■AUSTRALIA
Teen asks that probe end
A teenager whose shock on-air revelation she had been raped prompted the suspension of a hit radio show has asked police to drop their investigation into the crime, officials said yesterday. Top DJ Kyle Sandilands was also sacked as a judge on the Australian Idol reality TV show after the 14-year-old girl, who was strapped to a lie detector and being questioned by her mother, said she was raped at the age of 12. Police said they had interviewed the teenager following her claim and she gave a statement about the alleged crime, but asked them not to pursue the case.
■AUSTRALIA
Sam the koala dies
Sam the koala, who gained worldwide fame and sympathy when she was rescued during devastating wildfires this year, died yesterday during an operation meant to save her from a life-threatening disease. The four-year-old koala had developed cysts associated with urogenital chlamydiosis, which affects up to 50 percent of the country’s koala population.
■MALAYSIA
Man jailed for raping wife
A man who forced his wife to have sex with him has been sentenced to the maximum five years in jail, in the country’s first successful prosecution under a new law against marital rape. Prosecutor Law Chin How said the man was sentenced in a sessions court in eastern Pahang state on Wednesday. He said the case was the first in the country under a 2007 law that makes it illegal for a husband to cause “fear of death or hurt to his wife ... to have sexual intercourse … We asked for a heavy sentence. First of all to protect women ... and to give others encouragement to stand up,” he said yesterday.
■SOUTH KOREA
Hypnotist fails on first date
A hypnotist has been fined for stealing a kiss on a blind date with a woman he thought he had successfully put in a trance, news reports said yesterday. The 32-year-old man suggested hypnotizing his 27-year-old date during their first meeting arranged by a matchmaking agency in August last year, the Dong-a Ilbo said. The woman was eventually persuaded and the hypnotist chanted: “Black hole! You will plunge deeper into a trance. You will feel thrilled all over your body and if my hand touches your body, you will feel intense pleasure.” When the man thought his technique had worked, he went to kiss her. But the woman was fully alert and filed accusations that he had sexually harassed her, the reports said.
■PAKISTAN
Bus plunges into river
Up to 35 people, mainly soldiers, were killed when a bus skidded off a road and plunged into a river near a popular tourist spot, police and a bus company official said yesterday. The bus, which started its journey late Tuesday from Rawalpindi, a garrison city adjoining Islamabad, to the northern town of Skardu fell into the Indus river early yesterday, bus company manager Mohammad Hasan said.
■CHINA
Dogs may have to walk
Shanghai’s pampered pooches may soon be forced to walk under a new set of proposed laws, which include banning dogs from riding on the bus or subway, state media reported yesterday. As Shanghai’s middle class grows, the number of pet dogs is also swelling, with police issuing 164,000 new dog licenses last year, and the number of unregistered dogs believed to be greater, the Shanghai Daily reported. Some Shanghai dogs’ paws barely touch the ground.
■GERMANY
War child given citizenship
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