VIETNAM
Islands dispute continues
Hanoi has accused Beijing of violating its sovereignty with a scientific survey in waters around two disputed island chains in the South China Sea, the foreign ministry said. It called on China to “immediately cease and refrain” from further such acts. Tensions are already running high between the neighbors over claims to the potentially oil-rich Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. The statement yesterday referred to a report carried by China’s Xinhua news agency that said a research vessel, Tan Bao Hao, had conducted a scientific survey in the sea between the two island groups. “The Vietnamese foreign ministry’s representatives met the Chinese side and stated Vietnam’s points of view, lodging Vietnam’s protest against China’s acts, which violate the sovereignty and jurisdictional rights of Vietnam,” ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga said.
AUSTRALIA
Wong, partner having baby
Finance Minister Penny Wong (黃英賢) yesterday announced her female partner was expecting their first child, sparking renewed debate on the country’s ban on gay marriage. Wong said her long-term partner, Sophie Allouache, was pregnant, in a statement that also thanked the child’s biological father “for giving us the opportunity to raise a child together.” Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she was pleased with the news, but remained steadfast in her opposition to gay marriage. “Penny Wong is a colleague of mine, she’s also a very long-term friend, so I’m very pleased for Penny and her partner, Sophie, as they look forward to a new baby and the next phase of their lives,” Gillard told reporters. “Clearly there are strong views about same-sex marriage in the community. I’ve made my views clear.”
NEW ZEALAND
Abuse, work hours linked
Long working hours can more than triple the risk of alcohol abuse and addiction, an Otago University research has found. The study of more than 1,000 people aged 25 to 30 found a statistically significant link between the amount of hours worked and alcohol abuse. “Individuals working 50 or more hours per week had rates of alcohol-related problems that were 1.8 to 3.3 times higher than those for individuals who were not employed,” study leader Sheree Gibb said. The research, to be published in the British peer-reviewed journal Addiction, found the figures were similar for males and females. Gibb said increased alcohol abuse among those who worked long hours might be an attempt to reduce stress associated with their jobs. She also suggested that social contact with workmates might make people more likely to abuse alcohol.
MALAYSIA
Jilted groom files suit
A man is suing his former fiancee for more than US$360,000 for leaving him just six hours before their wedding. Lawyer Latifah Ariffin said 32-year-old Masran Abdul Rahman and his family were distressed and deeply embarrassed when Norzuliyana Mat Hassan called off the June wedding at the last minute. Latifah said Masran had invited 1,200 guests to the reception and was seeking compensation for damages and defamation from Norzuliyana and her father. The suit was filed on Monday in a court in northeast Kelantan state. Latifah said yesterday that Norzuliyana did not give any reason for backing out of the arranged marriage. Norzuliyana could not immediately be reached for comment.
UNITED STATES
Ejaculator to pay victim
A man convicted of ejaculating into a coworker’s water bottle has been ordered to pay the woman more than US$27,000. The Los Angeles Times said a judge on Monday ordered Michael Kevin Lallana to pay the woman for loss of wages, therapy and medical expenses. Lallana was convicted earlier this year of two misdemeanor counts of battery. Prosecutors said Lallana deposited his semen twice last year in the water bottle of a coworker in Newport Beach, California. The woman drank from the bottle both times, throwing the first one away after detecting a foul taste. The second time she sent the bottle to a lab for testing. Lallana was arrested in July last year and his DNA was later matched to the water bottle.
UNITED STATES
Polygamist case closed
Prosecutors seeking life in prison for convicted polygamist leader Warren Jeffs closed their case with a final barrage of graphic audiotapes, records of 24 alleged underage brides and writings that ordered followers to “fight to the death” when police eventually came for him. The same jury that convicted Jeffs last week of sexually assaulting two of his child “brides” could now hand down their punishment as early as yesterday. Even in prison, he could continue to lead the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Among the final pieces of evidence was an audiotape of Jeffs having sex and one of him telling five girls to “set aside all your inhibitions,” as he gives his child brides instructions on how to please him sexually. Jeffs, 55, is considered God’s spokesman on Earth and a prophet among his 10,000 followers.
UNITED STATES
‘Denver Mountain’ hits snag
A movement to name a Colorado mountain peak after the late John Denver has hit a snag. The effort has gained momentum in recent weeks as thousands of people signed a petition to recognize the singer with a mountain near where he wrote his hit Rocky Mountain High. Denver is a revered figure in Colorado — so much that it made Rocky Mountain High an official state song. The peak in question is on Mount Sopris. It’s also in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area, which poses a problem for the proposal, the Board on Geographic Names told the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. The board’s executive secretary, Lou Yost, said renaming the peak could be forbidden under a federal wilderness law. He said that based on the board’s interpretation of the Wilderness Act of 1964, applying any more new names to features in wilderness areas detracts from the wilderness experience. Exceptions could be made for safety or educational purposes, he added.
UNITED STATES
Curfew for teens in Philly
Philadelphia on Monday announced a nighttime curfew for minors in its historic downtown in an attempt to stop flash mob invasions by rampaging teenagers. The measure was the latest effort to secure the city. Starting on Friday, anyone under 18 will be subjected to the 9pm curfew on Friday and Saturday nights. Teens caught violating the curfew could be fined US$100 to US$300, while parents will get a warning for the first violation and face up to US$500 in fines for subsequent violations. “Let this be a message to any others who think that participating in flash mobs is acceptable or fun — don’t do it,” District Attorney Seth Williams said. “We will apprehend you, prosecute you and send you away. You will not damage the reputation of our great city.”
Thousands gathered across New Zealand yesterday to celebrate the signing of the country’s founding document and some called for an end to government policies that critics say erode the rights promised to the indigenous Maori population. As the sun rose on the dawn service at Waitangi where the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed between the British Crown and Maori chiefs in 1840, some community leaders called on the government to honor promises made 185 years ago. The call was repeated at peaceful rallies that drew several hundred people later in the day. “This government is attacking tangata whenua [indigenous people] on all
The administration of US President Donald Trump has appointed to serve as the top public diplomacy official a former speech writer for Trump with a history of doubts over US foreign policy toward Taiwan and inflammatory comments on women and minorities, at one point saying that "competent white men must be in charge." Darren Beattie has been named the acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, a senior US Department of State official said, a role that determines the tone of the US' public messaging in the world. Beattie requires US Senate confirmation to serve on a permanent basis. "Thanks to
UNDAUNTED: Panama would not renew an agreement to participate in Beijing’s Belt and Road project, its president said, proposing technical-level talks with the US US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday threatened action against Panama without immediate changes to reduce Chinese influence on the canal, but the country’s leader insisted he was not afraid of a US invasion and offered talks. On his first trip overseas as the top US diplomat, Rubio took a guided tour of the canal, accompanied by its Panamanian administrator as a South Korean-affiliated oil tanker and Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship passed through the vital link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. However, Rubio was said to have had a firmer message in private, telling Panama that US President Donald Trump
RIGHTS FEARS: A protester said Beijing would use the embassy to catch and send Hong Kongers to China, while a lawmaker said Chinese agents had threatened Britons Hundreds of demonstrators on Saturday protested at a site earmarked for Beijing’s controversial new embassy in London over human rights and security concerns. The new embassy — if approved by the British government — would be the “biggest Chinese embassy in Europe,” one lawmaker said earlier. Protester Iona Boswell, a 40-year-old social worker, said there was “no need for a mega embassy here” and that she believed it would be used to facilitate the “harassment of dissidents.” China has for several years been trying to relocate its embassy, currently in the British capital’s upmarket Marylebone district, to the sprawling historic site in the