JAPAN
Angry wife throttles husband
A 43-year-old woman who allegedly tried to strangle her husband because he did not give her a present in return for a Valentine’s day gift was being quizzed by police yesterday. Japanese men are supposed to offer presents to their partner on March 14, known as White Day, in return for the chocolates and other goodies they received on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, but after apparently being spurned by her 31-year-old husband, Mie Nishiyama allegedly tried to throttle him with a necktie. Nishiyama, who was arrested at her home in the western city of Sakai shortly after midnight following an emergency call from her husband, told police she suspected he was having an affair. “And he did not give me a gift in return for Valentine’s Day. I was angry and strangled him,” she was quoted by police as saying. She said she had not intended to kill her husband, a police official said, but she had nonetheless been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. The Western custom of Valentine’s Day was modified when it arrived in Japan to become a one-way street in which women do the giving, presenting chocolates to many of the men in their life — colleagues, bosses and partners. Keen marketers established White Day as an opportunity for men to return the compliment.
MALAYSIA
Planes crash, pilots safe
Two planes from an Indonesian acrobatic air team clipped wings and crashed on Sunday during a practice session ahead of an air show, officials said. All four pilots ejected and were safe. The pilots from both planes ejected from their aircraft after the jets went out of control and landed safely with their parachutes, said a Malaysian defense official, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media. There were no reports of deaths or serious injuries on the ground. A house and a car caught fire due to falling debris from the plane, the organizers of the show, held on northern Langkawi island, said in a statement. The four pilots were under observation at a hospital in Langkawi. Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein visited them and tweeted: “Thankful that all 4 pilots are safe, their spirits remained high.”
MEXICO
Cops arrest teen with AK-47
Police arrested a 13-year-old boy who was carrying an AK-47 assault rifle, a pistol, cartridges and marijuana, a prosecutor said on Sunday. “The weapons we found were analyzed by experts and they were not found to be connected to any criminal act,” Nuevo Leon state prosecutor Javier Flores said. However, local media said that the as yet unnamed teenager was dubbed “Hit Boy,” worked for the Sinalocos gang and took part in several murders in an area south of Monterrey, the nation’s third-largest city. He was released after his arrest on Wednesday last week in Monterrey, but faces charges of possession of arms and drugs, Flores said.
BRAZIL
Protesters take to the streets
About 1.5 million protesters hit the streets across Brazil on Sunday in a major show of anger against President Dilma Rousseff, who faces crises from a faltering economy to a massive corruption scandal at state oil giant Petrobras. Many called for the impeachment of Rousseff, less than six months after she was narrowly returned to power. The biggest demonstration took place in Sao Paulo, where 1 million people rallied, according to police estimates. Peaceful demonstrations also took place in 83 cities and towns around the country, including major protests in the capital Brasilia and in Rio de Janeiro.
UNITED STATES
Driver jumps off bridge
An Oregon woman who set herself on fire while driving, crashed her car on an interstate and then jumped off a highway bridge to a park below, survived and was being treated at Portland area hospital, police said. Another driver reported in an emergency call to police that the woman was driving recklessly on Interstate 105 and hit a median before crashing near an exit in Eugene on Thursday last week, about 180km south of Portland, according to the Eugene Police Department. The 39-year-old woman, still on fire, then got out of her car and jumped off the interstate highway bridge, despite nearby witnesses’ attempt to intervene, police said. The Eugene Register Guard, a local newspaper, reported she also began stripping off her burning clothes before she fell about 12m, though police would not confirm that.
UNITED STATES
Rescued dog in hiding
A dog rescued after being shot and tied to railroad tracks in Florida has been released from a veterinary clinic to continue its recovery. Tampa Bay Veterinary Emergency Service on Friday said in a Facebook post that the dog named Cabela had “left the building to go into super secret, never to be revealed, protective custody.” The one-year-old mixed-breed dog was in hiding to “heal, socialize and begin her transition to a new life,” the post said. Tampa police said that Cabela was shot, tied to railroad tracks and left to die earlier this month because it would not fight. The Tampa Tribune reports that a Hillsborough County judge on Friday last week denied bail for two men accused of using Cabela for fighting. Darnell Devlin, 18, and Kenny Bell, 21, each face two counts of possession of a dogfighting dog. When they were arrested on Wednesday at their Tampa home, detectives also discovered two more dogs that were used for fighting. Authorities said Devlin and Bell gave Cabela to two 17-year-olds, who have been charged as adults with aggravated animal cruelty and trespassing. One teen also was charged with possession of a firearm.
UNITED STATES
Indian student shot dead
Investigators say a 37-year-old dental student from India was shot to death at her San Francisco Bay Area apartment hours after attending services at a Sikh temple. The body of Randhir Kaur was discovered on March 8 by her cousin after University of California, San Francisco officials became concerned about her well-being. Investigators seeking tips from the public said on Sunday that they believed Kaur was accosted and shot some time after arriving home. She had spent the afternoon at a Sikh temple and had planned to spend that evening studying. The San Francisco Chronicle reported there were no signs of forced entry. Her personal belongings were found inside a trash can about 3.2km from her apartment.
UNITED STATES
Toto bassist dies
Grammy Award-winning US rock band Toto’s long-time bass player Mike Porcaro died on Sunday morning, his brother and fellow band member said in a brief statement. He was 59. The band said in February 2010 that Porcaro had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and that it planned to tour to generate funds to support his care and to raise awareness about the disease. “Our brother Mike passed away peacefully in his sleep at 12:04am last night at home surrounded by his family. Rest in peace, my brother,” Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro said in a Facebook post.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
‘POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE’: Leo Varadkar said he was ‘no longer the best person’ to lead the nation and was stepping down for political, as well as personal, reasons Leo Varadkar on Wednesday announced that he was stepping down as Ireland’s prime minister and leader of the Fine Gael party in the governing coalition, citing “personal and political” reasons. Pundits called the surprise move, just 10 weeks before Ireland holds European Parliament and local elections, a “political earthquake.” A general election has to be held within a year. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, leader of Fianna Fail, the main coalition partner, said Varadkar’s announcement was “unexpected,” but added that he expected the government to run its full term. An emotional Varadkar, who is in his second stint as prime minister and at
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia