CHINA
Three bus crashes kill 28
At least 28 people have been killed and dozens injured in three bus crashes in one day in the south, state media reported yesterday. A bus overturned on a mountainous road in Yunnan Province late on Saturday, killing at least nine passengers and injuring 24, Xinhua news agency said. The injured were all taken to local hospitals, and the cause of the crash is under investigation, the report said. The bus, which was carrying 37 passengers, started its journey in the city of Chuxiong and was bound for the tourist town of Dali. In Guizhou Province, 13 people were killed and 22 injured when the tire of the bus they were riding in blew out, causing the vehicle to career off the road, Xinhua said. In the southern Guangxi region, six people were killed when their bus collided with a truck, Xinhua said.
CHINA
Police detain Tibetan writer
An overseas Tibetan news service said police had detained a Tibetan writer in a western county hit by anti-government protests as the country’s crackdown against persistent unrest spreads. The Voice of Tibet, which is based in Norway, said that more than 20 police officers took Gangkye Drubpa Kyab from his home in Serthar county’s main town on Wednesday night and that he has not been released. Police and government officials in Serthar said they had not heard about the case. Authorities have been caught in a cycle of protest and repression over the past year. More than 20 Tibetans have set themselves on fire to protest repressive measures, and security forces have responded with more repression.
UNITED STATES
Runaway emu amuses locals
An elusive emu on the lam in Vermont has been amusing residents in communities on Lake Champlain. The 68kg flightless bird looks like a small ostrich. It has been spotted wandering here and there in Grand Isle and South Hero since it escaped from a local farm five weeks ago. It was spotted again on Friday outside the South Hero elementary school, where it walked by a window of the principal’s office. School worker Steve Berard tried to lasso it with an extension cord, but it broke free. The emu’s owner told WCAX-TV he bought three emus for his grandchildren but they do not make great pets. He has taken out an ad in a local newspaper saying: “Free emu if you can capture it.”
SWEDEN
Man snowed in for months
A man was dug out alive after being snowed in to his car on a forest track for two months with no food, police and local media reported on Saturday. The 45-year-old was found on Friday, emaciated and too weak to utter more than a few words. He was found not far from the city of Umea in the north of Sweden by snowmobilers who thought they had come across a car wreck until they dug their way to a window and saw movement inside. The man, who was laying in the back seat in a sleeping bag, said he had been in the car since Dec. 19. Umea University Hospital, where the man is recovering after being rescued by police and a rescue team, said in a statement he was doing well. Doctors at the hospital said humans would normally be able to survive for about four weeks without food. Besides eating snow, the man probably survived by going into a dormant-like state, physician Stefan Branth told Vasterbottens-Kuriren. “A bit like a bear that hibernates. Humans can do that,” he said. “He probably had a body temperature of around 31oC, which the body adjusted to. Due to the low temperature, not much energy was used up.”
ITALY
Fake US bonds found
Swiss authorities have confiscated US$6 trillion in counterfeit US bonds at the request of prosecutors in Potenza, authorities said on Friday. Eight people were arrested and placed under investigation for fraud and other crimes. The bonds, carrying the false date of issue of 1934, had been transported in 2007 from Hong Kong to Zurich, where they were transferred to a Swiss trust, according to prosecutors. Authorities said that US officials had confirmed that the bonds were counterfeit. Prosecutors said the fraud had not been completed, but it appeared that the suspects intended to try to sell the fake bonds to a developing nation, directly or through an intermediary bank.
UNITED STATES
‘Jew Pond’ may be renamed
Voters in a small New Hampshire town will have the final say on whether to change the controversial name of a local pond. The small pond near the middle of Mont Vernon is known as Jew Pond. Town officials say it got its name back in the 1920s because the operators of a hotel that once stood next to it were Jewish. The name recently got the attention of New Hampshire Bishop Peter Libasci. He wrote a letter to the local newspaper saying the name conveyed contempt and urged townspeople to change it. Residents will decide in the March 13 election. Some residents told WMUR-TV that they don’t find the name offensive and that it’s part of the town’s history.
PARAGUAY
Dog thwarts prison break
A stray dog is getting credit for thwarting a prison break. Officials say three dangerous inmates dug a tunnel about 8m from their cell to the street and were about to break free just before dawn when the dog began to bark and alerted a guard. Authorities at the Tacumbu prison on the southern edge of the capital dragged the unlucky prisoners before the media on Friday to tell the tale. “Because of a stray dog, we couldn’t escape,” Hilario Villalba said. “When I reached the street, sticking my head out, the stupid dog barked and alerted a guard.” Villalba, who is serving a 30-year double-murder sentence, vowed in his native Guarani language that he’ll keep trying to escape because he said his sentence isn’t fair. Meanwhile in Argentina, a yellow Labrador named Tiza alerted border guards to a motorist trying to smuggle US$110,000 in US$100 bills into Uruguay. The driver denied carrying any money, but the dog sniffed out the bills hidden in the glove compartment, another compartment and inside the rear seats, Argentina’s tax collection agency said on Friday.
AUSTRIA
Dutch prince’s life in danger
The second son of the Netherland’s Queen Beatrix spent a stable night in the hospital after he was seriously injured in an avalanche, but his life remains in danger, the Dutch government said yesterday. Prince Johan Friso, 43, was rushed to the intensive care unit of Innsbruck’s main hospital on Friday after he was buried under snow. He had been skiing off marked trails in Lech, a winter sports region in the west of the country. According to the statement, “his life is still in danger, but he had a calm and stable night.” The Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad said the prince suffered serious oxygen deprivation. The paper quoted Claudius Thome, head of neurosurgery at the hospital, as saying Friso did not suffer a skull fracture or any other external injuries. The only serious problem appeared to be lack of oxygen, with Friso being buried for 20 minutes, he was quoted as saying.
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