■HONG KONG
Teens consider sex for cash
One in three teenagers would consider selling sex for money as the trend of so-called “compensated dating” sweeps the city, a survey found yesterday. Of nearly 600 youngsters aged 12 to 20 questioned in the wealthy territory of 7 million, 34 percent said they would consider offering compensated dating, a euphemism for prostitution, as a full-time job. Sixty percent of those said they would do it mainly to earn quick cash, while 23 percent said they would do it for their own sexual gratification.
■INDIA
Doctors strike in Bihar
At least 21 patients have died in a government- run hospital in the eastern state of Bihar after a strike by doctors entered its third day on Saturday, a news report said. A government official told the IANS news agency that the deaths were reported in the Medical College and Hospital in state capital Patna since Thursday. More than 400 junior doctors were on an open-end strike from Thursday, demanding higher pay.
■CAMEROON
Train crash kills seven
Seven people died and more than 250 others were injured in a passenger train crash near the capital on Saturday, state radio said, a day after a train carrying gas derailed and burst into flames, killing two. “These two days have been very unfortunate for our national railway carrier,” government spokesman Issa Tchiroma told reporters on Saturday. There was no immediate explanation for either of the crashes.
■GABON
Citizens vote for leader
Polls opened early yesterday in an election expected to continue the family dynasty of Omar Bongo, who ran the oil-producing nation for more than 41 years until his death in June. Bongo’s son Ali-Ben, 50, is up against over a dozen candidates, but analysts say that the support of the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party — and by extension the army and police — installs him as firm favorite. Provisional results are expected on Wednesday.
■RUSSIA
‘Arctic Sea’ sailors released
Sailors from the Arctic Sea cargo ship allegedly hijacked by pirates in the Baltic Sea have gone home after their detention by Russian authorities fueled theories of a cover-up, reports said yesterday. “According to my information, all 11 have returned home,” Mikhail Voitenko, a shipping expert who has followed the case, said in a posting on his Web site, the Sovracht Maritime Bulletin. A video posted on the tabloid news Web site Life.ru showed the sailors being joyfully greeted by their relatives after their train arrived in the northern city of Arkhangelsk on Saturday evening. The sailors appeared reluctant to speak to journalists upon their arrival in Arkhangelsk, Life.ru reported. “As though by command, all members of the crew hid from cameras and declined to answer journalists’ questions,” the Web site wrote.
■VENEZUELA
Opposition leader arrested
Authorities have arrested an opposition leader for alleged violence during a protest. State-run Bolivarian News Agency says a local court ordered the arrest of Caracas official Richard Blanco. Authorities detained Blanco for allegedly injuring a police officer during a demonstration a week ago, the agency said on Saturday. The march was one of many protests over a new education law critics say could lead to political indoctrination in schools.
‘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