■ China
Tax informants to be paid
Citizens stand to make up to US$12,900 for tipping off the authorities about tax evasion cases as part of a drive to punish non-payers, state media said yesterday. Informers who help recover 100 million yuan or more will get the reward, with lower sums given for smaller cases, the China Daily reported. The government has been addressing tax collection enforcement in recent years, and is running a campaign to force the rich to pay more and punish them if they try to evade their dues.
■ China
Hanging with the monkeys
A zoo is running a competition with a difference -- the contestants have to live in a monkey enclosure. Six people will live with the monkeys in the zoo in the northwestern province of Shaanxi "to experience the lack of freedom the animals have," the China Daily said on Thursday. The last person remaining will win 11,888 yuan (US$1,534) and title of honorary animal lover, the newspaper said. "Anybody from 18 to 60 years old, in good psychological condition with wild animal protection and survival knowledge may participate," the report said.
■ China
Baby pandas receive names
Eighteen baby pandas, blinking under the bright lights of live television, were presented with their names yesterday with all the glitz and glamor of a movie premiere. The 18 were paraded in little baby prams on state television after their names had been chosen by Internet surfers. The naming of panda cubs is customary when they are weaned and released into their "nursery garden," which was to happen later in the day. The 18 cubs were born to 11 mothers in captivity in Sichuan Province.
■ Vietnam
Boat accident kills three
Two Chinese men and one South Korean man died and 18 passengers were injured when a high-speed ferry collided with a coal barge off the coast in the north, a marine police official said yesterday. The ferry was carrying 25 passengers and five crew to the Chinese border town of Mong Cai when the vessels collided on Friday, Do Quang Thien of the Mong Cai coastal police said. Neither boat sank in the accident, but the impact also left a three-year-old Chinese boy and a Vietnamese woman in critical condition.
■ Singapore
Holey socks a faux-pas
Holes is socks are the ultimate fashion faux-pas in Asia, where taking off your shoes is a courtesy expected at many events. "Asians routinely take off their shoes before entering holy places, such as temples, and the home," said Lee Wong, managing director at Asian Welcome, a Singapore-based relocation adviser. "And because we know we're going to be removing our shoes, we're very careful about the state of our hosiery and our feet." World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz made news this week when he was photographed stepping into a mosque in Turkey wearing holey socks.
■ Malaysia
`Corrupt' official released
The first politician sent to jail under Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's anti-corruption campaign has been freed by a court following an appeal, the politician's lawyer said yesterday. A judge in the northern city of Ipoh on Friday quashed the conviction of Azman Mahalan, one of Abdullah's old friends, because of severe flaws in the case. The New Straits Times daily said the judge angered anti-corruption officials for sitting on the case too long. A lower court had in 2005 sentenced Azman, 64, to two years' jail and fined him 35,000 ringgit (US$10,000) for corruption, but stayed the sentence pending the appeal.
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