■ Hong Kong
Protesters kowtow to court
Supporters of 14 people arrested during violent anti-WTO demonstrations made a plea for their early release yesterday by repeatedly kneeling outside the court where the protesters are being held. A Korean farmer and representatives from Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong will keep up the demonstration until the accused -- 11 Koreans, a Japanese, a Taiwanese and a Chinese -- go on trial today, Hong Kong activist Mabel Au said. The 14 supporters repeatedly performed the kowtow, a traditional gesture of respect involving kneeling and touching the forehead and hands to the ground. The 14 accused were charged with unlawful assembly. If convicted they face a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
■ Philippines
Rebels refuse ceasefire
Communist rebels said yesterday that they will not observe the traditional Christmas ceasefire and step up attacks in the countryside. "We don't see any basis to declare a ceasefire," rebel spokesman Gregorio Rosal said in a mobile phone text message to reporters. "This is in response to the relentless attacks being waged by government forces against the unarmed civilians and abuse of the peace negotiations," he said. Philippine security forces say they want a shorter-than-usual truce with the 8,000-member Maoist-led New People's Army over the holidays due to concerns about increased violence in the countryside. They have suggested one-day ceasefires on Christmas Day and on New Year's Day, but President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has to announce whether her government will declare a unilateral truce. Rosal said about 110 leftist activists had been killed since March this year.
■ Indonesia
US warns of holiday attacks
The threat of terrorist attacks in Indonesia targeting Westerners over the Christmas and New Year holidays is high, the US embassy said yesterday, warning of possible kidnappings, shootings or suicide bombings. Maps and explosives obtained in a police raid on a terrorist's hideout last month indicated the al-Qaeda-linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah was in the advanced stages of planning attacks, the embassy said in an e-mailed message to citizens. Indonesian authorities also warned recently that Islamic extremists may be planning to kidnap foreigners over the holidays, and a recently discovered Web site provided step-by-step instructions on how to gun down Westerners in the streets of Jakarta. The world's most populous Muslim nation has been hit by five suicide bombings targeting Western interests since 2002, the most recent on the resort island of Bali three months ago.
■ Australia
World War II medal found
A valuable British war medal discovered on an Australian beach has been traced to a London family who reported the treasured piece of history stolen nearly two decades ago. The George Cross medal, valued at about ?15,000 (US$35,700), was found on a beach in Queensland state in February and police were able to present it to the British Consulate in Brisbane yesterday so it could be returned to its owners. Australian Associated Press reported that the medal had been awarded to Flying Officer Anthony Tollemache in 1940 after his plane crashed during an exercise in England and he risked his life to save a passenger. The medal was one of several stolen from the Tollemache family home in London in 1988.
■ China
Priests, nuns dig in heels
Dozens of Chinese Catholic priests and nuns holed up for a week in a building they claim as their own vowed to stay put yesterday, just three days before Christmas, until they get their way. Surrounded by police in the empty building in northern Tianjin, the group of about 50 met city government officials who tried to convince them to leave yesterday, but the meeting ended in stalemate. "The officials promised us nothing," priest Wu Jingwei said as darkness fell. "We are still going to stay." And the standoff looked set to go into Christmas, with the priests and nuns building their own Nativity scene inside. The low-rise colonial-style building in the port southeast of Beijing was owned by Catholics before the 1949 Communist revolution. Then the building was seized by the government and has never been handed back despite a 1993 promise to do so, the priests say.
■ Netherlands
Man building `Ark'
A deeply pious businessman is well on his way to completing a faithful reconstruction of Noah's Ark in scaled down form on the basis of biblical texts, the Volkskrant newspaper reported yesterday. Johan Huibers, 47, plans to take his 70m vessel on a tour of the Dutch waterways once it is complete, planning to set out in spring next year. Huibers, from Schagen in the province of North Holland to the north of Amsterdam, conceived the idea 13 years ago. He embarked on the project with his son Roy, 17, a couple of months ago after taking out a loan of 300,000 euros (US$360,000) from the local bank.
■ Iran
Tehran and EU agree to talks
Iranian and European negotiators have tentatively agreed to meet for talks next month, signaling the end of a four-month hiatus in negotiations meant to reduce fears that Tehran wants to make nuclear arms. Still, a senior European official familiar with the closed-door talks on Wednesday conceded that no progress was made on the main issue separating the two sides -- Iran's insistence on its right to enrich uranium domestically, a stance opposed by the EU. The Europeans instead want Tehran to agree to move its enrichment program abroad.
■ Swaziland
Activists appear in court
Three more democracy activists appeared in a magistrate's court on Wednesday in connection with a spate of petrol bombings in Africa's last absolute monarchy, bringing the total charged to 12. Kenneth Mkhonta, Mfanawenkhosi Mntshali and Vusi Shongwe were arrested on Tuesday in the capital, Mbabane. They were remanded in custody after prosecutors argued their application for bail should be considered by the High Court due to the seriousness of the case. Their next appearance is scheduled for next Wednesday. Nine other suspects were arrested over the weekend. All are members of the banned People's United Democratic Movement.
■ United Kingdom
Santa spreads cash
A "Parking Ticket Santa Claus" has been spreading cash as well as Christmas cheer around the English city of Birmingham, a newspaper reported on Wednesday. The mystery Santa has placed Christmas cards containing ?30 (US$53) on the windshields of drivers who have received parking tickets, the Daily Telegraph said. "Don't let this ticket spoil your Christmas," declares a note in each card. "Here's ?30 to pay it off. Merry Christmas -- Parking Ticket Santa." Fourteen drivers are believed to have received gifts from the unseen Father Christmas, who has given his profession an image boost after a string of stories about "Bad Santas."
■ Italy
PM takes dig at UK wine
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi sent his Swedish counterpart 24 bottles of Italian wine on Tuesday, saying it was to help him recover from having to drink British wine at an EU summit last week. British Prime Minister Tony Blair hosted the summit in Brussels and offered Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson and his other guests Welsh white wine and English red wine. "[Persson] was so aghast at the English wines at the summit that I promised to send him some of our wines," Berlusconi told a group of foreign journalists.
■ United States
Strike leaders face jail
New York transit worker union leaders could face jail if they don't call off their strike. Judge Theodore Jones ordered union leaders to appear before him yesterday and said jail was a serious possibility if they did not order the end of the stoppage. A state law bans strikes by public workers. The Transport Workers Union is already being fined US$1 million dollars for each day of the action, and the city has threatened to deduct three days' pay for each day a worker is on strike.
■ Canada
Cigarettes on wheels
The city of Edmonton has decided to allow bars to employ a novel approach to get around a smoking ban -- "smoking buses" parked outside that allow patrons to smoke without freezing in winter. A spokesman for the city's bylaw enforcement branch, deemed the buses acceptable if they are ``legitimate'' vehicles. That means they must be registered and insured as vehicles. That's been the problem for bar owner Tony Burke who says he was the first to set up what his patrons endearingly refer to as "Puff the Magic Wagon," or the "Butt Bus". Burke rustproofed a former school bus, put a string of lights on it and added a heater and insulation. However, since the bus isn't registered as a vehicle, city officials say it qualifies as a structure and needs a development permit.
■ United States
Top musician badly burned
A violinist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic was burned on his hands in a house fire that also injured his son and father and destroyed a priceless violin. David Ewart, 48, was in a critical but stable condition in hospital, with second and third-degree burns to his face, hands, chest and back. Ewart has performed on recordings by artists including Neil Diamond, Ricky Martin and Elvis Costello, and on the soundtracks for movies such as Spider-Man 2, The Notebook and Million Dollar Baby. The fire gutted the family home, with damage estimated at US$1.5 million. The cause has not been determined.
■ United States
Toilet testers wanted
The Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana, is seeking volunteers to flush toilets. About 70 are needed to participate in the "Great Cajundome Flushoff" set for Dec. 27. The Cajundome and Convention Center served as a refugee center for hurricanes Katrina and Rita and use by thousands of evacuees took a toll on the plumbing. "We don't know what ended up in the [sewer] system," Director Greg Davis said. Officials have already found pieces of brick wrapped in a towel, a T-shirt and diapers in the pipes. The Federal Emergency Management Agency denied a request to inspect the sewer system with a camera so to test the plumbing before holding an event in January, volunteers are needed to flush toilet paper down 220 or so toilets and test urinals.
■ United States
Senate approves space bill
The US Senate has approved legislation shaping US space policy, continuing the shuttle and international space station programs and giving a boost to President George W. Bush's vision of a new era of space exploration. The bill calls for the completion of the international space station, and designates the US portion of that project a national laboratory facility. It also increases funding for the space shuttle program to allow for transition to the next generation of manned space flight vehicles. NASA's shuttle fleet is scheduled to be retired in 2010.
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