■ China
Gas workers sentenced
A Chinese court has sentenced six gas company workers to prison terms of 3 to 6 years for errors that led to a gas well blowout in southwestern China last year that killed 243 people and injured thousands, state television reported yesterday. One woman's sentence was suspended for four years. An investigation by a team from the State Council found that a series of missteps by workers and negligence by gas field developers caused the disaster in Chongqing last Dec. 23 that created a 25km2 death zone. More than 64,000 villagers had to be evacuated from the area for about a week until emergency crews capped the well and workers cleaned up and buried corpses of cattle, pigs, chickens and other animals killed by the fumes.
■ Singapore
Foreign citizens welcomed
Singapore is encouraging more foreigners to take citizenship to boost its population, complementing incentives aimed at convincing couples to have more children, reports said yesterday. Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng said boosting the number of citizens through immigration was important because "babies take many years to grow up." Wong was quoted in the Straits Times as saying foreigners wanting to become permanent residents or citizens would soon be assessed not just based on their academic qualifications but also on their talent, skills and experience. Singapore's low birth rate has become a concern after the fertility rate hit an all-time low of 1.26 children per woman in 2003.
■ Malaysia
Bus floor falls under rider
A man hung on for dear life when the floor of the bus in which he was riding gave way while the bus was moving, the New Straits Times said yesterday. The floor in the area where the man was seated was covered by a plank that gave way. The driver drove on for a while until he was alerted by the bus attendant. The man, who was on his way to work, lost his mobile phone and wallet and sustained injuries to both shoulders.
■ Australia
Thieves sever man's arm
Armed men hacked off a man's arm as he attempted to stop them from robbing a Sydney club, police said yesterday. The victim immediately underwent surgery, but it was not clear if the limb could be reattached. Police said three men, wearing ski masks and armed with knives, entered the club in northwestern Sydney late on Friday and ordered the patrons around the main bar to lie on the floor. As people were obeying the order, two men began throwing chairs at the robbers. One of the bandits attacked one of the men, stabbing him and severing his forearm, police said. The robbers escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash.
■ Hong Kong
Scorpion stings shopper
A shopper was stung by a scorpion hiding in imported fruit she bought from a supermarket, a news report said yesterday. Filipina Teresa Cielos, 27, was given an antidote injection at a hospital after being stung by the scorpion at home, according to the South China Morning Post. A 4cm-long scorpion fell onto the floor and she hit it with a slipper. She took it to the hospital, where it started moving again, frightening doctors and nurses. Cielos had purchased Thai-grown lanzones -- known in Chinese as long ku -- at a Wellcome supermarket.
■ United Kingdom
RAF plane crash kills two
Two members of the Royal Air Force were killed, and a third injured, when a reconnaissance jet crashed during a training exercise, the British defense ministry said Friday. The Canberra plane -- one of the oldest in RAF service -- was practicing landings and take-offs at RAF Marham air base in Norfolk, in the east of England, when the accident occurred on Thursday evening. "A board of inquiry will be convened to investigate the accident," said RAF squadron leader (major) Rem Merrick. The twin-engine Canberra PR9 is a specialist high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft developed from a medium bomber designed for the British air force in the late 1940s.
■ United States
Salvadoran liable in murder
A US judge found a retired Salvadoran air force captain liable Friday in the 1980 slaying of a Salvadoran archbishop and ordered him to pay US$10 million in damages. Archbishop Oscar Romero was shot to death by a sniper as he performed Mass, and no one was ever held responsible for the slaying, which helped push El Salvador into a 12-year civil war. The unusual lawsuit was brought on behalf of one of Romero's relatives under a little-known law that allows foreign nationals with US connections to be sued for crimes like torture or genocide.
■ South Africa
Thatcher's son free on bail
Mark Thatcher paid two million rand (US$300,000) in bail on Friday to end a nine-day house arrest imposed after he was charged with bankrolling a coup plot in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, a source close to him said. The 51-year-old millionaire businessman son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher was charged on Aug. 25 and placed under house arrest in his upscale home in the Cape Town suburb of Constantia pending pay-ment of bail. Thatcher will now be able to walk out of his home although his movements are restricted to the Cape peninsula and he must report daily to the police.
■ United States
Terrorist charges dismissed
A judge dismissed terrorism charges against two men convicted last year, saying the prosecution's zeal to obtain a conviction in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks overcame its professional judgment. But US District Judge Gerald Rosen said the two, as well as a third man, must stand trial again on charges of document fraud. The judge's decision came after the Justice Depart-ment admitted widespread prosecutorial misconduct in the case and asked the judge to dismiss the terrorism charges against two men accused of being part of a Detroit terror cell.
■ United States
Jackson admits settlement
Michael Jackson, saying he must respond to ``untruths and sensationalism,'' acknowledged Friday that he has reached financial settlements with people in the past to avoid the public embarrassment of going to court. Jackson's statement was issued just hours before the scheduled broadcast of a television report alleging that the entertainer paid US$2 million to the son of an employee at his Neverland Ranch in 1990 to avoid a child molestation accusation. Jackson, 46, has denied ever harming any child and is currently fighting charges he molested a boy in 2003. His trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 31.
Gaza is rapidly running out of its limited fuel supply and stocks of food staples might become tight, officials said, after Israel blocked the entry of fuel and goods into the war-shattered territory, citing fighting with Iran. The Israeli military closed all Gaza border crossings on Saturday after announcing airstrikes on Iran carried out jointly with the US. Israeli authorities late on Monday night said that they would reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel to Gaza yesterday, for “gradual entry of humanitarian aid” into the strip, without saying how much. Israeli authorities previously said the crossings could not be operated safely during
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
Counting was under way in Nepal yesterday, after a high-stakes parliamentary election to reshape the country’s leadership following protests last year that toppled the government. Key figures vying for power include former Nepalese prime minister K. P. Sharma Oli, rapper-turned-mayor Balendra Shah, who is bidding for the youth vote, and newly elected Nepali Congress party leader Gagan Thapa. In Kathmandu’s tea shops and city squares, people were glued to their phones, checking results as early trends flashed up — suggesting Shah’s centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was ahead. Nepalese Election Commission spokesman Prakash Nyupane said the counting was ongoing “in a peaceful manner”
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