POLAND
US forces to be deployed
The Pentagon said on Wednesday it planned to send a US Air Force detachment to the country to support fighter jets and transport planes, marking the first time that US soldiers have been stationed there. The detachment “will arrive this fall to support quarterly F-16 and C-130 deployments beginning in 2013 and will be the first US forces stationed on Polish soil,” Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement.
GERMANY
Sea Shepherd founder flees
Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson skipped bail and fled the country over fears Japan would seek his extradition if he was sent to Costa Rica, the organization suggested yesterday. The head of the marine conservation group left the country “for an unspecified destination,” his lawyer told a Frankfurt court on Wednesday, prompting an arrest warrant to be reissued. Earlier this year, Costa Rica filed an extradition request on charges stemming from a high-seas confrontation between a Sea Shepherd ship and a Costa Rican vessel over alleged illegal shark finning in 2002. Watson was accused of “putting a ship’s crew in danger.” The 61-year-old was arrested at Frankfurt airport in May.
ARGENTINA
New Evita bill unveiled
The country’s iconic former first lady, Evita Peron, has been honored in song, in film and currently on Broadway. Now her face will grace the nation’s currency. President Cristina Fernandez revealed the new 100-peso (US$21.90) note on Wednesday night on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the death of Peron. She is the first woman to appear on any of the country’s banknotes.
MEXICO
Mass bird vaccination starts
The country started vaccinating about 10 million poultry yesterday against the highly contagious bird flu strain that has already led to the deaths of 5 million birds, which either fell ill or were slaughtered. “Starting tomorrow, we are going to vaccinate hens and chicks across the country to put an end to this bird flu epidemic,” President Felipe Calderon said. The president indicated that the ultimate goal is to have a batch of 80 million vaccinations.
MEXICO
Seven miners die in blast
Emergency personnel recovered the bodies of seven miners killed in a gas explosion on Wednesday at a coal mine in northern Mexico. The miners, aged 20 to 39, suffered severe burns and were crushed by falling rock, said Francisco Contreras Obregon, the head of the civil defense force in that part of Coahuila State. A total of seven men were trapped underground after what appears to have been a methane gas explosion.
UNITED STATES
‘Twilight’ star sorry for fling
Public displays of affection gave way to public displays of apology on Wednesday as Twilight star Kristen Stewart and the director of her latest movie candidly admitted they have had an illicit affair. Stewart, 22, the most bankable actress in Hollywood, was first to take the plunge, confessing via People magazine that she had cheated on longtime boyfriend and Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson, 26. Then came Snow White director Rupert Sanders with his own statement, saying he was “utterly distraught about the pain I have caused” to his wife of seven years, model Liberty Ross, 33, and their two young children. Prompting both apologies was Us magazine, which revealed on Tuesday it would be running “exclusive photos” of Stewart and Sanders.
CHINA
Bo Xilai’s wife indicted
The wife of ousted politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) and a family aide have been charged with the murder of a British businessman, the government said yesterday. Xinhua news agency reported that the prosecutor’s indictment said Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai (谷開來), had a falling out with Briton Neil Heywood over money and worried that it would threaten her and their son’s safety. Gu and the aide, Zhang Xiaojun (張曉軍), are alleged to have poisoned Heywood together, the report said. Heywood’s death in November last year was attributed initially to a heart attack or excessive drinking. They were charged in Hefei, Xinhua said. It did not say when exactly the indictment was issued or why the case is being prosecuted in Hefei and not in Chongqing, the metropolis Bo ran as Chinese Communist Party secretary and where the couple lived.
MYANMAR
Court jails 92 Thai farmers
A court in the southern town of Kawthuang sentenced 92 Thai nationals to three-and-a-half years in prison for entering the country illegally to grow crops. The verdicts were issued on Tuesday, a senior immigration ministry official said on Wednesday. The official declined to be identified because he was unauthorized to speak to the media. Thailand’s foreign ministry confirmed the verdicts, but made no immediate comment. The Thais were arrested during an operation early this month for illegally entering the country and attempting to grow rubber crops on 607 hectares of land.
MALAYSIA
PM promises payout
Prime Minister Najib Razak has announced a 2.2 billion ringgit (US$693 million) payout for civil servants and pensioners ahead of general elections widely expected this year, earning a rebuke from opposition lawmakers. Najib said in a statement late on Wednesday that the country’s 1.27 million civil servants would receive a half-month bonus and about 660,000 pensioners would be given a special payment of 500 ringgit. The money will arrive next month ahead of the Eid al-Fitr festival marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. “It’s an election payout,” opposition lawmaker Tony Pua said. “The government will likely spend more money in the coming weeks to stay in power than be prudent in their expenditure.”
AUSTRALIA
Man jailed for bullet mail
A “cranky” old man was yesterday jailed for mailing bullets and detonators to political leaders, including Prime Minister Julia Gillard, bank chiefs and religious figures, reports said. John Gordon, 81, pleaded guilty to 12 charges over the letters. He had sent six explosive packages containing bullets and detonators, menacing and offensive letters, a death threat and a bomb hoax. Gordon’s lawyer, Bruce Mumford, told the Brisbane District Court that the father-of-two regretted his actions between 2007 and 2010, blaming them on a “cranky mood.” Judge Brian Devereux jailed him for two-and-a-half years, of which he must serve eight months before being released on a good behavior bond.
INDONESIA
Migrants land near Bali
Sixty Iraqi and Iranian migrants, believed to be headed for Australia and adrift at sea for three days with engine trouble, were safe on a small island near Bali, an official said yesterday. East Java provincial search and rescue agency chief Sutrisno said the stricken boat had landed near Raas Island, after authorities received a distress call on Wednesday, but were unable to find the vessel.
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
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
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