■ China
Mothers call for change
Families of victims of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown have called on the government to renounce violent oppression of human rights. The call from the Tiananmen Mothers, led by Ding Zilin (丁子霖) and other family members of demonstrators killed in the June 4, 1989 crackdown, comes just ahead of the opening of the annual session of parliament. "Please show courage and determination to stop all atrocities that oppress human rights around the country," the group said in an open letter seen yesterday.
■ Singapore
Divorce causes discovered
The first large-scale study issued yesterday on the soaring number of divorces identified top risk factors for failed marriage -- hasty courtship and long hours at work. The arrival of a baby when a couple are unprepared for parenthood was also a key factor. The number of divorces in the city-state rose from 2,313 in 1983 to a record 6,561 in 2003, according to the study commissioned by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. In 2004, the latest figures available showed 6,388 couples divorcing.
■ Afghanistan
Missile names are no insult
Pakistan said on Monday that Afghans should not be offended that it is naming its nuclear-capable missiles after Afghan heroes because the two countries have a shared history and common heroes. "It is not to insult them but to acknowledge their contribution," Pakistan's foreign ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told a weekly briefing. Kabul asked Islamabad to consider renaming its Ghauri and Abdali missiles, named after conquerors of parts of the subcontinent, Afghan Information Minister Sayed Makhdom Raheen said on Thursday. Mohammad Ghauri was a 12th-century Muslim conqueror of India who came from Afghanistan. The 18th-century Pashtun king Ahmad Shah Abdali founded the first Pashtun dynasty in 1748.
■ Japan
Politician regrets allegations
An opposition lawmaker apologized yesterday for alleging shady financial links between the ruling party and a disgraced Internet entrepreneur, in an incident that has embarrassed his faltering party. Lawmaker Hisayasu Nagata's failure to prove charges he made earlier this month has turned into a fiasco for the opposition Democratic Party. "I am deeply sorry," Nagata said, at a news conference. Nagata had told a parliamentary committee that Takafumi Horie, the former CEO of Internet firm Livedoor Co, had ordered company officials via e-mail to pay ¥30 million (US$258,000) in consulting fees to the son of LDP Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe. He has produced no evidence to show that the e-mail he referred to was genuine.
■ Malaysia
Killer gets 14 years
A man was sentenced to 14 years in prison for assaulting and killing an Indonesian woman after a sexual encounter at his employer's home, news reports said yesterday. Ng Boon Tee, 26, pleaded guilty to killing the woman, Sumiyati Muniri, 25, on April 17, 1999, the Star and New Straits Times newspapers reported. An autopsy found the victim sustained 42 injuries to her head and body, the Times report said. "During the time when you repeatedly attacked her, I'm sure she must have been pleading with you to stop, but you did not show any mercy for another human being," High Court judge Justice V.T. Singham was quoted as saying.
■ United Kingdom
Record heist took £53m
The gang who raided a British cash depot made off with a record cash heist of £53 million (US$92 million), police said on Monday, as they sped up the chase for the gun-toting robbers. "I can confirm Securitas [the depot owners] have finished the final audit and that figure now stands at £53 million," said Adrian Leppard, the assistant chief constable of the Kent police. The exact figure of £53,116,760 was more than double the previous record amount stolen in a British cash robbery. That stood at £26.5 million, grabbed in a December 2004 hold-up at the Northern Bank headquarters in Belfast.
■ Israel
Hamas threat downplayed
Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Monday that Israel can deal with Hamas threats if it has to, disputing statements by other Israelis that the violent Islamic group that is taking power after winning Palestinian elections is a strategic threat to the Jewish state. Speaking to soldiers and security officials at a gathering in Tel Aviv, Olmert said, "Hamas doesn't frighten us." He also said Israel would not give up on a chance for peace with the Palestinians, though Olmert is determined not to deal with Hamas. "If there is a need, we can handle Hamas," Olmert said.
■ Somalia
Pirates seize boat, 25 crew
Somali gunmen hijacked an Indian-owned dhow off Somalia's coast with 25 crew members aboard, a maritime official said on Monday. The dhow was attacked by two small boats while on route from the southern port of Kismayo to El-Maan, 35km from the lawless capital Mogadishu on Sunday, Andrew Mwangura, program coordinator for the Seafarers' Assistance Program, said. "Normally when they take captives, they want to get in contact with the chief owner," Mwangura told reporters, adding he did not know whether the hijackers had contacted the owners.
■ United Kingdom
Accused killer starves
A man accused of killing his 23-year-old daughter starved himself to death while awaiting trial, prison authorities said on Monday. Terry Rodgers, accused of shooting his daughter, Chanel Taylor, in July 2004, died on Saturday at Lincoln County Hospital after signing papers that prevented staff from force feeding him, a Prison Service spokeswoman said. Rodgers was accused of killing his daughter at her home in Nottinghamshire, about 200km from London. His trial was supposed to begin on Monday. Prosecutors said they had sought a murder charge against Rodgers.
■ Cameroon
Two jailed for gay sex
A court jailed two men for a year on Monday after they confessed to having gay sex despite a ban on homosexuality. Their relationship emerged when they took a dispute over a stolen mobile phone to the police. One of the men told the court he had been tricked into having sex on the false promise that he would be given help getting to Europe in return. Tabloid newspapers sold out last month after publishing lists of allegedly gay politicians, businessmen and musicians in what they called a crusade against "deviant behavior". The publishers of two of the newspapers are currently standing trial for defamation after they named senior members of President Paul Biya's administration.
■ United States
Less heart risk for optimists
Men with a bright outlook on life seem to be less likely to die of heart disease or stroke than their more pessimistic peers, Dutch researchers report. The findings, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, add to evidence that natural optimists may be a hardier breed. The study followed 545 men between the ages of 64 and 84 for up to 15 years. It found that those who were judged to be optimists at the outset, based on a four-item questionnaire, were about half as likely to die of cardiovascular disease during follow-up as men who were more pessimistic by nature.
■ United States
Fuel program extended
Venezuela's controversial fuel subsidies for the US poor expanded into Connecticut on Monday. The assistance, described as "humanitarian aid" by Venezuela's embassy in Washington, deepens an ongoing spat between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and US President George W. Bush, who calls Chavez a threat to Latin America's democracy. Venezuela will provide 21.8 million liters of heating oil at a 40 percent discount to Connecticut households that qualify for state home heat assistance, state officials said. Connecticut is the seventh state to receive cheap oil from Venezuela.
■ Canada
Lawmakers grill nominee
The government took a small step on Monday toward the US-style practice of vetting nominees to the Supreme Court but the result was more of a love-in than a rigorous interrogation. As part of a desire by the new Conservative government to make the process of appointing top justices more open, a parliamentary committee was allowed, for the first time ever, to question nominee Marshall Rothstein. Legislators were warned they could not ask about his stance on controversial topics for fear this would compromise him once he made the top bench. The committee had no power to vote on the candidacy of Rothstein, 65, a veteran of the Federal Court of Appeal. The final decision will be taken by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
■ United States
Playing around causes death
A Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, man has been charged with homicide and possession of drug paraphernalia after he allegedly dropped his girlfriend from a 23rd-story apartment window on Saturday night, killing her. Kevin Eckenrode and Rachel Kozlusky had been drinking in the hours before he allegedly dropped, police said on Monday. Eckenrode, 25, told police the couple was playing around when he dangled Kozlusky, 23, out the window and lost his grip on her arms, a city official said. Kozlusky died of massive head and internal injuries. "Even if his version is true, to be holding someone out on a 23rd-story window is beyond ridiculous. It's as reckless an act as I can imagine, if not malicious," said the Dauphin County district attorney.
■ United States
Trial opens for 1987 murder
Nineteen years after Georgia socialite Lita Sullivan was shot to death on her doorstep by a man carrying a dozen long-stemmed pink roses, her husband went on trial in Atlanta on Monday on charges he hired the hit man for US$25,000. Millionare James Sullivan, 64, was one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives until he was captured in Thailand in 2002. He is accused of paying triggerman Phillip Harwood to kill his 35-year-old wife in 1987.
Crowds in Bangladesh are flocking to snap photographs with an unlikely social media star — an albino buffalo with flowing blond hair nicknamed “Donald Trump” that is due to be sacrificed within days. Owner Zia Uddin Mridha, 38, said his brother named the 700kg bull over its flowing helmet of hair resembling the signature look of the US president. “My younger brother picked this name because of the buffalo’s extraordinary hair,” he said at his farm in Narayanganj, just outside the capital, Dhaka. Mridha said that a constant stream of curious visitors — social media fans, onlookers and children — have come throughout
It began as a satirical online project. Now millions of young people in India are flocking to it as an outlet for their frustration. A parody political party called the Cockroach Janta Party, with the insect as its symbol, has exploded across India’s social media by turning absurdist humor into protest. Memes and short videos mocking corruption, joblessness and political dysfunction have flooded social media sites, where millions of users are embracing the cockroach — known for its ability to survive harsh conditions — as a tongue-in-cheek symbol of endurance. The online movement’s rise has been unusually rapid. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)
HOTTER: While Indians are accustomed to summer heat, climate change has caused northwestern India to warm faster than other parts of the country, an academic said Roads and markets have emptied during afternoons and some farmers have switched to nighttime work to avoid scorching temperatures as a heat wave grips large parts of India. The India Meteorological Department forecast maximum temperatures for yesterday of about 45°C in the capital, New Delhi, where authorities have opened temporary “cooling zones” to help people cope. The weather department warned that conditions would likely persist across several northern regions in the coming days, with temperatures staying well above seasonal averages. Authorities urged people to stay indoors during the hottest hours and take precautions against heat-related illnesses. India declares a heat wave whenever maximum temperatures
A Hong Kong astronaut is to join a Chinese space mission for the first time as part of a three-person crew launching today, as Beijing edges closer to its goal of landing people on the moon. The Tiangong space station — crewed by teams of three astronauts that are typically rotated every six months — is the crown jewel of China’s space program, boosted by billions in state investment in a bid to catch up with the US and Russia. The Shenzhou-23 mission is to blast off at 11:08pm from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, carrying three astronauts to
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