■ PAKISTA
Music shops bombed
Bombs ripped through several music and video shops yesterday, wounding at least three people, officials said. The injuries occurred when a blast hit a CD and video shop in the main bazaar of the garrison town of Kohat, which has seen several attacks in recent months blamed on Pakistani Taliban militants. Bombs destroyed two dozen businesses, including around eight music shops, in Miranshah, the main town in the tribal-ruled Taliban stronghold of North Waziristan, officials and residents said.
■INDONESIA
‘Blue Energy’ is just diesel
A plan backed by Indonesia’s president to turn water into cheap and limitless energy has run aground, with tests showing the wonder fuel is diesel, a report said on Tuesday. Government scientists revealed that tests on “Blue Energy,” purportedly made from water, showed it was diesel from state oil company Pertamina, the Jakarta Post reported. The energy “breakthrough” grabbed headlines after its inventor, Joko Suprapto, managed to convince President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono he could separate hydrogen from water and turn it into diesel. The plan was exhibited at the UN climate change conference in Bali in December with the president’s blessing.
■JAPAN
Kids ‘foreign’ no longer
The Supreme Court yesterday ruled that it is unconstitutional to deny nationality to children born out of wedlock to foreign mothers, saying it was discriminatory to consider the parents’ marital status. The ruling, which ended years of court battles, could lead to citizenship for hundreds of “illegitimate” children in Japan, which is home to many foreign entertainers.
■ UNITED STATES
Team claims bird flu break
Hong Kong researchers are claiming a breakthrough in bird flu treatment with a cocktail of drugs they say may be effective in treating the virus in humans. Their findings were published yesterday in the US science journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers claim the cocktail increased survival rates by fourfold when tested on mice infected with H5N1. The cocktail includes an antiviral called zanamivir, or Relenza, and two anti-inflammatory agents celecoxib and mesalazine. They say the antiviral agent successfully suppressed the virus while the other two drugs reduced the effects of the so-called “cytokine storm” — the severe immune response triggered by the virus that can kill H5N1 patients. The team said it was the first breakthrough in 10 years and the first time a treatment had worked on mice when treatment was delayed for more than 48 hours.
■UNITED KINGDOM
Gas stations target thieves
Gas station owners are turning to tire-spikes to stop drivers from escaping without paying. When a car attempts to move away from the pump without paying, a sensor will alert the cashier to activate the device. Red lights flashing warning signs and loudspeaker announcements alert drivers that their tires will be destroyed if they attempt to leave. The spikes, embedded at the entrance as well as the exit, spring up and penetrate the rear wheels, deflating them in about 10 seconds. The system leaves a metal tube with a unique identification number embedded in the tire, allowing police to link the vehicle with the theft. The system was invented by Jaginda Singh, whose family-owned gas station was almost driven out of business by fuel thefts, the Times said.
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