■ Indonesia
Footbridge collapses
A footbridge packed with tourists broke at a resort on Java yesterday, killing five people and injuring 29 after they plunged into a rocky riverbed, police and tourist officials said. The victims were evacuated to three nearby hospitals, said Surono, an employee at the Baturaden resort in Central Java province, adding that they fell more than 20m after one of the steel cables holding the small bridge snapped. Local police chief Emron Putra Agung said five people were killed and 29 injured.
■ China
Gangster sentenced to death
Shanghai's top gangster has been sentenced to death with his wife and 18 other members of his gang handed prison terms, state press reported yesterday. Li Bin, 40, the self-proclaimed "King of Shanghai's underworld" was found guilty of heading a criminal network that trafficked in drugs, organized attacks and illegally possessed weapons, the China Daily reported. The Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate Court sentenced Li to death on Tuesday, while also jailing his wife and 18 of his gang members for terms of between 15 months to life. Li was a career criminal who had previously spent 15 years behind bars in six separate stints, the paper said.
■ Philippines
Jailed troops moved
Manila was to transfer yesterday six detained Marine officers, suspected of leading an alleged plot against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in February, to a more secure location amid talk of an escape plot. Reports that rogue troops would spring the officers as part of fresh attempts to destabilize the government prompted the transfer, a military spokesman said.
■ Vietnam
Police confiscate animals
Police in the central highlands have confiscated 350kg of snakes, turtles and iguanas destined for restaurants in China, police said on Tuesday. The animals were to be released to the wild on Tuesday, said Hoang Minh Thong, a police officer in Quang Nam Province, 800km south of Hanoi. Thong said the animals were being transported on a bus and were destined to be sold in China, where they would be served as delicacies. Although the sale of wild animals is illegal in Vietnam, traders continue to smuggle exotic creatures across the border to China, where they are popular in restaurants.
■ Italy
Politicians demand inquiry
Italian opposition politicians on Tuesday demanded a full inquiry into claims that up to 50,000 people a year die in local hospitals because of medical error. A report presented to a congress organized by the Italian Association of Medical Oncology concluded that even the most conservative estimate pointed to a figure of 14,000 deaths a year, which is twice the death toll on Italy's roads. The association's broad definition of medical error included not only malpractice, but also flaws in the health system such as lengthy waiting lists.
■ Montenegro
Writer injured, driver killed
A well-known local novelist was injured while his driver was fatally shot in an attack late on Tuesday in the capital, Podgorica, the police said. The attack occurred around 10pm outside author Jevrem Brkovic's home in downtown Podgorica, when three masked assailants came up to him and began beating him, police spokeswoman Tamara Popovic told reporters. Brkovic's driver, Srdjan Vojicic, who saw the attack and had just driven the writer home, rushed to his assistance but was shot dead in the commotion in which gunshots were fired by one of the attackers.
■ Germany
Military photos spark probe
The nation's Defense Ministry said yesterday it was investigating photos published by the country's biggest-selling newspaper that appear to show troops in Afghanistan posing with a skull. The Bild daily said the macabre pictures, one of which it printed on its front page yesterday, showed German peacekeepers near Kabul in early 2003. The uniformed men were seen holding up the skull and posing with it on a jeep; one is seen exposing himself with the skull. Bild's headline declared: "German soldiers desecrate a dead person." The newspaper said it was unclear where the skull came from.
■ Gaza Strip
Photographer released
Palestinian gunmen who kidnapped a photographer working for the Associated Press news agency on Tuesday, keeping him captive for more than 12 hours, released him after intervention by Palestinian officials. Spaniard Emilio Morenatti, 37, was grabbed by four gunmen as he headed out of his apartment to a car on Tuesday morning. He was put in another vehicle and driven away, reporters said. Nobody claimed responsibility for the abduction. Morenatti's release came after the kidnapping was denounced by the Hamas-led government and President Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the rival Fatah movement.
■ United States
Father pulls gun a kid's game
The father of a young football player pulled a gun on his son's coach because he didn't think the boy was getting enough playing time at a game for six and seven year-olds, Philadelphia police said on Monday. The father was charged with aggravated assault. There were no injuries and fled before being arrested after a complaint was made by the coach, whose name was not released, police said. Parental behavior at children's sports events has come under scrutiny from groups such as the Citizen-ship Through Sports Alliance.
■ United States
Vegemite crackdown
Reports that customs agents are searching people from Australia and New Zealand for Vegemite, a popular yeast extract spread, has created consternation among antipodean expatriates living in the US. The Australian embassy in Washington said on Monday it was looking into Australian media reports that customs officials were checking people for the salty brown spread. The Food and Drug Administration has long prohibited imports of Vegemite as it contains folate, a B vitamin approved as an additive for just a few foods, including breakfast cereals. Until recently there was no difficulty bringing in a few jars for personal use. Nearly 100,000 Australians and New Zealanders live in the US.
■ United States
Porn star drops out of race
Porn star Mary Carey said on Monday she was dropping out of the California governor's race to be with her injured mother, who has been hospitalized in Florida since jumping off a four-story building last month. Carey, who shot to world-wide fame with her quixotic gubernatorial campaign against now Governor Arnold Schwar-zenegger in 2003, said her mother was in critical condition at a Ft. Lauderdale hospital and facing surgery. The star of such adult film titles as Boobsville Sorority Girl and Cheerleader School was running as a write-in candidate this year because she could not collect enough signatures to be on next month's ballot.
■ Ecuador
Banana tycoon gets top votes
Election officials confirmed on Tuesday that banana tycoon Alvaro Noboa was the top vote getter in the Oct. 15 elections and will face leftist Rafael Correa next month in a presidential runoff. The head of the country's electoral com-mission, Xavier Cazar, told reporters that with 99.87 percent of the paper ballots counted, 55-year-old Noboa, the nation's wealthiest man, led all candidates with 26.8 percent. Correa, 43, a US-trained economist running on an anti-establishment ticket, came in second in the field of 13 candidates with 22.8 percent.
■ Peru
No more toxic waste
A state-run oil company drilling in the northern jungle has agreed to stop dumping toxic waste into the rain forest by July 2008 following protests by an Indian organization that hailed the move on Tuesday as a major victory. Two weeks of protests by the Native Federation of the Corrientes River shut down jungle operations of Pluspetrol Norte, demanding a cleanup of pollution from three decades of oil drilling in the area. Roberto Ramallo, the company's local director, said that Pluspetrol would "make its best effort" to abide by the agreement by the deadline, describing the task as "an extremely complex project."
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
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