■ Cina
Toxic lard boss jailed
The manager of a factory which used grease from swill, sewage and recycled industrial oil to make edible lard has been arrested, a newspaper said yesterday in the latest health scare to hit the country. Health officials also detected "toxic pesticide" in lard produced by the Fanchang Grease Factory in Taizhou, in Zhejiang Province, the Shanghai Daily said. "They wholesaled the product to retailers across the country, and the retailers sold it to clients, including hotels and restaurants," the paper said. Since opening last September, the plant had produced an average of six tonnes of lard daily.
■ East Timor
Man dies in gang violence
A man was hacked to death and another 17 were injured in overnight gang fighting in East Timor's capital, a hospital official said yesterday. Two men were in critical condition at the national hospital after being attacked by rival gang members with machetes and knives, said paramedic Nelson da Silva Carmo. It was the latest flare up in the tiny nation since unrest earlier this year, triggered by the firing of a third of the army, left 37 dead and drove 55,000 from their homes. Maria Goncalves, 42, said her 27-year-old brother, Eugino, died after having his ears slashed off and tongue cut out. "I do not accept my brother being slaughtered like an animal," Goncalves said. "I urge the police to arrest those responsible."
■ Papua New Guinea
Clinton given title of chief
Former US president Bill Clinton has been made an honorary chief of the country during a visit aimed at promoting the fight against AIDS in the disastrously stricken Pacific nation. The former leader flew into the capital, Port Moresby, over the weekend for a fleeting visit timed to coincide with last week's World AIDS Day. Prime Minister Michael Somare bestowed Clinton with the Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu, which means bird of paradise, for his role in the fights against AIDS. The award, which entitles Clinton to use the honorary title of chief, recognizes his commitment to the global fight against HIV/AIDS, Somare said.
■ Hong Kong
Prisoner smuggles heroin
A prisoner on remand smuggled heroin into a Hong Kong jail by swallowing seven plastic packets of the drug, officials said yesterday. The 31-year-old was put in an isolation cell after warders were tipped off that he had swallowed drugs before being admitted to the Lai Chi Kok remand centre. Officers waited until he discharged the seven packets of heroin on Friday, three days after he was admitted, a spokesman for the Correctional Services Department said. Police have been called in to investigate the case, the spokesman said.
■ China
Flirting eyes to be banned
Lawmakers in a northern Chinese province are considering a sexual harassment law that bans looking at women with "flirting eyes," state press said yesterday. The Shaanxi provincial congress is studying a proposal that would define sexual harassment, with "casting flirting eyes at women" listed alongside actions such as using inappropriate language, the China Daily reported. In an editorial, the paper ridiculed the efforts to control how people look at each other, but nevertheless said the Shaanxi lawmakers' work was a welcome attempt to establish much-needed sexual harassment laws in China.
■ Algeria
Sexagenarian lobster found
A 62 year-old lobster was drawing the crowds in the coastal town of Jijel on Sunday after a local fisherman landed an unusually elderly catch. Abdelkader, who goes by one name, netted the sexagenarian shellfish and six others who the fisherman estimates have accumulated, at a pinch, 300 years between them. The age of the veteran crustaceans was determined by their weight, according to the standard formula of 100g per year. Abdelkader proudly displayed his haul to the public in a tank, but warned that anyone wanting to buy the 36kg of seafood would have to shell out 120,000 dinars (US$1,700).
■ Madagascar
Incumbent well ahead
First results from elections in Antananarivo show incumbent Madagascan President Marc Ravalomanana well in front of all his rivals, an official vote count showed. The provisional results from all 412 voting centers in the capital area gave Ravalomanana 70.1 percent of votes against 10.69 for his nearest challenger, former prime minister Norbert Lala Ratsirahonana. Results of Sunday's voting from other parts of the country were not yet available but Madagascans and foreign observers all expect Ravalomanana, a dairy tycoon, to romp home. Ravalomanana will be elected outright if he takes more than 50 percent of votes across the world's fourth biggest island.
■ United Kingdom
Soldiers get bad ammo
The British Ministry of Defense dispatched 22,000 rounds of faulty ammunition for use in Afghanistan, at one point leading a platoon of paratroopers to refuse to go on patrol, the Daily Telegraph reported yesterday. The newspaper said that British soldiers had to use ammunition from Canadian and Estonian troops to fight off Taliban attacks in Helmand Province. A defense ministry spokeswoman, however, denied that the bullets in question were the problem, saying instead that the "soft mount," or aiming device placed on top of the gun, was to blame.
■ United Kingdom
Blaze kills two firemen
Two firefighters were killed in a blaze at a fireworks factory in southern England on Sunday which sent explosions high into the sky for hours and created a plume of smoke visible for kilometers, police said on Sunday. The fire began at the factory near Lewes, about 60km south of London, around 2pm. About an hour after emergency crews, including dozens of firefighters, arrived on scene, there was a large explosion, officials said. The two members of the East Sussex Fire and Rescue service who died were a 49-year-old firefighter and a 63-year-old member of the support team.
■ United States
Molester blames bingo
A man who pleaded guilty to molesting two girls told a judge he did it because of his wife's excessive bingo playing. "My wife was never home," Floyd Kinney Jr. said during his plea hearing on Friday. But Kinney's explanation did not sit well with Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Judge F.P. Kimberly McFadden. "Some people, when their wives are not home, decide to do other things, like clean their living rooms," McFadden said. "Your behavior is beyond the pale." Kinney, 49, said his wife would sometimes argue with him over money and that he was angry she was spending too much on bingo.
■ Brazil
Cardinal questions celibacy
Cardinal Claudio Hummes, recently named to head the Vatican's office in charge of priests around the world, has said the Church can reconsider the issue of celibacy because it is not a dogma. "Celibacy is a discipline, not a dogma of the Church," Hummes was quoted by the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper on Friday as saying. "Certainly, the majority of the apostles were married. In this modern age, the Church must observe these things, it has to advance with history." Hummes' comments came about two weeks after the Vatican reaffirmed the requirement of celibacy for priests.
■ United Kingdom
Britons pay big for pets
The population of a nation known for its love of animals is spending a small fortune on its pets, a survey released yesterday revealed. Britons spend more than US$10 billion per year on their beloved pet companions, according to the Pet Census survey by The Blue Cross pet charity. Men were found to spend more than women, who were twice as likely to be the pet's main carer, according to the survey of almost 6,000 people. The survey also found that 48 percent of the population own a pet, but only 22 percent of Londoners have pets. A fifth of pet owners had no idea what sex their pet was.
■ United States
Public santas wanted
Letters written by children to Santa Claus were being made available yesterday at a Manhattan post office for the public to answer. The letters, many addressed to the North Pole, are from children and families asking Santa to help make their Christmas holidays happy, the US Postal Service said. Five-year-old Albert asks Santa for a size six coat. An elderly man from Pennsylvania asks Santa for a hearing aid because he needs it "badly" but can't afford it. He's willing to take a used one. More than 100,000 letters from as close as Manhattan and as far away as Zimbabwe have already arrived.
■ Chile
Pinochet clings to life
Former dictator Augusto Pinochet fought for his life early yesterday after surgery for a heart attack. A Roman Catholic priest gave Pinochet his last rites, traditionally reserved for the gravely ill near death, while the hospital listed him in "serious but stable" condition. Pinochet's death would end years of efforts to bring him to justice for the killings of dissidents during his 1973-1990 military regime. "We will follow how things develop in the next 24 or 48 hours, which are the critical ones," said Juan Ignacio Vergara, the doctor leading the team treating Pinochet. The former dictator underwent angioplasty on Sunday.
■ United States
John Bolton to step down
Unable to win Senate confirmation, US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton will step down when his recess appointment expires soon, the White House said yesterday. Bolton's nomination has languished in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for more than a year, blocked by Democrats and several Republicans. US President George W. Bush gave Bolton the job temporarily in August last year, while Congress was in recess. But the appointment expires when Congress formally adjourns, no later than early January.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
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