JAPAN
Temp ends up in Fukushima
A man who applied for a temporary truck-driving job instead found himself deployed to the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, an employment official said on Monday. The man, in his early 60s, had applied for a job as a 9-tonne dump truck driver in Miyagi Prefecture, which was advertised for ¥12,000 (US$149) a day for 30 days, about a week after the March 11 quake. However, when he was taken to his new work location, he realized he was actually at the site of the atomic plant, Satoshi Hoshino of the Nishinari job center in Osaka said. The worker was under the supervision of plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co and ended up working for a full 30 days, he said. Hishino said a subcontractor in Gifu Prefecture who hired the man had said there had been a mix-up because the company had tried to gather workers for a broad variety of reconstruction tasks after the disaster.
CHINA
Hello Kitty park announced
The Japanese creators of Hello Kitty will build a theme park in China — the first on foreign soil, state media reported on Monday. The Hello Kitty-themed amusement park will be in the city of Anji in Zhejiang Province, the Xinhua news agency said, citing an agreement between Japan’s Sanrio Co and its local partner. The project, jointly designed by Sanrio and US-based amusement park designer Hettema, will cost US$215 million, with construction expected to start in the second half of this year and completed in 2014, it said. The complex will cover an area of 60 hectares that includes a theme park, hotel and catering services. There are two Hello Kitty theme parks in Japan.
INDIA
Women urged to phone less
The Punjab State Commission for Women issued an official advisory last week urging brides “to focus on their domestic life instead of having long conversations on mobile phones.” Commission head Gurdev Kaur Sangha said on Monday that the advice was designed to avoid suspicion between new couples as they adjust to their new life together. “I found that almost 40 percent of women consider seeking a divorce on the grounds that her husband and in-laws do not like her talking on mobile phones,” said Sangha, 70, from Chandigarh. Sangha said she had seen a rise in complaints from women about domestic violence, sexual harassment and family discord because of arguments over brides being constantly on the phone. The advisory said most newly married women were actually ringing their parents, but warned that passing on hourly updates about their new home was damaging.
INDIA
Swimwear charges mulled
A top court has agreed to consider criminal proceedings over an Australian brand of swimwear bearing the image of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi that has sparked angry protests. The Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh state agreed to hear a “public interest litigation” yesterday, brought by lawyers over photographs of the swimwear published in a Hindi daily. The lawyers argued that the newspaper should not have published the photographs and that the central government should have pushed Australia to take action against the manufacturer, Lisa Blue Swimwear. The photographs were from a fashion show in Sydney last week that saw models take to the catwalk in swimsuits and bikinis covered in images of Lakshmi, the goddess of light, prosperity and fertility.
UNITED STATES
Sex class canceled
Students at Chicago’s Northwestern University won’t be able to take a popular course in human sexuality next year after a professor invited his class to watch a live sex show, officials said on Monday. The topic of the day was bondage, swinging and other fetishes. After the class was officially dismissed, professor John Michael Bailey invited students to stick around for a demonstration of sex toys and the female orgasm. About 100 students were in the auditorium when an exhibitionist couple offered to perform in February. Most stayed to watch as the woman undressed on stage and her male partner brought her to orgasm with a device that looked like a machine-powered saw with a phallic object instead of a blade. The story soon went viral and university officials were lambasted by angry parents and pundits.
UNITED STATES
Schwarzeneggers splitting
Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife of 25 years, Maria Shriver, announced on Monday that they were separating. The statement, issued by a spokesman for Schwarzenegger, said the two were working on the future of their relationship while living apart and would continue to parent their four children together. “This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us,” the two said in a prepared statement. “After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion, and prayer, we came to this decision together.” Schwarzenegger, a Republican, finished his seven-year run as governor in January and has been traveling the speech circuit and pursuing various entertainment projects. The separation announcement comes months after the death of Shriver’s father, Peace Corps founder and former Democratic vice presidential candidate Sargent Shriver, in January.
UNITED STATES
Teen accused of matricide
Police said a 17-year-old in South Carolina shot his mother to death on Mother’s Day. A judge on Monday denied bond for Joshua David McEachern, who has been charged with murder. It is not clear if he has an attorney. Authorities said the teen shot his 59-year-old mother and 21-year-old brother on Sunday night at the family’s Greenville home. Police said he then called authorities to report the shooting. His brother is in critical condition. McEachern’s grandmother, Fran McEachern, said on Monday she last saw her grandson just more than a year ago and the teen had mental issues. She said he was a sweet boy, but never seemed normal.
GUATEMALA
Portillo charges dismissed
A court dismissed charges against former president Alfonso Portillo of embezzling public funds, ordering his immediate release on Monday but requiring him to stay in the country. The court said prosecutors did not present sufficient evidence to prove Portillo, 59, stole US$15 million from the military in 2001 and hid them in offshore accounts. Portillo must remain in the country and await the appeals process before its courts rule on an extradition request by the US. A federal grand jury in New York has requested Portillo’s extradition on charges of money laundering and French prosecutors are investigating similar allegations. Portillo maintained his innocence throughout the trial. Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz said the government would challenge the decision. The court also dismissed charges against former finance minister Manual Maza Castellanos and former defense minister Eduardo Arevalo as alleged conspirators.
‘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
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
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in