NEW ZEALAND
Island mystery ‘solved’
A researcher yesterday claimed to have solved the riddle of a mystery island shown on Google Earth and world maps which does not exist, blaming a whaling ship from 1876. The phantom landmass in the Coral Sea is shown as Sandy Island on Google Earth and Google maps and is supposedly midway between Australia and New Caledonia. However, according to Australian scientists, who went searching for it last month, it could not be found. Intrigued, Shaun Higgins, a researcher at Auckland Museum, started investigating and claims it never existed, with a whaling ship the source of the original error. “As far as I can tell, the island was recorded by the whaling ship the Velocity,” Higgins told ABC radio, adding that the ship’s master reported a series of “heavy breakers” and some “sandy islets.” “My supposition is that they simply recorded a hazard at the time. They might have recorded a low-lying reef or thought they saw a reef. They could have been in the wrong place. There is all number of possibilities,” he said. “What we do have is a dotted shape on the map that’s been recorded at that time and it appears it’s simply been copied over time.”
SINGAPORE
Workers injured as rig tilts
About 90 workers were injured yesterday when an oil rig being built at a shipyard tilted to one side, the Ministry of Manpower said, amid reports of explosions and snapping cables. One worker was in critical condition and 22 others were seriously injured during the incident at the Jurong Shipyard, the ministry said in a statement. “Preliminary findings indicate that the jack-up mechanism of one of the legs of a three-legged jack-up rig had failed, causing the rig to tilt to one side,” the ministry said. “Some 90 workers have been sent to four hospitals — the majority had minor injuries with one worker in a critical condition and 22 seriously injured.”
THAILAND
Briton dies after chase
A 28-year-old British man has drowned after jumping into the sea in the resort town of Pattaya after being chased by a group of Thai men wielding sticks and knives, police said yesterday. The man, and two other Britons, aged 29 and 30, leapt into Pattaya Bay late on Sunday morning after being chased through a restaurant by several Thai men who they had argued with the previous night. A fishing boat was only able to rescue the victim’s two companions. Police said the Thai men alleged the British trio were drunk and had destroyed property in a hotel in the early hours of Sunday, prompting the argument and chase when the two groups met again several hours later. No arrests have been made so far in connection with the incident.
JAPAN
Troops receive drink ban
US troops in Okinawa, southern Japan, have been banned from drinking off base, a US military statement said, following a spate of crimes including the alleged rape of a local woman. The move is the latest clampdown by military commanders on their sometimes rowdy charges as they look to contain seething anger in their host community. “Drinking alcohol in off-base establishments is prohibited for all service members on Okinawa,” the US Forces in Japan said on Facebook over the weekend. “On base alcohol sales will cease at [10pm] each night, which includes clubs” and shops. The statement also said drivers departing base will be subject to breathalyzers while passengers and pedestrians may also undergo “sobriety tests.”
SOUTH AFRICA
Natural wonder inaugurated
Table Mountain was formally inaugurated as one of the world’s new seven wonders of nature at a ceremony on Sunday, a move officials hope will bring major economic benefits to the area. The mountain, which towers over Cape Town, was crowned one of the natural wonders last year after a global poll that allowed anyone in the world to vote via telephone, text messages or social media networks. Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille said she expected the listing of Table Mountain to “bring tremendous direct economic and socio-economic benefits” to the city and the country. The impact has begun to show already, with officials saying they received a record number of visitors to the mountain last month.
IRAN
Programmer escapes death
Authorities have suspended the death sentence for a computer programmer convicted on charges of running a pornographic Web site after he “repented for his actions,” his lawyer was quoted as saying on Sunday. Saeed Malekpour, an Iranian citizen and Canadian resident, was arrested in 2008 while visiting relatives in Iran, according to Amnesty International. Although authorities accused him of running a pornography site, Amnesty has said the charges appear to stem from a software program created by Malekpour that was used without his knowledge to post pornographic images. Such images are illegal in the Islamic republic. Malekpour’s lawyer, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei, told Mehr news agency that his client had repented for his actions after his death sentence, issued by the Revolutionary Court, was confirmed by the Supreme Court.
UNITED STATES
Rare hymn book to be sold
Congregants of one of the nation’s oldest churches have voted to auction off a 372-year-old hymn book that is expect to fetch between US$10 million and US$20 million at auction. Members of the Old South Church in Boston authorized the sale of one of its two copies of the Bay Psalm Book, which was published in 1640. It is among the first books ever published in North America, and only 11 copies remain. Board of Trustees Chairman Phil Stern says the church wants to continue growing its endowment and take care of some “critical capital needs.” He says although there was loud opposition to the sale, the vote was not close, with 271 votes cast in favor and 34 against.
DOMINICAN Republic
Magician’s head set on fire
An American magician was recuperating on Sunday after a local television show host lit his head on fire with a flammable cologne. Wayne Houchin said he is receiving treatment for burns that doctors are cautiously optimistic will not result in scars. During an appearance on the Dominican Republic’s Closer To The Stars TV program on Nov. 26, guest host Franklin Barazarte abruptly doused the US magician’s head with Agua de Florida, a flammable cologne commonly used in Santeria rituals. A video of the incident shows the magician’s head bursting into flames as Barazarte runs his hands over Houchin’s hair. It is unclear why the TV host doused his head in the liquid and what ignited it. The incident was not broadcast on television, but a video of it has appeared on the Internet. Houchin said Barazarte’s actions were completely unexpected and he considers it a criminal attack.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is to visit Russia next month for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said on Thursday, a move that comes as Moscow and Beijing seek to counter the West’s global influence. Xi’s visit to Russia would be his second since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but it has backed the Kremlin’s contentions that Russia’s action was provoked by the West, and it continues to supply key components needed by Moscow for
Japan scrambled fighter jets after Russian aircraft flew around the archipelago for the first time in five years, Tokyo said yesterday. From Thursday morning to afternoon, the Russian Tu-142 aircraft flew from the sea between Japan and South Korea toward the southern Okinawa region, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said in a statement. They then traveled north over the Pacific Ocean and finished their journey off the northern island of Hokkaido, it added. The planes did not enter Japanese airspace, but flew over an area subject to a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia, a ministry official said. “In response, we mobilized Air Self-Defense
CRITICISM: ‘One has to choose the lesser of two evils,’ Pope Francis said, as he criticized Trump’s anti-immigrant policies and Harris’ pro-choice position Pope Francis on Friday accused both former US president Donald Trump and US Vice President Kamala Harris of being “against life” as he returned to Rome from a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region. The 87-year-old pontiff’s comments on the US presidential hopefuls came as he defied health concerns to connect with believers from the jungle of Papua New Guinea to the skyscrapers of Singapore. It was Francis’ longest trip in duration and distance since becoming head of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics more than 11 years ago. Despite the marathon visit, he held a long and spirited
China would train thousands of foreign law enforcement officers to see the world order “develop in a more fair, reasonable and efficient direction,” its minister for public security has said. “We will [also] send police consultants to countries in need to conduct training to help them quickly and effectively improve their law enforcement capabilities,” Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong (王小洪) told an annual global security forum. Wang made the announcement in the eastern city of Lianyungang on Monday in front of law enforcement representatives from 122 countries, regions and international organizations such as Interpol. The forum is part of ongoing