■ China
PRC media laud Ang Lee
Media heaped praise on yesterday on Taiwanese film director Ang Lee over his best director Oscar for Brokeback Mountain, but state media cut the part of his speech in which he thanks everyone in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong. State television also cut Lee's words of thanks to the two gay cowboys at the heart of the film. Homosexuality was considered a mental disorder in China until as recently as 2001 and is still a highly sensitive subject. "Ang Lee is the pride of the Chinese people all over the world, and he is the glory of Chinese cinematic talent," the China Daily gushed. But the state-run paper failed to report that Brokeback Mountain would not be coming to Chinese theaters and is only viewable on pirated DVD.
■ United States
Dana Reeve dies of cancer
Actress Dana Reeve, who fought for better treatments and possible cures for paralysis through the Christopher Reeve Foundation, named for her late actor-husband, has died. She was 44. Reeve died late on Monday of lung cancer, said Sean Dougherty, a spokesman for the foundation. Survivors include a teenage son, Will, and two stepchildren, Matthew and Alexandra. Reeve had announced last Aug. 9 that she had lung cancer. Christopher Reeve, the one-time Hollywood "Superman" turned activist for spinal cord research after a horse-riding accident, died on Oct. 10, 2004.
■ United Kingdom
Peyton place on offer
One of the country's top private secondary schools, Brighton College, is looking for a boy or girl between the ages of 13 and 18 with the last name of Peyton because a scholarship funded through an endowment by a former student dictates that the school award the money to a namesake. Derek Wakehurst Peyton, who died in 2002, left the school hundreds of thousands of pounds with one stipulation -- that the money go to a student named Peyton. The successful applicant must have a surname spelled Peyton, prove it with a birth certificate, and not have a hyphenated last name, Brighton College Headmaster Richard Cairns said. Staff at the school have combed British telephone books and contacted all 600 Peytons in the country in an attempt to find a student interested in the scholarship, but to no avail.
■ Australia
Stronger toilets needed
Sturdier toilets may be on their way in Australia to cope with the country's increasingly obese population. Standards Australia, a nongovernment group that establishes safety and design standards, is considering recommending strengthening loos for larger users, a spokeswoman Kate Evans said yesterday. Experts will examine the seats ``from the perspective that people are getting bigger,'' Evans said.
■ United States
False legs returned, again
A 16-year-old girl's prosthetic legs, which have been stolen twice since November, have been quietly returned, police said. Melissa Huff's mother found the legs in her unlocked car in Arcadia, California last Wednesday. The first theft happened in November, when someone cut a hole in a window screen in Huff's home and stole one of her legs. The stolen leg was tossed into the family's back yard in January. But on Valentine's Day, somebody stole both legs after prising open a screen window. The returned legs had graffiti on them.
■ United Kingdom
Tabooboo breaks taboo
Bars and nightclubs in London and other cities have begun using vending machines that sell sex toys such as mini vibrators. The pink Tabooboo machines had previously been used in public toilets under the assumption that such settings gave buyers some privacy. But Geoff Todd, manager of the Alphabet Bar in London's West End area, said the Tabooboo machine it installed in the middle of the bar is used daily. In addition to bars and nightclubs, the vending machines also have begun to show up in hairdressing salons, health clubs and retail stores, Tabooboo managing director Alan Lucas said.
■ United States
State moves to ban abortion
South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds has signed legislation that would ban most abortions, a law he acknowledged would be tied up in court for years while the state challenges the 1973 US Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. The bill signed on Monday would make it a crime for doctors to perform an abortion unless the procedure was necessary to save the woman's life. It would make no exception for cases of rape or incest. Planned Parenthood, which operates the state's only abortion clinic, in Sioux Falls, immediately pledged to challenge the measure.
■ Canada
Horse gets hero's send-off
Hundreds of dignitaries, police officers and ordinary citizens paid tribute on Monday to Brigadier, a police horse on the Toronto force that was killed in the line of duty. Speakers praised the special bond between rider and mount, while the officer who was in the saddle when an irate motorist rammed the horse known as "Brig" struggled to express the depth of his loss. ``Today I'm grateful to be able to say goodbye to my partner, and tell him that being in the saddle will never be the same,'' Constable Kevin Bradfield said through tears during his eulogy. Brigadier, killed Feb. 24, was given a hero's send-off at a large sports stadium. The driver who hit him is charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm and failing to remain at the scene of an accident.
■ Defense
Britain, France ink ship pact
Britain and France signed an agreement on Monday to jointly develop a new generation of aircraft carriers which the British Ministry of Defense said would be "the largest and most powerful warships ever constructed in the UK." A memorandum was signed by French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie and her British counterpart, John Reid, on the sidelines of an EU defense meeting in Innsbruck, Austria. A statement by the British ministry said France will pay Britain £100 million (US$175 million) for access to work Britain has already done on the project. London has committed around £450 million to the 65,000 tonne vessel's design and will make a final decision on building the carriers next year.
■ Brazil
Logger attacks activists
The head of an agricultural cooperative attacked a group of about 50 Greenpeace activists with knives as they protested illegal logging in the Amazon on Monday, the group said. Jose Donizetti Pires de Oliveira did not injure anyone, but he damaged a banner and cars, Greenpeace said. Brazilian authorities fined Donizetti1.49 million reals (US$703,200) in January for illegally cutting down trees on 995 hectares of jungle.
A Chinese scientist was arrested while arriving in the US at Detroit airport, the second case in days involving the alleged smuggling of biological material, authorities said on Monday. The scientist is accused of shipping biological material months ago to staff at a laboratory at the University of Michigan. The FBI, in a court filing, described it as material related to certain worms and requires a government permit. “The guidelines for importing biological materials into the US for research purposes are stringent, but clear, and actions like this undermine the legitimate work of other visiting scholars,” said John Nowak, who leads field
Brazil, the world’s largest Roman Catholic country, saw its Catholic population decline further in 2022, while evangelical Christians and those with no religion continued to rise, census data released on Friday by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) showed. The census indicated that Brazil had 100.2 million Roman Catholics in 2022, accounting for 56.7 percent of the population, down from 65.1 percent or 105.4 million recorded in the 2010 census. Meanwhile, the share of evangelical Christians rose to 26.9 percent last year, up from 21.6 percent in 2010, adding 12 million followers to reach 47.4 million — the highest figure
Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg was deported from Israel yesterday, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, the day after the Israeli navy prevented her and a group of fellow pro-Palestinian activists from sailing to Gaza. Thunberg, 22, was put on a flight to France, the ministry said, adding that she would travel on to Sweden from there. Three other people who had been aboard the charity vessel also agreed to immediate repatriation. Eight other crew members are contesting their deportation order, Israeli rights group Adalah, which advised them, said in a statement. They are being held at a detention center ahead of a
‘THE RED LINE’: Colombian President Gustavo Petro promised a thorough probe into the attack on the senator, who had announced his presidential bid in March Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, a possible candidate in the country’s presidential election next year, was shot and wounded at a campaign rally in Bogota on Saturday, authorities said. His conservative Democratic Center party released a statement calling it “an unacceptable act of violence.” The attack took place in a park in the Fontibon neighborhood when armed assailants shot him from behind, said the right-wing Democratic Center, which was the party of former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe. The men are not related. Images circulating on social media showed Uribe Turbay, 39, covered in blood being held by several people. The Santa Fe Foundation
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