■AUSTRALIA
US surgeon goes on trial
A court yesterday ordered a US surgeon to stand trial on charges of manslaughter over the deaths of three patients during his time as a surgeon in Australia. The doctor, Jayant Patel, 59, a US citizen born in India, could face life in prison if convicted of the charges, which stem from his time at the Bundaberg Base Hospital in northern Queensland state between 2003 and 2005. He was extradited last July from the US, where he had practiced previously. Patel, who did not enter a plea in the Brisbane Magistrates Court in Queensland, remains on bail pending the trial, said a justice official.
■AUSTRALIA
Pants down in court
A law lecturer was jailed yesterday for contempt of court after pulling down her pants and baring her buttocks to the presiding judge. Megumi Ogawa, 41, was sentenced to four months in jail in a Brisbane court for what Judge Stuart Durward said was “disgusting behavior” at an earlier trial where she was found guilty of harassing court officials. During the earlier trial, the court was told the Southern Cross University staff member threatened court officials with death and sent them 83 e-mails and made 176 phone calls. Ogawa, a Japanese national, conducted her own defense at both trials. It took three security officers to carry a kicking and screaming Ogawa into the dock so she could be present at her sentencing.
■AUSTRALIA
Road safety minister resigns
South Australia state Road Safety Minister Tom Koutsantonis resigned yesterday after it leaked out that he had been fined 30 times for running red lights and other traffic offenses. Koutsantonis, who amassed enough violations to lose his license, denied warrants were out for his arrest over the non-payment of fines. The minister initially refused to quit, saying he had given up habits like speeding and talking on his mobile phone while driving. He even argued that being a bad role model himself actually helped him instill good driving habits in others. “Although I’d hoped to use my experiences to help develop better road safety policy and deliver the message to all motorists to drive safely, it’s evident this won’t be possible,” he said.
■CHINA
New English paper launched
The Communist Party began publishing a new English-language newspaper yesterday in a campaign to push the party line in international media. The English edition of the Global Times will “cover the world from a Chinese perspective and reflects the standpoints and opinions of Chinese people on significant international issues,” Xinhua news agency said. It quoted Global Times editor in chief Hu Xijin (胡錫進) as saying the paper aimed “to make friends with foreigners and to facilitate communication between China and the world.” The Global Times is published by party mouthpiece People’s Daily, directly controlled by the Central Committee.
■CHINA
Official sentenced to death
A court handed down the death sentence to a top official linked to Shanghai’s multimillion dollar pension fund scandal, state media reported yesterday. Wang Weigong (王維工), former secretary at the General Office of the State Council, was convicted of taking 12.9 million yuan (US$1.9 million) in bribes from 1995 to 2006, the state-run Shanghai Daily reported. An intermediate court in Changchun announced the death sentence, but gave Wang a two-year reprieve as he cooperated and returned all the money, the report said.
■IRAN
Journalist can appeal ruling
Tehran said yesterday an Iranian-American journalist jailed for espionage had the right to appeal her eight-year sentence, but that the US should respect rulings by Iranian courts. US President Barack Obama said on Sunday he was “deeply concerned” for the safety of jailed freelance reporter Roxana Saberi and urged Tehran to free her, saying he was confident she was not involved in spying. Asked about Obama’s statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi told a news conference: “It is an international norm that one should respect the rulings issued by the court ... I’m sure some American officials have also studied law.”
■SOMALIA
Pirates release cargo ship
Pirates have released a Togo-flagged cargo ship seized last week, a UN aid agency said yesterday, and pirate sources said a ransom was paid. Sea gangs have continued to hijack commercial vessels on the strategic Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, earning millions of dollars in ransoms despite the presence of foreign navies off the coast of Somalia. “We hear from the operator that it was released,” said Peter Smerdon, spokesman for the UN World Food Programme. The MV Sea Horse was on its way to pick up food for the world body when it was hijacked, but it was not under UN charter. A pirate source said a US$100,000 ransom was paid.
■GERMANY
Helmets pose risk after crash
A motorcyclist involved in an accident who falls unconscious should have his or her helmet removed as soon as possible to avoid suffocation, the Red Cross in Berlin said. To prevent a possible neck injury from worsening, one should carefully slide the helmet off to the point where one can support the victim’s head with a hand. Only then should the helmet be completely removed before carefully lowering the head to the ground with the chin slightly raised. This position ensures that air passages remain free, the Red Cross said.
■GERMANY
Rocking good for children
Rocking a chair back and forth is good for a child’s body and mental capacity, researchers found. The study found that the rocking motion can reduce pressure on the backbone that can have a negative impact on body posture, breathing and organ function. The study also found that rocking a chair can improve a child’s concentration and attention span. The study was conducted by the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft fuer Haltungs und Bewegungsfoerderung (BAG), an association that promotes physical activity in children, in cooperation with the “Kid Check” project at the University of Saarland. Children from the eighth grade took part in the study, which examined changes in blood circulation using thermo graphic imaging.
■LATVIA
Phone smuggled in cake
A priest was arrested in Riga yesterday for allegedly helping smuggle a cellphone hidden inside a traditional Russian Easter cake into prison, the Baltic News Service reported. The prison chaplain reportedly passed the celebratory kulich pastry to an inmate at Riga Central Prison along with six eggs and an Easter card on behalf of a relative of the convict, the prison service said. Russian Easter cake is traditionally baked for Orthodox Easter, which fell on Sunday. A scan of the items revealed the presence of the contraband communicator.
■TRINIDAD
Chavez gift turns bestseller
A book by a Uruguayan journalist that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gave to US President Barack Obama is now the No. 2 seller on Amazon.com. It’s an astounding jump for Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent, by Eduardo Galeano. The paperback edition was ranked 54,295 on the online retailer before Chavez gave Obama a Spanish-language edition of the 1971 book on Saturday. It had jumped to No. 2 by Sunday. Galeano’s book documents how foreign interests have dominated and afflicted Latin America since the Spanish conquest.
■MEXICO
Transport officials ‘remiss’
The National Human Rights Commission on Sunday cited transportation authorities for failing to discipline an airline that sought to block two children with a rare, hereditary skin disorder from boarding a flight. A complaint says the boys were subjected to examination by a paramedic before being allowed to board in September. When the boy’s father asked to speak to the captain, the flight attendant said she felt threatened and called police. The boys suffer from dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, or DEB, which causes blistering and other visible lesions, but isn’t contagious.
■VENEZUELA
Russian missiles purchased
President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday that the government had acquired Russian-made surface-to-air missiles and announced the creation of an elite military unit trained to use the new weapons. Chavez said the missiles were for self-defense and denied that Venezuela posed a military threat to other countries. “We don’t want wars with anyone, but we’re obligated to equip ourselves and have a military that is increasingly dedicated to the country,” Chavez said at a military parade in Caracas. He did not say how many missiles were purchased or how much they cost.
■HAITI
Poll disrupted by violence
Several people were wounded and voting was disrupted by violence on Sunday during a Senate election largely boycotted by voters. After polls closed, observers estimated that fewer than 10 percent of potential voters went to the polls. The Lavalas Family Party, the biggest political party widely backed by the poor, had urged an election boycott after its candidates were knocked off the ballot in a dispute over filing requirements. One man, an unconfirmed report said, was attacked with machetes and then burned alive by residents of the village of Liancourt in the northern Artibonite region. Several other people were wounded during clashes between supporters of rival candidates. Police and UN forces exchanged fire with civilian gunmen in the northern town of Marchand Dessalines.
■BRAZIL
Eight injured in land dispute
Landless activists held four journalists and a lawyer hostage for several hours following a shootout with ranchers that injured at least eight people in Para state, local police said on Sunday. The national Landless Workers Movement said protesters had been trying to free colleagues they claimed had been taken captive by ranchers in Para when security guards attacked them on Saturday. The ranchers told police that the activists had attacked the guards. Police were still investigating the incident, but confirmed that seven activists and one security guard had been injured in a fire fight, said Nazareno Rodrigues, a Maraba city police officer.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of