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World News Quick Take

■ CHINA
FMD cases on the rise
Some 325 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (FMD) were reported in Beijing in the first week of this month, a sharp rise from the same period last year, state media said. The viral disease, which is common in children, has infected students at nurseries, kindergartens and elementary schools and 90 percent of the victims were under five years old, Xinhua news agency said on Friday. The report said there were 89 cases in the same period last year but did not say why there was a rise in number this year.

■ PAKISTAN
Suspected US spy killed
Islamic militants have shot dead a 30-year-old man suspected of spying for the US in a remote Pakistani tribal district near the Afghan border, an official said yesterday. Rahim Khan's bullet-ridden body was found late on Friday near the village of Alikhel, 12km west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan. "A note left on the body said Rahim was spying for the US forces stationed across the border and has met his fate," said a security official in Miranshah, where Pakistani forces are battling Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters sheltering in the region.

■ CHINA
River restocking plan foiled
Efforts to restock a polluted northern river with fish ran into problems when more than 1,000 residents started hauling them out almost as soon as they were put in, state media said on Thursday. More than 3,000 workers from fishery departments of Jilin and Liaoning provinces on Tuesday released 13 truckloads of carp fry into the Songhua River "in the hope of improving its ecology," Xinhua news agency said. "Shortly after the release was completed, more than 1,000 residents in Jilin swarmed to the riverbank with nets and other fishing equipment," Xinhua said.

■ JAPAN
Prize winners announced
A California-based earthquake scientist, a Japanese chemist and a German choreographer have won this year's Kyoto Prizes for achievement in the arts and sciences. The Inamori Foundation announced the winners on Friday and will give each a gold medal and ?50 million (US$410,000) at a ceremony in Kyoto later this year. Hiroo Inokuchi at the University of Tokyo received the advanced technology award for his work in organic electronics, which has been applied to the development of organic electroluminescent panels that are seen as a possible next-generation replacement for today's liquid-crystal displays.

■ MALAYSIA
Man fined for attacking cocks
A court has fined a Canadian expatriate 600 ringgit (US$175) for attacking his neighbor's fighting cocks, which the man said made such noise that he couldn't sleep well for months, a news report said yesterday. Christopher Neil Marland, who works for an oil company, pleaded guilty on Friday in a magistrate's court to the charge of trespassing in his neighbor's house and hitting one of the roosters with a spade in his backyard on April 21, the Star newspaper reported. Marland's lawyer told the court that his client was pushed over the edge after six months of not getting enough sleep at night, because the neighbor did not do anything to control the birds despite repeated pleas.

■ UNITED KINGDOM
Cyclists to protest nude
Nude cyclists were expected to ride through the streets of cities around the world yesterday to highlight the vulnerability of cyclists on the road and protest against oil dependency, organizers said. London, Paris, Madrid, Montreal and Cape Town were among the cities scheduled to take part in the World Naked Bike Ride, which bills itself as the "craziest, wildest, most insane event of the year" "We face automobile traffic with our naked bodies as the best way of defending our dignity and exposing the unique dangers faced by cyclists and pedestrians," organizers said on their Internet site.

■ ITALY
Senators want ice cream
A group of senators want ice cream in their cafeteria to "improve the quality of life" in the Senate, astonishing observers as the country's political class faces a growing backlash over its handsome pay and perks. In a letter to the Senate building's administrators, Italian senators Rocco Buttiglione and Albertina Soliani said serving "gelato" could be considered serving the needs of people's daily life. "The cafeteria is not supplied with ice cream," said the letter, published by newspapers on Friday. "We think it would be useful if it were and we are certain that it can be interpreted as the desire of many."

■ SPAIN
Judge indicts 32
A Madrid judge on Friday indicted 32 people on charges of belonging to or collaborating with al-Qaeda-linked militant group Ansar al-Islam, the National Court said. Since 2004, Ansar al-Islam members have been working in the country to recruit volunteers among the Moroccan and Algerian communities to fight for al-Qaeda in Iraq, Judge Baltasar Garzon said. Thirteen of the people indicted on Friday on charges of membership in a terrorist organization have already been jailed pending the start of their trial and Garzon ordered them to remain in custody. Six others indicted on the same charges are still at large, and Garzon issued international arrest warrants for them.

■ UNITED KINGDOM
Mayor slams US diplomat
London Mayor Ken Livingstone has escalated his war of words with US Ambassador Robert Tuttle, describing him as a "venal little crook" for his refusal to pay London's congestion charge. In an outspoken interview, the mayor claimed the ambassador was given his position as a reward for contributions to US President George W. Bush's campaign. The mayor and the ambassador have been at war over the envoy's refusal to pay the congestion charge, which 15 months ago led Livingstone to call him a "chiselling little crook." The US embassy says the ?8 (US$16) daily charge for driving into central London is a tax and its diplomats are therefore exempt from paying it.

■ EGYPT
Girl dies of bird flu
A 10-year-old girl who contracted the H5N1 bird flu virus died yesterday, bringing the number of fatalities from the disease in the most populous Arab country to 15, the health ministry said. Mayyada Tuhami is reported to have fallen ill on June 1 after coming into contact with infected household birds but did not enter the hospital until roughly a week later, delaying potentially life-saving treatment. Her case followed a nearly two-month warm weather lull in human bird flu cases in the country.

■ IRAQ
Mortar attack kills detainees
Six civilian detainees were killed and 50 others wounded in a mortar attack on a US-run prison facility in Basra yesterday, the US military said. The "indirect fire attack" was on Camp Bucca, the military said a statement, adding that no US service members were killed or wounded. Of the some 19,000 Iraqis held in US-run facilities, 13,000 are held in Camp Bucca. Most of the detainees in these prisons are held without charge, raising criticism from human-rights groups. Over the last year alone, six detainees have been killed in prison brawls, according to previous announcements made by the US military.

■ GERMANY
Harper says no to Bono
You can stop staring hopefully at that phone, Bono. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will not be calling. The Irish rock star turned poverty activist met US President George W. Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of a G8 summit, but was told Harper was too busy to talk to him. Harper, a somewhat wooden figure regularly mocked for his lack of flair, told reporters on Thursday that meeting Bono was not a priority. "I've got to say that meeting celebrities isn't kind of my shtick, that was the shtick of the previous guy," he said in a dig at his Liberal predecessor Paul Martin, who met Bono regularly.

■ UNITED STATES
Stonefridge dismantled
Goodbye, Stonefridge. Or, if you prefer, Fridgehenge. A sculpture of more than 100 old refrigerators, stacked and arranged in a ring like England's Stonehenge, was removed from Santa Fe, New Mexico, on May 30. Strong wind had toppled much of the 24m high graffiti-covered structure, and city and state officials found that it had become a health and safety hazard. The decade-old piece was a cult phenomenon and a tourist destination, featured on TV and in print worldwide. City spokeswoman Laura Banish said Stonefridge was never meant to be permanent. "It started out as a statement about American consumerism and waste, and then it sort of became waste itself," she said.

■ UNITED STATES
Neutering may become law
California may become the only US state to require the sterilization of pets under a bill passed by the State Assembly, pitting dog and cat lovers against animal rights activists. "It's a horrific bill," said Maureen Hill-Hauch, executive director of the Castleton, New York-based American Dog Owners Association, adding that enforcement of the bill in theory could wipe out California's dog population. The bill would require pet owners to spay and neuter their dogs and cats or face a US$500 fine for each animal. Breeders, as well as owners of guide dogs, could obtain exemptions. The bill was passed late on Wednesday. It must still win the Senate's approval.

■ UNITED STATES
Montana inmates escape
Two inmates, including one who was once accused of plotting to kidnap TV talk show host David Letterman's son, escaped in a truck while working at a Montana prison ranch. Kelly Frank, 45, and convicted burglar William Willcutt, 22, were assigned to a crew that moves irrigation pipe at the ranch, officials said. A supervisor noticed Willcutt and the 1965 truck assigned to Frank were missing on Friday, and the prison was locked down. An inmate count showed Frank was also gone. The truck was found off prison property about an hour later.


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