■ CHINA
Exterminators battle locusts
More than 33,000 exterminators have been dispatched to battle a locust infestation in the north in hopes of preventing a potentially disastrous migration to Beijing during next month’s Olympic Games, state media reported on Tuesday. The insects, which devour crops, routinely plague the Inner Mongolia region and have damaged 1.3 million hectares of grassland in three areas near Beijing, Xinhua news agency reported. Under a prevention plan, some 200 tonnes of pesticides, 100,000 sprayers and four airplanes were being used to kill the pests, Xinhua reported. Environmental problems were also a concern in the coastal city of Qingdao, which is hosting Olympic sailing events. An algae bloom has smothered coastal waters and officials have mobilized 10,000 workers and 1,000 boats to clear the blue-green infestation.
■ AUSTRALIA
Funerals feature rock music
Hymns are being replaced at funerals in one city by popular rock classics like Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven and AC/DC’s Highway to Hell, a cemetery manager said yesterday. At Centennial Park, the largest cemetery and crematorium in the southern city of Adelaide, only two hymns still rank among its top 10 most popular funeral songs: Amazing Grace and Abide With Me. Leading the funeral chart is crooner Frank Sinatra’s classic hit My Way followed by Louis Armstrong’s version of Wonderful World, a statement said. The Led Zeppelin and AC/DC rock anthems rank outside the top 10, but have gained ground in recent years as more Australians give up traditional Christian hymns. Among other less conventional choices were Always Look on the Bright Side of Life by the Monty Python comedy team, Ding Dong the Witch is Dead, Hit the Road Jack, Another One Bites the Dust and I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead.
■ SINGAPORE
Former prince arrives
Nepal’s former crown prince Paras has arrived in Singapore, a source said yesterday, as speculation swirled that he was planning to abandon his homeland for good. Paras, 36, boarded a Silk Air flight to the city-state on Tuesday, a senior airport security official in Nepal told reporters, after initial reports said he had taken a flight to Bangkok. “What I heard ... he already landed in Singapore,” said the Singapore source, who asked not to be identified and could not immediately provide further details. It was not clear where Paras was staying. When asked by journalists as he entered Kathmandu airport if he planned to return, Paras smiled and made no comment. The Himalayan Times on Tuesday reported the ex-prince was headed to Singapore to find a school and home for his three children and wife, but that he would not be living in the city-state himself. It said Paras was concerned for the safety of his family following the end of the 240-year-old monarchy in the Himalayan nation, and the withdrawal of all royal privileges.
■ INDIA
Flooding kills 11
Flooding and house collapses caused by heavy rains have killed at least 11 people in northern India over the past two days, officials said yesterday. The eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh State, where all the deaths took place, have been lashed by heavy rains since Monday and all major rivers in the region have flooded over, said Ramendra Singh, a revenue official. Details of the damage caused by the rain are still being collected, Singh said.
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