GERMANY
Suspected spies arrested
A married couple has been arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia. It is believed to be the first such case on German soil since the Cold War. The couple is suspected to have worked undercover for the Russian secret service for more than 20 years. A commando unit from the Federal Office of Criminal Investigation raided their home in Marburg last week. The couple appeared before a judge in Karlsruhe last week and were remanded in custody, but have not yet been indicted. The prosecutor’s office would not reveal the nationalities of the couple, nor the countries for which they were suspected of working. In Russia, officials refused to comment on the case.
PHILIPPINES
Slain missionary buried
Thousands of people joined a funeral march demanding justice for an Italian missionary priest who was shot dead in the south last week. Reverend Fausto Tentorio, 59, was laid to rest yesterday at the Roman Catholic bishop’s compound in Kidapawan city near the grave of another Italian missionary priest, Tulio Favali, who was slain in 1985. Tentorio had long experience fighting for the rights of indigenous tribes in the south. Environmental activists suspect he was killed for his work. He was shot inside his parish compound in North Cotabato’s Arakan township on Monday last week. Police still have no suspects.
CHINA
New terrorism law mulled
The government says it is considering new legislation better defining terrorism to strengthen domestic and international efforts against such acts and those who would commit them. A proposal before the national legislature would provide more specific legal definitions for terrorists and terrorist acts based on Chinese and international precedents, making it easier to bring terrorism charges. It targets those using violence, sabotage or threats in hopes of intimidating or coercing governments or international organizations.
MALAYSIA
Japanese nurse to hang
A high court in Shah Alam near Kuala Lumpur yesterday found Mariko Takeuchi, 37, guilty of smuggling methamphetamine and sentenced her to death. A customs official said the verdict marked the first time a Japanese national had been arrested for smuggling drugs into the country. Drug smuggling carries a mandatory death penalty by hanging. The former nurse was arrested in October last year at Kuala Lumpur International Airport after arriving from Dubai with 3.5kg of the drug. Takeuchi has testified that she was duped by a man into carrying a bag containing the drugs, but did not know the drugs were inside. She can appeal the verdict.
SOUTH KOREA
Corpse kickbacks probed
Seoul police said yesterday they are investigating a suspected racket in which hospital funeral homes bribed officers for tips on where to collect bodies. Many hospitals also accommodate funeral homes, either directly operated or rented out. These typically charge thousands of dollars for the use of their premises for the customary three nights of mourning. The investigation began after an ex-police officer who runs a funeral home was arrested for bribing former colleagues for information on where to pick up bodies of murder victims, or those killed in traffic or other accidents. Prosecutors have confiscated a list of officers who received 300,000 won (US$264) per body, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office said.
BOLIVIA
Deal signed to end protests
The government and representatives of Amazon natives have finalized an agreement ending two months of protests that have eroded support for President Evo Morales. Morales announced on Friday he was scrapping a controversial plan to build a highway through an Amazon reserve that triggered widespread protests — but the protesters had 15 other demands they wanted addressed. Late on Monday, following negotiations and a nearly six-hour-long debate in the legislature, lawmakers approved a final deal that Morales signed into law, officially ending the conflict.
VENEZUELA
Inmates free some hostages
Authorities say prison inmates have freed a new group of hostages, but are still holding 12 prison employees captive. Regional prison administrator Reinaldo Rangel said 15 prison employees were released and that the authorities are continuing talks with the inmates to press them to let the others go. The prisoners at Tocuyito Prison took more than 50 guards and other prison workers hostage earlier this month. Rangel said 25 hostages were freed over the weekend after authorities agreed to transfer 30 prisoners to other facilities.
UNITED STATES
Gas pumps cause more pain
Just when you thought filling up your car could not hurt any more, researchers may have found another reason to avoid touching the gas pump: germs. Gas pump handles turned out to be the filthiest surface that Americans encounter on the way to work, according to a study released yesterday by Kimberly-Clark Professional, a unit of personal hygiene giant Kimberly-Clark Corp. A team of hygienists swabbed hundreds of surfaces around six US cities to see what everyday objects are breeding grounds for bacteria and viruses. The top offenders, following gas pumps, were handles on public mailboxes, escalator rails and ATM buttons.
GUATEMALA
Baby traffickers sentenced
A court has sentenced two women to 16 and 21 years in prison for trafficking a stolen baby who was given for adoption to a US family. Special prosecutor Lorena Maldonado says the sentences handed down to a lawyer and the legal representative of an adoption agency will reinforce the birth mother’s bid to get her daughter returned from the US. The mother has a Guatemalan court order for the return of the seven-year-old, but it is unclear if it can be enforced.
UNITED STATES
Bees attack trucker, wife
Truck driver Louis Holst has never been scared of bees, but he’s rethinking his next long-haul load a day after being swarmed by 25 million of the stinging insects. Holst and his wife, Tammie, picked up 460 bee hives in South Dakota and were 36 hours into their drive to Bakersfield, California, on Sunday night when he hit a sharp bend in a construction zone on Interstate 15 in south Utah. The twist toppled his trailer and sent the bees into a frenzy. “First responders came and drug me and my wife through the front window,” Holst said on Monday. “Then we panicked.” Swarmed by bees on the highway, Holst said he ripped off his shirt and began swatting the air. His wife ran. “We just started swinging our clothes,” he said. “They stung her all up and down her neck.” Asked whether he’d haul bees again any time soon, Holst — who normally ferries lumber and construction materials — paused. “Well,” he said, “my wife’s looking at me right now, so I’ll say no.”
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
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
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was