■ CHINA
Bird flu father improving
A 52-year-old man whose son died recently from bird flu and who himself has been infected with the virus is gradually recovering, a report said yesterday. The patient, surnamed Lu, showed signs of improvement on Saturday, five days after he developed fever and pneumonia symptoms, Xinhua news agency said, citing medical officials in Jiangsu Province. His son died last Sunday from the H5N1 avian flu strain, which has killed more than 200 people worldwide since 2003.
■ CHINA
Food safety drive launched
A nationwide drive is being launched to boost food safety and healthy diets among children following repeated poisoning incidents and scandals over phoney milk powder and other substandard products, a news report said yesterday. Xinhua news agency said officials will focus on small retailers in rural areas, where processed foods are commonly mislabeled or contain inferior ingredients and where nutritional knowledge is lowest.
■ HONG KONG
US family calls for probe
The family of two Americans found dead in their hotel room after a night out suspect they were murdered and are demanding an inquest, a report said yesterday. The businessmen were found dead in the Grand Hyatt hotel in October. Reports have variously linked the deaths to a possible overdose and that the pair were drugged with the date rape drug flunitrazepam, better known as Rohypnol. Cynthia Nielson, Cherry's sister, conceded that Cherry did use drugs, but said "Paul was larger than life and dabbled in cocaine but definitely not heroin."
■ JAPAN
Princess delivers message
Crown princess Masako said yesterday in a 44th birthday message that she was trying to take on more public duties as she battles to overcome a stress disorder. Masako, a former diplomat educated in the US and Britain, has been fighting stress as she tries to fit in with the world's oldest monarchy, and had made few public appearances in recent years. The scope of her outings has expanded in the past year but she has not yet returned to ritual ceremonies at the palace sanctuary. In her message, she voiced appreciation for the medical and psychological help she has received from her family and the public. "I want to reiterate my thanks to the Japanese people for their concerns and show of their warm feeling," she said.
■ AUSTRALIA
Officials deny troop report
The government yesterday denied reports that it had made a commitment to keep troops in Afghanistan until 2010. The denial came in response to newspaper reports that the Dutch government had told its parliament that Australia would join in an extension of troop deployments until that time. Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said there has been no decision made on extending Canberra's commitment beyond August next year. "While the government continues to recognize the importance of continuing the effort in Afghanistan, no formal decisions have yet been made about future commitments beyond the current mandate," his spokeswoman said.
■ AUSTRALIA
PM meets with Helen Clark
New Prime Minister Kevin Rudd met with his New Zealand counterpart Helen Clark yesterday in his first face-to-face meeting with a foreign head of government since being sworn-in a week ago. The informal meeting at Rudd's Brisbane home covered issues in the South Pacific, the relationship between the two countries and the UN climate change conference in Bali, Rudd told reporters. "I've always been impressed by what the Kiwis have done on the ground in the South Pacific," he said. "[They have] always been very attentive to emerging problems and what needs to be done.
RSS