■MYANMAR
Landslides kill at least 46
Heavy rain and landslides have killed at least 46 people near the border with flood-hit Bangladesh, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said yesterday. Bridges, homes and other buildings were damaged after record rainfall of more than 33cm on Wednesday in parts of Rakhine State, the paper said. Some areas have seen floods as high as 60cm after several days of torrential rain, the report said. A Red Cross official in Rakhine State said he feared the death toll would rise. Across the border in southeastern Bangladesh, at least 55 people have been killed and thousands more left homeless after the heaviest rain in decades triggered flash floods and landslides, police said. Landslides caused by heavy rains are a common peril in Myanmar and in Bangladesh’s southeastern hill districts because of deforestation.
■CHINA
Storms halt Beijing flights
Hundreds of flights in and out of Beijing were cancelled or delayed yesterday as thunderstorms wreaked havoc across the city, airport authorities said. Strong downpours, lightning storms and gusting winds hit the city as the meteorological bureau issued its third storm alert in 24 hours early yesterday. Capital Airport said the bad weather forced the cancellation of 96 flights and delayed another 299. Traffic was also affected by the summer storms, with huge jams on Beijing highways as commuters headed back to work after three days’ holiday.
■AUSTRALIA
Space capsule heads home
A space capsule thought to contain the first fragments from a moving asteroid began its journey to Japan yesterday. The Frisbee-sized capsule, which parachuted into the Australian Outback after a seven-year space odyssey, was loaded onto a plane and is due back in Japan today. Scientists hope the fragments will yield vital clues about the solar system. However, the probe will remain sealed for several weeks as it undergoes rigorous tests, scientists said.
■JAPAN
Dolphin film to be streamed
An Internet service company will show The Cove free of charge today and invite public comment after theaters canceled screenings due to nationalist opposition to the film’s depiction of a dolphin hunt. Niwango, which shows streaming video on the Internet, said yesterday it’s inviting people to write opinions via Twitter and e-mail for an open exchange of views on the Oscar-winning documentary that shows the annual hunt in Taiji village. About 20 theaters in Japan had planned to show the film but canceled, one by one, after protesters made threatening phone calls and screamed slogans outside the distributor’s offices.
■JAPAN
Chemical tanker sinks
A chemical tanker sank in an overnight collision with a cargo ship off Japan, but no one was injured and there was no major environmental damage, the Coast Guard said yesterday. The Keiwa-maru collided with cargo ship Hamako-maru 15 around 10:15pm on Wednesday in the inland sea between the main islands of Honshu and Shikoku. The five crewmembers of the Keiwa-maru escaped to the cargo ship before their vessel sank, the Coast Guard said. About 350m³ of magnesium hydroxide from the Keiwa-maru was dumped into the sea but the substance should not significantly harm the environment, officials said. The substance is used as a food additive, a fertilizer, and in medicines and construction.
■RUSSIA
Police seize pamphlets
Police in Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s hometown seized pamphlets criticizing Putin on the eve of a high-profile business forum showcasing Russia, opposition leaders said on Wednesday. St Petersburg police confiscated 100,000 copies of a new report on Putin’s decade in power co-authored by Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister, said Olga Kurnosova, head of the local branch of the opposition United Civil Front. Kurnosova and Nemtsov, a prominent politician and a vocal Putin critic, contended police were trying to keep the 45-page report from visitors to the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. “The police had the task of preventing the distribution of the report during the forum among its participants and citizens,” Kurnosova said. St Petersburg police declined to comment. Police held the driver of the vehicle that was delivering the pamphlets for several hours, Kurnosova said.
■LEBANON
Hezbollah pans TV decision
Hezbollah on Wednesday denounced a decision by French authorities to take Hamas-run al-Aqsa TV off the air, saying the order was unfair and a violation of freedom of expression. “Hezbollah strongly condemns the decision taken by French authorities to stop broadcasts of al-Aqsa satellite television, considering it unfair and a contradiction of the principles of freedom and justice which France is proud of,” the Shiite movement said in a statement. This decision “totally contradicts freedom of expression and clearly reveals the policy of double-standards which France is using,” the statement added. Hezbollah urged France to go back on its decision. On Tuesday, the deputy head of the station said it had been informed that Eutelsat would stop carrying the channel within two days.
■SPAIN
Organizations win award
Two organizations that have worked together to promote a global strategy for ethical organ donations were awarded Spain’s Prince of Asturias award for international cooperation on Wednesday. The International Transplantation Society and Spain’s National Transplant Organization received the award “for their crucial work in establishing the medical and ethical principles that govern clinical care and scientific research on organ transplantation,” the Prince of Asturias Foundation said on its Web site. The awards are among Spain’s most prestigious and are presented by Prince Felipe each fall in Oviedo.
■IRAN
UK ambassador summoned
The UK ambassador was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday over allegations of British ties to terrorist activities in the country, the Foreign office said. The semi-official Mehr news agency said on Wednesday that the summons came following the arrest of militants seeking to carry out terrorist attacks. The Iranian government was demanding a serious investigation by the UK government into any links with the militant group Mujahedeen-e Khalq Organization.
■GERMANY
Trains collide, 16 injured
Two trains collided late on Wednesday in Hannover, leaving 16 injured, police said. A freight train crashed with a regional passenger train carrying 66 people at about 11:30pm near the city of Peine, in Lower Saxony State, Hannover police spokesman Uwe Borchers said. The passenger train’s conductor and seven others suffered serious injuries and were taken to the hospital.
■CANADA
Aircraft slides off runway
A United Airlines jet operated under the banner United Express slid off the runway in heavy rain at the Ottawa airport, injuring the pilot, officials said on Wednesday. “At 2:30pm local time, we were notified that an Embraer aircraft slid off the runway,” Ottawa airport authority spokeswoman Krista Kealey said. Ottawa police said “preliminary information indicates that the aircraft failed to negotiate the runway and crashed beyond the tarmac threshold.” The flight with 33 passengers and three crew onboard originated from Dulles airport in Washington. “None of the passengers were seriously hurt, but the pilot suffered minor injuries, and is being transferred to hospital,” Kealey said. Paramedics and fire crews were at the scene. An investigation into the accident would be conducted, Kealey said
■VENEZUELA
Chavez demands extradition
President Hugo Chavez is renewing his calls for the US to hand over an anti-Castro Cuban militant accused of planning the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner. Chavez says that for five years he has urged the US to extradite Luis Posada Carriles, a former CIA operative wanted for allegedly plotting the attack on the Cuban plane that killed 73 people. Chavez addressed President Barack Obama in a speech on Wednesday, saying: “Send us Posada Carriles. Do justice.” Chavez referred to Posada as “the biggest terrorist of this continent.” Posada denies the accusations. He is scheduled for trial in January in a perjury case, accused of lying to US authorities about his involvement in 1997 bombings in Cuba that killed an Italian tourist.
■CANADA
Military drug ring uncovered
Military police said on Wednesday that they had arrested and charged a dozen soldiers with operating what appears to have been a narcotics distribution ring from Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta. One corporal and 11 privates posted at the base were charged with 70 counts of production, possession and distribution of narcotics, authorities told a nationally televised press conference. The accused include three privates recently discharged from the military. The group manufactured and distributed dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a type of hallucinogenic drug, as well as ecstasy, cannabis, cocaine and prescription drugs, a statement said. Health Canada tests confirmed samples seized from a laboratory were illicit drugs. The case has been referred to the director of military prosecutions to decide whether to proceed with a court-martial, an official said.
■CANADA
Ex-judge charged with murder
A retired Quebec judge has been arrested and charged with murder in the death of his wife, who was partially paralyzed after suffering a stroke, officials said on Wednesday. Judge Jacques Delisle sat on the Quebec appeal’s court bench until 2000. Now 75 years old, he was arrested and charged on Tuesday with murder and possession of an illegal weapon, said Martine Berube, spokeswoman for the director of prosecutions. She did not specify what type of weapon was used in the killing. The wife’s death at the age of 71 on Nov. 12 last year had originally been declared a suicide. The case is believed to be the first in Canadian history in which a senior magistrate has been accused of a serious crime such as murder. A former president of the Quebec defense attorneys association, Renald Beaudry, told public broadcaster Radio-Canada the murder could be found to be an act of compassion.
Nauru has started selling passports to fund climate action, but is so far struggling to attract new citizens to the low-lying, largely barren island in the Pacific Ocean. Nauru, one of the world’s smallest nations, has a novel plan to fund its fight against climate change by selling so-called “Golden Passports.” Selling for US$105,000 each, Nauru plans to drum up more than US$5 million in the first year of the “climate resilience citizenship” program. Almost six months after the scheme opened in February, Nauru has so far approved just six applications — covering two families and four individuals. Despite the slow start —
MOGAMI-CLASS FRIGATES: The deal is a ‘big step toward elevating national security cooperation with Australia, which is our special strategic partner,’ a Japanese official said Australia is to upgrade its navy with 11 Mogami-class frigates built by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles said yesterday. Billed as Japan’s biggest defense export deal since World War II, Australia is to pay US$6 billion over the next 10 years to acquire the fleet of stealth frigates. Australia is in the midst of a major military restructure, bolstering its navy with long-range firepower in an effort to deter China. It is striving to expand its fleet of major warships from 11 to 26 over the next decade. “This is clearly the biggest defense-industry agreement that has ever
DEADLY TASTE TEST: Erin Patterson tried to kill her estranged husband three times, police said in one of the major claims not heard during her initial trial Australia’s recently convicted mushroom murderer also tried to poison her husband with bolognese pasta and chicken korma curry, according to testimony aired yesterday after a suppression order lapsed. Home cook Erin Patterson was found guilty last month of murdering her husband’s parents and elderly aunt in 2023, lacing their beef Wellington lunch with lethal death cap mushrooms. A series of potentially damning allegations about Patterson’s behavior in the lead-up to the meal were withheld from the jury to give the mother-of-two a fair trial. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale yesterday rejected an application to keep these allegations secret. Patterson tried to kill her
MILITARY’S MAN: Myint Swe was diagnosed with neurological disorders and peripheral neuropathy disease, and had authorized another to perform his duties Myint Swe, who became Myanmar’s acting president under controversial circumstances after the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi more than four years ago, died yesterday, the military said. He was 74. He died at a military hospital in the capital, Naypyidaw, in the morning, Myanmar’s military information office said in a statement. Myint Swe’s death came more than a year after he stopped carrying out his presidential duties after he was publicly reported to be ailing. His funeral is to be held at the state level, but the date had not been disclosed, a separate statement from the
RSS