■ JAPAN
Police find Web threat girl
Japanese police said yesterday they had tracked down a 10-year-old girl who put a notice on an Internet message board warning that she was going to kill another girl. Believed to be the youngest person accused in a spate of similar Internet threat cases in Japan, the girl posted a message last month that said: "I'm going to kill an elementary school girl on Feb. 29 at 1pm" in the Tokyo suburb of Saitama, police said. Because of her age she was referred to counseling and was not arrested. The girl said she wrote the words to play a prank. She didn't know it would cause such trouble. "She is reflecting on her act," said Tadayoshi Sakuma, juvenile investigator with Saitama police.
■ AUSTRALIA
Irwin suffers legal setback
The widow of television's Crocodile Hunter yesterday lost the first round in a legal battle over more than A$2.5 million (US$2.3 million) that the conservationist's zoo allegedly owes creditors. Alyssa Treasury Services, a debt recovery agency, is suing Australia Zoo, the wildlife park that was operated by Steve Irwin and his widow, Terri, for money allegedly owed to trustee partners. Documents presented to the court indicate Singapore-based investment bank HQZ Argentum helped set up the trust, which then ran into trouble with the Australian Tax Office. Yesterday, Judge Maree Kennedy of the County Court in Victoria State, where the suit was filed last month, ruled against Terri Irwin's application that the case be heard in Queensland where the zoo is located.
■ JAPAN
Obama writes to Obama
US Senator Barack Obama has sent a letter saluting his supporters in a Japanese town that shares his name, delighting residents who are rooting for him to win his party's presidential nomination. The mayor of the western town of Obama last year sent a package to the presidential hopeful that included a set of local lacquer chopsticks, voicing hope he would take an interest in the region. After a long wait but a growing amount of media coverage, the town's mayor on Monday received a letter from Obama expressing his appreciation for the town's "support and encouragement" and the "thoughtful gifts."
■ CHINA
Beijing top for toilets
Beijing has the most public toilets of any city in the world, Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday. The city's 5,174 public toilets give it the No. 1 ranking in the world as it prepares to host the Olympic Games in August, Xinhua said, citing Lu Haijun (陸海軍), director of the Beijing Municipal Administration Commission. This is a higher number than in New York, London or Tokyo, Lu said. It was not possible to immediately verify Lu's claims. But Beijing also produces as much rubbish per person as is produced in developed countries, he said, meaning the city was using landfills planned for 2020 already.
■ JAPAN
Firm to pay for boozing
Boozing into the night might inhibit coherent speech, but a Japanese company bets it will make workers communicate better. And it's even willing to pay for it. Japan General Estate Co said on Tuesday it is planning to dole out thousands of dollars a month for its employees to go out on the town in a bid to help communication. Japanese companies routinely offer generous expense accounts to entertain clients, but the real estate company is going a step further by subsidizing workers' drinking sessions with one another.
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