■ 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.
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