■NEW ZEALAND
UN grants seabed rights
The UN has recognized New Zealand’s right to an area of seabed six times the size of its land mass, Prime Minister Helen Clark said yesterday. The 1.7 million km² area lies within the country’s continental shelf but outside its exclusive economic zone. The UN agreement gives Wellington the rights to resources on or under the seabed, but not to those — such as fish — in the waters lying outside its exclusive economic zone. A continental shelf boundary with Australia has already been agreed although other boundaries with Fiji and Tonga to the north are still to be finalized.
■SOUTH KOREA
Lee rides bicycle to work
President Lee Myung-bak rode his bicycle to work and commuters took free public transport yesterday as the country joined in World Car-Free Day to help the environment. “President Lee and all his secretaries will use their cars sparingly throughout the day,” an official at the presidential office told Yonhap news agency. Lee used a minivan to get to Seoul Station and then took a train to attend a provincial event. His secretaries took buses or subway trains for their morning commute, the official said. World Car-Free Day is simultaneously observed in numerous cities as part of an international initiative to help the environment.
■SOUTH KOREA
Golf memberships seized
The government went after suspected tax cheats on the weekend by taking away their memberships in pricey golf clubs, saying if they can afford the clubs then they should be able to pay their fair share in taxes. Golf club memberships are beyond the reach of most citizens, with entry into mid-level clubs costing about US$200,000 to US$300,000 and membership for top clubs costing as much as US$1 million. On the weekend, the government seized 960 memberships, the tax service said in a news release. If the tax agency cannot reach a settlement on back taxes with a suspected tax cheat, it sells the confiscated memberships to the public to generate cash.
■JAPAN
Activists protest US warship
Activists prepared large protests to meet the arrival of the USS George Washington aircraft carrier, which is to dock just south of Tokyo on Thursday to become the first nuclear-powered carrier with its home port in Japan. Organizers said yesterday they planned to hold demonstrations throughout the day, both onshore and on boats in the harbor around the US naval base at Yokosuka, where the George Washington is to arrive. Masahiko Goto, a local lawyer who has led opposition to the deployment, said a few hundred people were expected to join in protests as the ship arrives, and another 2,000 were to gather near the base that night. The George Washington can carry a crew of up to 5,600 and 70 aircraft.
■CHINA
Astronauts prepare mission
Astronauts readying for the next leap into space have arrived at the launch site of the Shenzhou VII craft, official media reported, as enthusiasm grows over the Olympic host nation’s next attention-grabbing feat. The Shenzhou VII is set to blast off on a Long March rocket later this week for China’s third manned spaceflight. It will carry three astronauts, including one aiming to make China’s first space walk. Three candidate astronauts and three back-ups in case of last-minute changes arrived at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the remote northwest on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported.
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