■ Hong Kong
Animal hoarder arrested
A Hong Kong woman who kept 113 pets -- including dozens of cats, hamsters and turtles -- in stacked cages in her apartment has been arrested for cruelty to animals, police and newspapers said on Friday. Police found 31 cats, 26 turtles, 13 birds, 10 dogs, 32 hamsters and a rabbit -- all kept in identical blue cages in the apartment, which was no bigger than 40m2, the Ming Pao Daily reported. Officers forced their way into the flat and found the animals after neighbors complained that the apartment smelled foul, the paper said.
■ Hong Kong
Organ donor brings hope
A schoolboy who died in a traffic accident has brought festive hope to at least seven other patients through the rare mass donation of a large number of his vital organs. Fourteen-year-old Miu Chi-ho died from brain injuries after being hit by a bus several days ago, but doctors were able to save the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, skin, bones and corneas of the healthy and athletic teenager. "There were at least seven recipients of the organs," said a spokeswoman with Hong Kong's Hospital Authority. Miu's 41 year-old mother ignored the protests of superstitious relatives in insisting on the donations, a local daily said on Friday.
■ Nepal
Maoists call off strike
Maoists have called off a nationwide general strike planned for Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 to protest against the appointment of ambassadors by the government, chief Maoist negotiator Krishna Bahadur Mahara said. Mahara added that the multi-party government had agreed to put on hold the appointments until the former rebels joined an interim government.
■ India
`Dalit' chosen as justice
A member of India's dalit subcaste group will become chief justice of its powerful Supreme Court for the first time, officials said yesterday. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, 61, will take over on Jan. 14 when the incumbent, Y.K. Sabharwal, retires. Balakrishnan's selection to one of the most powerful posts in India was approved by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Balakrishnan is a member of India's dalit community -- formerly known as "untouchables" -- a group treated as below Hinduism's lowest caste. He is from the communist-ruled southern state of Kerala, which has India's highest literacy rate and some of the country's best social indicators, including for dalits. Dalits make up about 16 percent of India's 1.1 billion population.
■ India
Suicide threat over flight
A woman threatened to kill herself after her Air Deccan flight from New Delhi to Kashmir was canceled due to bad weather, airline officials said yesterday. The unidentified passenger warned she would set herself on fire after the no-frills airline announced the cancelation of its scheduled flight Friday to Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar, citing snow on the runway. "This woman and her lady companion were put on another Srinagar-bound flight which was not canceled despite the bad weather," an Air Deccan official said.
■ Indonesia
Ministry defends ruling
The government yesterday defended a court ruling acquitting Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir of terrorism charges, saying critics should respect the verdict as the due process of law. Bashir, 69, was released in June after spending 2.5 years in prison for conspiracy in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people. On Thursday the Supreme Court quashed his conviction in the twin nightclub attacks, in response to an appeal filed while Bashir was still in prison. The verdict angered family of victims. "The legal proceedings against Abu Bakar Bashir were conducted in an independent, fair and transparent process as may be expected in a democratic system," the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
■ Indonesia
Police watch foreigners
Police will keep a closer watch on foreigners from African countries after an increase in drug-related crimes, despite warnings of prejudice against certain nationals, reports said yesterday. "There are no data on the exact number of drug-related crime rings, but I can confirm that it is high," central Jakarta police investigation and crime unit head Dwi Irianto was reported as saying. General crime unit officer Prasetio said the number of African expats in central Jakarta had sharply increased over the past five years. He admitted that the police could not examine all African nationals for fear of accusations of discrimination but said they would be closely watched.
■ Thailand
Fire ravages slum
A fire broke out in a slum community in Bangkok early yesterday, killing a paralyzed 80-year-old woman and destroying more than 30 houses, police said. The fire started around 4:30am, police said. It spread to more than 30 houses in a shanty community known as Wat Savetsit before firefighters extinguished it an hour later. Police are investigating the cause. "The houses were made of wood and they are built in close proximity to one another so they caught fire very quickly," police said.
■ United States
Trainer attacked by tiger
A female Siberian tiger attacked its trainer shortly after a public feeding at the San Francisco Zoo, according to a spokesman. The unidentified woman may lose one of her arms as a result of her injuries, and was in surgery on Friday at San Francisco General Hospital with injuries to both of her arms, Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White said. "My understanding is the injuries are not life-threatening, but perhaps limb-threatening," Hayes-White said. The tiger attacked shortly after 2pm, the regular feeding time, Garcia said.
■ Mexico
Prostitutes hold pageant
It may lack the glamor of Miss Universe, but Mexico City's Miss Meche beauty pageant for prostitutes made up for it in heart and humor. On Friday, 10 sex workers sashayed on a makeshift stage in Merced, a poor neighborhood famous for prostitution, showing off homemade dresses in a pageant organized by the prostitute support group Street Brigades. Residents applauded the contestants, who included plump over-30 mothers, women dressed in traditional Indian garb and one participant who wore a dress made of condoms. A transvestite in black tights sang for entertainment. Prizes ranged from US$50 to US$100, but participants said the biggest reward was a lift in their self-esteem.
■ UNITED STATES
Holiday travelers stranded
Denver's snowed-in airport reopened for the first time in two days on Friday following a massive snowstorm, but the backlog of flights around the US could take all weekend to clear, and many of the nearly 5,000 holiday travelers stranded might not make it home for Christmas. As planes began taking off again on Friday, passengers with long-standing reservations filled most of the outbound flights. That was bad news for those waiting to rebook flights canceled during the storm. The jam in Denver backed up flights around the country heading into the one of the busiest travel times of the year.
■ UNITED STATES
Mysterious Christmas cash
A woman hopped aboard buses, greeted passengers with "Merry Christmas" and handed each an envelope containing a card and a US$50 bill before stepping off and repeating the process on another bus. She did it so quickly that descriptions of the woman varied among surprised Spokane Transit Authority passengers on several routes on Thursday. "She kind of kept her head down. I don't remember ever seeing this lady before," bus driver Max Clemons said. Transit authority spokesman Dan Kolbet said efforts to identify the gift-giver were unsuccessful.
■ United States
Girl hit by stray bullet
Two men were arrested in connection with the shooting of a young Thai girl who was struck by a stray bullet while standing in her kitchen with her mother. Cesar Zamora, 24, and Steven Andrew Castanon, 20, were arrested on Friday for investigation of attempted murder, police said in a statement. The stray bullet struck nine-year-old Charupa Wongwistiri in the head. Her mother rushed her to hospital, where she remained in a critical condition late on Friday, police said. Zamora walked into a police station with his attorney and surrendered. Castanon was arrested during a traffic stop. Detectives said they were trying to identify a third man who opened fire at Zamora and Castanon, who were standing across the street from Wongwistiri's home.
‘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