■ Indonesia
Another Bali bomber jailed
An Indonesian Muslim militant was jailed for life yesterday for his key role in last year's deadly bombings on the holiday island of Bali, which killed 202 people. Mubarok's sentence was the latest in a string of verdicts against Muslim radicals who blew up two nightclubs in Bali in October last year, killing mostly foreign tourists. Judges at the Denpasar district court said they had found Mubarok guilty of taking part in plotting an attack that put Indonesia and its minority of radical Muslims under the global microscope.
■ China
Dissident awaits verdict
The subversion trial of cyber-dissident Ouyang Yi ended yesterday without a verdict in Chengdu, apparently due to a lack of sufficient evidence, the dissident's lawyer said. "The prosecutor could not explain the evidence and did not produce evidence that Ouyang Yi intended to overthrow the government or instigate the overthrow of the government," lawyer Qiu Shiming said. "A verdict is expected but I don't know when," Qiu said. Ouyang, 35, allegedly gathered signatures for open letters to the Communist Party ahead of a crucial party meeting last year that called for greater democracy in China and the release of dissidents rounded up for publishing their views on the Internet.
■ Australia
Sydney's beaches cleaner
Visitors to Sydney's seaside no longer risk what one official called "swimming in sewage grease," according to an official report that says the city's famous beaches are getting cleaner. New figures released yesterday showed that beach water in Australia's most populous city is the cleanest it's been since pollution tests were started in the 1980s. The New South Wales state government's "State of the Beaches" report found 22 of the city's 35 ocean beaches complied with criteria for safe bacteria levels over the last year. Nine more were clean eight out of 10 days, while the remaining four had an average of 68 percent compliance with clean water standards.
■ Australia
Sheep ship to set sail
More than 50,000 Australian sheep stranded at sea in the Gulf for seven weeks were to begin their voyage back to Australia for slaughter last night, the Australian government said. The ship carrying the unwanted sheep, Dutch-owned MV Cormo Express, had been scheduled to leave Kuwait on Wednesday night but missed the tide, a spokesman for Agriculture Minister Warren Truss said yesterday. The Australian government is still trying to convince countries in the Middle East to accept the sheep as a A$4.5 million (US$3.1 million) gift, but without success.
■ India
New kind of frog found
A new species of frog, whose ancestors hopped around at the feet of the dinosaurs, has been discovered in the mountains of southern India, scientists said on Wednesday. The purple, small-headed creature with tiny eyes, protruding snout and a bloated appearance belongs to a new family of frogs that scientists thought had either never existed or had disappeared without trace millions of years ago. "It is not just a new species. It represents a deep branch in the evolutionary tree of frogs, and as such merits the establishment of a new family," said Franky Bossuyt, an evolutionary biologist at the Free University of Brussels in Belgium.
■ United Kingdom
Brits fail breath test
More than half of Britons could have breath that smells worse that their pet's, according to a survey released on Thursday. And women are the worst offenders, with three out of five failing a sulphur emissions test, according to research by toothpaste manufacturer Aquafresh. "Some mouths may be dirtier than cat litter," dentist Brian Grieveson said in a statement. "Most people in the UK do not realize that cleaning your tongue is as important as cleaning your teeth," he added. Scots had the best oral hygiene, with only 10 percent suffering bad breath, compared to 27 percent in London. Throughout the nation, 52 percent were rated at a level that could be worse than that of a pet animal.
■ United states
Accused pilot faces hearing
A preliminary hearing was scheduled yesterday in the court-martial of an F-16 pilot who accidentally dropped a bomb on Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan last year, killing four. Major Harry Schmidt is charged with dereliction of duty and could face up to six months in prison if convicted. His defense lawyer, Charles Gittins, has said the pilot will plead innocent at a future hearing. Schmidt's trial is not expected to begin until next year. Schmidt, 38, and fellow Illinois Air National Guard F-16 pilot Major William Umbach, the mission commander, attacked the Canadians' position on April 17 last year.
■ United states
Silicone implants OK'd
In a 9-6 vote, an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration has recommended that silicone breast implants be allowed back on the market after an 11-year hiatus. But concerned about the dearth of data on the safety of the silicone implants and their durability over a decade or more, the panel said its approval was contingent on a list of conditions, like education of surgeons and patients and continued monitoring of women who receive implants. The implant maker, Inamed, had volunteered to meet most of those conditions in seeking the agency's approval.
■ United states
Twins making progress
Doctors have started to decrease the drugs keeping formerly conjoined two-year-old Egyptian twins in comas since they were surgically separated over the weekend. It could take days for the drugs to wear off, but doctors have not detected anything amiss so far, said Dr. James Thomas, chief of critical care at Children's Medical Center Dallas. When the boys come out of their comas, doctors will watch for spontaneous motor functions seen even in sedated children: reaching to pull out tubes, looking around the room, grimacing.
■ United states
Oil firm accused of gouging
Two senior Democratic congressmen are questioning whether Halliburton is overcharging the US government in the procurement of gasoline and other fuel for Iraq, which is now importing fuel to stave off shortages. In a letter sent on Wednesday to the White House, Henry Waxman and John Dingell contended that "Halliburton seems to be inflating gasoline prices at a great cost to American taxpayers. According to the letter, Halliburton has charged the government US$1.62 to US$1.70 a gallon for gasoline that could be bought wholesale in the Persian Gulf region for about US$0.71 and transported to Iraq for no more than US$0.25.
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
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