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World News Quick Take

■ AUSTRALIA

Rudd taps governor-general

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday named Queensland Governor Quentin Bryce as the country’s next governor-general, the first woman to act as the British queen’s representative in the country. “I am pleased to announce that The Queen, on my recommendation as Prime Minister of Australia, has approved the appointment of Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC as the next governor-general of Australia,” Rudd said. Bryce, who was appointed governor of Rudd’s home state of Queensland in July 2003, will replace Major General Michael Jeffery when he steps down in September.



■ HONG KONG

Milkshake murderer appeals

“Milkshake murderer” Nancy Kissel, serving a life sentence for bludgeoning her high-flying banker husband to death after lacing his drink with sedatives, will appeal the verdict in the territory today. The case is set to re-invigorate interest in the US couple’s bizarre relationship, which included adultery, violence, private detectives, jealousy and above-all, enormous wealth. Kissel was found guilty of killing her husband Robert Kissel in November 2003 after serving him a strawberry milkshake laced with a cocktail of sedatives, before bashing the Merrill Lynch investment banker to death with a lead ornament. She disposed of his body by rolling him up in an old carpet and continued to sleep in the same room as the body for several nights, court testimony said.



■ JAPAN

Shrine officials protest film

Keepers of the Yasukuni shrine have accused a Chinese director of misrepresenting the shrine to Japan’s war dead in a documentary and demanded deletions, adding another problem for a film already dogged by theater cancellations over fears of right-wing attacks. The officials said Chinese director Li Ying’s documentary Yasukuni contained shrine scenes filmed without permission. The film “not only failed to properly observe the permission to film the shrine compound, but contained images and other contents that could misrepresent the facts,” the officials said.



■ SOUTH KOREA

H5N1 outbreak confirmed

Seoul confirmed a fourth outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus in the southwest yesterday, as the tally of birds slaughtered to control the spread of the disease rose to 1.3 million. Government tests confirmed the latest H5N1 outbreak at a farm in Yeoungam, about 380km southwest of Seoul, Agriculture Ministry official Kim Chang-sup said. Quarantine workers have slaughtered 470,000 chickens and ducks at 20 farms within a 3km radius of the site of the outbreak, according to Ryu Chul-hyuk, an official of the South Jeolla provincial government.



■ THAILAND

Bodies found on beach

Two women believed to be from South Korea have been found dead on a beach near the famous Pattaya resort town, a local police chief said yesterday. Both women in their late 20s had apparently drowned, and police are investigating whether it was murder or a double-suicide, Lieutenant Colonel Sumeth Harnvisai said. “Initial forensic reports indicate that there were no wounds on the bodies, and the water found in their lungs suggests they drowned,” he said. They were discovered near each other on Lan Island off the eastern coast early on Friday, he said, and a page ripped from a passport found near the bodies indicated they were South Korean.



■ BELGIUM

Sculpture causes royal furor

A sculpture of a pig and cow wearing crowns, created by the once secret daughter of the king, has been removed from a town hall during a visit by his “official” daughter to avoid offense, reports said on Saturday. The work by artist Delphine Boel, natural daughter of Albert II, adorns the town hall of the seaside resort of Coxyde. Boel, 40, made headlines on Wednesday with a book entitled Cutting the Cord, in which she settled scores with her father. She once explained she had got rid of her pent-up feelings about her origins by fashioning heads of pigs wearing crowns. Her secret birth in 1968 — the offspring of a liaison between the then Prince Albert and Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps — was revealed only three decades later.



■ MACEDONIA

Early election date set

The speaker of parliament has set an early election date of June 1. It will be the first time the country has held elections early. The ballot had not been expected until 2010. Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski called for the snap poll after a name dispute with Greece halted the nation’s bid to join NATO last week. He says he wants to speed up economic reforms and is frustrated with parliamentary squabbles over whether the country should change its name. Greece says the name implies a territorial claim to a Greek province also called Macedonia.



■ SWEDEN

Bus firm pays compensation

A bus company said it would compensate a woman 25,000 kronor (US$4,200) for being refused a bus ride because she was wearing a veil. Arriva Scandinavia spokesman Jan Wildau said the driver of the bus was also fired. The country’s ombudsman against ethnic discrimination said the woman was wearing a burqa when trying to board a bus in Malmo last year. She had paid the full fare, but was told by the driver to get off the bus because he could not identify her. The ombudsman said the incident was “linked to the woman’s religion.” Wildau said on Saturday the bus company offered safe and secure travel “for all people,” and employees should not react to customers’ clothing.



■ TANZANIA

Olympic torch arrives

The mayor of Dar es Salaam received the Olympic torch from a Chinese official and assured him its run through the East African nation would be smooth. Kenyan Nobel Peace laureate Wangari Maathai said, however, she had pulled out of the torch relay to protest China’s human rights record. Journalists and sports officials watched as a Chinese Olympic official stepped off a plane on Saturday evening and handed the torch over to Mayor Adam Kimbisa. “It is a great honor and privilege for Tanzania to host this torch. Don’t worry, all preparations are all set,” Kimbisa said.



■ NORWAY

King opens new opera house

King Harald V officially opened the long-awaited national opera house on the shores of the Oslo Fjord on Saturday, kicking off a gala performance before royalty, national leaders and music lovers. The Nordic nation’s newest landmark, a stunning 4.2 billion kroner (US$840 million) white marble building, fulfills a more than 120-year dream for music fans, used to watching the Norwegian Opera and Ballet in old downtown theaters. The two-and-a-half hour opening performance covered historical highlights of opera and ballet, before an audience that included Queen Sonja, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Danish Queen Margrethe and about 1,350 invited guests.
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