ZIMBABWE
Man fined for Mugabe joke
A court fined a man US$150 for joking that President Robert Mugabe had died, a daily newspaper reported on Thursday. Cleapas Manangazira, 34, was convicted for undermining the authority of the president in a court in central city Gweru. Manangazira joked to police about Mugabe’s death when the bus he was traveling in stopped at a tollgate on the road to Gweru, according to the privately-owned NewsDay. “Why are you police officers sitting here? Don’t you know the president is dead?” prosecutors quoted Manangazira as saying. “We are coming from putting a tombstone on Mugabe’s grave. Did you hear me, people? Mugabe is dead.” Bus drivers tried to silence him, but the man went on joking about the long-time ruler. The conductors then told the bus driver to take Manangazira to Gweru police station, where he was arrested.
SOUTH KOREA
Moon’s son visits N Korea
A Unification Church official says the youngest son of the late Reverend Sun Myung Moon has left South Korea for the North Korean capital to meet with mourners. Church spokesman Ahn Ho-yeul says church leader Hyung-jin Moon plans to receive mourners at a church-owned peace institute in Pyongyang. The church has business interests in North Korea and the elder Moon worked to build ties with North Korean leaders. Ahn said yesterday that Hyung-jin Moon was traveling with the president of North Korea-based Pyeonghwa Motors. The company is partially owned by the church. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un offered his condolences on the reverend’s death earlier this week. Sun Myung Moon, a self-proclaimed messiah, died on Monday at the age of 92 in Gapyeong County, northeast of Seoul. His funeral is set for Sept. 15.
AUSTRALIA
Killer resists deportation
Officials yesterday were considering how to deport a 66-year-old British murderer after he was pulled from two commercial flights after reportedly spitting and screaming abuse at crew members. Keith Herring ripped a telephone from the seat of a plane and urinated in a holding cell as officials attempted to deport him back to England on Thursday, The Australian newspaper said. It was the second time in as many days that his removal fell through due to his behavior, it said. Herring received an immigration visa in 1988 despite a long criminal history in Britain and a year later killed his Philippine wife in their Sydney home. He was handed a 22-year sentence for the murder in 1995 along with a two-and-a-half-year term for his behavior during the trial which included exposing himself, calling the prosecutor a “fat slug,” and attempting to attack the judge, the report said.
AGENCIES
JAPAN
China, S Korea talks unlikely
Japan is unlikely to hold summit talks with either China or South Korea on the sidelines of an upcoming Asia-Pacific meeting, the foreign minister said yesterday, amid rows over disputed islands. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will attend this year’s APEC summit in Vladivostok today and tomorrow, Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba told reporters. During his stay, Noda is to meet formally with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as well as the leaders of Russia, Singapore and Australia, Gemba said, according to Jiji Press. However, the foreign minister added that Noda was unlikely to hold talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao (XXX) or South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, according to << UNITED STATES SEALs reject author’s charity A charity for US Navy SEALs says it will refuse any proceeds from a book by an ex-commando who took part in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, after the Pentagon threatened legal action against the author. The former Navy SEAL who wrote No Easy Day, Matt Bissonnette, has promised to donate a majority of his profits to charities, but one of the non-profit groups he touted — the Navy SEAL Foundation — has ruled out accepting his donations. Bissonnette’s book has shot to the top of best-seller lists amid an avalanche of publicity, but his decision to publish his first-hand account has angered many fellow SEALs. UNITED STATES Armstrong to rest at sea Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, is to be buried at sea, a family spokesman said on Thursday. “I suspect it will be a private service,” spokesman Rick Miller said. The burial is set to take place after a public memorial in Washington on Thursday. NASA chief Charles Bolden, present and former astronauts and other dignitaries are expected to attend the ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral in honor of Armstrong, who died on Aug. 25 at the age of 82. Armstrong grew up in rural Ohio and flew in the US Navy before joining the US space program. The Apollo 11 commander strode into the history books on July 20, 1969, when he became the first person to walk on the moon, famously calling it “one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” The Washington cathedral includes the famous stained glass Space Window, housing a moon rock brought back by Armstrong and fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin from their Apollo 11 mission. FRANCE Condom firm fined for fakes A maker of condoms purported to be from the town of Condom in southwestern France has been ordered to pay 10,000 euros (US$12,700) for false advertising after the provenance of its prophylactics was found to be Malaysia. “The Original Condom Company” advertised its condoms as coming from the picturesque forested town on the river Baise. However, a court in the city of Bordeaux has ordered the firm, run by two Frenchmen, to remove references to the town from its advertising, as only an unoccupied address could be found there. Condom’s mayor, Bernard Gallardo, said the town of about 7,000 residents has “other advantages” to boast of, besides its name that for years has famously caused English-speaking tourists to stop and pose for photos next to its main sign. Unfortunately for the town, Francophile tourists passing through might also snigger at the name of the local river, which is French for the activity for which condoms are intended. UNITED STATES ‘Zombie’ warning issued “The zombies are coming!” the US Homeland Security Department says. Tongue firmly in cheek, the government urged citizens on Thursday to prepare for a zombie apocalypse, part of a public health campaign to encourage better preparation for genuine disasters and emergencies. The theory: If you are prepared for a zombie attack, the same preparations will help you during a hurricane, pandemic, earthquake or terrorist attack. A few suggestions tracked closely with some of the 33 rules for dealing with zombies popularized in the 2009 movie Zombieland, which included: “Always carry a change of underwear” and “when in doubt, know your way out.”
ECONOMIC WORRIES: The ruling PAP faces voters amid concerns that the city-state faces the possibility of a recession and job losses amid Washington’s tariffs Singapore yesterday finalized contestants for its general election on Saturday next week, with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) fielding 32 new candidates in the biggest refresh of the party that has ruled the city-state since independence in 1965. The move follows a pledge by Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財), who took office last year and assumed the PAP leadership, to “bring in new blood, new ideas and new energy” to steer the country of 6 million people. His latest shake-up beats that of predecessors Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) and Goh Chok Tong (吳作棟), who replaced 24 and 11 politicians respectively
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
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