■ CHINA
Body found on mountain
A body found on a mountain in Sichuan Province may be that of a Japanese climber who disappeared 26 years ago, a mountaineering official said yesterday. Villagers reported the discovery on Mount Gongga to rescuers who are searching for missing Australian hiker Andrew Clem Lindenmayer, 47, who was reported missing in the area last month, said Liu Feng of the Sichuan Mountaineering Association. He said the body may be that of a member of a 12-strong mountaineering team from Hokkaido, Japan, who came to climb Gongga in May 1981. Eight of the climbers disappeared after falling.
■ CHINA
Sex before marriage OK
More than half of people think sex before marriage is acceptable, but a third say the partners must be in love, the Xinhua news agency said yesterday, citing results of a recent poll. A survey, initiated by the Renmin University, collected 5,951 responses from people of different age groups, professions and education in 10 provinces and municipalities including Beijing and Shanghai. The results showed 32.7 percent said premarital sex should not be condemned as long as the couple loved each other, while almost 29 percent regarded premarital sex as a private matter. While 12.8 percent said premarital sex was immoral, they also said it was understandable.
■ CHINA
Fee for baby tracking
A hospital is charging parents a daily fee to protect babies from being kidnapped, triggering anger from some mothers but a strong defense from authorities, state media reported yesterday. The hospital in Guangdong Province is asking parents to pay 40 yuan (US$5) per day to put an electronic tag on their baby. Hospital security chief Qin Suijin said the local government had given permission to introduce the charge and that it would help avoid both abductions and giving babies to the wrong parents. Other parents welcomed the technology, which works by attaching a tiny radio transmitter to the infant's ankle.
■ CHINA
Blind man built bad bridge
Two officials were jailed for letting a blind contractor build a bridge that collapsed during construction, injuring 12 workers, state media reported. Xinhua news agency said late on Monday that a court in Jiangxi Province sentenced village chief Huang Wenge to 18 months in jail and local party leader Xia Jiazhong to 12 months. The two hired a contractor for a bridge-building project, who then transferred the construction to another contractor, Xia Huaqing, who is blind. Xinhua said that when Xia Huaqing suggested changing the design, the two passed the alterations without telling senior officials. The new design was being used when the bridge collapsed in March, Xinhua said.
■ PHILIPPINES
Robbers killed in shootout
Four bank robbers were killed in a shootout with police near the Makati financial district in Manila yesterday, police said. Two other suspects were arrested as police and bank security guards thwarted the heist on Metropolitan Bank and Trust. The incident is the second attempted bank robbery to end in violence in two weeks. On Monday last week, two security guards were killed and five people wounded, including a 12-year-old student, when some 20 robbers armed with automatic rifles attempted to steal an armored van owned by Banco de Oro in the suburban Sucat district.
■ UNITED KINGDOM
Judge denies flashing
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