■ PAKISTAN
Army's top medic killed
A suicide bomber killed the army's top medical officer and seven others in Rawalpindi yesterday. The chief of the army's medical corps, Lieutenant-General Mushtaq Ahmed Baig, died with two of his staff and five passers-by. Twelve others were wounded. "The general was on his way home and his car was stopped at a traffic light. The bomber was on foot and blew himself up there," Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said. He said the bomber was about 16 years old.
■ PAKISTAN
YouTube blocked
The government has banned access to the video-sharing Web site YouTube because of anti-Islamic movies that users have posted on the site, an official said. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) told the country's 70 Internet service providers on Friday that the Web site would be blocked until further notice. It did not specify what the offensive material was, but a PTA official said on Sunday that the ban concerned a movie trailer for an upcoming film by Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, who has said he plans to release an anti-Koran movie portraying the religion as fascist and prone to inciting violence against women and homosexuals.
■ NORTH KOREA
NY Philharmonic arrives
The New York Philharmonic arrived yesterday afternoon for a landmark concert aimed at improving ties with the US. A plane carrying members of the orchestra along with staff and journalists landed in Pyongyang on the eve of the concert. The orchestra was founded in 1842 and is the oldest US symphony orchestra. The Pyongyang event -- to be telecast nationwide and abroad -- will also feature George Gershwin's An American in Paris and Antonin Dvorak's New World Symphony.
■ SOUTH KOREA
Reservist wins hair suit
A 26-year-old man has been granted a national merit entitling him to government subsidies after he went bald during his "stressful" army service, a news report said on Sunday. A court in Suwon recently ruled in favor of a petition by the army reservist, known as Mr Kwon, to get a "person-of-national-merit" status, Yonhap News Agency said. People of national merit are entitled to a monthly state subsidy for livelihood and various other social benefits. Kwon joined the army in December 2002 and his hair began falling out in July 2004. He blamed his training for the alopecia, which has worsened, and demanded compensation from the government, Yonhap said. He was discharged from the service in January 2005.
■ CHINA
Revelers attack police
An entrepreneur led an attack on a police station after he was ordered to stop setting off firecrackers, state media reported on Sunday. Zhang Jiuyuan (章久元), a telecom executive in Dazhou, was among a group celebrating the end of Lunar New Year last Thursday by setting off firecrackers in a square where they had been banned, the Beijing News said. After police stopped them, Zhang led an attack on the police station. Twelve police officers were injured, including a female official who was beaten unconscious, the paper said. Zhang and seven others were arrested, it reported. Zhang, the general manager of Dazhou Telecom Industrial Co , was elected one the "Top Ten Star Philanthropists" in Sichuan Province last year for donating money to rural infrastructure and supporting undergraduates.
■ GERMANY
Quake rattles Saarland
A mild earthquake caused by coal mining shook the western state of Saarland on Saturday, causing damage to buildings, but no injuries. A police spokesman in the Saarlouis region on the French border said the earthquake measured 4.0 on the Richter scale, the strongest on record in the area, and had knocked over chimneys and caused electricity outages. After the quake, about 1,000 demonstrators gathered near the epicenter in Saarwellingen, police said, to demand an end to mining work which has sparked dozens of small tremors this year alone.
■ BELARUS
Dissident on hunger strike
A jailed opposition leader began a hunger strike on Sunday after prison authorities refused to let him out of prison for his wife's funeral, his lawyer said. Prison authorities denied a request to release Alexander Kozulin temporarily to bury his wife, Irina, who died overnight after a struggle with cancer, attorney Igor Rynkevich said. Kozulin was arrested during an opposition protest after challenging President Alexander Lukashenko in the former Soviet republic's 2006 presidential election. He was found guilty of organizing mass protests and sentenced to five years in a high-security prison.
■ AUSTRIA
State sued for negligence
The father of a girl held hostage for eight years will sue the state for negligence, after an investigator reportedly ignored evidence that could have quickly freed her, his lawyer said on Sunday. Ludwig Koch is seeking 100,000 euros (US$150,000) in damages plus another 30,000 euros in charges on grounds of having suffered needlessly, lawyer Dietmar Heck said, claiming the sums Koch wants are "very modest." Natascha Kampusch, who was just 10 when she was abducted in March 1998, was not heard of again until her escape in August 2006.
■ ITALY
War of food begins
Rome challenged France's aim of being the first country to have its cuisine put on a UN World Heritage List, with Italian farmers saying on Sunday they produced more speciality foods than the French. Farmers said their pasta and cheese could easily see off a challenge posed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Paris farm show on Saturday to get French food an unprecedented place on the UNESCO list, which so far applies to places. "Italy can respond to their foie gras, armagnac, soupe a l'oignon and escargots with dishes that conquered the world and are much appreciated by the French themselves, like pasta and pizza," farmers' association Coldiretti said.
■ IRELAND
Dustin the Turkey on stage
The country's rich musical tradition has acquired an unlikely ambassador for the 2008 Eurovision song contest: glove puppet Dustin the Turkey, renowned for his burps and thick Dublin accent. The choice of Dustin's song Irelande Douze Pointe played to mixed reviews on Saturday, with applause and boos from the audience. One judge, Dana Rosemary Scallon, a former Eurovision winner, said: "If it's the turkey, I think we're better not to go into the Eurovision again." But Dustin vowed to put the country, which has a record seven Eurovision wins, back on the map after several disappointing years and finishing last place in Helsinki last year.
■ ARGENTINA
Nuclear submarine planned
Brazil and Argentina have agreed to work together to build a nuclear submarine, laying the groundwork for a South American defense industry, Argentina's Clarin newspaper reported on Sunday. Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim and his Argentine counterpart, Nilda Garre, discussed plans last week to form a binational company to construct the submarine and could convene a South American Defense Council in Brazil in October, Jobim told Clarin. South American militaries are fundamentally "deterrent" rather than "expansionist," he said minutes before leaving Argentina on Saturday.
■ UNITED STATES
Dog finally returns home
Every day since a tornado damaged the Harris' home and their dog's pen, the family has checked to see whether Pongo made it back. On Friday, nearly three weeks after the storm, he was -- hungry but healthy. The nine-year-old basset hound and blue heeler mix had been missing since the Feb. 5 tornado devastated the Gassville, Arkansas area. He apparently ran off after the tornado broke open a fence. The family has been returning to the home, which they are not living in during repairs, to see whether Pongo returned and to put out food.
■ UNITED STATES
Tastiest tap water chosen
Though they might not believe it, Los Angeles residents have the nation's tastiest tap water, according to the judges of a national competition. The 18th Annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting was held on Saturday in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, with more than 120 waters competing for top honors. Sparkling, tap and bottled water from 19 states and nine foreign countries, including New Zealand, Romania, Macedonia and the Philippines, were in the running. The entries were judged by 10 journalists and food critics. The contest is known as the world's largest and longest-running water tasting. The title for Best Municipal Water this year is shared by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which serves Los Angeles, and Clearbrook in Canada.
■ UNITED STATES
Hair can act as map: study
A single hair is all it takes to map a person's movements across the country with a new test aimed at helping police check alibis and identify murder victims. Using tap water samples and clippings from barbershops across the country, researchers at the University of Utah were able to find significant chemical differences that can be used as geographic markers. The study found that 85 percent of the variation in hydrogen and oxygen isotope levels in a person's hair was due to variations in local drinking water. So a single strand of hair can help trace a person's location during recent weeks or even years.
■ UNITED STATES
Study reveals bee behavior
Killer bees introduced to South America in 1956 have adopted some of the traits of the more docile honey bees they replaced, a study released yesterday found. These more aggressive "Africanized" bees mated with the honey bees introduced by European settlers in the 17th century and now dominate hives from Brazil all the way up to the southwestern part of the country. The most successful of the bees are hybrids that carry some of the traits of the original settlers, according to the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
As the sun sets on another scorching Yangon day, the hot and bothered descend on the Myanmar city’s parks, the coolest place to spend an evening during yet another power blackout. A wave of exceptionally hot weather has blasted Southeast Asia this week, sending the mercury to 45°C and prompting thousands of schools to suspend in-person classes. Even before the chaos and conflict unleashed by the military’s 2021 coup, Myanmar’s creaky and outdated electricity grid struggled to keep fans whirling and air conditioners humming during the hot season. Now, infrastructure attacks and dwindling offshore gas reserves mean those who cannot afford expensive diesel
Does Argentine President Javier Milei communicate with a ghost dog whose death he refuses to accept? Forced to respond to questions about his mental health, the president’s office has lashed out at “disrespectful” speculation. Twice this week, presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni was asked about Milei’s English Mastiff, Conan, said to have died seven years ago. Milei, 53, had Conan cloned, and today is believed to own four copies he refers to as “four-legged children.” Or is it five? In an interview with CNN this month, Milei referred to his five dogs, whose faces and names he had engraved on the presidential baton. Conan,
French singer Kendji Girac, who was seriously injured by a gunshot this week, wanted to “fake” his suicide to scare his partner who was threatening to leave him, prosecutors said on Thursday. The 27-year-old former winner of France’s version of The Voice was found wounded after police were called to a traveler camp in Biscarrosse on France’s southwestern coast. Girac told first responders he had accidentally shot himself while tinkering with a Colt .45 automatic pistol he had bought at a junk shop, a source said. On Thursday, regional prosecutor Olivier Janson said, citing the singer, that he wanted to “fake” his suicide
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed his pledge to replace India’s religion-based marriage and inheritance laws with a uniform civil code if he returns to office for a third term, a move that some minority groups have opposed. In an interview with the Times of India listing his agenda, Modi said his government would push for making the code a reality. “It is clear that separate laws for communities are detrimental to the health of society,” he said in the interview published yesterday. “We cannot be a nation where one community is progressing with the support of the Constitution while the other