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World News Quick Take

■JAPAN

World’s oldest man dies

The world’s oldest man, Tomoji Tanabe, died at his home in southern Japan yesterday at the age of 113, a local official said. Tanabe, who suffered from a chronic heart problem, passed away with his relatives at his bedside, said an official at Miyakonojo City, where he lived. “Mr Tanabe was a symbol of Miyakonojo ... and cheered up many residents,” making the town a byword for longevity, said Mayor Makoto Nagamine. When Tanabe turned 113 on Sept. 18, he said the secret to his longevity was a big appetite but a strict diet, together with avoiding alcohol, cigarettes and snacks. Tanabe had eight children, 25 grandchildren, 53 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.



■NEW ZEALAND

Policy change on A(H1N1)

Authorities abandoned their battle to contain the swine flu virus yesterday as officials said widespread transmission of the infection meant there were likely more than 1,000 cases nationwide. Health Minister Tony Ryall said officials were moving to “manage” the spread of the virus after attempting to contain it for two months. Laboratory tests to confirm the disease will no longer be automatically conducted on all suspected cases. Only patients in high-risk groups or those who appear to have severe infections will be treated with the antiviral drug Tamiflu. Until now, all suspect flu cases were treated with the drug. New government regulations mean parents who defy rules that require children exposed to swine flu to stay home from school for up to seven days could face fines of up to NZ$500 (US$320).



■CHINA

Dams close to collapse

Several dams on the Yellow River are close to collapse just a few years after they were built amid concerns that more than 40 percent of the nation’s reservoirs are unsafe, state media said yesterday. Shoddy construction, unqualified workers and embezzlement of funds are threatening dam safety in Gansu Province, the official China Daily said — a situation that could also put people in danger. “Several dams on branches of the Yellow River in Gansu Province are near collapse only one or two years after their construction,” the paper said. Citing an investigation by the state-run China Youth Daily newspaper, the report pointed to one dam built in 2006 in Huan County on the Yellow River that has developed a dangerous breach in the middle.



■MALAYSIA

Woman charged over maid

A woman has been charged with scalding her Indonesian maid with hot water and hurting her with scissors and a hammer, a lawyer said yesterday. M. Manoharan said his client, Hau Yuan Tyng, 43, pleaded not guilty in a Kuala Lumpur court on Thursday to three charges of causing hurt to Siti Hajar Sadli — in one case allegedly using hot water; in another, a hammer; and in a third, a pair of scissors. Hau faces a maximum of 43 years in prison and whipping, he said.



■HONG KONG

More kids arrested for drugs

The number of schoolchildren aged 10 to 15 arrested for possessing or trafficking dangerous drugs has doubled since last year, a news report said yesterday. Seventy children aged 10 to 15 were arrested for offences involving dangerous drugs between January and April, twice as many as in the same period last year, the South China Morning Post reported. There has also been a rise in the number of 16 to 20-year-olds arrested on drug offences from 337 in the first four months of last year to 357 in the first four months of this year, the newspaper said.



■ISRAEL

Obama pro-Palestinian: poll

A new poll shows 50 percent of Israeli Jews see US President Barack Obama’s administration as pro-­Palestinian and only 6 percent see it as pro-Israel. According to the poll, 36 percent of respondents see Obama as neutral. That is a dramatic change from the previous US administration of former president George W. Bush, which 88 percent termed “pro-Israel.” Only a month ago, just 14 percent saw the Obama administration as pro-Palestinian and 31 percent as pro-Israeli. Many Israelis reject Obama’s call for a total settlement freeze and have come to see him as overly sympathetic to Palestinian claims.



■YEMEN

Smuggler shipwreck kills 18

At least 18 people have drowned after a smuggler’s boat carrying 88 people from Somalia to Yemen capsized this week in the Gulf of Aden, the UN refugee agency said on Thursday. The boat left on June 11 and sailed for four days before hitting strong winds and taking on water, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement. Another 29 people are still missing and presumed dead after the latest fatal accident in the sea lane connecting the Horn of Africa and Yemen.



■AZERBAIJAN

Attack plotters convicted

A court has convicted 20 men of planning a series of attacks on the US and British embassies in the capital, Baku. A court official said the Military Court for Grave Crimes sentenced most of the group to 10 years in prison. The group’s leader was a former army lieutenant who was sentenced to 15 years. The National Security Ministry said the group deserted the army and took with them weapons, explosives and ammunition. They were arrested in October 2007.



■FRANCE

Murdering mother convicted

A woman who admitted killing three of her own babies, burning one corpse and hiding the others in the family freezer, was sentenced on Thursday to eight years in jail. Veronique Courjault had faced a possible life sentence after she admitted to smothering two baby boys born in secret at her expatriate home in South Korea in 2002 and 2003, and a third child born in France in 1999. The 41-year-old wept openly after her sentence was read out. She exchanged a final glance with her husband Jean-Louis, who stood by her throughout the trial, before being led out of the courtroom. Smiling with relief, Jean-Louis Courjault, 42, told reporters he and the couple’s two older sons, now 12 and 14, were happy with the verdict. “This is a sentence that will allow us to rebuild our lives, to see light at the end of the tunnel. In a few months, Veronique will be able to be reunited with her children, and we will have a new beginning,” he said. Since she has served almost three years in pre-trial detention, Courjault could be eligible for parole under French law in as little as a year, her lawyers said. She broke down repeatedly during the trial, at one point describing her actions as “monstrous, inexplicable.”



■UNITED KINGDOM

Three charged in Ritz ‘sale’

Three British men were charged on Thursday in connection with an alleged plot to fraudulently sell the world-famous Ritz Hotel in London, police said. “Police investigating the fraudulent sale of the Ritz Hotel in London have today charged three men with conspiracy to defraud to the value of £200 million [US$330 million],” a police spokeswoman said.



■CANADA

Web legislation unveiled

The government on Thursday unveiled new legislation to allow police to intercept data sent over the Internet and access Web subscriber information in order to fight cyber crimes. “High tech criminals will be met by high tech police,” Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said. The proposed Technical Assistance for Law Enforcement in the 21st Century Act would require Internet service providers to add interception capabilities in their networks. Providers would also be required to provide basic subscriber information to law enforcement agencies and to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service upon request. However, authorities would still have to obtain a warrant to intercept communications or to access subscriber information.



■MEXICO

First depression forms

The first tropical depression of the Pacific hurricane season has formed off the coast of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the depression was centered about 495km south-southwest of the coastal city of Mazatlan on Thursday night. Maximum sustained winds are near 55kph. Forecasters say the depression could strengthen to a tropical storm before it nears the Mexican coast by today. The depression was moving toward the north-northeast at about 13kph and was expected to turn gradually north-northeast late yesterday. Mexican authorities issued a tropical storm warning for the Islas Marias, a group of islands housing a prison facility about 140km off the Pacific coast, as well as a tropical storm watch for the Pacific coast from Topolobampo south to El Roblito.



■UNITED STATES

Dogs to be put down

Officials at a New Mexico animal shelter say they will put down more than 50 dogs and puppies this week to make room for 12 pit bulls from a dog fighting case. Dona Ana County animal control supervisor Curtis Childress says the pit bulls must be transferred today to the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley because a grant covering their expenses at another site is expiring. The pit bulls were confiscated in August 2007 in southern New Mexico from brothers Daron and Duryea Scott. Allegations of dog fighting and animal abuse against them are pending before the state’s appeals court.



■UNITED STATES

Alcoholic dads affect teens

Teenagers who live with alcoholic fathers, or even dads who drink in moderation, are more likely to have used drugs or had alcoholic drinks themselves in the past year, a study showed on Thursday. Around one in five children aged 12 to 17 whose fathers were teetotalers in the past year had alcoholic beverages themselves, compared with a third of youngsters whose dads drank in moderation, said the study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Among adolescents whose fathers abused alcohol, nearly four in 10 had drinks in the past year, the study showed.



■UNITED STATES

Woman fined US$1.9m

A court laid down a US$1.9 million fine against a Minnesota woman who illegally downloaded 24 songs from the Internet, CNN reported. The trial against Jammie Thomas-Rasset was the first case in the US for such copyright infringement, CNN quoted her lawyer as saying. The 32-year-old mother of four was shocked by the fine as the price tag for legally downloading the songs would have cost US$0.99 each, and she planned to appeal, her lawyer said.


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