■AUSTRALIA
Carjack suspect captured
A man who allegedly crashed a stolen car during a high-speed police chase and then fled from a hospital where he was treated for injuries was captured yesterday after a massive police search. More than 100 police officers tracked Colin Bradley Little, 22, to the backyard of a suburban home in Perth, police said. He was charged with more than 20 offenses, including aggravated armed robbery for allegedly stealing cars during an hourslong pursuit on Wednesday. After Little’s initial capture on Wednesday, he was admitted to a hospital under guard for treatment of injuries. But yesterday, as he was being taken out of the hospital in a wheelchair, he jumped up and fled, police said. Two guards were escorting Little when he escaped, but he wasn’t handcuffed, Clifford said. Police said Little and a 21-year-old woman stole a car on Wednesday after threatening its occupants with a hammer. During an ensuing pursuit by police, Little forced the driver out of another car and tried to do the same with three others, police said.
■SOUTH KOREA
Adultery law reconsidered
A panel is considering whether to scrap a controversial law that makes adultery a crime punishable by imprisonment, an official said Thursday. Critics say the law introduced in 1953 breaches individuals’ rights, but in 2008 the Constitutional Court upheld the legislation for a fourth time. The justice ministry said a special committee tasked with revising the criminal code was discussing a possible change to the adultery law, but a spokesman said it had made no decision so far. Yonhap news agency said the committee of 24 legal experts was likely to scrap the law when it draws up a proposed new criminal code late this year.
■SOUTH KOREA
‘Mr Microchips’ a hit
Robot teachers — who never get angry or make sarcastic remarks — have been a hit with pupils during a pilot project in some schools, a government report said yesterday. Elementary school children responded favorably to the robotic teachers, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said, citing a survey by educational researchers. English-teaching robots were sent to three provincial schools for eight weeks starting in late December. And programmable electronic devices resembling robots, which teach maths, science and art, were used in 10 Seoul schools for five weeks from November. The researchers found that the English-teaching robots helped raise interest in the language and boosted the confidence of students. “Tele-presence” robots are controlled remotely by an English teacher and are equipped with a microphone and video camera.
■UNITED KINGDOM
Lloyd Webber to sell Picasso
Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is to attempt to sell one of his most valuable possessions: a Picasso blue period portrait which Christie’s on Tuesday said would have the largest pre-sale estimate of any work ever auctioned in Europe. The work is called Portrait of Angel Fernandez de Soto, and the party-loving sitter’s languid expression may be explained by the painting’s other title, The Absinthe Drinker. It has been estimated at between £30 million (US$46 million) and £40 million and all proceeds will benefit Lloyd Webber’s charitable foundation.
■IRAN
Reformist, filmmaker bailed
Authorities have released on bail a top reformist jailed since last June, a filmmaker and a reformist journalist ahead of Iranian New Year celebrations, opposition Web sites said yesterday. Mohsen Mirdamadi, former MP and secretary of Iran’s largest reformist party, the Islamic Iran Participation Front, was released after posting bail of about US$450,000 on Wednesday, kaleme.com said. Jailed since June 20, Mirdamadi is awaiting a verdict on charges of acting against national security and propaganda against the Islamic republic. The authorities released film director Mohammad Rasoulof for 20 days on bail of US$100,000, the Kaleme and Rahesabz Web sites said. Rasoulof was arrested on March 1 in a raid on the Tehran home of renowned director Jafar Panahi. Reformist journalist Akbar Montajabi, arrested on Feb. 8, was also released on bail on Wednesday.
■NORTH KOREA
Paris rules out embassy
France will not open an embassy in North Korea, but plans to establish an office to support non-governmental groups (NGOs), French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said yesterday. “We are not going to open an embassy, certainly not,” Kouchner said at a press conference in Tokyo. “Open an office, yes, in order to help the NGOs there.” Most EU countries opened up relations with North Korea in 2000, but France resisted, saying at the time that the human rights situation in the Stalinist nation must improve and citing concerns over nuclear proliferation.
■AUSTRIA
Abuse claims rock choir
The Vienna Boys’ Choir said on Wednesday it has heard from eight possible abuse victims following an initial report of allegations last week. The famed institution said the men contacted the choir through a confidential hot line set up after reports that two former members, both now adults, said they were sexually abused. Tina Breckwoldt, who is responsible for the hotline, declined to disclose whether the eight abuse allegations are sexual, physical or psychological in nature and whether the alleged perpetrator were adults or other choir members.
■TURKEY
Referendum could be soon
The government could potentially hold a referendum on proposed changes to the Constitution to reform the secularist judiciary before the summer, Interior Minister Besir Atalay said on Wednesday. Atalay’s comments were the first indication of a timeframe for a vote that would heighten fears of a clash between the ruling AK Party, whose roots lie in political Islam, and a secular elite, whose strongholds are the judiciary and the military. “We would like to hear the opposition’s opinions on reforms, but we are very determined, we will hold a referendum if necessary. I think this would better to be held before the summer,” Atalay said.
■GUATEMALA
Portillo faces extradition
A criminal court authorized on Wednesday the extradition of former president Alfonso Portillo to the US, where he faces money laundering charges. “This court finds the US government’s extradition request against Alfonso Portillo, accused of crimes of conspiracy to engage in money laundering, will go ahead,” the Fifth Sentencing Court’s decision read. The former leader has been held at a high security facility here that houses some of the country’s most notorious criminals, including drug dealers and kidnappers. Portillo was arrested in January following the US extradition request for charges dating back to his 2000-2004 presidency.
■GUATEMALA
Adoptions set to resume
Foreign adoptions children will resume in June, two years after the country halted what was deemed a black market worth up to us$200 million a year, officials said on Wednesday. National Adoption Board president Elizabeth Hernandez said the government arrived at its decision after consulting the International Court of Justice and the UN Children’s Fund. She said the board — created in 2008 after a new Law on Adoptions was passed — had a list of 10 countries awaiting adoptions, including Austria, Denmark, France, Israel, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and US. Hernandez said 15 organizations would handle the new adoptions under the new set of strict regulations.
■BRAZIL
Royalty law sparks protests
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Rio de Janeiro to protest against changes in an oil royalties law that would drain the city’s coffers. Changes made by the lower house of Congress would cut about US$4 billion from Rio’s revenues annually. That would endanger the city’s ability to host the 2016 Olympics — with its US$14 billion price tag — and the finals of the 2014 World Cup. On Wednesday, Energy Minster Edison Lobao said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will veto the legislation if the Senate does not fix the royalty distribution plan. In the past two years the country has discovered extensive offshore oil deposits.
■UNITED STATES
Biden mixes blessings
Vice President Joe Biden asked for God’s blessing for the late mother of Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen during a White House celebration of St Patrick’s Day — except the elderly lady is very much alive. “God rest her soul,”’ Biden said on Wednesday night as he introduced Cowen and President Barack Obama. He quickly caught himself and noted that it was Cowen’s father who is no longer living. Of the prime minister’s mother, Biden said: “God bless her soul.”’ Biden then cited the Irish proverb that “a silent mouth is sweet to hear”’ and yielded the podium to the president.
■UNITED STATES
Injured dog goes to ER
The patient was only slightly injured when he limped into a hospital in the northwest New Mexico city of Farmington. The only problem was, he was a dog. When the automatic doors at San Juan Regional Medical Center’s emergency room slid open Saturday night, the pooch walked in, blood on his nose and paw, and a puncture hole in one leg, the Daily Times newspaper said. Animal control officer Robin Loev responded to a call from the hospital and suspects the puncture wound was from the bite of another dog. Loev said the German shepherd mix appeared to be intelligent and calm — and knew enough to go to the right place.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of