■ NORTH KOREA
Pyongyang thanks US
Pyongyang offered a rare note of thanks to the US for helping its sailors fend off an attack by pirates off the coast of Somalia. "We feel grateful to the United States for its assistance given to our crewmen," the North's official KCNA news agency said in a report late on Thursday. "This case serves as a symbol of the DPRK [North Korea]-US cooperation in the struggle against terrorism," it said. Late last month, the US dispatched a destroyer to help a North Korean cargo ship, which had sent out a distress signal after it was raided by pirates.
■ AUSTRALIA
Stumping can be dangerous
Prime Minister John Howard may have been hoping to bowl over voters during a campaign stop yesterday, but not literally. A woman was knocked to the ground by a horde of security and media personnel following Howard during a lunchtime campaign tour through a shopping mall in western Sydney. The woman, who was not identified, hit her head and lay motionless on the ground for several seconds as a member of Howard's security staff knelt beside her, media reports said.
■ CHINA
Two-timing man poisoned
A Guangzhou businessman who had two families has died after apparently being intentionally poisoned, the Southern Metropolitan Daily reported yesterday. Xu Weijie, 43, died in a hospital more than a week after he checked in complaining of feeling ill, the newspaper said. Tests found that his urine contained 4,000 times the normal amount of thallium, a highly toxic substance often used in rat poison. About 15 years ago, Xu became involved romantically with two women. He emigrated to New Zealand with one of them and their child, while the other woman moved to Hong Kong with her children.
■ HONG KONG
Assailant scales 24 floors
A man scaled 24 floors to stab an ex-girlfriend as she slept, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday. The woman was stabbed repeatedly on Wednesday, the daily said. The woman's mother, who was also in the apartment, heard a scream. When the attacker saw the mother, he climbed out of the window. "We believe the man abseiled down to the 17th floor with a climbing rope and then climbed down the drainpipes to ground level to escape," police said. The woman was in critical condition in hospital.
■ VENEZUELA
Chavez's sex-appeal rises
President Hugo Chavez calls himself ugly and his looks earned him the nickname "Goofy" in the military, but his image is changing -- he is now considered one of the country's sexiest men. A poll said on Thursday the fifth-most desired man was Chavez, whose large nose, protruding lips, forehead mole and gap in his front teeth are easy fodder for caricature artists in a nation obsessed with beauty. Chavez is well known for his flirtation with female supporters on live television. Nips-and-tucks are common here, where an annual beauty pageant draws more viewers than any other TV event.
■ UAE
Dubai bridge collapses
At least seven people were killed and about 15 injured on Thursday when a bridge under construction in Dubai collapsed near luxury hotels and high-rises in the Gulf trading and tourism hub. Construction workers said about 40 people were on the bridge when it collapsed. Nine workers were rushed to hospital with serious injuries, a police officer at the site said. Matar Saeed al-Tayer, head of Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority, said the incident apparently happened when an excessive amount of steel was placed on a bridge segment during a crane movement.
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