■ CHINA
Bogus monks sentenced
Eleven men who impersonated Shaolin monks and then clashed with police when they were found out have been sentenced to prison terms of up to two years, state media reported yesterday. The 11 were among a group of about 50 men in the Chengdu that posed as the famed martial arts monks and charged for public performances of their skills, the Beijing Morning Post said. During a performance last November, the fake monks became angry when a local television news crew showed up and began questioning them. Several of the imposters attacked reporters, which drew police to the scene.
■ PAKISTAN
Anti-Taliban fence erected
Pakistan has fenced a part of its border with Afghanistan to prevent incursions by militants, the army said on Thursday, despite opposition from Kabul. Pakistan decided to fence and mine parts of its western border after accusations from US and Afghan officials that Taliban militants were launching attacks from Pakistan. "We have completed 20km of fencing in North Waziristan region and work is going on for the rest," military spokesman Major-General Waheed Arshad said. He said the plan involved fencing a 35km stretch in the northwestern tribal belt bordering Afghanistan in the first phase.
■ AUSTRALIA
Remains to be returned
A collection of Aboriginal remains are to return to Australia after a long-running dispute with Britain's Natural History Museum was resolved, officials said yesterday. The artifacts -- including teeth, skulls and bones -- were taken from Tasmania in the 19th century, and form part of the museum's research collections. The removal has long offended Aborigines, who believe their ancestors' spirits cannot rest until their remains are interred in traditional ceremonies. But Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said the collection would be repatriated to Australia following mediation talks between museum representatives and members of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre.
■ CHINA
Hospitals need police
Attacks on medical staff by upset patients and their relatives have become such a problem that police should be stationed in hospitals, state media reported yesterday. The country's health ministry made the recommendation, the China Daily said, after 5,500 medical workers were injured in attacks last year in disputes that also caused more than 200 million yuan (US$26 million) in property damage. Late last year, medical staff in a hospital in Shenzhen were forced to wear helmets after being attacked by relatives demanding compensation over a patient's death, the newspaper reported.
■ CONGO
Oil field fire kills two
A fire at an oil field operated by Total SA killed two people and injured two others, the French petroleum giant said on Thursday. The fire halted production, causing a loss of 60,000 barrels a day, company officials said in a statement disseminated on state-run radio. The cause of the blaze at the Kossa oil field, around 570km from Brazzaville, was unknown. Flames engulfed the oil field before dawn and the fire was still burning late on Thursday. Company officials said their investigation so far had turned up a suspicious boat, its hull and body completely burned.
■ FRANCE
Murderer allowed day job
A Paris court granted partial freedom on Thursday to a half-paralyzed radical leftist woman serving two life sentences for two slayings more than a generation ago, judicial officials said. Nathalie Menigon, a former member of the now dismantled Direct Action group, will be able to leave prison during the day to hold a job as part of her rehabilitation, the officials said. A 2002 law allows for the early release of ill or extremely elderly prisoners. Menigon was convicted for the murders of Renault chief Georges Besse and Defense Ministry official Rene Audran. Direct Action was linked to Italy's Red Brigades and Germany's Red Army Faction.
■ UNITED STATES
Knife attack wife gets life
Jurors convicted a theology student of murder, rejecting claims she accidentally stabbed her husband to death when he surprised her with a hug. Jee Hyun-song, 29, a Korean immigrant, faces a maximum of 16 years to life in prison when she is sentenced on July 20 in Orange County Superior Court. Song and her 24-year-old husband, Dong Uk-kim, were both theology students at Bethesda Christian University. The couple were at their apartment on Nov. 10, 2005, when prosecutors said Song took a 12.5cm kitchen knife and stabbed her husband once in the chest, piercing his heart. Instead of calling for an ambulance, she waited two hours before calling a female friend who alerted police, authorities said.
■ ITALY
Nude sculpture draws looks
It would take one very large fig leaf to restore modesty to Milan's main park after the installation of a 21m floating sculpture of a naked man. The balloon self-portrait by Polish artist Pawel Althamer has been hovering outside the Renaissance Palazzina Appiani in Parco Sempione since Monday, drawing second takes, amused looks and some reprobation about exposing children to nudity. "To be honest with you, it's nothing new," said Rosaria Mirabelli, mother of three-year-old Tommaso who stared at the sculpture from the back of his mother's bicycle. "He sees his father naked. In this park we see so many worse things than a naked man," she said, referring to the park's reputation as a haven for drug users.
■ SOMALIA
Captives in `good health'
Two aid workers kidnapped by gunmen in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region are in good health and their abductors are negotiating with local elders to free them, a source close to the captors said on Friday. The source, who did not want to be named, said the Briton and Kenyan were being held near where they were seized on Wednesday, some 120km south of Puntland's capital Bossasso. The pair work for the CARE International relief agency.
■ UNITED STATES
Dead fawn clad as infant
The police log entry in Tacoma, Washington, said it all: "Deceased fawn was dressed up like an infant and abandoned at the Pantages [Theater]." Why would anyone dress up a dead newborn deer, lay it in a basket and leave it outside an ornate landmark in Tacoma? "Your guess is as good as mine," Tom Sayre, a spokesman of the Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County, told the local News Tribune newspaper. The outfit included an infant sleeper and a bib that read, "You think I'm cute? You should see my aunt," Sayre said.
■ UNITED STATES
Exotic dancer sentenced
A California judge sentenced a former exotic dancer to a year in jail after she was captured on video doing drugs and having sex with a man who died of a heart attack during their escapade. Nicolle Lynn Faller, 31, and a man had set up a video camera to record the romp last year. The camera recorded the man's death and caught Faller pocketing his drug stash before calling authorities, prosecutors said. Faller was sentenced on Wednesday in San Mateo County Superior Court, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Thursday.
■ UNITED STATES
Texas `body farm' on hold
A Texas university's plans for a site to study decomposing human remains have been put on hold because of fears that vultures drawn to the "body farm" may pose a danger to nearby aircraft. Texas State University in San Marcos, 280km west of Houston, has been looking for sites for a forensic research facility for months, but has run into opposition from residents, and the local airport. Vultures circle around in the sky when dead meat is spotted. "There's a lot of people who don't want it their backyard and that's certainly understandable," Mark Hendricks, a university spokesman, said on Thursday.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
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
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
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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