■ China
Bystanders watch rape
A young woman was raped by a man in a public toilet in Hebei Province as a crowd of some 40 bystanders stood by and watched, failing to help or call the police, state media reported. The incident took place on April 18 in Hengshui city when the 32-year-old garbage collector followed the 19-year-old woman into a public toilet and attacked her. Two police officers on patrol stopped to investigate when they saw a large crowd outside the toilet. They found out a crime was taking place after one of the bystanders told them someone was being raped inside, 20 minutes after the assault started. The officers arrested the man at the scene.
■ Pakistan
Raped teen demands justice
A teenager who alleges she was raped by two police officers when she went to report an earlier sexual assault has threatened to set herself afire in front of parliament if the officers are not charged. Nashih Bhatti, 17, traveled to Islamabad and told media she was demanding that the government take action against the officers. Bhatti was kidnapped by some men last month, who took turns to rape her. Bhatti claims she escaped and went to a police station where two officers also raped her. Police arrested the alleged kidnappers but the woman said she and her parents would set themselves on fire in front of the National Assembly if action was not taken to punish the officers. Police said the woman's charges against police officers were "fake," although they were still investigating.
■ Malaysia
Christians detained
Police arrested two Americans for allegedly distributing Christian religious pamphlets to Muslims. The two men were detained and a local court had ordered them to be held for 14 days. "We want to find out if they had breached any regulations in Malaysia," police said. It is an offense in Malaysia to try to convert Muslims away from their faith. The prime minister said earlier this month there was no ban on Bibles published in Malay but they must be stamped with the words "Not for Muslims."
■ Hong Kong
Half expect to be millionaires
Half of all students in the territory expect to be millionaires by the age of 35, and nearly a third expect to make it by the age of 30, according to a survey. However, nine out of 10 students said they expected their parents to provide financial support for them as they worked toward their first million. The 500 students interviewed said they expected parents to help them with things like weddings and setting up businesses. Forty-six percent of would-be millionaires said they thought the best way to make their fortune was through investments. Another 19 percent said they would make their money through business, and 14 percent said they would earn it through salaries if they worked hard enough. A million Hong Kong dollars is equal to US$128,000.
■ Thailand
Itchy ears are a problem
Anan Temtan checked in to Vachira Phuket Hospital, complaining of growing itchiness in his ears that could not be cured with cotton buds. Doctors discovered about 50 fly larvae in the octogenarian's ears, which they removed with tweezers and suction instruments. "We believe flies might have gone inside his ears to lay eggs which hatched into larvae, causing the itching," said the doctor. Anan had helped clean up a neighborhood marketplace four days prior to his ear infestation.
■ Greece
Asian immigrants arrested
Police arrested 92 illegal immigrants from different Asian states overnight yesterday after they were discovered in a truck during a routine check at at toll near Larissa. Bodies were packed together and the truck stank, a police spokesman told Greek Radio. The Greek driver of the truck was arrested and is believed to be a member of an international smuggling gang that moves illegal immigrants from Turkey to Greece and then on to Western Europe. In the past four days 191 illegal immigrants and three smugglers have been arrested in Greece.
■ United States
Cops nab roaming buffalo
A herd of buffalo somehow got loose and wandered around an upscale neighborhood, disrupting traffic and alarming homeowners before officers managed to corral them in a tennis court. More than a dozen police cars and a police helicopter were used to herd the roughly 10 beasts on Tuesday. The officers used lounge chairs beside the tennis court as shields and formed a human chain to corral the wayward buffalo. One buffalo was seen leaping over one of the tennis nets in an effort to evade capture. The animals came from a farm nearly 5km away, police said. They were returned to the farm later in the day.
■ Germany
Corpse exhibitor fined
Gunther von Hagens, who has toured Asian, European and US cities with an exhibition of flayed and dissected human corpses, was fined US$140,000 by a court in Germany on Tuesday for falsely claiming to have a doctoral degree from a Chinese university. The court in Heidelberg said von Hagens had no right to call himself a professor in Germany, where such academic titles are strictly regulated. The court said he had no evidence to show he had more than an honorary PhD from a university near Harbin, China. More than 60 million people worldwide have seen von Hagens' Body Worlds: The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies over the past decade.
■ Germany
Smoking cardinal ruffled
Cardinal Georg Sterzinsky of Berlin confessed on Tuesday that a ban on smoking in the Sistine Chapel had made him restless during last week's conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI. "I hadn't realized beforehand it was going to be so incredibly tense," said Sterzinsky on his return to Berlin. "Dammit, we weren't even allowed to smoke." The rule was imposed because all the windows had to remain shut for the sake of secrecy. Sterzinsky said Joseph Ratzinger, 78, was a fitter pope than John Paul II had been at a comparable age. "Compared to frail John Paul, he seems downright perky," Sterzinsky said. "He doesn't use the elevator, but runs up the Vatican stairs like someone who goes jogging."
■ United States
Sea lion trapped at plant
A 136kg sea lion has been living in a water intake tank at a power plant, dodging rescue attempts since last week. The male sea lion squeezed through an opening of the tank at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's (DWP) plant in Playa del Rey and became trapped on April 18. "He's pretty comfortable" and able to feed on shrimp and fish in the tank, an official said. Water in the tank is used to cool the plant's generators. A rescue team has lowered a boat containing a cargo net into the tank, but the sea lion has avoided it.
Tunisian President Kais Saied yesterday condemned a European Parliament resolution on human rights calling for the release of his critics as “blatant interference.” The EU Parliament resolution, voted by an overwhelming majority the day before, called for the release of lawyer Sonia Dahmani, a popular critic of Saied, who was freed from prison on Thursday, but remained under judicial supervision. “The European Parliament [resolution] is a blatant interference in our affairs,” Saied said. “They can learn lessons from us on rights and freedoms.” Saied’s condemnation also came two days after he summoned the EU’s ambassador for “failing to respect diplomatic rules.” He also
Tropical Storm Koto killed three people and left another missing as it approached Vietnam, authorities said yesterday, as strong winds and high seas buffeted vessels off the country’s flood-hit central coast. Heavy rains have lashed Vietnam’s middle belt in recent weeks, flooding historic sites and popular holiday destinations, and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Authorities ordered boats to shore and diverted dozens of flights as Koto whipped up huge waves and dangerous winds, state media reported. Two vessels sank in the rough seas, a fishing boat in Khanh Hoa province and a smaller raft in Lam Dong, according to the
Sri Lanka made an appeal for international assistance yesterday as the death toll from heavy rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 123, with another 130 reported missing. The extreme weather system has destroyed nearly 15,000 homes, sending almost 44,000 people to state-run temporary shelters, the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said. DMC Director-General Sampath Kotuwegoda said relief operations had been strengthened with the deployment of thousands of troops from the country’s army, navy and air force. “We have 123 confirmed dead and another 130 missing,” Kotuwegoda told reporters in Colombo. Cyclone Ditwah was moving away from the island yesterday and
The pledge by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to “work, work, work, work and work” for her country has been named the catchphrase of the year, recognizing the effort Japan’s first female leader had to make to reach the top. Takaichi uttered the phrase in October when she was elected as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Many were initially as worried about her work ethic as supportive of her enthusiasm. In a country notorious for long working hours, especially for working women who are also burdened with homemaking and caregiving, overwork is a sensitive topic. The recognition triggered a
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