CHINA
Three Tibetans self-immolate
Three Tibetans have died after setting themselves on fire to protest Beijing’s rule in Aba Prefecture, Sichuan Province, exiled Buddhist monks and reports said yesterday. Two of the three were monks at a monastery in Ruoergai County, according to the exiled monks and the Free Tibet group. The two monks, aged 20 and 23, set themselves on fire in a corner of an assembly hall of the Taktsang Lhamo Kirti monastery, the reports said. US broadcaster Radio Free Asia reported that a 23-year-old Tibetan woman in Rangtang County died after self-immolating on Wednesday.
INDIA
Man sells baby on Facebook
Police in Ludhiana, Punjab state, said on Wednesday they had arrested a 47-year-old man for selling his newborn grandson to a businessman in a deal that was struck on Facebook. Feroz Khan allegedly kidnapped his grandson shortly after he was born this month. He sought help from two temporary employees at the hospital where his daughter gave birth, who contacted the buyer on Facebook and arranged the deal for 45,000 rupees (US$830). Police have rescued the baby and returned him to his mother, Noori Khan, a divorcee, who had lodged the complaint against her father.
PAKISTAN
Burglar’s arms cut off
A suspected burglar who crept into a village home to steal was caught red-handed and had both arms severed at the elbow by his would-be victims, police said on Wednesday. Muhammad Tufail, 34, entered a house in Chak Nangar village near the town of Dera Ghazi Khan, local police official Muhammad Ayub said. “The four male family members present in the house severed both Tufail’s arms at the elbow,” Ayub said. Police have arrested two of the accused and the two others have fled, he said. Tufail was taken to a hospital and is in a stable condition, Ayub said.
SINGAPORE
Cartoonist arrested
Cartoonist Leslie Chew, 37, has been arrested for alleged sedition over a satirical comic strip on his Facebook page that appeared to accuse the government of racism, his lawyer said on Wednesday. Chew was released on bail following his arrest on Friday, two days after a complaint was filed about his cartoon strip that lampooned the government for being “racist” toward Malays, lawyer Choo Zheng Xi said. The strip was posted on Chew’s “Demon-cratic Singapore” Facebook page on March 27. “He was released on S$10,000 [US$8,060] bail on Sunday night, and is currently being investigated under the Sedition Act,” Choo said. If convicted, Chew faces a jail term of up to three years or a fine of up to S$5,000 or both.
INDIA
Shamshad Begum dies
Legendary singer Shamshad Begum died at age 94 on Tuesday in Mumbai. She had been unwell for some time, her daughter Usha Ratra told the Press Trust of India news agency on Wednesday. Begum’s funeral, held early on Wednesday, was attended by close family members and a few friends, Ratra said. She began her singing career on radio in 1947, and became one of the movie industry’s first playback singers, with several well-known actresses of her time lip-syncing to her songs. Her songs from the 1950s to the early 1970s are still popular and continue to be remixed by music directors today.
FRANCE
Two charged over Kate pics
The head of an Italian publishing group and a French photographer were charged this month over the publication of intimate photographs of Prince William’s wife, Catherine, sunbathing topless in Provence that sparked a furor. Sources close to the case said Mondadori Group chief executive Ernesto Mauri and a photographer at daily La Provence were both charged with “invasion of privacy.” Judges in the Paris suburb of Nanterre charged Mauri for allowing the topless shots to be published in Closer on Sept. 14. The identity of the paparazzi who took the photographs remains a mystery. Meanwhile, photographer Valerie Suau was charged for taking photos of Kate in a swimsuit in the same place, which were printed in La Provence on Sept. 7.
EGYPT
US checking arms claims
US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said on Wednesday the US effort to determine whether Syria has used chemical weapons is a “serious business” that cannot be decided in a rush just because several countries believe evidence supports that conclusion. “Suspicions are one thing, evidence is another,” Hagel told reporters as he wrapped up a visit to Cairo that included talks about Syria and other regional issues. Hagel rejected suggestions the US was undermining its credibility by saying it was continuing to assess the issue, even as France, Britain and Israel have concluded evidence suggests chemical arms have been used in Syria’s conflict.
UNITED STATES
Twitter security in question
A hijacked Associated Press (AP) Twitter account that rattled markets with false word of an attack on the White House put the security of social media in the crosshairs on Wednesday. The stock market rebounded from the nosedive triggered on Tuesday by the bogus tweet and the AP posted a message on Twitter that its account “which was suspended after being hacked, has been secured and is back up.” The AP Twitter page indicated more than 1.8 million followers as of early evening in San Francisco. However, questions remained as to whether security was tight enough on Twitter and other popular social networks in an age when people increasingly turn to posts from friends or strangers for reliable news and information. Twitter was firm that evaluating and improving defenses at the service remains an ongoing priority and that the hijacking of the AP account didn’t prompt any immediate moves to toughen security.
MEXICO
State recognizes vigilantes
The southwestern state of Guerrero has officially recognized vigilante groups that emerged this year to defend communities against violent drug gangs. Hundreds of men covered their faces, put up checkpoints and took up machetes and rifles in a rural, mountainous region near Acapulco in January in response to a wave of murders, kidnappings and extortion. The movement began in the municipality of Ayutla de los Libres and then spread elsewhere, as state and federal authorities tolerated their presence in towns where local police have failed to rein in gangs. Guerrero Governor Angel Aguirre said that under the accord reached on Tuesday, the self-defense groups would work under a legal framework, but would not “participate in political events, put up checkpoints and wear masks.” One of the vigilante movement’s leaders, Crisoforo Garcia Rodriguez, said the new force would depend on the state government and would receive salaries, equipment and training.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At 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
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese