MONGOLIA
Australian cleared of graft
An Australian lawyer who had been barred from leaving the country has been cleared of involvement in a corruption case and will soon be able to leave the country, her employer said yesterday. SouthGobi Resources, a subsidiary of Anglo-Australian resources giant Rio Tinto, said the Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC) had ended its questioning of its chief legal counsel, Sarah Armstrong. The Australian was barred from boarding a flight from Ulan Bator to Hong Kong in October as authorities probed a corruption case.
AUSTRALIA
Scottish boy dies in outback
A 14-year-old Scottish boy has died in searing heat in the harsh outback while hiking with his father, police said. Ewan Williamson, who arrived in the country in the middle of the month, collapsed four hours into the walk in the Cape Range National Park on Friday with little water or shade as temperatures soared above 40oC. In naming the boy who died in hospital, police said late on Sunday that his father alerted authorities who located the pair 20km south of Exmouth. The cause of death is yet to be determined, but reports said he was severely dehydrated.
GERMANY
Dead man rides subway
A 65-year-old man thought to be sleeping while sitting upright on a Berlin underground train as it cross-crossed the capital was actually dead, police said on Sunday. “It’s tragic,” a Berlin police spokeswoman said. “We don’t know how long he was sitting dead on the train nor do we know the exact cause of death yet. There are no indications of foul play. He seems to have died of natural causes.” The man was found in the U-8 underground train line that runs all night at the Weinmeisterstrasse station at 5:45am, when a rail worker tried wake the man up by gently shaking him. Medics were called in, but could only pronounce the man dead.
UNITED STATES
License 48 years late
After spending nearly a half-century as husband and wife, Bob and Norma Clark are finally married. The couple from Redlands, California, celebrated their 48th anniversary in August, and last month, they were getting their end-of-life documents in order and sought a copy of their marriage license for Social Security purposes. The Clarks, who met in college, took their vows in August 1964, shortly after Bob had served in the army during the Cuban missile crisis. However, when clerks at the Hall of Records in San Mateo County tried to pull the license last month, they came up empty. On Nov. 21, the couple made their marriage legitimate, obtaining their license at the San Bernardino County Hall of Records, with the maid of honor and a junior usher from the original wedding serving as witnesses.
UNITED KINGDOM
Hillsborough single No. 1
A charity single for the families of those killed in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, featuring Paul McCartney and Robbie Williams, has claimed the country’s coveted Christmas No. 1 spot, officials announced on Sunday. The Justice Collective’s cover version of He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother sold more than 269,000 copies. Funds raised from sales will go toward meeting the families’ ongoing legal costs. Ninety-six Liverpool fans were crushed to death in the Hillsborough soccer stadium disaster in Sheffield, England, in April 1989. A report in September concluded that 41 of those who died could have survived if they had received medical treatment more quickly.
Nauru has started selling passports to fund climate action, but is so far struggling to attract new citizens to the low-lying, largely barren island in the Pacific Ocean. Nauru, one of the world’s smallest nations, has a novel plan to fund its fight against climate change by selling so-called “Golden Passports.” Selling for US$105,000 each, Nauru plans to drum up more than US$5 million in the first year of the “climate resilience citizenship” program. Almost six months after the scheme opened in February, Nauru has so far approved just six applications — covering two families and four individuals. Despite the slow start —
MOGAMI-CLASS FRIGATES: The deal is a ‘big step toward elevating national security cooperation with Australia, which is our special strategic partner,’ a Japanese official said Australia is to upgrade its navy with 11 Mogami-class frigates built by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles said yesterday. Billed as Japan’s biggest defense export deal since World War II, Australia is to pay US$6 billion over the next 10 years to acquire the fleet of stealth frigates. Australia is in the midst of a major military restructure, bolstering its navy with long-range firepower in an effort to deter China. It is striving to expand its fleet of major warships from 11 to 26 over the next decade. “This is clearly the biggest defense-industry agreement that has ever
DEADLY TASTE TEST: Erin Patterson tried to kill her estranged husband three times, police said in one of the major claims not heard during her initial trial Australia’s recently convicted mushroom murderer also tried to poison her husband with bolognese pasta and chicken korma curry, according to testimony aired yesterday after a suppression order lapsed. Home cook Erin Patterson was found guilty last month of murdering her husband’s parents and elderly aunt in 2023, lacing their beef Wellington lunch with lethal death cap mushrooms. A series of potentially damning allegations about Patterson’s behavior in the lead-up to the meal were withheld from the jury to give the mother-of-two a fair trial. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale yesterday rejected an application to keep these allegations secret. Patterson tried to kill her
MILITARY’S MAN: Myint Swe was diagnosed with neurological disorders and peripheral neuropathy disease, and had authorized another to perform his duties Myint Swe, who became Myanmar’s acting president under controversial circumstances after the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi more than four years ago, died yesterday, the military said. He was 74. He died at a military hospital in the capital, Naypyidaw, in the morning, Myanmar’s military information office said in a statement. Myint Swe’s death came more than a year after he stopped carrying out his presidential duties after he was publicly reported to be ailing. His funeral is to be held at the state level, but the date had not been disclosed, a separate statement from the
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