CHINA
Ticket scalpers arrested
Police have detained more than 600 people for using the Internet to scalp highly sought-after train tickets for the Lunar New Year holiday travel period, the China Daily said yesterday. Ticket demand is high ahead of the celebrations, the year’s most important holiday, with migrant workers desperate to return to their hometowns lining for hours for a ticket. The 618 people were detained as part of a nationwide crackdown on online ticket reselling, the report said, citing the railways ministry.
INDIA
BJP’s nationalist plan foiled
The government foiled the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) plan on Monday to commemorate a holiday by raising the country’s flag in the heart of Kashmir, home to a separatist insurgency. BJP leaders flew to Jammu in Indian-controlled Kashmir, but were initially not even allowed to leave the airplane and were asked to return to New Delhi. After sitting on the tarmac for two hours, they eventually entered the terminal but will not be allowed to go anywhere else in the state. While the Indian flag flies over government buildings in Indian-controlled Kashmir, the BJP leaders had wanted to hoist the colors in a square in Srinagar that is the frequent site of anti-India protests.
NEPAL
Slap wins man praise
A man who slapped a politician in frustration at the lack of progress in the troubled country has sparked a popular Internet support campaign after striking a chord with fellow citizens. Devi Prasad Regmi, 55, hit the chairman of the Unified Marxist and Leninist party across the face at an event for new members last Thursday, later telling reporters he had been overcome by a sudden fit of anger. He accused politicians of “destroying the country.” A Web site set up in his name carries messages of support from hundreds of well-wishers.
AUSTRALIA
Navy report raises concern
Defence Minister Stephen Smith yesterday said a report into an alleged sex betting ring on a warship did not make “good reading” and raised issues about a “tribal culture” in the navy. Smith would not give details on the contents of the 400-page report on incidents involving HMAS Success in 2009, saying he would make most of it available to the public within weeks. The government opened the probe into the alleged “predatory culture” on the HMAS Success, where sailors are accused of maintaining a list known as The Ledger,which put dollar values on sexual conquests with female colleagues, in March last year.
LEBANON
Mikati named PM
Hezbollah-backed Najib Mikati was appointed prime minister designate yesterday, giving the militant Shiite group powerful political leverage. President Michel Sleiman asked the billionaire Sunni businessman to form a government amid a “day of rage” by fellow Sunnis across the country who blocked roads and burned tires in anger at his nomination. “I will cooperate fully with all Lebanese to form a new government that protects their unity and sovereignty,” said Mikati, who is close to Syria and is considered a moderate. His appointment has angered Sunnis, who see it as a bid by the Iran and Syria-backed Hezbollah to sideline outgoing prime minister Saad Hariri and impose its will. Rana Fatfat, a 35-year-old attorney, denounced “Hezbollah’s arrogance” toward the Sunni community.
UNITED KINGDOM
Rat spotted at PM’s office
The government said on Monday there were no plans to bring in a cat to sort out the rodent menace to Prime Minister David Cameron’s office. A rat was spotted in two TV news bulletins outside the famous black door to 10 Downing Street. There has been no Downing Street cat since Sybil, who moved in with former chancellor of the exchequer Alistair Darling in 2007, but only stayed six months. Her predecessor was the legendary Humphrey, a stray who took up residence under former prime minister Margaret Thatcher and outstayed her successor John Major. Tony Blair sent Humphrey into retirement in 1997.
UNITED KINGDOM
‘Austerity Mum’ a fake
The Web site of a blogger calling herself “Austerity Mum” about coping in the financial downturn was offline on Monday after she was exposed as being the wife of a top London executive. The site charting the travails of a housewife’s attempts to rein in spending were exposed as being written by Lisa Unwin, the wife of Ashley Unwin, the head of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ consulting business. “Austere times call for drastic measures,” she said, meaning “no new clothes for me, no new jewelery, shoes, facials — waxing of course is ring-fenced.”
UNITED STATES
Social media key to sex: poll
Nearly four out of five women and three of five men say they believe texting, Facebook and other social networking tools cause new couples to jump into bed faster, a survey released on Monday showed. However, only 38 percent of women say they have actually slept with a date any sooner because of digital intimacy, according to the 1,200 women and men who participated in the third annual sex survey by Shape and Men’s Fitness magazines. Nearly 80 percent of women and 58 percent of men said social media tools leads to sex faster. Texting is the No. 1 way lovers stay in touch, with men texting 39 percent more often than phoning and women 150 percent more.
UNITED STATES
Parenthood group targeted
Planned Parenthood has told the FBI that several of its centers were visited recently by a man purporting to be a sex trafficker, but who may instead be part of an attempted ruse. Planned Parenthood says the man requested information about health services for under-age sex workers. Spokesman Stuart Schear says the organization had requested an FBI probe of the man’s claims. He said the man has links with Live Action, an anti-abortion group that conducted previous undercover projects to discredit Planned Parenthood.
CHILE
Pinera blasted for landing
President Sebastian Pinera was taking criticism on Monday after news footage showed him making an emergency landing on a highway in a helicopter he was piloting, after running short on gas. An amateur video aired on private Mega TV showed the Robinson R44 helicopter on a paved road on Saturday and the president good--naturedly explaining to residents of Cobquecura that he was almost out of fuel. Pinera has been blasted by opposition lawmakers for taking unnecessary risks, with politician Gabriel Asencio calling for an investigation into the incident. Another lawmaker, Camilo Escalona, said he did not think the president should be “playing at being a helicopter pilot.” Pinera has been a pilot for more than five years and puts in flying hours as president to keep up his license.
UNITED STATES
Man dies in tortilla mixer
A New York man died on Monday after falling into the tortilla-mixing machine at a factory. “At approximately 2:30am, police responded to a call of an unconscious male ... Upon arrival, police discovered a male Hispanic, 22 years old, who had fallen into a mixing machine,” a spokesman for the New York City Police Department told reporters. The New York Post quoted investigators saying the victim was sucked in while trying to retrieve something he’d dropped into the tortilla machine.
ARGENTINA
Woman survives jump
A woman on Monday threw herself from a restaurant on the 23rd floor of a B-uenos Aires hotel, only to miraculously survive when her fall was broken by a parked taxi, police and witnesses said. Photographs showed the 30-year-old woman bent into the buckled roof of the black-and-yellow taxi before she was rushed to hospital, where she had a lung, a kidney and her spleen removed, according to officials. Witnesses in the restaurant atop the Panamericano Hotel described how she had calmly ordered a coffee and left her purse behind before taking off her shoes to climb over a safety barrier and jumping.
PERU
Lima recognizes Palestine
The country has joined a growing number of South American countries in recognizing an independent and sovereign Palestinian state. However, the decision announced by Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde does not recognize Palestine’s borders pre--dating the Six-Day War of 1967, when Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza. Lima said the border issue must be worked out between Israelis and Palestinians. Garcia said on Monday that Lima also recognizes Israel’s indisputable right to exist without any threats to its people.
CHINA
No political motives: pianist
Pianist Lang Lang (郎朗) has denied any political motives behind his performance at a White House dinner for President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) after Web users hailed his choice of an “anti-US” song. The 28-year-old virtuoso played My Motherland at last Wednesday’s state dinner — which was the theme of a 1956 Chinese anti-US film set during the Korean War. “It was selected for no other reason but for the beauty of its melody,” he said on his Web site. In an interview on Monday with US National Public Radio, Lang said he was sad and disappointed by the reaction of his countrymen. “As a person, what I am trying to do, and what my mission is, is to make music ... Once people used it as a political issue, that made me very sad. I am a musician, not a politician.”
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
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
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
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,
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