke bar -- costs nearly 10,000 yuan a day, the paper said. The average monthly salary in Shanghai is 2,860 yuan, according to official statistics.
■ Sri Lanka
Thousands displaced
Floods have displaced at least 40,000 people as the country prepares to commemorate the second anniversary of the Asian tsunami disaster, National Disaster Management Center director N.D. Hettiarachchi said yesterday. The districts of Hambantota and Ampara, two of the worst hit by the December 2004 tsunami, were under water, he said. "The flood waters are receding, but the victims will have to be looked after for a few more days," he said. He said the flooding in the south and east was compounded by the overflowing of several irrigation tanks.
■ Italy
Thieves steal creche figures
Thieves stole the figurines from an antique Christmas creche in a church in the middle of Naples late on Sunday night, an employee of San Nicola alla Carita said on Monday. "They left nothing," making off with some 300 19th-century figurines, he said. The haul was easily worth 1 million euros (US$1.3 million), the ANSA news agency said.
■ Brazil
Man stabbed over pay hike
A woman apparently incensed over a 91 percent pay hike lawmakers granted themselves last week stabbed a prominent member of congress in the back on Monday, police said. Rita de Cassia Sampaio de Souza, 45, told police her anger over the pay hike drove her to stab Representative Antonio Carlos Magalhaes Neto -- the scion of a powerful political family -- as he left his office in the northeastern city of Salvador da Bahia. Magalhaes, 27, was reportedly in good condition and his life was not at risk. State police inspector Wilson Ramos said the pay raise was one of things Souza mentioned in her rambling statement after she was arrested.
■ United States
Joseph Barbera dies at 95
Joseph Barbera, a co-founder of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon company that created memorable characters like the Flintstones and Scooby-Doo, died on Monday at age 95, Warner Bros film studio said in a statement. Barbera founded Hanna-Barbera with William Hanna nearly 50 years ago and it grew to become one of Hollywood's best known brand names in the field of animation. He died at his home in the Los Angeles suburb of Studio City with his wife, Sheila, by his side, Warner Bros said. No further details were disclosed.
■ United States
Pot biggest cash crop
Marijuana is now the biggest cash crop grown in the country, exceeding traditional harvests such as wheat, corn and soy beans, a new report says. The study shows that 10,000 tonnes of marijuana worth US$35.8 billion is grown each year; the street value of which is even higher. This dwarfs the US$23 billion worth of corn grown, US$17.6 billion worth of soybeans and US$12.2 billion worth of hay. Marijuana is the biggest cash crop in 12 states, with the value of pot grown outstripping peanuts in Georgia and tobacco in North and South Carolina.
■ United States
Man gets degree at 100
When Marvin "Hub" Northen left Baylor University in 1929, he was one chemistry credit shy of graduating. This fall, the 100-year-old was finally granted his degree. Northen, who lives in a nursing home in Shreveport, Louisiana, did not attend Saturday's commencement at Baylor. But he was listed among the December list of graduates. He had a surprise graduation ceremony at his Shreveport church on Nov. 28 when he was presented with a Baylor diploma, a cap and gown and his official transcript. "I didn't expect any of it. Of course, I appreciated it. It wore me out all day long," Northen said.
■ United States
Baby dies from infection
A baby died after being infected by a virulent bacterium during an outbreak that prompted officials at an East Los Angeles hospital to stop accepting patients to its neonatal intensive care unit. The infant was among five patients at White Memorial Medical Center who were infected by Pseudomonas aeruginosa -- a common but potentially deadly bacterium for those with weak immune systems. An autopsy was under way, although hospital officials said it was likely the baby died on Monday because of the infection. The infant was the second to die since the bacterium was detected Nov. 30. No autopsy was conducted on the first baby, although the infection was believed to be the cause of death.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese