■CHINA
Tomb may be Cao Cao’s
Archeologists have unearthed a large third-century tomb, which they say could be that of Cao Cao (曹操), the legendary politician and general famous throughout East Asia for his Machiavellian tactics. The tomb, discovered in Xigaoxue village near the ancient city of Anyang, Henan Province, has an epitaph and inscription that appear to refer to Cao Cao, Central China Television said yesterday. Cao Cao was the final chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and went on to form his own state during the political turmoil of the Three Kingdoms period. He died in 220 in Luoyang and was posthumously named Emporor of the Wei state that he founded. The tomb contains the body of a man in his 60s, corresponding to Cao Cao’s age at his death, and two women.
■CHINA
Cops nab alleged killer
Police have arrested a man suspected of hacking a father and his four children to death, the latest in a string of grisly killings to occur in the nation, state press said yesterday. Deng Xueyun (鄧學雲) was captured by police in Guizhou Province on Saturday, about 17 hours after allegedly murdering his neighbor Deng Zhaoxiang (鄧招祥), 40, and his four young children, the Beijing News reported. The elder Deng was hacked to death outside the door of his home in Lushan village late on Friday, while the two boys and two girls were killed while asleep in bed, it said. The children were aged between six and 11 years of age, it said.
■HONG KONG
No subtitles for ‘Avatar’
It may boast ground-breaking 3D effects, but English-speaking viewers of Avatar have been left in the dark by the film’s alien dialogue after cinemas offered only a Chinese translation. Despite its box-office success, Western movie-goers have complained Na’vi dialogue is utterly impenetrable — unless they can read Chinese. “While we both thoroughly enjoyed the film, we were somewhat disturbed and frustrated that the alien Na’vi dialogue only had Chinese subtitles,” cinema-goer Nic Tinworth told the Sunday Morning Post. Olivier De Molina told the Post that although the dialogue was not integral, it “would have been nice to get everything. I just assumed that everything in Hong Kong is in both English and Chinese.”
■INDONESIA
Naked corpse found
The body of a Japanese woman has been found naked and bound on Bali, police said yesterday. Hiromi Shimada, 41, had been stabbed repeatedly in the stomach. Her body was discovered in a rented house near the beach of Kuta on Saturday evening, provincial police spokesman I Gede Sugianyar told reporters. “The victim was found with several stab wounds on her stomach. Her legs were tied with cloth and she was naked,” he said. “The motive for the crime is still being investigated.”
■INDIA
Governor resigns
The 86-year-old governor of Andhra Pradesh resigned, a day after a TV news channel broadcast a tape allegedly showing him in bed with three women. Governor Narain Dutt Tiwari’s office denounced the tape as fabricated. Tiwari sent his resignation letter to the President Pratibha Patil on Saturday, citing health reasons. The women were brought to Hyderabad by another woman who was allegedly promised a mining lease in return for sexual favors, ABN Andhra Jyoti News reported. The woman said she decided to expose Tiwari after he did not keep his promise.
■NEW ZEALAND
Pilot whales beached
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