■ CHINA
Olympic items up for auction
The bed used by basketball star Yao Ming (姚明) at the Olympics will be among millions of items of memorabilia auctioned off after the Beijing Games, the China Daily said yesterday. The bed will be the one that the 2.26m Yao uses at the Beijing Olympic Village. It is one of about 200 million items used during the Games that will eventually go under the hammer in online bidding that started on Wednesday, the newspaper said. That figure could not immediately be independently confirmed. The auctions could fetch up to 1 billion yuan (US$145 million), the paper said. The items up for grabs will include furniture, sports equipment, electronics, and even some pieces of land used as temporary sports venues, the report said.
■ AUSTRALIA
Doctor ready to face court
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh yesterday welcomed reports that a doctor allegedly linked to the deaths of 17 patients had dropped his fight against extradition from the US. Surgeon Jayant Patel — dubbed “Dr Death” by the media — was arrested in Oregon in March after Queensland officials laid a range of charges against him, including manslaughter. The Indian-born doctor, who is also a US citizen, was expected to fight extradition but his lawyer told a court in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday that Patel would consent to being transferred to Australia. Patel was director of surgery at Bundaberg Base Hospital for two years from 2003 before fleeing. He reportedly had a 20-year history of botched operations and surgical malpractice claims, which saw him banned from surgery in New York and Oregon.
■ EAST TIMOR
Jackie Chan seeking scripts
Hong Kong film star Jackie Chan (成龍) invited Timorese to send him their scripts for action comedy films as he wrapped up a two-day UN goodwill visit to promote peace yesterday. “I already told the government people and my friends [to] please send me some scripts,” Chan said before leaving the country. He said Timor would make a great backdrop to one of his action films. “All these years I see Timor is fighting, fighting,” he said, adding that he wanted to use films to send “smart messages” about peace.
■ AUSTRALIA
Croc joins pub crawl
Drinkers at an Outback watering hole found a crocodile at the door — and brought it inside for their session. The saltwater croc in question was just 60cm long and more a curiosity than a threat to drinkers at the Noonamah Tavern on Sunday. Barmaid Sarah Sparre said yesterday that three patrons spotted the crocodile outside the pub, grabbed it and brought it inside. “You could say we were a bit surprised,” Sparre said. “He was pretty complacent, easygoing. But we weren’t going to test him out.” The three men taped up its mouth, took some photos of them holding it, then put it in a box near the bar. Sparre said the croc may have escaped from a crocodile farm several kilometers away. Wildlife officials took the croc to the farm.
■ THAILAND
Samak to visit China
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej will make his first official visit to China next week, the foreign ministry said yesterday. Samak will begin his four-day trip in Beijing on Monday. “The aim of visit is to introduce himself, strengthen relations and continue cooperation between the two countries,” the ministry said. Samak had been due to visit China last month but postponed the trip after the Sichuan earthquake.
RSS