■INDONESIA
Bomber now book hero
One of the men who helped orchestrate the country’s deadliest terrorist attack has turned into a comic book hero: The repentant Bali bomber warns youths about the dangers of Islamic extremism, the publisher said on Thursday. The publisher of When the Conscience Speaks said 10,000 copies would be distributed to schools and libraries across the country starting next month. The unlikely hero is Ali Imron, serving a life sentence for his role in the 2002 bombings on Bali island that killed 202 people. Publisher Dhyah Madya Ruth said Imron’s character gives tips and tricks to avoid being recruited by terrorist groups and to stay away from radical ideas.
■UAE
Tanker attack confirmed
The Emirati state news agency says an explosive-laden dinghy had struck a Japanese oil tanker in the Persian Gulf last month. It’s the first official confirmation the incident was an attack. The WAM news agency yesterday quoted an unnamed government official as saying the investigation revealed traces of homemade explosives on the hull of the M Star supertanker, which was damaged in the Strait of Hormuz. WAM says investigators believe a small boat with explosives had approached the tanker. An obscure al-Qaida-linked group said on Wednesday one of its suicide bombers attacked the tanker to avenge the plunder of Muslim wealth.
■FIJI
Former PM wants new judge
Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry has asked for a non-Fijian judge in his trial on tax evasion and money-laundering charges. The Fiji Village Web site and other media reported yesterday that High Court Justice Daniel Gounder adjourned Chaudhry’s trial until Aug. 20 to allow the Fijian Department of Public Prosecutions to consider the application. The military-led government has often been accused of interfering with the judiciary, which includes some Australian and New Zealand judges. Chaudhry has pleaded not guilty on charges of breaching laws on overseas investments, of not declaring Australian currency and of falsifying a tax return.
■NEW ZEALAND
Dance lands couple in court
A Turkish immigrant claims police can’t tell the difference between fighting and dancing after he was charged with assault while celebrating with his wife, it was reported yesterday. A judge has now told the police to go away and study a cultural Turkish video showing the kolbasti dance before deciding whether to proceed with the case. Kebab shop owner Allaetin Can was arrested after a passerby reported he was hitting, kicking and strangling his wife outside their shop in the North Island town of Hawera, the Taranaki Daily News said. However, when he appeared in court, Can argued he and his wife Elmas were merely performing the traditional Turkish dance kolbasti which, loosely translated, means “caught red-handed by the police” and involves energetic movements.
■AUSTRALIA
Sponges, man, share genes
Mankind may be descended from apes, but Australian scientists have found proof of links much closer to the sea floor, with a study revealing that sea sponges share almost 70 percent of human genes. Genetic sequencing of sea sponges from the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef showed the ancient marine animal shared many of its genes with humans, including a large number typically associated with disease and cancer.
■UNITED KINGDOM
‘Kama Sutra’ now for ears
If you are too shy to read the Kama Sutra on the train during rush hour, a British publisher has an alternative. The ancient sex guide dating back 1,600 years has been published as an audio book. “Now there’s no need to feel embarrassed by reading a copy of this wonderful and important book in public — simply download it on to your mp3 player and liven up your commute to work,” said Simon Petherick, managing director of Beautiful Books. “Some may also consider using the audio book as a step-by-step manual for improving bedroom techniques, without the need to stop and start with constant reference to a book.”
■UKRAINE
German visitors apologize
About 200 Germans from Tubingen have arrived in Kiev to take part in actions aimed at apologizing for Nazi forebears’ crimes in World War II. A mourning procession walked along the so-called “death road” on Thursday to the monument near Babi Yar ravine, the site of one of the most horrific chapters of the Holocaust. Processions by Germans were expected in 15 other Ukrainian cities yesterday. More than 33,700 Jews were shot at the ravine over 48 hours beginning on Sept. 29, 1941. The ravine became the burial site for 100,000 bodies, including non-Jews. One march participant, Anke Krueger, said: “I am a representative of a new generation that cannot keep silence any more.”
■UNITED KINGDOM
PM criticized for Iran gaffe
Opposition politicians have been needling Prime Minister David Cameron for telling a town hall audience that Iran “has got a nuclear weapon.” He was speaking about Turkish accession to the EU before a crowd of Hove residents on Thursday when he made the slip. He was saying that the EU would be better off in Turkey joined because it could help solve problems “like the Middle East peace process and the fact that Iran has got a nuclear weapon.” Cameron’s Downing Street Office insisted that it was clear he was referring to Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.
■SWAZILAND
Rumor costs minister his job
Justice minister Ndumiso Mamba, the right-hand-man of King Mswati III, has resigned, the government said on Thursday, after a dissident group said he had an affair with one of the monarch’s 14 wives. The Swaziland Solidarity Network said last week that Mamba had been having an affair with 23-year-old Inkhosikati LaDube and was netted in a police sting at a luxury hotel owned by the king. “There is a story that has gone far which is currently being circulated ... The story touches on the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Ndumiso Mamba,” Prime Minister Banarbas Sibusiso Dlamini told a news briefing. “Mamba had opted to resign as both senator and minister of justice ... to allow the matter to be considered by the appropriate authorities.” The king was on a visit to Taiwan when the story broke.
■GERMANY
Compensation for Afghans
The government will pay about 100 Afghan families affected by a deadly air strike last year US$5,000 each in compensation, a defense ministry spokesman said on Thursday. An independent local mediator has identified the families of 91 Afghans who were killed and 11 who were wounded as eligible for the payment, he said. An attack ordered by a German commander on two fuel trucks near the Afghan town of Kunduz killed up to 142 people, many of them civilians.
■UNITED STATES
Intelligence chief confirmed
The Senate late on Thursday confirmed retired Air Force Lieutenant General James Clapper as the next director of national intelligence, voting him oversight of the nation’s 16 spy agencies. A nearly empty chamber approved Clapper’s nomination by voice vote as senators sought to begin their monthlong recess. President Barack Obama nominated Clapper, who has served as the Pentagon’s chief intelligence official, to succeed retired Admiral Dennis Blair. Blair stepped down under pressure after clashing with other intelligence officials.
■UNITED STATES
Puppies die after flight
Seven puppies have died after flying in the cargo hold of an American Airlines jet. American said it had contacted the shipper who put the puppies on a Tuesday morning flight from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Chicago, and was investigating further. Airline spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan said on Wednesday the shipper put 14 puppies aboard Flight 851, which was scheduled to leave Tulsa at 6:30am, but was delayed an hour by storms in Chicago. As the plane sat on the tarmac in Tulsa, it was already 30ºC before 7am, according to the National Weather Service. Fagan said baggage handlers taking the puppies to a kennel area at O’Hare Airport grew concerned because they looked lethargic. Employees tried to cool down the dogs, and they were taken to a vet’s office, but five died initially and two others died later, Fagan said.
■UNITED STATES
Penn, Wright finally divorce
Sean Penn’s tortuous divorce process is finally over. The Oscar-winning actor has officially split from his wife of 14 years, Forrest Gump co-star Robin Wright, after the couple dropped two earlier attempts, court papers showed. Wright, 44, first filed for divorce in December 2007, but withdrew the paperwork. Penn, who turns 50 on Aug. 17, asked for a legal separation in April last year, but withdrew the request a few weeks later, calling it an “arrogant mistake.” However, in August last year, Wright filed for divorce again in northern California where they reside, citing irreconcilable differences. A Marin County judge signed off on the divorce, with court papers published on Thursday by celebrity Web site E! Online showing the divorce became official on July 27.
■UNITED STATES
Champion eater cleared
A Japanese competitive eater won’t have to try jail food after all, a judge ruled on Thursday, dismissing charges against the skinny speed-feeder for crashing a hot dog eating contest. Takeru Kobayashi, 32, was arrested on July 4 for storming the annual competition at Nathan’s Famous Frankfurters near New York City’s Coney Island amusement park. The six-time champion had announced he would not be participating in the contest because of a dispute with organizers over which other events he would be allowed to participate in.
■CHILE
Dozens of miners trapped
At least 34 miners were trapped inside a copper and gold mine after a cave-in, authorities said yesterday, although their condition was not known. Officials said the accident occurred on Thursday night in the San Esteban mine near the city of Copiapo, in the arid Atacama desert 800km north of Santiago. “The assessment of the terrain indicates there is a blockage in the mine’s main shaft,” an official report said. Atacama Governor Ximena Matas said that at least 34 miners were trapped inside.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia
ON ALERT: A Russian cruise missile crossed into Polish airspace for about 40 seconds, the Polish military said, adding that it is constantly monitoring the war to protect its airspace Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the western region of Lviv early yesterday came under a “massive” Russian air attack, officials said, while a Russian cruise missile breached Polish airspace, the Polish military said. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a series of deadly aerial attacks, with yesterday’s strikes coming a day after the Russian military said it had seized the Ukrainian village of Ivanivske, west of Bakhmut. A militant attack on a Moscow concert hall on Friday that killed at least 133 people also became a new flash point between the two archrivals. “Explosions in the capital. Air defense is working. Do not