■ Italy
Pizza law submitted
PHOTO: AP
In an attempt to save the true Neapolitan pizza from extinction, the Italian parliament is to debate a bill that defines it for posterity. The draft law stipulates the types of flour, yeast, salt and tomatoes that must be used. And it specifies that the dough has to be kneaded by hand. The cheese on the classic Pizza Margherita must be mozzarella "from the southern Apennines" and to qualify as a Pizza Margherita Extra, the mozzarella needs to be made from buffalo milk. The bill declares that the genuine Neapolitan pizza is round and no more than 35cm across. The rim must not rise by more than 2cm. It was not immediately clear how the authorities intended to police these regulations.
■ United Kingdom
Oral sex promoted
A British government study has come out in favor of oral sex lessons in an attempt to cut soaring teen pregnancy rates. Britain has far and away the highest teen pregnancy rate in Europe, with 39,286 recorded in 2002. The Essex university plan hopes to prevent events of this kind. Its advocates say the program promotes the message that other forms of physical intimacy are safer than full intercourse.
■ United States
Gay TV causes uproar
Viacom has unveiled long awaited plans to launch the first cable channel aimed at gay and lesbian viewers. The channel, called Logo, is scheduled to go on air in February next year seizing on the increasing profile of gay characters on TV. Mike Haley, of the Christian group Focus on the Family, said he was concerned the channel would encourage young people to think they were gay. He told the New York Times: "You have a kid who is looking to fit in, and you have a network that looks very inviting. This kid is going to get a false representation of what homosexuality has to offer."
■ United States
Anti-low-pants bill fails
The fashion police won't be coming to Louisiana. Lawmakers in the southern US state refused to make it a crime to wear low-slung pants in public that expose "undergarments or ... any portion of the pubic hair, cleft of the buttocks or genitals." The bill's sponsor, Democratic Representative Derrick Shepherd, brushed aside catcalls and laughs on the House floor to argue that the pants were an example of young men copying prisoners' attire. "I dare say to you we should have higher and loftier goals for people to emulate," Shepherd said. "Why is it that when this state wants to address what is decent, then we laugh and we mock and we make jokes?"
■ Canada
Smokers left out in the cold
Giving smokers the cold shoulder will take on a new meaning in the Canadian Arctic on Tuesday, when the government begins enforcing laws that compel people to puff outside, even in subzero temperatures. The anti-smoking legislation came into effect May 1 in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, the vast northern regions of Canada stretching from Alaska to Baffin Island. Fines range from US$55 for smoking too close to a doorway to US$3,650 for a business allowing smoking on the premises. Lighting up in a public place could cost the offender US$365. So far the ban appears to be working.
■ South Korea
Roh aide sentenced
A court sentenced a former aide to President Roh Moo-hyun to two years in prison and fined him 1.6 billion won (US$1.4 million) yesterday for collecting illegal funds from businesses. Choi Do-sool, a Roh aide for 20 years, was convicted of collecting some 2.2 billion won (US$1.9 million) in illegal funds, nearly half of it from SK, the nation's third-largest conglomerate. The Seoul District Court also ordered the confiscation of 300 million won (US$256,400) worth of certificates of deposit from Choi.
■ The Philippines
Arroyo presses claim
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo won the May 10 presidential election by about 1 million votes, her supporters claimed yesterday, while her government threatened to arrest any group that tries to use force to block her victory. Only Congress can declare the winner, but it has been locked in rowdy debates on how to count votes, stoking concerns over a possible confrontation between Arroyo's supporters and her movie star rival Fernando Poe Jr., who has also claimed victory. Poe's party has warned of a "people power" revolt if he's cheated out of victory.
■ Australia
Government knew of abuse
The Australian government's claims that it didn't know of prisoner abuse allegations in Iraq until the story broke in April were challenged yesterday by a report that an Australian military officer was aware of the allegations since last October. The report puts more pressure on Prime Minister John Howard's government just months ahead of an expected federal election. His government is losing support over its policy of keeping 850 troops in and around Iraq. Major George O'Kane, an army legal officer, communicated directly with the International Committee of the Red Cross from the time it first complained of abuses of Iraqi prisoners of war, The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported.
■ Singapore
Lawmakers, voters on tour
Some politicians kiss babies, while others prefer election speeches. But in Singapore, a few lawmakers are trying a different tack: going on vacation trips with groups of constituents, a news report said on Wednesday. At least five lawmakers in the city-state have organized such trips, which usually last several days and go as far afield as Bangkok and Beijing, the Straits Times reported. Others head to neighboring Malaysia. Constituents each pay up to S$2,000 (US$1,170) for the trips, which usually feature sightseeing, shopping, golf and karaoke. "We all know each other, so it's more exciting than a normal tour group," participant Tony Lee was quoted as saying.
■ Australia
`Naked News' on phones
A news service featuring nude presenters will be made available via mobile phone to Australian subscribers, Melbourne company GoConnect announced yesterday. Naked News, produced and available on cable television in Canada, is read by actors who start their stories fully clothed and finish them naked. GoConnect executive Richard Li told Australia's AAP news agency that the service offered "good, clean fun" that could be enjoyed "on the tram, in the back of a cab, or at home, or in the office." Subscribers, who have to be over age 18, get 200 minutes of Naked News a month for A$15 (US$10) a month.
■ Sudan
Peace agreement signed
The Sudanese government and rebels have signed key agreements to resolve the last remaining issues needed to end Africa's longest-running conflict. The government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army on Wednesday signed three protocols on power-sharing and how to administer three disputed areas in central Sudan, wrapping up outstanding issues that had prevented the parties from reaching a final deal. All that remains for the parties to work out are procedural matters to end the 21-year conflict.
■ Israel
British journalist arrested
Israeli police arrested on Wednesday a British journalist who in 1986 exposed the Jewish state's top nuclear secrets in an interview with whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu. Witnesses said plainclothes policemen escorted Peter Hounam, who had been preparing a new documentary about Vanunu, to his Jerusalem hotel. They searched his room and bundled him off in a car. A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister's Office, which oversees Israel's security services, confirmed the journalist had been arrested. A government gag order prevented release of further details in the case, she said.
■ Great Britain
Cleric arrested
Radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri has been arrested on an extradition warrant issued by the US government, police sources said yesterday. London's Metropolitan Police press office refused to confirm the detention, saying only that officers from the Extradition and International Assistance Unit arrested a "British citizen, aged 47" yesterday following a US request for his extradition. Anti-terrorist officers escorted the man to a central London police station and conducted a search of his west London home under the Extradition Act 2003, police said.
■ Great Britain
Love can conquer poverty
Love and genes can overcome even the most abject poverty, according to a study into the effects of environmental factors on child development. The study of 1,116 mothers and their five-year-old same-sex twins in poor households in England and Wales found that poverty did not have to be a life sentence and the right combination of parental care and genetics could triumph over adversity. The study differentiated between twins sharing all the same genes and those sharing only half. "The warmth ... that parents pay toward their young children can make a big difference," Julia Kim-Cohen of King's College wrote in the May issue of the journal Child Development.
■ European Union
Shorter documents wanted
European commission officials are being ordered to cut the waffle because translators cannot handle a huge linguistic workload worsened by the enlargement of the union. Brussels was a tower of Babel even before 10 new countries joined on May 1, but dealing with 20 official languages is now causing intolerable strain. Neil Kinnock, the vice president for administration reform, warned commission colleagues Wednesday that since it will take years to recruit enough translators, habits must change. "We need to control this," said spokesman Eric Mamer. "We want to encourage absolutely everybody to produce shorter documents. We are using enlargement to say that they need to shape up."
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
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