■VIETNAM
Workers hospitalized
Spoiled tuna is suspected to have caused an outbreak of food poisoning that put hundreds of workers in Ho Chi Minh City in hospital, officials of the affected companies said on Friday. The first cases were reported at the Minh Nghe Shoe Company plant on Thursday afternoon after 170 workers complained of headaches, nausea, vomiting and rashes. They were sent to hospital for treatment. At the same time, 175 workers at Thuong Thang Shoes Company complained of similar symptoms and were also sent to receive treatment. Thuong Thang personnel head Huynh Van Nhien said only 175 out of a total of 1,400 workers at his company suffered the symptoms.
■INDIA
Twelve die in truck crash
At least 12 workers were killed yesterday when a truck carrying them overturned in Gujarat, a news report said. Police officials said six workers were injured in the accident in the southern Amreli district, the PTI news agency reported. Most of the fatalities died on the scene, and the injured were admitted to a local hospital, police told the news agency. Road accidents take a high toll, with the country accounting for 10 percent of the 1.2 million fatal road accidents worldwide each year.
■NEW ZEALAND
Swine flu spreading
Health officials have confirmed two cases of swine flu not linked to international travel, warning this may signal the start of a much wider spread throughout the country. Deputy director of public health Darren Hunt says confirmed cases have reached 43, up nine from Friday. Until now, all confirmed cases have been linked to travelers infected overseas with swine flu, with no community transmission. Health Minister Tony Ryall says the situation is changing rapidly and there could be an exponential rise in cases in the days ahead, as has been seen in other countries.
■THAILAND
Three killed in south
Suspected Muslim separatists killed three people in separate attacks in the restive south, police said yesterday, as a team of top government officials flew into the region. They said a 56-year-old Buddhist woman was killed and 13 others injured when a man riding pillion on a motorbike threw a hand grenade into a minibus carrying commuters to work in Yala Province just before midday. The wounded were all taken to a nearby hospital. Just before midnight on Friday the 42-year-old wife of a village headman was shot dead in an ambush in neighbouring Narathiwat Province as she drove a motorcycle with her 22-year-old daughter, police said.
■PHILIPPINES
Chinese sub hits US sonar
A Chinese submarine collided with an underwater sonar array towed by the destroyer USS John S. McCain off the coast of the Philippines, CNN TV said, quoting a US official who said it was an “inadvertent encounter.” The array, used to locate underwater sounds, was damaged in the incident, but the military official said the sub and ship did not collide. The US Navy did not consider the event a case of deliberate harassment, CNN reported. In March this year two tense standoffs between US and Chinese vessels in the South China Sea triggered accusations by the US that China was behaving in an “aggressive” manner.
■EGYPT
Man held incommunicado
A French national has been held incommunicado for more than a month, the London-based human rights organization Amnesty International said on Friday. Romuald Durand, 35, was arrested on April 21 at Cairo Airport as he returned to the country after visiting his mother in France, the rights group said. He sent a text message to his family saying he had been arrested, but that was the last the family heard from him, Amnesty said. The rights group said Egyptian authorities initially denied having Durand in custody, but later confirmed to the French consulate that Durand had been arrested. The French Embassy in Cairo was closed for the weekend, and could not immediately be reached for comment.
■UNITED STATES
Writer joins ‘Bond’ team
Frost/Nixon scribe Peter Morgan has been added to the team of writers for the next James Bond movie, industry paper Variety reported on Friday. The Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated writer of The Queen and The Last King of Scotland will team up with Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who both worked on the last two Bond outings, Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale. In the as yet unnamed 23rd Bond movie, Daniel Craig will reprise his role as 007 with a release date tentatively set for 2011.
■UNITED KINGDOM
Christopher Lee knighted
The Lord of the Undead is now a knight of the British Empire. Christopher Lee, whose sonorous voice and burning black eyes made him a memorable arch-villain in films from Dracula to Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith was given one of Britain’s highest honors yesterday by Queen Elizabeth II. Golfer Nick Faldo, captain of Europe’s 2008 Ryder Cup team, was also promoted to “Sir.” He can add the title to his six major championship wins. Among the others receiving royal honors: Tony-award winning actor Alan Cumming, for his work in films such as X2: X-Men United and his gay rights advocacy; and celebrity hairdresser Vidal Sassoon, who lent his name to a worldwide brand of shampoos and salons.
■UNITED KINGDOM
Tamil supporter jailed
A leading British-based supporter of Sri Lanka’s militant Tamil rebels has been jailed for two years for procuring materials for the group that could be used for terrorist activities. Arunachalam Chrishanthakumar was sentenced on Friday in a London court. Prosecutors said he illegally procured materials for the Tamil Tigers with an “obvious terrorist purpose.” The supplies included electrical components and terrorism-related documents. Last month, the Sri Lankan government forces defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels, marking the end of a civil war that lasted a quarter of a century.
■LEBANON
Solana pays a visit
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana arrived late on Friday in Beirut for talks with local officials, during which he will discuss the latest post-election developments with the various parties. “I am happy to be in Lebanon, and I am performing an analysis of the latest developments with all the officials of your country, especially the new phase that kicked off after the elections,” Solana said after meeting Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun. Solana added that “there are serious talks to deepen and consolidate the relations between Lebanon and the EU, which is a constant supporter of Lebanon.” Solana’s visit includes meetings with officials and various party leaders.
■UNITED STATES
Rats disappear from island
The rats appear to be gone from Alaska’s Rat Island, more than 200 years after they scurried off a rodent-infested Japanese ship. Helicopters dropped rat poison on the island last year in hopes of returning many bird species to the uninhabited island in the Aleutian Chain. The US Fish and Wildlife Service said two weeks of intensive monitoring showed no sign of rats. It also showed that several bird species, including peregrine falcons and black oystercatchers, were nesting on the island. But scientists also found numerous carcasses of two types of birds: glaucous-winged gulls and bald eagles. The federal agency is conducting tests to try to determine why they died.
■UNITED STATES
Bush Sr goes skydiving
Former president George H.W. Bush marked his 85th birthday on Friday the same way he did his 75th and 80th birthdays — by leaping from a plane and parachuting to a spot near his oceanfront home in Maine. Bush made the tandem jump from 3,200m with Sergeant 1st Class Mike Elliott of the Army’s Golden Knights. “It’s a great, exhilarating feeling,” Bush said after the jump. “I don’t feel a day over 84.” He said he planned to do it again when he turns 90. He told reporters that he jumped in part to show that seniors can remain active and do fun things. Bush’s first parachute jump came when his plane was shot down over the Pacific in 1944 during World War II.
■UNITED STATES
Teacher pleads not guilty
The Sunday school teacher accused of killing an eight-year-old girl in Stockton, California, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges. The lawyer for 28-year-old Melissa Huckaby entered the plea on her behalf during a 10-minute hearing on Friday. Authorities say Huckaby killed Sandra Cantu, a playmate of Huckaby’s daughter. The girl’s body was later found stuffed in a suitcase in a pond. Huckaby could face the death penalty if convicted. The judge scheduled a preliminary hearing for Sept. 24.
■UNITED STATES
Gorilla escapes enclosure
A 177kg gorilla used bamboo to scale a wall at a zoo in Columbia, South Carolina, on Friday, escaping his enclosure and tackling a worker before returning to his pen. The gorilla at Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens ran into a pizza-stand employee, who curled up and played dead to avoid further injuries, officials said. The man was taken to a hospital and released later with cuts and bruises. Zoo director Satch Krantz said the worker saw the gorilla and turned to run. “Then the gorilla did what gorillas do,” he said. The animal knocked the worker down. Two minutes later, the gorilla went over another wall and back into his enclosure.
■UNITED STATES
‘Man Day’ declared
Two young men from Indiana have declared tomorrow “National Man Day” only to find a romantic holiday falls on that date. Ninteen-year-old Joel Longanecker and his 26-year-old brother Aaron have for months been rallying thousands to their masculine cause on Facebook. More than 260,000 people have pledged to “stand up and do manly things” on Man Day. But it turns out June 15 is also “Sneak a Kiss Day,” a day for sweethearts to steal smooches from their sweeties. But the Man Day organizers urged participants to take part in “manly” activities such as football and watching Rocky movies and said real men don’t “sneak” kisses.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese