■ Australia
Monopoly cheap shot
Australian football fans are upset that the British makers of the popular Monopoly board game have relegated their team to the Old Kent Road position in the just-released World Cup edition that gives Brazil top-billing in Mayfair, news reports said yesterday. Brown-hued Old Kent Road is the lowliest property on the board, standing next to the purple of Mayfair occupied by World Cup favorites Brazil. The Sun-Herald quoted Monopoly maker Hasbro as saying that Australia was lucky to be included at all, given that it's the nation's first World Cup appearance since 1974. "Maybe we shouldn't get Mayfair just yet, but Pall Mall would have been good," Soccer New South Wales spokesman Robert Grasso said. "At least we are not sitting in jail."
■ Japan
N Korea spurns talks
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had refused to return to six-party talks on ending his country's nuclear arms programs when he held talks with a senior Chinese official late last month, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported yesterday. Quoting unspecified diplomatic sources in Washington, Kyodo said Chinese State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan (唐家璇) had made a secret visit to Pyongyang on April 27-28 and held talks with the North Korean leader. In his talks, Tang called for North Korea to return to the stalled negotiations aimed at halting Pyongyang's nuclear arms programs and helping the isolated state join the global community, Kyodo said. But Kim insisted that Washington first lift financial sanctions on Pyongyang, Kyodo said. Pyongyang earlier agreed to dismantle its nuclear programs in exchange for aid and security assurances.
■ Couple weds over the phone
A couple exchanged wedding vows over the telephone after the bridegroom could not make it to the ceremony due to Hindu-Muslim clashes in the bride's city. The long-distance marriage was solemnized on Friday as a curfew and army patrols in the western city of Vadodara prevented 21-year-old Sufiyan Agarbatiwala from reaching the bride's house there. Vadodara was rocked by sectarian strife last week after city authorities demolished a Muslim shrine to widen a road. In exchanging vows, both sides used phones with speakers so that relatives and witnesses could hear the couple agree to their union in the 20-minute ceremony.
■ Hong Kong
Cellphones used to cheat
Students sitting an English exam have been accused of using cellphones to look up answers on the Internet during toilet breaks, a news report said yesterday. Nearly 100 complaints have been lodged about the exam sat by 79,000 15 and 16-year old candidates last Thursday which included a series of questions with Web links to say where the information was from. An online petition has been signed by 98 students calling on Hong Kong's examinations' authority to order a retake or discount the questions where Web links were provided at the bottom.
■ Thailand
Three killed in elevator
An elevator being repaired in a Bangkok high-rise malfunctioned and plummeted more than 20 stories on Saturday, killing three mechanics on board and injuring two others, police said. The mechanics were working on the elevator on the 25th floor of the Citibank building when it suddenly plunged to the basement, said Sergeant Nisai Kluaysawat of Thung Mahamek district police station. Three of the mechanics died, one lost an arm and another suffered minor injuries, Nisai said.
■ Thailand
Judge found dead
Police on Saturday found the body of a Supreme Court justice, authorities said, while local media reported that he was believed to have committed suicide by drowning himself in a pond in Bangkok. The body of Supreme Court judge Komwuth Burithanawat, 58, was found hours after his wife reported to police that her husband was missing, said commander Colonel Sorapong Pulsombat of the Bang Khen district police station. He declined to give details of the case. A report on the Web site of Kom Chad Luek newspaper said that the judge's wife, Woraya Burithanawat, had found a suicide note in their bedroom.
■ United Kingdom
Mystery man identified?
A mystery detainee who allegedly created a bogus identity as an English nobleman by assuming the name of a dead baby is actually an American who went missing from Florida more than 20 years ago, his relatives say. The man being held in a jail in Kent, England, goes by the title of Earl of Buckingham, but really is an Orlando native named Charles Stopford, his father Charles and sister Rebecca Davis say in a documentary that was to be broadcast yesterday on Sky One TV. The relatives said they saw photos of the fake lord on the Internet along with a story in the Times of London this week and concluded he is Stopford.
■ Spain
Town holds mass blind date
A small town on the northern plains of the country held a large-scale blind date party on Saturday to help its many single men find potential mates. Concerned that the population of rural Villafrechos will dwindle, Mayor Miguel Angel Gomez threw his support behind the local initiative, inviting women through an advertising campaign to gather at the city of Valladolid. About 100 women showed up, and were taken by two buses to Villafrechos, population 540, where some 60 men escorted them to lunch. "We've been organizing this since November," Gomez said.
■ Germany
Religious soccer cup held
A team of Christian priests thrashed a group of imams 12-1 to win the nation's first soccer cup between religious leaders on Saturday, but it was all hugs and smiles after the match to promote tolerance. "We have tried for such a long time to strengthen the contact between the three faiths -- Judaism, Christianity and Islam," said Imam Taha, who captained the Muslim squad. "I think we can say we have achieved that today."
■ Israel
Agents use chocolate to kill
The Mossad secret service agency killed a Palestinian wanted for airplane hijackings by feeding him poisoned Belgian chocolate over six months in the late 1970s, said Aaron Klein, the author of a new book, Striking Back, on Saturday. In his book, Klein describes how Israel tracked down Wadia Haddad, an operative of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, in Baghdad. In Baghdad of 1977, luxuries like fine chocolates were rare, and the 140kg Haddad had a weakness for them. Through a Palestinian working with the Mossad who had gotten close to Haddad, the agency was able to feed Haddad chocolate brought from Belgium and spread with poison over six months, Klein said.
■ United States
Man fired for Web surfing
Despite the recommendation of a judge that he only receive a reprimand, a New York State Department of Education employee accused of failing to heed warnings to stay off the Internet at work has been fired. "The penalty of termination is appropriate and not shocking to one's sense of fairness," schools chancellor Joel Klein wrote of the employee, Toquir Choudhri. Last month, Administrative Law Judge John Spooner ruled that surfing the Web at work is equivalent to reading a newspaper or talking on the phone. Choudhri was accused of ignoring instructions to stop surfing at work. His "abuse of the Internet at the time he is supposed to be performing his job demonstrates his disinterest in the job," Klein wrote.
■ United States
State scraps slogan
The state of New Jersey has jettisoned "Come See For Yourself," its second attempt at a tagline in less than a year. It was the product of a statewide contest set up by then-acting governor Richard Codey last fall, after he rejected a consultant's offering: "We'll Win You Over." State tourism officials said legal issues led them to scrap the latest slogan, explaining that West Virginia and other states previously used "Come See For Yourself." Codey, now state Senate president, dismissed "We'll Win You Over" because he said it reminded him too much of when he was single and asked girls out on a date.
■ Croatia
Cheney backs Croatian bids
US Vice-President Dick Cheney pledged strong US support on Saturday for Croatia's bid to join NATO and the EU. Cheney made the promise to reformist Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader on the eve of a meeting with leaders of Croatia, Macedonia and Albania. "We are strongly supportive of Croatia becoming a full member of the trans-Atlantic community in terms of working with NATO and the EU," Cheney told his host. Croatia opened EU accession talks in October, hoping to join around 2009.
■ Venezuela
Chavez may call referendum
President Hugo Chavez said that if opposition parties boycott December's presidential election he would call a referendum asking voters to decide whether he should govern Venezuela for the next 25 years. Speaking on Saturday at a stadium in central Lara state, Chavez said he might seek to extend his rule beyond current term limits if the opposition pulls out of the presidential vote, as it did last year's congressional election. "I am going to call a referendum," Chavez said. "I am going to ask you, all the people, if you agree with Chavez being president until 2031." Chavez is eligible for re-election to another six-year term in December, but if he wins he wouldn't be able to run again in 2012.
■ United States
Cabbie on hate crime rap
A Long Island taxi driver faces a hate crime charge after shouting racial epithets while hitting a man with his cab during an argument outside a convenience store police said. The cabbie, Robert Rossetti Jr, 56, was arrested early on Thursday on charges of second-degree assault and second-degree aggravated harassment as a hate crime, Village of Southampton police said. The village is within the boundaries of the town of Southampton, on Long Island's east end. Newsday, which interviewed the victim, identified him as Jonathan Cedillo, a 21-year-old of American Indian and Mexican-American descent from California. Cedillo said that before getting into the cab, Rossetti slapped a hamburger out of his hands and yelled slurs. "He was cursing at me, telling me I'm an immigrant and to get out of this country," Cedillo said.
■ Mexico
Grass fans hold smoke-in
Marijuana-puffing protesters held a smoke-in at a park in Mexico's capital on Saturday to show their support for a bill that would have eliminated criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of drugs. President Vicente Fox refused the sign the decriminalization bill, a move praised on Saturday by Mexico City's police chief but that drew criticism from some members of Congress who accused Fox of yielding to US pressure to veto the legislation. About 500 protesters held the smoke-in at a park in Mexico City, openly smoking joints.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
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