■ AUSTRALIA
Cyclone veers away
Tropical Cyclone Melanie, a category two storm with winds of up to 155kph, has veered away from the country's remote northwest coast and was not expected to make a land crossing, meteorologists said yesterday. Melanie, which was speeding towards the coast a day ago, has changed tracks to move on a southwesterly direction, parallel to the Pilbara coast, the Bureau of Meteorology said on its Web site. The bureau said a cyclone warning continues for coastal areas from Coral Bay to Mardie, but a warning between Karratha and Mardie has been canceled.
■ AFGHANISTAN
Taliban dismiss commander
The Taliban have dismissed a senior regional commander for insubordination, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said yesterday. The spokesman said Mullah Omar, the group's supreme leader, had dismissed Mansoor Dadullah as a commander and expelled him from the hardline Islamic movement. The spokesman said the action had been taken for insubordination and disobeying orders. He did not say when Mansoor was removed or who would replace him. Mansoor was the brother of Mullah Dadullah, one of the most senior Taliban commanders to be killed since the group was ousted as the country's rulers in 2001 in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks on the US.
■ PHILIPPINES
Report says 1,000 rebels lost
Communist guerrillas lost about 1,000 fighters this year but continue to be a thorn in the side of the government by launching attacks against the armed forces, a military report said yesterday. The number of New People's Army guerrillas dropped this year to slightly more than 6,000 -- the lowest level in 12 years. The insurgents were killed in battle, arrested, or surrendered, the report said. Thirteen rebel bases were also lost, leaving 87 strongholds nationwide, it said.
■ VIETNAM
Workers in radiation scare
More than 400 workers were evacuated from an oil rig after a radioactive device was lost, officials and state media said yesterday. Nearly 200 panicked workers were tested for exposure at a local hospital after dozens complained of dizziness and problems breathing, said Tran Van Bay, director of Le Loi Hospital. Preliminary test results showed all were in good health, Bay said. The radioactive device, used to inspect welding knots on an oil rig in Ba Ria Vung Tau Province was misplaced when it was being moved from one welding area to another, said the online news Web site VnExpress. It was missing for more than an hour before being found. He said it would have been difficult for radiation poisoning to occur because the device, which was not damaged, had a low level of radioactivity.
■ MALAYSIA
Minority actors get boost
The nation's state-run television will start featuring more ethnic minority actors to curb fears that the industry sidelines people who are not from the Malay Muslim majority, the national news agency reported. Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin said most of the Malay-language shows that dominate Radio Televisyen Malaysia involve only Malay stars, even though many non-Malays are proficient in the language, the national Bernama news agency reported late on Saturday. "Now, even if there are non-Malays in RTM's entertainment programs, they only hold minor roles," Bernama quoted Zainuddin as saying.
■ SUDAN
Government accuses Chad
The government has accused Chadian aircraft of bombing Darfur in what it called "repeated aggressions" by its neighbor. Relations between the two African oil producers have been touchy in recent years as both try to quell insurgencies close to their long and porous border. They accuse each other of backing rebels trying to overthrow their respective governments. "In an unprecedented escalation, Chadian forces have violated the joint border as three Chadian war planes bombed two areas ... in West Darfur ... on Dec. 28," a Sudanese foreign ministry statement said.
■ GERMANY
Georgian fears execution
Georgia's former defense minister said in comments released on Saturday that he will be killed if extradited to his home country. Irakli Okruashvili, wanted in Georgia on charges of abuse of power while in office, told Der Spiegel that his former ally Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili would use all means to stay in power. Okruashvili told the daily that he had filed for asylum in Germany, where he was arrested earlier this month on an international warrant. "An extradition -- that would mean death," he said. Okruashvili is a one-time ally of Georgia's president who became a prominent critic.
■ GERMANY
Hollywood wants Knut
A star polar bear, rescued a year ago after being rejected by his mother, may be heading to Hollywood after a reported multi-million dollar offer from US film producer Ash Shah. "We're involved in negotiations," Bernhard Blaskiewitz, director of the Berlin Zoo, told the Badische Zeitung of plans for Knut to star in Shah's latest production. Producer of the movie Garfield Gets Real, Shah will offer an initial US$100,000 downpayment for Knut to star in his latest movie. The contract would see US$5 million paid out for Knut's starring performance over two years, which zoo officials say could bankroll improvements at the zoo.
■ TURKEY
Explosion hits convoy
A landmine explosion hit a convoy of Turkish trucks in northern Iraq on Saturday, killing one driver and leaving five others injured, NTV news channel reported. Foreign ministry spokesman Levent Bilman confirmed the convoy, transporting construction material to Iraq, ran into a landmine, but said Turkish authorities were still trying to clarify the casualties. The incident occurred early on Saturday on a road linking the northern Iraqi cities of Dohuk and Mosul, NTV said, citing local sources. More than 100 Turks, mostly truck drivers shipping goods, have been killed in mine attacks or by hostage-takers in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003.
■ IRAQ
Al-Maliki sees UK doctor
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki left Baghdad on Saturday for a medical check-up in London after suffering exhaustion, a government statement said. "Despite the fatigue that the prime minister is suffering due to continuous work, he has left in good health," the statement said. Maliki told state television he hoped to return home soon. "It's been some time since I had a check-up and I want to be reassured about some health matters," the 57-year-old premier said as he boarded a plane at Baghdad airport. Asked how long the prime minister would be abroad, an official in Maliki's office said he did not know.
■ MEXICO
Police convoy ambushed
Gunmen ambushed a police convoy transporting three alleged kidnappers to a prison in a northern part of the country, killing seven officers and freeing two of the suspects, authorities said on Saturday. Two state police officers were wounded in the attack on Friday and the third alleged kidnapper was flown to Mexico City where he is being questioned by organized crime investigators, the federal attorney general's office said in a statement. It said those killed were six local police officers and a traffic officer.
■ UNITED STATES
GPS gives thief away
Police in Amityville, New York, arrested a man on suspicion of stealing a GPS receiver after the device apparently gave him away. Amityville police say they stopped the 33-year-old man early on Saturday after they spotted him trying to ride a bicycle while carrying several items, including a car GPS unit. Police say the cyclist gave evasive answers to questions and when the officer pressed the home button on the GPS, the unit displayed a nearby address. The resident of that home told police the device was his.
■ UNITED STATES
Lost ring returned
A woman in Lafayette, Indiana, whose diamond ring vanished while she was making fudge for a bake sale was despondent after scouring her home and finding no sign of it. But Linda Vancel recently got a sweet surprise: A relative of the woman who bought the fudge found the ring when he bit into a piece of the candy. Linda Rhoades bought the fudge during a bake sale in West Lafayette. She took some of it to her sister-in-law's father, Charles Matson, in hopes of cheering him up after recent health problems. Rhoades said Matson called her and said, "Well, Linda, it's got chocolate all over it, but it doesn't look adjustable. It's got a stone that's really shiny."
■ UNITED STATES
Man fires at Hooters, kills 1
A customer who was upset over his tab fired several shots into a Hooters restaurant in Knoxville, Tennessee, killing one person and seriously wounding a manager, police said. Police were searching for the man, who left on foot on Saturday just after midnight, Lieutenant Kenny Miller said. Managers asked the man to leave after he refused to pay his bill at the chain restaurant and bar, which is known for featuring scantily clad waitresses. He then went outside and started firing a .40-caliber handgun at the building, police said. The shots hit another customer identified as 35-year-old Stacey Sherman. Sherman, who police believed was visiting family for the holidays, died later at a hospital.
■ UNITED STATES
Burglary suspect gets robbed
A burglary suspect who gave a false home address to police after his arrest didn't count on one thing -- getting robbed himself. Daniel Cabral, 22, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with burglarizing a University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth building, police said. He was arraigned and released until his next court date. Hours later, he was robbed at gunpoint while walking home from a bar. He reported the robbery to police, this time giving them his real address instead of the phony one he reported earlier in the day, according to authorities. Police arrested two suspects and a man accused of being an accomplice after the fact. They also obtained a search warrant for Cabral's real address and found stolen computer equipment.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese