■CHINA
Boy chained for years
A mother — unable to handle her violent mentally handicapped 14-year-old son and find proper treatment — has chained him up for much of the last five years, state media said yesterday. The boy has been chained to the kitchen door of the family’s remote rural farmhouse in Zhejiang Province because of repeated bouts of violence that began when he was nine years old, the Qianjiang Evening News said. “Other mothers, when they have money, they go out and buy good things for their child to eat,” the woman, Duan Jinfeng, told the paper. “When I have money, I only think about going out and buying a thicker chain.”
■KAZAKHSTAN
Pork detector unveiled
Scientists in the mainly Muslim country have come up with an instant test for the presence of pork in food, a popular newspaper reported on Monday. The plastic-stick test detects food molecules that are found only in pork, which is forbidden by Islam but is easily found in the Central Asian state, the Megapolis weekly said. “It’s no secret that some chefs cheat and add pork to beef to make the dish cheaper,” the newspaper wrote on Monday, saying the practice was widespread in the country. “When you get your beef patty, cut off a couple of small pieces and drop them in a glass of water. Stir, shake, put the test stick in ... In a minute or two you will see the result.”
■THAILAND
Drug smuggler caught
A 54-year-old woman from the Philippines was facing the death penalty after being arrested at Bangkok’s international airport for trafficking cocaine worth US$500,000, police said yesterday. Estrelita Turado Basilio was detained at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Tuesday after flying in from the Peruvian capital Lima, said the Narcotics Suppression Police, who added they acted on a tip-off. They said 5.4kg of cocaine was found in the woman’s luggage, wrapped in aluminum foil and hidden in boxes of candy.
■CHINA
Quake moms giving birth
More than 2,000 babies have been born to women who lost their children in a 2008 earthquake thanks to a government program that includes artificial insemination, state media said yesterday. A total of 3,140 women had become pregnant under the program, which also provided free medical treatment, with 2,106 giving birth so far, the Global Times said, quoting government figures.
■ITALY
Accused minister resigns
A Cabinet minister announced his resignation on Tuesday, saying he needs time to defend himself against accusations that a businessman under investigation for corruption underwrote his purchase of a luxury Rome apartment. Industry Minister Claudio Scajola denied wrongdoing, but said he cannot continue his duties as minister while dealing with the accusations. Prosecutors allege that Scajola paid 610,000 euros (US$788,000) — well below the market price — for an apartment he bought overlooking Rome’s Colosseum with the help of the businessman, who allegedly paid the sellers an additional and undeclared 900,000 euros, according to the reports.
■FRANCE
Bubbly for 114-year-old
A 114-year-old woman who this week became the world’s oldest person lives on a Caribbean island and still enjoys a glass of champagne every now and then. Eugenie Blanchard, who lives on the French island of Saint Barths, won the title after Japan’s Kama Chinen died on Sunday, the Gerontology Research Group said. Blanchard was born on February 16, 1896, the group said. Her nephew Daniel Blanchard told reporters that Blanchard still had a zest for life. “Because of her age, she had to be hospitalized but she still loves having a glass of champagne, at least on her birthday,” Blanchard said in 2008.
■FRANCE
France to return Maori heads
Lawmakers decided on Tuesday to return 16 tattooed and mummified Maori heads to New Zealand, ending years of debate on what to do with the human remains acquired long ago by French museums seeking exotic curiosities. For years New Zealand has sought the return of Maori heads kept in collections abroad, many of which were obtained by Westerners in exchange for weapons and other goods. Maori, the island nation’s indigenous people, believe their ancestors’ remains should be respected in their home area without being disturbed. It was unclear when the heads might be sent home.
■ITALY
Veiled woman may be fined
News reports say a Tunisian woman risks a 500 euro (US$655) fine for wearing a burqa in public in alleged violation of a local ordinance. The ANSA news agency and local news reports say the woman was stopped on Friday in the post office of the northern city of Novara by carabinieri who asked her to remove her veil to check her identity documents. She and her husband refused until a female police officer arrived at the scene. Novara Mayor Massimo Giordano, of the often xenophobic Northern League party, has said he pushed through the ordinance at the beginning of the year to abolish behavior which he says impedes the integration of foreigners.
■RUSSIA
Putin no ‘press predator’
Reporters Without Borders’ inclusion of Russian President Vladimir Putin on its list of the world’s worst “Predators of Press Freedom” is an error likely based on stereotypes, his spokesman said on Tuesday. “We don’t know the criteria on the basis of which these conclusions were drawn. They are completely false,” said Putin’s spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, cited by the RIA Novosti news agency. “Unfortunately this error is maybe linked to stereotypes about Russia that are still alive today,” he said.
■UNITED STATES
More cities reject new law
Another city council in Arizona has voted to sue over the new state immigration enforcement law. The Flagstaff City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday night in favor of the resolution before a crowd that initially numbered in the hundreds but dwindled significantly as the night wore on. Earlier on Tuesday, the Tucson City Council voted to sue Arizona in an effort to overturn the law. The state law requires local and state law enforcement officers to question people about their immigration status if there’s reason to suspect they’re in the country illegally. The Flagstaff resolution says it’s an unfunded mandate to carry out the responsibilities of the federal government. The council’s vote directs the city attorney to retain legal counsel.
■BRAZIL
Sting opposes Amazon dam
British music star Sting is speaking out against a renewed plan for a huge dam in the Amazon that he helped halt two decades ago, saying the project would destroy a river and the lives of thousands who depend on it. He voiced opposition to the Belo Monte dam at a news conference on Tuesday, saying: “I stand in solidarity with the indigenous people who are trying to stop it.” He is among a growing number of celebrities, including film director James Cameron and actress Sigourney Weaver, who have joined activists in lobbying against Brazil’s plan to build the world’s third-largest dam on the Xingu River. Sting helped put a temporary halt to the Belo Monte dam in 1989 when he protested alongside Brazilian Indians in an event that helped persuade international lenders not to finance the project.
■UNITED STATES
Arnie ends drilling support
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday withdrew his support of a plan to expand oil drilling off the state’s coast, citing the massive oil spill that resulted from a drilling rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. The announcement assures that no new drilling will take place off the coastline in the foreseeable future because Schwarzenegger would have to include the drilling proposal in his May revision of the state budget. Speaking at a news conference near Sacramento, he said television images of the oil spill in the Gulf have changed his mind about the safety of ocean-based oil platforms. “You turn on the television and see this enormous disaster, you say to yourself, ‘Why would we want to take on that kind of risk?’” Schwarzenegger said.
■UNITED STATES
Police halt movie ‘robbery’
A filmmaker was taking the blame on Tuesday after New York police officers were summoned to what they thought was an armed robbery, but turned out to be a location shoot for his upcoming movie. The confrontation ended peacefully when officers ordered an actor playing a gunman to drop his weapon. “I made the mistake,” Fred Carpenter said in a telephone interview. “I was supposed to tell the local police precinct what we were doing.” Carpenter was filming inside a convenience store in Bellmore, on Long Island, east of New York City, on Tuesday morning in a scene in which a gunman takes a number of people hostage. A passer-by apparently thought it was the real thing and called police. “All of a sudden I’m directing and 15 police officers come in,” Carpenter said. “And for a moment I’m thinking it’s part of the movie and then I said, wait a minute, I wrote the movie and this wasn’t in the film.”
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
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
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number