■AUSTRALIA
Thief stuck on rooftop
A man who got stuck on the roof of a factory he was allegedly trying to rob has been rescued by police after a three-hour operation. New South Wales state police said they were called early yesterday to a joinery factory, where a 53-year-old man was on the roof. He was apparently unable to move because of the wet weather and steep angle. Numerous rescue attempts were made, and emergency crews eventually used a fire truck with a tall ladder to retrieve the man while a helicopter illuminated the rooftop. Police said he was charged with trespassing, possession of housebreaking implements and attempted breaking-and-entering. He was carrying a helmet with a light, bolt cutters, a small ladder, backpack, tarpaulin, ropes and harnesses.
■NEPAL
Army chief sacked
Ruling Maoists fired the army chief yesterday, accusing him of disobeying instructions not to hire new recruits, a move that could jeopardize a landmark peace process that ended a bloody civil war three years ago. “The Cabinet has relieved General Rookmangud Katawal of his position,” Information and Communications Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara told reporters. In sacking the army chief, the Maoists ignored objections from opposition parties and some allies within the ruling coalition. Katawal was scheduled to retire in four months. The Maoists accuse him of hiring 2,800 new recruits and reinstating eight generals without consulting the government.
■CHINA
Fireworks blast kills 13
State media say an explosion in an illegal fireworks factory has killed 13 people and injured two. Saturday’s blast flattened three rooms in a rented house in Shandong Province. Xinhua news agency said the blast shook the earth and damaged neighboring homes. Some residents mistook it for an earthquake. Xinhua said police were hunting for the house’s tenant. Neighbors did not know that the house was being used to make fireworks. Fireworks are big business in the country, but safety is often lax. In February, a Beijing hotel still under construction was gutted in a fire started by an unlicensed fireworks display.
■JAPAN
PM Aso heads for Europe
Prime Minister Taro Aso headed to Europe yesterday for visits to the Czech Republic and Germany expected to focus on the global economic crisis and climate change, officials said. Aso was to arrive in Prague later yesterday for talks with Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, the government said in a statement. The Czech Republic currently holds the rotating EU presidency. The leader will meet Czech President Vaclav Klaus and European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso today before traveling to Berlin. In Germany, he will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and deliver a policy speech on Japan-EU relations.
■LAOS
Woman faces death penalty
Britain said on Saturday it would raise the case of a pregnant British woman who faces the death penalty in Laos if convicted of drug smuggling, when its foreign minister meets the Laotian deputy prime minister this week. Britain would do what it could to ensure Samantha Orobator, 20, would not face the death penalty if found guilty at the upcoming trial and provide consular help so she received good legal assistance, British Foreign Minister Bill Rammell said. “The British government is opposed to the use of the death penalty in all circumstances,” Rammell said.
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