■ Singapore
Protest packs a punch
A 74-year-old former taxi driver who punched a member of parliament in the face has been released on bail, news reports said yesterday. Parliamentarian Seng Han Thong was in the middle of a meet-and- greet gathering on Thursday night when the assailant -- angry with the MP for not helping him get a revoked license reinstated -- attacked. The man, who has not been identified, punched Seng in the face before being held back by the crowd. Police detained the driver, who was brought to court on Friday. "I've been voting for you all these years and this is the way I've been treated," the Straits Times quoted the assailant as shouting, as Seng left the building covering his mouth with his hand.
■ Hong Kong
Silver found in truck axles
Silver bars worth HK$2.16 million (US$270,000) were recovered by Hong Kong customs officers from inside three hollowed-out axles of a China-bound container truck, a media report said yesterday. The trailer's brake system had been disabled and other parts removed to make room for the 42 bars, which weighed 600kg, the South China Morning Post reported. Officers, who arrested the 50-year-old truck driver, became suspicious when the trailer's brake lights failed to work during a routine inspection at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen boundary crossing.
■ Japan
More AEGIS ships planned
Japan plans to deploy two more AEGIS warships armed with advanced missiles, including one that can intercept ballistic missiles, a news report said yesterday, as the country tries to bolster its defenses in the wake of North Korea's missiles launches. Japan currently has four AEGIS destroyers operating with SM-2 missiles -- designed mainly to intercept aircraft -- including two at Sasebo base near the East China Sea, one at Maizuru base near Kyoto, along the Sea of Japan, and another at Yokosuka on the country's east coast. A fifth AEGIS vessel, to be commissioned next spring, will be deployed also at Maizuru, Kyodo News Agency said, citing unnamed defense officials. The navy is expected to deploy a sixth warship at Sasebo base in Nagasaki Prefecture in the spring of 2008, the report said.
■ China
New outbreak reported
The nation yesterday reported a new outbreak of bird flu among poultry in a town in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. The national avian influenza laboratory tested samples and confirmed the presence of the H5N1 avian influenza virus, stemming from an outbreak that began on July 14 near the town of Aksu, the agriculture ministry said. A total of 3,045 chickens died in the outbreak, and workers culled another 356,976 birds to prevent the virus' spread. Agriculture and health officials set up emergency vaccination and quarantine procedures and had controlled the outbreak in Aksu, the ministry said in its Web site.
■ Philippines
Six killed in rebel attack
Six people were killed when communist rebels attacked and destroyed the police headquarters of an eastern Philippine town yesterday morning, officials said. Fighting erupted when up to 100 rebels attacked the police headquarters in Matnog town in Sorsogon Province, 390km southeast of Manila, said Matnog police chief Jesus Callada. Callada said among the fatalities in the fighting were five communist rebels and a maritime police officer. He added that five other policemen and a civilian were wounded in the attack.
■ United States
Missile falls off truck
A missile fell off a truck and onto a New York highway on Friday, but the weapon did not have a warhead and posed no danger, police said. WCBS radio reported it was a Tomahawk cruise missile. Police and fire department officials could not confirm that. The cargo came loose when the truck carrying it collided with another truck on a motorway in the Bronx. "It was a military-type missile but it was inert. There was no danger and no one was harmed," a police spokesman said.
■ Russia
Dollar dissonance demanded
Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov invented a new unit of currency on Friday: "That thing you are not allowed to say." Russia's parliament is in the process of adopting a law that will fine government ministers for saying "dollar" when they could have used the word "ruble" instead. But old habits die hard. Telling reporters about a contract to supply fighter aircraft to Venezuela, Ivanov said the deal had "a value of more than one billion of that thing that you are not allowed to say anymore." The ruble fell into neglect during years of galloping inflation and many Russians are now more comfortable quoting large sums in dollars. Parliament is introducing the ban to restore pride in the national currency.
■ United States
Choppers sold to Saudis
The White House said on Thursday it had approved the sale to Saudi Arabia of 24 UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters, radios, armored vehicles and other military equipment worth more than US$6 billion. Congress has 30 days to block the sales, although such action is rare. The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the principal contractors for the different sales included Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corp, General Electric Co, Harris Corp, ITT Corp, General Dynamics Corp, and Raytheon Corp. The agency said in a mandatory notice to Congress that the arms sales would help strengthen Saudi Arabia's military and its ability to fight terrorism.
■ United States
New York blacks out
A mysterious blackout during the hottest week of the year left tens of thousands of New Yorkers without power in the city's Queens borough for a fifth day as residents sweltered, businesses idled and city officials seethed after the power company revealed the outages were 10 times larger than previously reported. "It's a total catastrophe. We've been throwing things out for four days," restaurant owner Louis Panazakos lamented as workers threw out garbage bags full of fresh pasta and sauces. Power company Con Edison initially said fewer than 2,500 customers were affected, but it increased that number tenfold on Friday morning to 25,000 customers.
■ Russia
Georgia, Ukraine skip meet
Georgia and Ukraine pulled out of a summit of former Soviet states on Friday, underscoring rising tensions 15 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been embroiled in a row with the Kremlin over the Georgian separatist region of South Ossetia, said he had cancelled his attendance due to a cabinet reshuffle. "The president is busy with important questions linked to his cabinet," the head of the presidential administration, Giorgi Arveladze, said. Saakashvili's non-attendance was one of a string of no-shows by leaders of the 12-member Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), set up after the break-up of the Soviet Union.
HOLLYWOOD IN TURMOIL: Mandy Moore, Paris Hilton and Cary Elwes lost properties to the flames, while awards events planned for this week have been delayed Fires burning in and around Los Angeles have claimed the homes of numerous celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton, and led to sweeping disruptions of entertainment events, while at least five people have died. Three awards ceremonies planned for this weekend have been postponed. Next week’s Oscar nominations have been delayed, while tens of thousands of city residents had been displaced and were awaiting word on whether their homes survived the flames — some of them the city’s most famous denizens. More than 1,900 structures had been destroyed and the number was expected to increase. More than 130,000 people
Some things might go without saying, but just in case... Belgium’s food agency issued a public health warning as the festive season wrapped up on Tuesday: Do not eat your Christmas tree. The unusual message came after the city of Ghent, an environmentalist stronghold in the country’s East Flanders region, raised eyebrows by posting tips for recycling the conifers on the dinner table. Pointing with enthusiasm to examples from Scandinavia, the town Web site suggested needles could be stripped, blanched and dried — for use in making flavored butter, for instance. Asked what they thought of the idea, the reply
A group of Uyghur men who were detained in Thailand more than one decade ago said that the Thai government is preparing to deport them to China, alarming activists and family members who say the men are at risk of abuse and torture if they are sent back. Forty-three Uyghur men held in Bangkok made a public appeal to halt what they called an imminent threat of deportation. “We could be imprisoned and we might even lose our lives,” the letter said. “We urgently appeal to all international organizations and countries concerned with human rights to intervene immediately to save us from
US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen on Monday met virtually with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) and raised concerns about “malicious cyber activity” carried out by Chinese state-sponsored actors, the US Department of the Treasury said in a statement. The department last month reported that an unspecified number of its computers had been compromised by Chinese hackers in what it called a “major incident” following a breach at contractor BeyondTrust, which provides cybersecurity services. US Congressional aides said no date had been set yet for a requested briefing on the breach, the latest in a serious of cyberattacks
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