■ Japan
Lawmaker guilty of bribery
A once-influential Japanese lawmaker from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's ruling party was handed a two-year jail term and fined ?11 million (US$104,000) yesterday on bribery and perjury charges. Muneo Suzuki, formerly a heavyweight in the most powerful faction of Koizumi's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was arrested in June 2002. Tokyo District Court judge Shoichi Yagi found Suzuki guilty on two counts of bribery, one count of hiding political donations and one count of perjury, court spokesman Hideaki Wada said.
■ Japan
Quake survivor released
A two-year-old Japanese boy who had survived four days under rubble and became a symbol of the suffering of a killer earthquake was released Friday from hospital and declared in good health. With toy animals in his hands, Yuta Minagawa waved to waiting cameras as he buoyantly left Nagaoka Red Cross Hospital in central Niigata prefecture after nine days of treatment. But experts believe Yuta could be psychologically scarred for life by his ordeal. The toddler spent four nights in a space 50 centimeters wide and 1m underneath a wrecked mini-van, which had been carrying Yuta and his mother and sister who both died.
■ Australia
Aborigines lose voice
Australia's Aborigines have lost their only voice in parliament. Although 23 indigenous candidates ran in Australia's Oct. 9 national elections, none was successful and the only sitting black senator, Aden Ridgeway, lost his seat, electoral officials announced this week. The loss of a black political voice comes on top of the strained relationship between Aborigines and Prime Minister John Howard's conservative government, which has refused to apologise for historical injustices against Aborigines. The failure of Aborigines at the ballot box has prompted calls for race-based seats for Aborigines to give a parliamentary voice to one of the most disadvantaged groups in Australia.
■ Thailand
Centipede-eater warned
Doctors yesterday urged that a TV program set to show a man eating live centipedes and cockroaches be canceled, saying it might endanger the lives of copycat youngsters. Wek Srikhaimook -- nicknamed "Wek Cockroach" -- plans to eat the insects during a show which is to be aired on Monday. Wek says he's been eating the creatures for more than 10 years and claims that he's experienced no ill effects, but several experts disagree. "Human beings should not eat live cockroaches and centipedes because the insects carry poison and bacteria which will cause damage to the liver in the long run," a veterinarian, told a local radio station.
■ Germany
Sleep and SM don't mix
A man whose slumber was interrupted by noises from
a nearby sadomasochism parlour inflicted his own punishment on a patron
by shooting him with a
gas pistol in a bid for peace
and quiet, police said on Thursday. "He couldn't take it any more and decided to take the law into his own hands -- at 1:45am," a spokesman for police in the southern city of Nuremberg said. Police said the man, 22, entered the neighboring club to complain about the noise and attacked the 37-year-old client with the gas-firing pistol after finding the dominatrices absent. The victim suffered a cut lip and impaired hearing.
■ The Netherlands
Group suspected of murder
A letter left on the body of
a filmmaker murdered in Amsterdam contained death threats against a Dutch politician and appears to have been written by an unknown organization, Justice Minister Piet
Hein Donner said. Dutch authorities have arrested nine suspects, all believed
to be radical Islamists, in connection with Tuesday's shooting and stabbing of Theo van Gogh. Donner said that a letter pinned by the killer to Van Gogh's body with a knife was "a direct warning" to Dutch member of parliament Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Ali wrote the script of a film Van Gogh made criticizing the treatment of women under Islam.
■ Sweden
Santas go for gold
At these Winter Games, there are no strenuous slaloms or figure-eights. But if you can't shimmy up a chimney or wrap a Christmas gift, forget about competing. The annual Santa Winter Olympics start this month with about 50 Santas from across Europe testing their holiday mettle
in Sweden's cold, northern reaches. "This is a very serious business," said organizer Sivert Svensson. "To wrap a Christmas gift quickly and nicely in a proper way is no easy task." In addition to the nimble fingers required of the gift-wrapping competition, the Games test strength and endurance in disciplines like kick-sledge riding and reindeer driving.
■ United States
Jet strafes school
A National Guard F-16
fighter jet on a nighttime
training mission strafed an elementary school with 25 rounds of ammunition but no one was injured, authorities said on Thursday. The military is investigating the incident that damaged Little Egg Harbor Intermediate School in southern New Jersey shortly after 11pm
on Wednesday. The school
is near a military firing range. Police were called when a custodian, who was the only person in the school, heard what sounded like someone running across the roof. Police Chief Mark Siino said officers noticed punctures
in the roof. Ceiling tiles had fallen into classrooms, and there were scratch marks in the asphalt outside.
■ Brazil
More troops for Haiti
The government will send more troops to Haiti to restore order in the violence-wracked nation, helping boost a UN peacekeeping force to 5,500, a top official said at a summit of Latin American leaders. Even with the additional troops, the number of peacekeepers falls far short of an 8,300-member force promised by the UN, said Marco Aurelio Garcia, an aide to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. At the opening of the annual
19-nation Rio Group summit, Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo stressed Latin America must increase its commitment to prevent Haiti from returning to chaos.
■ United States
Rights groups donations rise
Groups that advocate for civil liberties, abortion rights and the environment said they have seen a spike in donations since President George W. Bush's re-election. The American Civil Liberties Union said on Thursday it received about US$65,000 in 1,200 online donations in the 24 hours after polls closed Tuesday night. That is the most money it has ever received online in a day and more than it gets in a typical week, spokeswoman Emily Whitfield said. Planned Parenthood said it received 107 online donations on Wednesday, including a US$2,000 gift from a person who had never donated before. The Sierra Club said it expects a similar response.
■ United States
Mrs. Edwards has cancer
Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic vice presidential candidate, Senator John Edwards, has been diag-nosed with breast cancer, a spokesman said on Thurs-day. David Ginsberg said Mrs. Edwards, who had been traveling nonstop around the country for the past few months campaigning for the Democratic presidential ticket, found a lump in her breast last week. A specialist in Boston performed a needle biopsy and diagnosed Edwards, 55, with cancer on Wednesday -- the same day her husband and Senator John Kerry conceded the presidential race. She is still undergoing tests before determining her treatment plans, Ginsberg said.
■ United States
High card decides election
A county commission race in Ely, Nevada, was decided in true gambling state fashion -- by the luck of the draw. After finishing Tuesday's election tied with 1,847 votes each, Robert Swetich and Raymond Urrizaga agreed to draw cards to resolve the deadlocked White Pine County commission race. Urrizaga drew first, choosing a queen of clubs. Swetich pulled the seven of dia-monds, then congratulated the winner. Nevada law provides for drawing lots to break a tie, giving the candidates the option of tossing a coin, drawing straws or picking a card.
■ Canada
Money laundering increases
International terrorists and crime syndicates appear to be using the country to launder dirty money at a sharply rising rate, according to a federal report released on Thursday. Almost 200 cases involving a total of US$579 million in suspect financial transactions were investigated over the past fiscal year, says the Canadian agency that tracks financing by suspected criminals. That's significantly more than the US$381 million tracked the previous fiscal year, the Financial Trans-actions and Reports Analysis Center says in its annual report. About 10 percent of the US$579 million tracked over the past year is thought to be linked to terrorist activity financing "and threats to the security of Canada," the agency said.
■ Kenya
Dying lake hurts flamingos
One of the great spectacles of Africa -- the vast flocks of flamingos feeding at Lake Nakuru -- is under threat because silt from farming is choking the habitat, wildlife experts said on Thursday. The lake, home to more than 1.5 million of the birds, has shrunk drastically in the past 30 years and is at risk of disappearing, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service. The lake has come under threat as nearby forests have been cleared to make way for farmland. Mass deaths of flamingos in recent years have been blamed on changes in the chemical balance of the lake.
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
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
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,
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