VIETNAM
Islands dispute continues
Hanoi has accused Beijing of violating its sovereignty with a scientific survey in waters around two disputed island chains in the South China Sea, the foreign ministry said. It called on China to “immediately cease and refrain” from further such acts. Tensions are already running high between the neighbors over claims to the potentially oil-rich Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. The statement yesterday referred to a report carried by China’s Xinhua news agency that said a research vessel, Tan Bao Hao, had conducted a scientific survey in the sea between the two island groups. “The Vietnamese foreign ministry’s representatives met the Chinese side and stated Vietnam’s points of view, lodging Vietnam’s protest against China’s acts, which violate the sovereignty and jurisdictional rights of Vietnam,” ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga said.
AUSTRALIA
Wong, partner having baby
Finance Minister Penny Wong (黃英賢) yesterday announced her female partner was expecting their first child, sparking renewed debate on the country’s ban on gay marriage. Wong said her long-term partner, Sophie Allouache, was pregnant, in a statement that also thanked the child’s biological father “for giving us the opportunity to raise a child together.” Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she was pleased with the news, but remained steadfast in her opposition to gay marriage. “Penny Wong is a colleague of mine, she’s also a very long-term friend, so I’m very pleased for Penny and her partner, Sophie, as they look forward to a new baby and the next phase of their lives,” Gillard told reporters. “Clearly there are strong views about same-sex marriage in the community. I’ve made my views clear.”
NEW ZEALAND
Abuse, work hours linked
Long working hours can more than triple the risk of alcohol abuse and addiction, an Otago University research has found. The study of more than 1,000 people aged 25 to 30 found a statistically significant link between the amount of hours worked and alcohol abuse. “Individuals working 50 or more hours per week had rates of alcohol-related problems that were 1.8 to 3.3 times higher than those for individuals who were not employed,” study leader Sheree Gibb said. The research, to be published in the British peer-reviewed journal Addiction, found the figures were similar for males and females. Gibb said increased alcohol abuse among those who worked long hours might be an attempt to reduce stress associated with their jobs. She also suggested that social contact with workmates might make people more likely to abuse alcohol.
MALAYSIA
Jilted groom files suit
A man is suing his former fiancee for more than US$360,000 for leaving him just six hours before their wedding. Lawyer Latifah Ariffin said 32-year-old Masran Abdul Rahman and his family were distressed and deeply embarrassed when Norzuliyana Mat Hassan called off the June wedding at the last minute. Latifah said Masran had invited 1,200 guests to the reception and was seeking compensation for damages and defamation from Norzuliyana and her father. The suit was filed on Monday in a court in northeast Kelantan state. Latifah said yesterday that Norzuliyana did not give any reason for backing out of the arranged marriage. Norzuliyana could not immediately be reached for comment.
UNITED STATES
Ejaculator to pay victim
A man convicted of ejaculating into a coworker’s water bottle has been ordered to pay the woman more than US$27,000. The Los Angeles Times said a judge on Monday ordered Michael Kevin Lallana to pay the woman for loss of wages, therapy and medical expenses. Lallana was convicted earlier this year of two misdemeanor counts of battery. Prosecutors said Lallana deposited his semen twice last year in the water bottle of a coworker in Newport Beach, California. The woman drank from the bottle both times, throwing the first one away after detecting a foul taste. The second time she sent the bottle to a lab for testing. Lallana was arrested in July last year and his DNA was later matched to the water bottle.
UNITED STATES
Polygamist case closed
Prosecutors seeking life in prison for convicted polygamist leader Warren Jeffs closed their case with a final barrage of graphic audiotapes, records of 24 alleged underage brides and writings that ordered followers to “fight to the death” when police eventually came for him. The same jury that convicted Jeffs last week of sexually assaulting two of his child “brides” could now hand down their punishment as early as yesterday. Even in prison, he could continue to lead the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Among the final pieces of evidence was an audiotape of Jeffs having sex and one of him telling five girls to “set aside all your inhibitions,” as he gives his child brides instructions on how to please him sexually. Jeffs, 55, is considered God’s spokesman on Earth and a prophet among his 10,000 followers.
UNITED STATES
‘Denver Mountain’ hits snag
A movement to name a Colorado mountain peak after the late John Denver has hit a snag. The effort has gained momentum in recent weeks as thousands of people signed a petition to recognize the singer with a mountain near where he wrote his hit Rocky Mountain High. Denver is a revered figure in Colorado — so much that it made Rocky Mountain High an official state song. The peak in question is on Mount Sopris. It’s also in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area, which poses a problem for the proposal, the Board on Geographic Names told the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. The board’s executive secretary, Lou Yost, said renaming the peak could be forbidden under a federal wilderness law. He said that based on the board’s interpretation of the Wilderness Act of 1964, applying any more new names to features in wilderness areas detracts from the wilderness experience. Exceptions could be made for safety or educational purposes, he added.
UNITED STATES
Curfew for teens in Philly
Philadelphia on Monday announced a nighttime curfew for minors in its historic downtown in an attempt to stop flash mob invasions by rampaging teenagers. The measure was the latest effort to secure the city. Starting on Friday, anyone under 18 will be subjected to the 9pm curfew on Friday and Saturday nights. Teens caught violating the curfew could be fined US$100 to US$300, while parents will get a warning for the first violation and face up to US$500 in fines for subsequent violations. “Let this be a message to any others who think that participating in flash mobs is acceptable or fun — don’t do it,” District Attorney Seth Williams said. “We will apprehend you, prosecute you and send you away. You will not damage the reputation of our great city.”
‘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