NEW ZEALAND
‘Grotesque’ plant flowers
A “grotesque” plant that mimics the smell of rotting flesh to attract flies has gone on display in Wellington’s Botanic Gardens. The Dracunculus vulgaris, commonly known as the voodoo lily, began flowering on Thursday and will emit a strong stench of putrid meat for about a week, botanic gardens general manager David Sole said. “It’s quite pretty when the flower begins to emerge, then becomes more grotesque,” he said. “A spadix [spike] about 700mm grows, it’s a deep wine violet and smells like carrion.” Sole said the plant, native to the Aegean, originally belonged to a member of the public, who donated it to the botanic garden because of the overpowering odor.
AUSTRALIA
Students in acid fight
A Chinese university student was in a critical condition in hospital on Friday after a fellow PhD student allegedly threw acid in his face and then hit him over the head with a hammer. Police said a 26-year-old man had been charged with attacking a 25-year-old fellow student at a chemistry research laboratory at the University of New South Wales in Sydney on Thursday. “It’s alleged one student threw a chemical, believed to be sulfuric acid, in another student’s face before hitting him on the head with a hammer during an altercation,” police said in a statement. Both men are Chinese nationals studying for their PhDs, the university said. The victim, named by media as Cheng Xiaoyu, was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital’s Burns Unit where he is in a critical condition in an induced coma. His alleged attacker, Zhang Rui, appeared in a Sydney court yesterday. Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge said that Zhang would be transferred to a mental health facility for evaluation before appearing in court again on Nov. 29.
INDIA
Militant suspects arrested
Police have arrested three Muslim militants suspected of planning terror attacks in New Delhi during a major Hindu festival season that starts later this month, a top police official said on Thursday. The three are alleged members of the Indian Mujahideen, an Islamic militant group, police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar said. The group has links to Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has claimed responsibility for previous terrorist attacks in India. The three suspects were arrested in New Delhi over the past two weeks, Kumar said. He said they were responsible for several small explosions in the western city of Pune in August in which one person was injured. A Pune cafe popular with foreigners was also the target of a 2010 bombing that killed 17 people. Police recovered explosives, detonators, batteries and nails used in making bombs from the suspects, Kumar said.
CANADA
US pastor denied entry
Authorities have denied entry to US pastor Terry Jones, whose congregation held a Quran-burning ceremony in March last year that triggered deadly protests in Afghanistan, a spokeswoman said. Stephanie Sapp said her husband, Wayne Sapp, a fellow pastor along with Jones, were turned back at the Michigan-Ontario border on Thursday after being detained for several hours. Jones, who leads Florida’s tiny Dove World Outreach Center, and Wayne Sapp were scheduled to attend Freedom Showdown, an inter-faith debate on Thursday evening outside the Ontario Legislature. Stephanie Sapp said Jones was denied entry because of a fine he received in Germany almost 20 years ago for using the title “doctor” there. He had received an honorary doctorate in theology from a California university in 1993.
UNITED KINGDOM
Restaurant apologizes
A restaurant chain has apologized for accidentally serving alcohol to a toddler in Wales, calling it a case of human error. The BBC reported that two-year-old Sonny Rees was taken to a hospital emergency room after drinking whiskey at his second birthday party at a Frankie and Benny’s restaurant in Swansea. His mother said he was clearly intoxicated. Frankie and Benny’s said on Thursday it was extremely sorry for the incident and is looking into what systems need to be put in place to ensure that it does not happen again.
UNITED KINGDOM
Police arrest marines
Military police on Thursday arrested seven members of the elite Royal Marines on suspicion of murder in Afghanistan last year, the Ministry of Defence announced. The investigation will now be conducted by the Service Justice system, which handles offenses committed by British service personnel overseas, added the spokesman. “These arrests demonstrate the department and the Armed Forces’ determination to ensure UK personnel act in accordance with their Rules of Engagement and our standards,” the ministry statement said.
MEXICO
Late pizza deliverer killed
A furious client killed a pizza delivery man in Mexico for being 40 minutes late, authorities said on Thursday. The victim’s body, eyes blindfolded and hands bound, was found on Monday in the town of Tetla, 140km east of Mexico City, the public prosecutor’s office in Tlaxcala state said. The 22-year-old client, who hit the police officer who discovered the delivery man’s moped, admitted that he beat and locked up his victim for five hours with the help of his girlfriend. It was when the delivery man tried to make a run for it that the client allegedly riddled his body with stab wounds before dumping it in a vacant lot next door.
UNITED KINGDOM
Man jailed for insults
A man who wore a T-shirt that glorified killing police hours after the deaths of two officers has been sentenced to four months in jail. Barry Thew, 39, was arrested for wearing a shirt bearing handwritten messages saying “One less pig perfect justice” and “killacopforfun.com” in Radcliffe, near Manchester, on Sept. 18. His arrest came hours after two police officers in the northwest England city were killed in a gun and grenade attack that shocked the country. Thew was sentenced to four months in jail on Thursday after earlier pleading guilty to a public order offense. He received another four months for breaching the terms of an earlier suspended sentence.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
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
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