CHINA
Hui Muslims, police clash
A crowd of Muslims fought with police who demolished a mosque in the Ningxia region, a police employee and a human rights group said yesterday. The violence erupted on Friday in Hexi after the mosque was declared an “illegal religious place” and about 1,000 officers arrived to demolish it, the Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said. It said 50 people were injured and more than 100 detained after several hundred members of the Muslim Hui minority tried to stop the demolition. It cited a villager as saying two people died, but said it could not confirm that. An employee who answered the phone at the town police station confirmed that officers had fought with protesters and said about 80 people were detained, but denied there were any deaths. Police demolished the mosque after the clash, said the employee, who refused to give her name.
MALDIVES
Spas not brothels: officials
Tourism officials yesterday denied that health spas at luxury holiday resorts operate as brothels after the facilities were shut down on government orders. Last week, the tourism ministry instructed resort hotels on the nation’s pristine coral islands to close all spas and health centers that offered beauty treatments and massages. The crackdown followed protests by the opposition Adhaalath party, a conservative religious movement, which claimed they were a front for prostitution. “Sex tourism definitely does not happen in the resorts,” Sim Ibrahim, the head of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry, said by telephone from Male. “The ban is very disruptive, not helpful for tourism and bad for our country’s image. We have asked for legal clarity to protect an industry that has been in operation for 40 years.” At least 100 spas and health centers were shut immediately after the government announcement, but Ibrahim said tourism was crucial for the national economy and that he hoped the ban would be overturned within days.
CHINA
Calm urged after H5N1 death
Health authorities in Shenzhen are urging residents not to panic after a man who contracted the bird flu virus died on the weekend, Xinhua news agency said yesterday. The man, surnamed Chen, died on Saturday. The Shenzhen Disease Control Center confirmed that Chen, a bus driver, had contracted H5N1 from poultry, but they were still trying to find out where he acquired the virus. Chen is the country’s first reported human case of the deadly disease in 18 months. “The virus cannot spread among people” and “there is no need for Shenzhen citizens to panic,” Xinhua said, citing a statement from the center. Chen, 39, had apparently had no direct contact with poultry in the month before he was taken ill, nor had he left the city, the department said.
NEW ZEALAND
Quake strikes Christchurch
The earthquake-devastated city of Christchurch was rattled yesterday by a magnitude 5.0 tremor, geologists said, although there were no immediate reports of damage. The quake struck at a relatively shallow depth of 19km, around 18km east of Christchurch at 5:45am, according to the US Geological Survey. Christchurch was battered by a powerful magnitude 6.3 quake in February last year that left 181 people dead and destroyed much of its center. The city has been hit by a series of strong aftershocks since causing fear among residents and further damage to property.
FRANCE
Ex-Iran leader burgled
The home of former Iranian president Abolhassan Bani Sadr near Paris was burgled overnight and cash was stolen, police and his daughter said on Sunday. Police were called to Bani Sadr’s Versailles home, which was empty at the time of the break-in early on New Year’s Day, police said. His daughter, Firouze Bani Sadr, said police protection for her father had been lifted years ago. Bani Sadr was president between February 1980 and June 1981 in the immediate aftermath of the revolution that overthrew the shah, before going into exile in Europe when he fell out with the new Islamic regime. “This break-in may have a criminal nature, but it can also be something else,” his daughter said. “One has the impression that the home is under surveillance, so they acted when there was nobody,” she said. Bani Sadr’s wife was attacked outside the house on Nov .26.
UNITED KINGDOM
Man charged over shooting
Police on Sunday charged a 20-year-old man with the murder of Indian student Anuj Bidve, who was shot in the head in an apparently unprovoked attack in Manchester, England. Kiaran Mark Stapleton had been charged over yesterday’s shooting of 23-year-old Bidve as he walked into the city center with friends, Greater Manchester Police announced in a televised statement. “This remains a complex investigation and the fact we have charged someone does not mean the investigation is complete,” Assistant Chief Constable Dawn Copley said. “Anuj’s family, who are still in India, have been made aware we have charged someone in relation to Anuj’s murder,” she added. Five people have been arrested in connection with the shooting. On Saturday, a 19-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder was bailed until the end of March, but on Sunday his bail was canceled. Three others, a 16-year-old boy and two 17-year-old boys, were earlier released on bail pending further inquiries.
EGYPT
Officials deny repression
The government on Sunday denied accusations from human rights groups that it was trying to smother some of the ruling military council’s most vocal opponents when it raided the offices of 17 non-governmental organizations last week. Angered by the swoops, Washington called on authorities to halt “harassment” of staff of the groups involved, which included the US-funded National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute. The US government also hinted it could review the US$1.3 billion in annual military aid to Cairo if the raids continued. The government ministers told a news conference the authorities had acted within the law as part of an investigation into illegal funding of political activities.
UNITED STATES
Same-sex union in Delaware
More than 400 people, including a senator, have witnessed the first same-sex civil union in Delaware. Lawyers Lisa Goodman and Drewry Fennell were joined in the New Year’s Day union by the Reverend Patricia Downing, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Wilmington. Seven other couples also obtained licenses on Sunday. Goodman and Fennell have been partners for 14 years. Goodman is a lawyer who led Equality Delaware’s fight for the civil union law. Fennell heads the state Criminal Justice Council and formerly led the American Civil Liberties Union’s Delaware chapter. Senator Chris Coons read the sermon and Lieutenant Governor Matt Denns read scripture.
UNITED STATES
Ranger killed in park
A federal ranger was shot dead in Mount Rainier National Park on Sunday, triggering a manhunt for the suspected killer and the closure of the park in Washington State, reports and officials said. The killer escaped on foot in the park and was carrying a long rifle, Pierce County detective Ed Troyer was cited by the Seattle Times newspaper as saying. The shooting occurred mid-morning on New Year’s Day in the park, which is popular with hikers and campers, the paper said, quoting a witness as saying he heard five shots during the incident near Paradise ranger station. The ranger who died was a 34-year-old female federal law enforcement official, park spokesman Kevin Bacher told the paper. Calls to the park’s spokesman and Pierce County police were not immediately returned. An update on the park’s official Twitter feed said: “Sorry but the The Road to Paradise at Longmire has closed until further notice due to emergency operations.”
ARGENTINA
Governor killed at home
The country’s former minister of intelligence, who recently took up a post as a provincial governor, was killed in a New Year’s Day shooting at his country house in Patagonia, authorities said on Sunday. Rio Negro Governor Carlos Soria, 61, was just weeks into his job in the key oil-producing southern province when he was shot after a family argument at his farmhouse near the town of General Roca at about 5am, officials said. He was taken to a local hospital where he later died. Rio Negro Deputy Governor Alberto Weretilneck, who now becomes governor, told a radio interviewer the shooting appeared to be the result of a “domestic accident,” involving handling of a firearm, and said “it will be up to the justice system to determine what happened.” Weretilneck said Soria’s wife was the only other person at the house at the time of the shooting. Officials have ruled out suicide. Police said that one of the governor’s sons was at a smaller house on the same property with his wife at the time of the incident. Some local media reported that the governor’s wife fatally shot him in the face during an argument.
CUBA
Papal visit dates announced
The Roman Catholic Church has announced the dates and a partial itinerary for Pope Benedict XVI’s much--anticipated visit to the country. The church said in a statement on Sunday that the pontiff will be in the country from March 26 to March 28, following a visit to Mexico. Benedict will touch down in Santiago de Cuba, where he will be received personally by President Raul Castro. He will make a private trip the following day to the sanctuary of the country’s patron saint, the Virgin of Caridad del Cobre. He will later fly to Havana, where he is due to perform Mass at the sprawling Revolution Plaza on March 28 before departing early that afternoon.
UNITED STATES
Man charged over explosives
Authorities have charged a member of the military who was arrested after trying to go through a security checkpoint at a Texas airport with explosives in military-grade wrapping, the FBI said. Trey Scott Atwater, 30, was stopped at security at the Midland International Airport about 9am on Saturday. FBI spokesman Mike Martinez said Atwater was being held in jail and has been charged with trying to bring explosives onto an airplane. He will remain in custody at least until his arraignment today, given that the courts were closed yesterday for the holiday, Martinez said.
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
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
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