CHINA
Spurned elephant rampages
A heartbroken elephant acted out his thwarted crush on nearly 20 cars near a Chinese nature reserve during a sulk over the Valentine’s Day weekend, local media reported yesterday. The spurned pachyderm — angry after losing a fight for a mate, Xinhua news agency cited rangers as saying — wandered out of a national park and onto a road in Yunnan Province, proceeding to smash and dent visitors’ cars in a fit of jealous pique. In a video, Zhusunya, a male Asian elephant whose name translates to “Bamboo Shoot Teeth,” pushed and hit a vehicle, provoking shouts of surprise from bystanders. The broken-hearted bull damaged 14 cars during a rampage on Friday and another four over the course of an hour on Sunday, Xinhua said. There was no estimate of damages, but it said visitors would be compensated. As of last year, fewer than 250 wild Asian elephants were believed to exist in China, a study by China’s National Nature Science Foundation said.
AUSTRALIA
Child dies after snake bite
A young girl has died in Australia after being bitten by a brown snake, officials said yesterday, a rare fatality even though the nation is home to some of the planet’s deadliest species. The death of the six-year-old prompted emergency services to warn people to be on their guard against brown snakes, whose bite is often painless. They are known as nervous reptiles that strike with little hesitation. Police in New South Wales state said the girl was bitten on Friday on a rural property near Walgett, about 660km northwest of Sydney. She was taken to a local hospital and given anti-venom before being flown to Sydney Children’s Hospital on life support, but her condition worsened and she died on Saturday. According to official estimates there are about 3,000 snakebite cases in Australia every year, with 300 to 500 needing anti-venom treatment. Only an average of two per year prove fatal. Australia is home to 20 of the world’s 25 most venomous snakes. The eastern brown snake causes more deaths than any other species, the Australian Museum said.
SOUTH KOREA
Military helicopter crashes
A South Korean military helicopter crashed in an eastern province yesterday, killing three of the four soldiers on board, officials said. The helicopter went down in a farming field in the city of Chuncheon in the eastern province of Gangwon during a checkout flight, defense and army officials said. The officials said that all four soldiers aboard the helicopter were initially rescued after the crash, but that three of them died while being treated in hospitals. They said no casualties on the ground have been reported. The cause of the crash is under investigation. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department rules. South Korea maintains more than 600,000 troops under a conscription system to cope with potential aggression from rival North Korea. The crash occurred amid a heightened standoff with North Korea over its recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.
RUSSIA
Missiles for Iran sent soon
Russia is scheduled to start the delivery of S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran in “the nearest time,” RIA news agency quoted the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying yesterday. Iran is also displaying interest in buying more advanced, S-400 missile systems, but no negotiations are being currently being conducted on this matter, the agency said.
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