■PHILIPPINES
Governor shot in Manila
The governor of Batanes Province and his driver were shot and wounded in a pre-dawn attack in Manila yesterday, police said. Gunmen attacked Teleforo Castillejos while he was traveling in a car to the airport with his 21-year-old son, after first tailing them in another vehicle, police said. Castillejos was wounded in the neck and shoulders, while his driver was in a critical condition. The son was uninjured and drove the pair to hospital.
■CHINA
Poverty threshold could rise
Beijing may raise its poverty threshold to double the number of people eligible for government help as income gaps reach their widest level in three decades, the China Daily reported yesterday. A possible proposal to raise the income line will be discussed by the State Council by the end of the year, a Poverty Alleviation and Development Bureau spokeswoman said. The proposal would increase the poverty threshold from 1,067 yuan (US$152) a year to 1,300 yuan, following a decision by the World Bank to raise its poverty line from US$1 to US$1.25 a day, the paper reported. The change would double the number of people considered to be living in poverty to 80 million, the newspaper said.
■SOUTH KOREA
Defector allowed to travel
Seoul has decided to allow a highest-level North Korean ever to defect to travel abroad freely, the newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported yesterday. Hwang Jang-yop’s travel had been restricted out of concern that his criticism of Pyongyang could complicate efforts to reconcile with the North and that he could become a target for assassination. Seoul decided to lift the travel ban because it was a human rights violation, the paper said. Hwang, 85, has already been issued a passport and is planning to visit the US, the report said.
■HONG KONG
Monk admits having porn
A Buddhist monk has admitted in court to keeping child porn at his monastery after alerting Interpol by downloading photos from an illegal Web site, the South China Morning Post reported yesterday. Chow Yee-cheong, 41, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to possessing 413 minutes of child-porn video and 85 photographs. The judge said Chow, who was paid for providing counseling services in the monastery, had committed a “very serious” offense and must face prison, it said.
■AUSTRALIA
Ex-priest faces new charges
A former Roman Catholic priest already facing dozens of charges related to allegations of sexual abuse at an exclusive boarding school has been charged with an additional 60 child sex offenses, police said yesterday. Brian Spillane, 65, was arrested on Tuesday night and charged with 60 counts relating to alleged sexual assaults against eight people, New South Wales state police said. He was released on bail. Police also arrested two other men yesterday in connection with the investigation into alleged abuse in the 1980s at two religious schools.
■JAPAN
Police fooled by doll
Police don’t know whether they were the victim of a hoax after a “body” they found wrapped in a sleeping bag at a seaside resort turned out to be a life-sized doll. An anonymous caller reported seeing a what looked like a body in a forest near Izu City. Investigators took the bag back to their police station. A medical examiner unwrapped the bag and found a doll, dressed in a skirt, blouse and brown wig.
■ITALY
Houses for sale: one euro
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