■ AUSTRALIA
Bondi's `caveman' can stay
People pay millions of dollars for an apartment overlooking Bondi Beach, but only the "Bondi Caveman" enjoys the panoramic water view for free. Jhyimy Mhiyles has camped rough for the past five years on Bondi's southern headland. For the last two months the local council had tried to evict Mhiyles from his ramshackle home, claiming it was worried about his safety, but now it has bowed to local support for the eccentric "caveman" and agreed to let him stay. But there are a few housekeeping rules -- no open fires, no explosives or gas bottles, no disposing of human waste in public places and the campsite must be kept tidy and discreet.
■ CHINA
South Koreans electrocuted
Two South Korean students were electrocuted in Shanghai after falling into a faulty fountain, the Shanghai Daily and other newspapers said yesterday. They said the accident was apparently caused by electricity escaping from the fountain's electrical rig, which powers lights beneath the shallow water and nozzles that spray water into the air. The pair had been relaxing by the fountain in Hongji Square after a meal on Friday when the woman, 21, either fell in or placed her hand in the water. The force of the electric charge caused her to fall in and her male friend, 19, was electrocuted trying to rescue her, the reports said. The pair had been attending a two-year program at Shanghai University.
■ NEPAL
Sweating idol draws scores
Hundreds of people have flocked to a remote eastern village to see a "sweating" idol of a Hindu god, a sign of impending turmoil or natural disaster. Witnesses said that sweat seeped out of the idol of the Bhimeshwor god at a temple in Dolakha during evening prayers at the weekend. "I saw the right side of the black stone idol had become wet because of sweating," said Shanta Krishna Shrestha, chairman of a committee responsible for maintaining the temple. "This denotes something like major political change or a natural calamity ... We must hold special prayers and make sacrifices asking for forgiveness." Sweating was seen on the idol in 2001, media reported, months before a palace massacre when King Birendra and eight other members of the royal family were shot dead by the then crown prince.
■ BANGLADESH
Wild elephants kill two
Wild elephants trampled two people to death and destroyed 20 bamboo homes when they strayed into a village near Cox's Bazar yesterday. The herd of some 10 elephants also uprooted trees and damaged crops in Mithachhari. Police said some seven people have been trampled to death by wild elephants in the last two months at Cox's Bazar district alone. Records show that at least 15 people are killed by elephants in the country each year. Elephants stray into villages as their forest habitats shrink because of encroachment by the rising human population, forest officials say.
■ CHINA
Zoo eyes quake behavior
Guangzhou Zoo is monitoring its animals extra carefully to study how their behavior predicts earthquakes, the China Daily said yesterday. The zoo set up observation points near peacocks, frogs, snakes, turtles, deer and squirrels to monitor and record their behavior for the city's seismology office. The seismology office said abnormal behavior can be observed among 130 animals before an earthquake.
■ GERMANY
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