VIETNAM
International airport opens
A new international airport opened in the southern Mekong Delta, state media said yesterday. The US$150 million Can Tho International Airport, built on 20,750m2 of land, will process up to 5 million passengers a year, Vietnam News Agency reported. “The airport provides a big opportunity for Can Tho city in particular, and the southwestern area in general, to make fast and sustainable development and helps facilitate air travel in the region,” Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said at the inauguration on Saturday. The airport is expected to be a significant boost to the Mekong Delta’s economy, as well as improving defense, security and international integration, the agency said.
HONG KONG
Szeto Wah, 79, dies
Veteran democracy activist Szeto Wah (司徒華), a vocal supporter of the 1989 Tiananmen Square student protests, has died of lung cancer. He was 79. Hong Kong opposition legislator Lee Cheuk-yan (李卓人) said Szeto passed away shortly after noon yesterday. Szeto was diagnosed with lung cancer about a year ago and had been hospitalized in recent months. Trained as a teacher, Szeto started his political career organizing teachers, building Hong Kong’s Professional Teachers’ Union into one of the territory’s most powerful unions. However, he is best known as a democracy advocate, setting up an activist group that backed the Tiananmen demonstrations.
JAPAN
Emperor wishes for peace
Emperor Akihito appeared before tens of thousands of people at the imperial palace yesterday, calling for world peace and wishing them a happy New Year. “I wish that this year will be a good year, even slightly, for each of you,” he said in a televised address from a glass-covered balcony, as he was joined by other members of the royal family. “At the start of this year, I wish for peace and tranquillity of the world and happiness of the people,” the 77-year-old monarch said, as thousands of people waved small flags, with many people shouting “banzai [live long]”.
ROMANIA
Law recognizes witchcraft
Labor laws were changed to officially recognize witchcraft as a profession, prompting one self-described witch to threaten retaliation. The move, which went into effect on Saturday, is part of the government’s drive to crack down on widespread tax evasion in a country that is in recession. In addition to witches, astrologists, embalmers, valets and driving instructors are now considered by labor law to be real working jobs, making it harder for them to avoid income tax. For months the measure had been debated, protested by witches and mocked by the media. On Saturday, a witch called Bratara told Realitate.net, the Web site of a top TV station, that she plans to cast a spell using black pepper and yeast to create discord in the government.
WEST BANK
Man killed at checkpoint
Palestinian security officials say a Palestinian man was shot and killed after trying to attack Israeli troops at a checkpoint. Security officials say the man was a worker in his 20s, who was blocked by troops from passing through a checkpoint in the Jordan Valley. They say he tried to attack troops with a bottle and then was shot. The incident happened early yesterday. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. The Palestinian officials spoke on condition of anonymity because no formal announcement had been released.
UNITED STATES
Rare ‘panda cow’ born
A rare miniature cow with markings similar to a panda bear was born on a farm in Campion in northern Colorado. The so-called “panda cow” born in Larimer County is thought to be one of only about 24 in the world. The (Loveland) Reporter-Herald reported that the male calf named Ben was born on Friday morning. His mother is a Lowline Angus cow. Farmer Chris Jessen raises miniature cattle and also owns a miniature kangaroo on his hobby farm. The miniature panda cow is the result of genetic manipulation. A white belt encircles the animal’s midsection, and the cow has a white face with black ovals around the eyes, giving it a panda-like appearance. The mini-cattle are bred solely as pets. Jessen says panda calves can sell for US$30,000.
UNITED STATES
Dead birds fall from sky
Wildlife officials are trying to determine what caused more than 1,000 black birds to die and fall from the sky over Beebe, Arkansas. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said on Saturday that it began receiving reports about the dead birds at about 11:30pm the previous night. The birds fell over a 2km area and an aerial survey indicated that no other dead birds were found outside of that area. Commission ornithologist Karen Rowe said the birds showed physical trauma, and she speculated that “the flock could have been hit by lightning or high-altitude hail.” The commission said that New Year’s Eve revelers shooting off fireworks in the area could have startled the birds from their roost and caused them to die from stress.
ARGENTINA
Big quake hits sparse area
A strong magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit a sparsely populated region of the north early on Saturday, the US government and Argentine officials said. The epicenter of the tremor, which occurred at 6:56am, was located 160km northeast of the city of Santiago del Estero, according to the US Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage and the quake occurred at a depth of 583.6km. Because the earthquake was so deep below the earth’s surface, it only registered at a magnitude of about 2.0 to 3.0, according to seismologist Marcelo Pena from the national earthquake institute Inpres.
UNITED STATES
Cubans found stranded
Authorities say about 20 Cubans found living on an offshore island along the Florida Keys have been detained and some were receiving medical treatment. The Monroe County Sheriff’s office said in a statement on Saturday that the Cubans might have been on the island for several days. Sheriff’s spokeswoman Becky Herrin did not know their legal status or how they arrived on the island. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission called police and medical units to a boat ramp on Big Coppitt Key, about 16km northeast of Key West, at about 4pm local time on Saturday. The sheriff’s office said eight of the Cubans were taken to Lower Keys Medical Center on Stock Island for treatment of minor ailments.
An endangered baby pygmy hippopotamus that shot to social media stardom in Thailand has become a lucrative source of income for her home zoo, quadrupling its ticket sales, the institution said Thursday. Moo Deng, whose name in Thai means “bouncy pork,” has drawn tens of thousands of visitors to Khao Kheow Open Zoo this month. The two-month-old pygmy hippo went viral on TikTok and Instagram for her cheeky antics, inspiring merchandise, memes and even craft tutorials on how to make crocheted or cake-based Moo Dengs at home. A zoo spokesperson said that ticket sales from the start of September to Wednesday reached almost
‘BARBAROUS ACTS’: The captain of the fishing vessel said that people in checkered clothes beat them with iron bars and that he fell unconscious for about an hour Ten Vietnamese fishers were violently robbed in the South China Sea, state media reported yesterday, with an official saying the attackers came from Chinese-flagged vessels. The men were reportedly beaten with iron bars and robbed of thousands of dollars of fish and equipment on Sunday off the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), which Taiwan claims, as do Vietnam, China, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines. Vietnamese media did not identify the nationalities of the attackers, but Phung Ba Vuong, an official in central Quang Ngai province, told reporters: “They were Chinese, [the boats had] Chinese flags.” Four of the 10-man Vietnamese crew were rushed
CHINESE ICBM: The missile landed near the EEZ of French Polynesia, much to the surprise and concern of the president, who sent a letter of protest to Beijing Fijian President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere called for “respect for our region” and a stop to missile tests in the Pacific Ocean, after China launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). In a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Katonivere recalled the Pacific Ocean’s history as a nuclear weapons testing ground, and noted Wednesday’s rare launch by China of an ICBM. “There was a unilateral test firing of a ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean. We urge respect for our region and call for cessation of such action,” he said. The ICBM, carrying a dummy warhead, was launched by the
As violence between Israel and Hezbollah escalates, Iran is walking a tightrope by supporting Hezbollah without being dragged into a full-blown conflict and playing into its enemy’s hands. With a focus on easing its isolation and reviving its battered economy, Iran is aware that war could complicate efforts to secure relief from crippling sanctions. Cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah, sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year, has intensified, especially after last week’s sabotage on Hezbollah’s communications that killed 39 people. Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon followed, killing hundreds. Hezbollah retaliated with rocket barrages. Despite the surge in
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