■CHINA
Forty percent of dams at risk
More than 40 percent of the country’s dams and reservoirs are at risk of breaching this flood season, which could be worse than normal, state media quoted the water resources minister as saying. Heavy rain is expected to hit the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers, while floods and typhoons could be worse due to climate change, Minister of Water Resources Chen Lei (陳雷) was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. “Extreme weather may pose a big threat to dam safety,” Chen said. “Special purpose inspections on dams also show many of them are not in good condition.” Chen said about 37,000 reservoirs, or 43 percent, were at risk, but only 3,642 dams were undergoing repairs.
■CHINA
Smoking order withdrawn
A county has dropped an order that its officials collectively smoke nearly a quarter of a million packs of cigarettes after a public outcry, a report said yesterday. The Gong’an County Government in Hubei Province was also persuaded to change its policy after officials higher up in the bureaucracy intervened, the Beijing Times reported. The plan had called for Gong’an government employees to smoke 230,000 packs of locally produced cigarettes a year or risk being fined, a move that was interpreted as a way to help the Hubei tobacco industry.
■INDONESIA
Police killing sparks protest
About 1,000 residents of a town near the main airport of Papua Province took to the streets yesterday in protest over a man shot dead by police. The protesters blocked the road to the airport at Sentani after police shot dead a relative of an influential tribal chief, police said. Papua police spokesman Nurhabri said the dead man was Agus Ohee, whom villagers had accused of extortion. “When the policemen came, the drunken Agus Ohee, who was about 20 years old, tried to chase them. Suhartono, the policeman, shot Agus Ohee in self-defense,” Nurhabri said.
■SOUTH KOREA
Embassy blackmailed
Two North Korean refugees who took refuge in Seoul’s embassy in Beijing attempted to blackmail the mission after stealing information, officials said yesterday. The pair absconded from the embassy with a USB computer memory device last December, said the foreign ministry, which confirmed the case after it was publicized by local media yesterday. The ministry said the consul general in Beijing was relocated as a punishment after the refugees broke into an office to steal the device. Yonhap news agency said the refugees demanded “a huge sum” for the memory device. The agency said the drive contained a list of refugees from the North and other data. The embassy managed to locate them and quickly retrieve the information, Yonhap said.
■NEPAL
Police hurt in clashes
Three policemen were hurt yesterday in a clash with Maoist demonstrators taking part in wave of protests following the collapse of the former rebels’ government, witnesses said. The ultra-leftists called their supporters on to the streets of the capital to demonstrate against a move by the president to stop the Maoist government from sacking the head of the army, a longtime rival. In the latest protest, around 500 Maoist loyalists tried to vandalize a statue of a former king, prompting a clash with anti-riot police, a reporter said. Three policemen were hurt by stones lodged at them.
■NORWAY
‘Ghost fishing’ poses threat
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