■ China
Tears save sick mother
A peasant woman who suffered a brain hemorrhage was left at the undertakers alive for cremation because her family could no longer afford hospital treatment, state media said on Friday. She was only saved by the tears in her eyes. The case is the latest in a series of tragedies illustrating China's stretched health care system and the inability of rural workers to meet spiraling medical costs. You Guoying, a 47-year-old migrant worker from Sichuan Province, was taken for cremation by her husband and children in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, where she worked, the China Youth Daily said. Fortunately for You, the undertaker realized she was still alive when he saw her move and tears in her eyes, the newspaper said.
■ India
Vultures to get `restaurants'
India's northeastern Assam state plans to open "restaurants" for vultures in order to save them from extinction, a news report said yesterday. The first such "restaurant" -- which will allow the avian scavengers to gorge on carcasses -- is scheduled to open near the state capital, Guwahati, soon. The restaurants will be an open-air affair with carcasses all around, the Hindustan Times reported. The restaurants are the brainchild of Assam's state forest department, which was concerned at the findings of a recent survey which said that the population of vultures in the region had come down alarmingly. Principal investigator of the survey, Anwaruddin Choudhury, told the newspaper that such restaurants will be an "inexpensive experiment" to save the birds from extinction.
■ Philippines
Broadcaster shot dead
A radio broadcaster and leftist political activist has been shot dead in the central Philippines, becoming the seventh journalist murdered in the country this year. Ricardo Uy, a provincial leader of the leftist Bayan Muna (Nation First) party and an announcer on radio station DXRS, was shot dead on Friday on the steps of his home in the central city of Sorsogon. The gunman, who was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, fled on a motorcycle following the shooting. The motive for the killing was still unknown.
■ Thailand
Publisher decries gag order
An outspoken publisher on Friday challenged a court order barring him from making remarks deemed harmful to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, vowing to keep up his criticism of the premier and accusing the government of silencing the press. Thaksin won an injunction on Thursday in the Bangkok Civil Court to stop Manager Media Group publisher Sondhi Limthongkul and nine other parties, mainly media controlled by Sondhi, from criticizing him verbally or in writing in the group's publications. "I'm not afraid as my actions are driven by good intentions," Sondhi told thousands of people who gathered at a park in downtown Bangkok.
■ Singapore
World Toilet Day feted
Singapore is ditching its prudish image to highlight the plight of the 42 percent of the world's population who live without proper toilets and sanitation. Dotting the city center will be 28 life-sized cutouts of men and women with their pants down, squatting behind everyday objects, such as pieces of luggage, a trash can and a bag of groceries. "We want to make people think: How would you feel" if you had to do your business openly? Jack Sim, founding member of the Singapore-based World Toilet Organization, said yesterday at the launch of the four-day exhibition marking World Toilet Day.
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■ Singapore
Toddler enters cybergames
A three-year-old Iranian boy is stealing the spotlight at the World Cyber Games concluding in Singapore today. Armin Golnam, in kindergarten, is the youngest participant, having only started to play six months ago, said Mohammed Golnam, his father. The child was so intrigued by the games he entered his country's national tournament, but lost all of his matches back in Iran. While he is clearly accomplished for his age, he's not considered a likely winner against the older competitors. The media became enchanted by the boy, prompting the organizer, Cyber Marketing, to fly Armin and his father to Singapore.
■ United States
Nuclear ship to go to Japan
The US Navy has chosen the USS George Washington to be the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier it will base in Japan under an agreement last month in which the only country ever hit by atomic bombs ended its resistance to the move. The George Washington, now based in Norfolk, Virginia, will be sent to Yokosuka to replace the USS Kitty Hawk in 2008. The George Washington can carry more than 80 aircraft. The US ruled out sending the USS Harry S. Truman, named after the president who ordered the use of atomic bombs in 1945 against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan agreed as part of a broader agreement on changes in US military forces on Japanese territory, including the removal of 7,000 US Marines from Okinawa.
■ France
Chirac encourages youths
Disadvantaged youths "deserve to be helped, recognized and encouraged," President Jacques Chirac said as he met with a group of successful youths from the low-income neighborhoods riven by rioting earlier this month. He met with the winners of a contest for young entrepreneurs. "In a lot of housing projects, there is a wonderful dynamic of solidarity, creation, dynamism, generosity and energy, of which we can be proud," Chirac said on Friday. "People can succeed there, if they want to."
■ Netherlands
Outrage over bird's death
Dutch animal lovers are mourning a sparrow shot dead after it fluttered into an exhibition hall and knocked over thousands of dominoes set up in preparation for a world record attempt. The sparrow was commemorated in a live TV broadcast of the domino-toppling on Friday after a wave of national outrage at the shooting. "We know we are responsible for a lot of emotion in the country," said Jeroen van Waardenberg, a spokesman for reality TV company Endemol. An exterminator shot the sparrow on Monday in Leeuwarden after fears the bird could upset more of the 4 million dominoes which staff had spent weeks balancing on their edges for the record attempt. Sparrows are a protected species in the Netherlands.
■ Italy
Court upholds men's rights
A court has upheld a man's right to enjoy nights out, saying that leaving a wife at home is not a breach of marital responsibility. Husbands are entitled to pursue solo leisure activities and even take the occasional holiday without their spouses, the judges said. The ruling at the Court of Cassation, Italy's highest appeals court, came during an alimony case brought by a woman who divorced her husband because he frequently stayed away from home. Rejecting the case, the judges said that "Vittorio S" could not be blamed for the end of his marriage, and was within his rights when he spent nights out with his male friends and had the occasional weekend away from home.
■ Tunisia
US wins Web control
The US claimed victory in the contest to control the computers crucial for directing Internet traffic, but the EU and other nations said the debate was far from over. World leaders on Friday approved a plan to leave the US squarely in charge, as they wrapped up a three-day UN technology summit in Tunis. The EU and a host of other countries said, however, that summit delegates had simply delayed the battle by agreeing to set up another multinational forum to make key decisions about domain names and the computers that direct the Internet's information flow, commerce and dissent.
■ Scotland
Dalai Lama: `take a stand'
The Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama called for Britain and the US to take a "firm stand" with China on issues such as human rights, democracy and individual freedoms. At Edinburgh University, he urged the West to forge close relations with Beijing and for China itself not to become isolated from the rest of the world: "The US and Britain should [take] a firm stand. They should say that democracy, respect of human rights, rule of law, is in China's own interests." He also suggested Scotland could be an example which could be used to help give Tibet greater government of its affairs within the Chinese framework.
■ United States
CIA `interrogation' revealed
CIA agents have revealed details of six interrogation tactics approved by top brass for use at secret CIA jails in Asia and Eastern Europe, ABC News reported on Friday. The "techniques have led to questionable confessions and the death of one man since March 2002, the network said, after interviewing current and former CIA officials. Agency sources speaking on condition of anonymity described the six as: "Attention Grab, Attention Slap, Belly Slap, Long Time Standing, Cold Cell, Water Boarding." CIA officials declined to comment on the report, ABC said.
■ United States
Accused spy out on bail
US Magistrate Judge Marc Goldman ordered the release on bail in Santa Ana, California, of a Chinese-American engineer held on accusations of stealing US military secrets, but ordered his younger brother held until another hearing later this month. Goldman on Friday set Chi Mak's bond at US$300,000 and placed him in home detention with a global positioning system to monitor his movements. Mak's attorney, Ronald Kaye, said. The release of the elder Mak on bail was another blow for federal prosecutors, who had originally accused the Mak brothers and Chi Mak's wife of stealing government property, aiding and abetting, transportation of stolen goods and conspiracy.
■ United States
To fail is to `defer success'
Some people wanted the word "brainstorming" replaced by "thought shower" so as not to offend people with brain disorders, and they also wanted "deferred success" to replace "failure" so as not to embarrass those who don't succeed. Both phrases appear on a tongue-in-cheek list released on Thursday of the year's most politically correct words and phrases by Global Language Monitor. Topping this year's list was "misguided criminals," one of several terms the BBC used so as not to use the word "terrorist" in describing the London July bombers. Second on the list was "intrinsic aptitude," a phrase used by Harvard University president Lawrence Summers to explain why women might be underrepresented in engineering and science. The phrase met with "deferred success," and Summers had to fight to keep his job.
■ United States
Fleiss to open `stud farm'
Former "Hollywood Madam" Heidi Fleiss, whose previous career running a call-girl ring landed her in prison, is returning to the world's oldest profession -- to open a Nevada brothel catering exclusively to women. Fleiss said on Thursday she has struck a deal with a licensed brothel owner in Nevada to turn one of his three establishments, the Cherry Patch, into a glitzy new bordello that she will rename Heidi Fleiss' Stud Farm. "It's going to be an oasis in the desert," she said.
■ United States
Minnesota holds sex show
Minnesotans, once governed by a professional wrestler by the name of Jesse "The Body" Ventura, have something else to brag or blush about: Their first sex convention. With exhibitors ranging from a 51-year-old grandmother, a latex fetishist named Rubberella and the self-proclaimed "lube guy," the convention drew at least 200 people on Thursday. The "Sex and so much more Show," which had about 75 exhibitors, was not an easy sell in a largely Lutheran state. But Kari Calder, the event coordinator, said, "I think people would find this is not as risque as they might have thought."
ECONOMIC WORRIES: The ruling PAP faces voters amid concerns that the city-state faces the possibility of a recession and job losses amid Washington’s tariffs Singapore yesterday finalized contestants for its general election on Saturday next week, with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) fielding 32 new candidates in the biggest refresh of the party that has ruled the city-state since independence in 1965. The move follows a pledge by Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財), who took office last year and assumed the PAP leadership, to “bring in new blood, new ideas and new energy” to steer the country of 6 million people. His latest shake-up beats that of predecessors Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) and Goh Chok Tong (吳作棟), who replaced 24 and 11 politicians respectively
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
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