■NEW ZEALAND
Airline to offer bald facts
Air New Zealand is planning to give the bald facts on plans to speed up check-in for passengers — literally. The airline said on Tuesday it was looking for 50 people willing to be a “cranial billboard” with a message temporarily tattooed on their shaved heads for two weeks advertising new speedy check-in services. It will pay NZ$1,000 (US$666) per head, making it easy money for bald-headed frequent fliers. “How better to tell our customers that Air New Zealand is going to do something about [long check-in lines] ... than through messaging they can read while they’re standing in a queue themselves?” the airline’s marketing manager Steve Bayliss said in a statement.
■AUSTRALIA
Man guilty of terrorism
A former Qantas Airways baggage handler was convicted of a terrorism offense yesterday for publishing a book on the Internet about how to carry out holy war against non-Muslims. A New South Wales state Supreme Court jury convicted Sydney resident Belal Sadallah Khazaal on a charge of producing a book knowing it was connected with assisting in a terrorist act. The 38-year-old former Qantas Airways employee had pleaded not guilty to the charge, which carries a potential maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. The jury will continue deliberations today on a second charge of attempting to urge others to commit a terrorist act.
■CHINA
Clueless smugglers spared
Three men have been spared jail after they smuggled a ball of depleted uranium into the country, ignorant the 274kg shiny lump was a health threat, local media reported. The three scrap merchants bought low-radiation uranium metal in Kyrgyzstan last year, haggling a dealer down to a price of US$2,000, the official news Web site of the Xinjiang region reported. They smuggled it into China, evading customs checks but apparently ignorant the interesting metal could be dangerous. One of them hid it in his father-in-law’s home in Xinjiang. “They were surprised that at night when the lights went out the treasure sparkled and glittered, and Wang chipped a piece from it and kept it beside his bed, sometimes playing with it,” the report said of one of the men.
■PAPUA NEW GUINEA
‘Witch’ attacked over floods
An elderly woman was attacked by local villagers after they accused her of using witchcraft to cause deadly floods, the Post-Courier reported yesterday. A local official in a remote area of Morobe Province said that a woman had been beaten on Tuesday after flash floods killed one person, demolished 21 homes and destroyed crops in the region. “That is the way it is here,” Councilor Raphael Yasi told the newspaper. The waters that swept through Morobe’s remote Garaina region, where the woman lived, after the Wisi River flooded more than a week ago have left 90 people homeless.
■SOUTH KOREA
Nigerian suspect extradited
A Nigerian man who allegedly used South Korean nationals to smuggle drugs abroad has been extradited from China to face charges in Seoul, the justice ministry said. Obioha Frank Chinedu, 41, is accused of convincing unwitting South Korean travelers, mainly women, to carry cocaine and hemp into Europe and Japan by offering to pay their travel expenses. Twelve South Koreans have served jail time in Brazil, Britain, Japan and the Netherlands for drug smuggling. They claimed not to know what was in the bags they were given to carry.
■GERMANY
Postman hoards letters
A Scottish postman working in Germany hoarded at least 20,000 letters at home because he felt his work was too taxing, police said on Tuesday. The postman in Frankfurt was caught when a neighbor saw him tipping mail into a garbage can and alerted police. “It’s worth mentioning the 23-year-old didn’t deliver mail addressed to himself either,” local police said in a statement. Investigating officers found garbage bags and boxes of letters stashed in his apartment. He told police he was behind on his deliveries because of his night school studies. The hoard, which the man had built up since August last year, comprised at least 20,000 letters.
■ISRAEL
No military sales to Georgia
Defense officials said the government has told all businessmen involved in military sales to Georgia to immediately cease visits to the Caucasus country. The officials said the blanket directive was decided upon this week because of concerns about damage to relations with Russia. The country had already decided to stop most weapons sales to Georgia before the Russia-Georgia war last month.
■NICARAGUA
US official cancels visit
The US secretary of commerce canceled a visit because “circumstances have changed,” Washington’s envoy said on Tuesday, days after the Central American country recognized two rebel Georgian provinces. Carlos Gutierrez was due to visit at the end of this month and meet President Daniel Ortega, who last week recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia. “The secretary’s office said that now is not an appropriate moment for the visit because circumstances have changed,” US Ambassador Robert Callahan said.
■GERMANY
Kangaroo causes chaos
An escaped kangaroo kept police and firefighters busy after fleeing its owner’s home and bounding through a small town near Cologne. The animal was eventually caught in a net and returned to its owner on Tuesday. Police said the kangaroo was unharmed and no charges would be filed. The chase began after a Siegburg resident reported seeing a kangaroo jumping down a main street on Monday night. “Officers tried to lure the kangaroo with dog treats, but it didn’t work,” police spokesman Eckhard Gieseler said. Firefighters snared the kangaroo with a net, while a veterinarian ensured its safety. “The kangaroo was not injured in the capture,” Gieseler said. Police drove the kangaroo to an animal shelter. The owner has been found and police are confirming whether the kangaroos were imported legally.
■ZAMBIA
Election date announced
An election will be held on Oct. 30 to choose a successor to president Levy Mwanawasa, who died in France last month, the country’s acting president said on Tuesday. “Now that we have concluded the official mourning for our beloved president, I have the honor to announce to the nation the election date,” Rupiah Banda said in a televised speech. Mwanawasa, 59, died in a French military hospital on Aug. 19 after suffering a stroke in June. He had led Zambia since 2001 and was re-elected in 2006. Zambia, Africa’s biggest copper producer, became a rare African success story under Mwanawasa, who was praised by donor countries for prudent economic policies and a tough stance on corruption.
■UNITED STATES
Buyer sues over penthouse
The buyer of a US$53.5 million penthouse apartment in New York’s famed Plaza Hotel says the apartment turned out to be an “attic-like space” with low ceilings and obstructed views, and he is suing for a refund plus damages. The apartment’s anonymous buyer, who made the purchase based on a video, is suing the hotel, developers El-Ad Properties and brokers Stribling & Associates for breach of contract, fraud, deceptive trade practices and negligence. The buyer, who local media have identified as Russian financier Andrei Vavilov, is asking for the return of his US$10.7 million deposit and for an additional US$30 million in damages. “This is a classic bait-and-switch,” the buyer’s attorney said on Monday.
■UNITED STATES
NYC hotlines accept photos
Tipsters to New York City’s crime and complaints hotlines can now send photos and video from computers and cellphones, officials said on Tuesday. It’s believed to be the first US city that can accept images for those services. Callers to the city’s hot lines will now be able to send in photos and video to report crimes and complain about quality-of-life problems such as uncollected garbage. By next year, photos sent by bystanders will be made available to patrol cars, and pictures could even be used as evidence in prosecutions, officials said. “This technology should put a scare into every would-be criminal, because the chances of getting caught in the act is now better than ever,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
■BRAZIL
Blacks, women earn less
Blacks earn almost half as much as their white counterparts, a government study released on Tuesday found. Blacks also have fewer educational opportunities, and women, regardless of color, earn two-thirds of what men bring in, according to the three-year study released by the country’s Economic Research Institute (IPEA) and the UN Development Fund for Women. Nearly 50 percent of the nation’s 190 million citizens identify themselves as black — making it the world’s most populous black nation after from Nigeria. Equality has not kept pace with the country’s economic expansion in the last decade because public policies have focused on increasing income in general and not by race or gender, said Jorge Abrahao, lead researcher on the study for IPEA. The study found that in 2006, blacks earned on average 502 reals (US$287) a month, as compared to 987 reals for whites. Women took in less money than men regardless of race: In 2006, men earned on average 886 reals a month, while the monthly salary of women was 577 reals.
■MEXICO
US urged to release aid
The government on Tuesday urged the US to rapidly release a US$400 million package of anti-drug crime assistance approved by the US Congress in June. Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa said Mexico needed its aid from the total US$1.6 billion “Merida Initiative,” also destined for Central America and the Caribbean, “as soon as possible.” Drug-related violence has escalated this year, especially in the north, with around 3,000 deaths so far — more than all of last year —- and a string of gruesome beheadings. The Merida Initiative includes training, planes and helicopters as well as other equipment to help fight crime. “We need to be able to count on the equipment as soon as possible,” Espinosa said, underlining that it was not financial aid.
ECONOMIC WORRIES: The ruling PAP faces voters amid concerns that the city-state faces the possibility of a recession and job losses amid Washington’s tariffs Singapore yesterday finalized contestants for its general election on Saturday next week, with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) fielding 32 new candidates in the biggest refresh of the party that has ruled the city-state since independence in 1965. The move follows a pledge by Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財), who took office last year and assumed the PAP leadership, to “bring in new blood, new ideas and new energy” to steer the country of 6 million people. His latest shake-up beats that of predecessors Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) and Goh Chok Tong (吳作棟), who replaced 24 and 11 politicians respectively
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
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