CHINA
Hui Muslims, police clash
A crowd of Muslims fought with police who demolished a mosque in the Ningxia region, a police employee and a human rights group said yesterday. The violence erupted on Friday in Hexi after the mosque was declared an “illegal religious place” and about 1,000 officers arrived to demolish it, the Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said. It said 50 people were injured and more than 100 detained after several hundred members of the Muslim Hui minority tried to stop the demolition. It cited a villager as saying two people died, but said it could not confirm that. An employee who answered the phone at the town police station confirmed that officers had fought with protesters and said about 80 people were detained, but denied there were any deaths. Police demolished the mosque after the clash, said the employee, who refused to give her name.
MALDIVES
Spas not brothels: officials
Tourism officials yesterday denied that health spas at luxury holiday resorts operate as brothels after the facilities were shut down on government orders. Last week, the tourism ministry instructed resort hotels on the nation’s pristine coral islands to close all spas and health centers that offered beauty treatments and massages. The crackdown followed protests by the opposition Adhaalath party, a conservative religious movement, which claimed they were a front for prostitution. “Sex tourism definitely does not happen in the resorts,” Sim Ibrahim, the head of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry, said by telephone from Male. “The ban is very disruptive, not helpful for tourism and bad for our country’s image. We have asked for legal clarity to protect an industry that has been in operation for 40 years.” At least 100 spas and health centers were shut immediately after the government announcement, but Ibrahim said tourism was crucial for the national economy and that he hoped the ban would be overturned within days.
CHINA
Calm urged after H5N1 death
Health authorities in Shenzhen are urging residents not to panic after a man who contracted the bird flu virus died on the weekend, Xinhua news agency said yesterday. The man, surnamed Chen, died on Saturday. The Shenzhen Disease Control Center confirmed that Chen, a bus driver, had contracted H5N1 from poultry, but they were still trying to find out where he acquired the virus. Chen is the country’s first reported human case of the deadly disease in 18 months. “The virus cannot spread among people” and “there is no need for Shenzhen citizens to panic,” Xinhua said, citing a statement from the center. Chen, 39, had apparently had no direct contact with poultry in the month before he was taken ill, nor had he left the city, the department said.
NEW ZEALAND
Quake strikes Christchurch
The earthquake-devastated city of Christchurch was rattled yesterday by a magnitude 5.0 tremor, geologists said, although there were no immediate reports of damage. The quake struck at a relatively shallow depth of 19km, around 18km east of Christchurch at 5:45am, according to the US Geological Survey. Christchurch was battered by a powerful magnitude 6.3 quake in February last year that left 181 people dead and destroyed much of its center. The city has been hit by a series of strong aftershocks since causing fear among residents and further damage to property.
FRANCE
Ex-Iran leader burgled
The home of former Iranian president Abolhassan Bani Sadr near Paris was burgled overnight and cash was stolen, police and his daughter said on Sunday. Police were called to Bani Sadr’s Versailles home, which was empty at the time of the break-in early on New Year’s Day, police said. His daughter, Firouze Bani Sadr, said police protection for her father had been lifted years ago. Bani Sadr was president between February 1980 and June 1981 in the immediate aftermath of the revolution that overthrew the shah, before going into exile in Europe when he fell out with the new Islamic regime. “This break-in may have a criminal nature, but it can also be something else,” his daughter said. “One has the impression that the home is under surveillance, so they acted when there was nobody,” she said. Bani Sadr’s wife was attacked outside the house on Nov .26.
UNITED KINGDOM
Man charged over shooting
Police on Sunday charged a 20-year-old man with the murder of Indian student Anuj Bidve, who was shot in the head in an apparently unprovoked attack in Manchester, England. Kiaran Mark Stapleton had been charged over yesterday’s shooting of 23-year-old Bidve as he walked into the city center with friends, Greater Manchester Police announced in a televised statement. “This remains a complex investigation and the fact we have charged someone does not mean the investigation is complete,” Assistant Chief Constable Dawn Copley said. “Anuj’s family, who are still in India, have been made aware we have charged someone in relation to Anuj’s murder,” she added. Five people have been arrested in connection with the shooting. On Saturday, a 19-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder was bailed until the end of March, but on Sunday his bail was canceled. Three others, a 16-year-old boy and two 17-year-old boys, were earlier released on bail pending further inquiries.
EGYPT
Officials deny repression
The government on Sunday denied accusations from human rights groups that it was trying to smother some of the ruling military council’s most vocal opponents when it raided the offices of 17 non-governmental organizations last week. Angered by the swoops, Washington called on authorities to halt “harassment” of staff of the groups involved, which included the US-funded National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute. The US government also hinted it could review the US$1.3 billion in annual military aid to Cairo if the raids continued. The government ministers told a news conference the authorities had acted within the law as part of an investigation into illegal funding of political activities.
UNITED STATES
Same-sex union in Delaware
More than 400 people, including a senator, have witnessed the first same-sex civil union in Delaware. Lawyers Lisa Goodman and Drewry Fennell were joined in the New Year’s Day union by the Reverend Patricia Downing, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Wilmington. Seven other couples also obtained licenses on Sunday. Goodman and Fennell have been partners for 14 years. Goodman is a lawyer who led Equality Delaware’s fight for the civil union law. Fennell heads the state Criminal Justice Council and formerly led the American Civil Liberties Union’s Delaware chapter. Senator Chris Coons read the sermon and Lieutenant Governor Matt Denns read scripture.
UNITED STATES
Ranger killed in park
A federal ranger was shot dead in Mount Rainier National Park on Sunday, triggering a manhunt for the suspected killer and the closure of the park in Washington State, reports and officials said. The killer escaped on foot in the park and was carrying a long rifle, Pierce County detective Ed Troyer was cited by the Seattle Times newspaper as saying. The shooting occurred mid-morning on New Year’s Day in the park, which is popular with hikers and campers, the paper said, quoting a witness as saying he heard five shots during the incident near Paradise ranger station. The ranger who died was a 34-year-old female federal law enforcement official, park spokesman Kevin Bacher told the paper. Calls to the park’s spokesman and Pierce County police were not immediately returned. An update on the park’s official Twitter feed said: “Sorry but the The Road to Paradise at Longmire has closed until further notice due to emergency operations.”
ARGENTINA
Governor killed at home
The country’s former minister of intelligence, who recently took up a post as a provincial governor, was killed in a New Year’s Day shooting at his country house in Patagonia, authorities said on Sunday. Rio Negro Governor Carlos Soria, 61, was just weeks into his job in the key oil-producing southern province when he was shot after a family argument at his farmhouse near the town of General Roca at about 5am, officials said. He was taken to a local hospital where he later died. Rio Negro Deputy Governor Alberto Weretilneck, who now becomes governor, told a radio interviewer the shooting appeared to be the result of a “domestic accident,” involving handling of a firearm, and said “it will be up to the justice system to determine what happened.” Weretilneck said Soria’s wife was the only other person at the house at the time of the shooting. Officials have ruled out suicide. Police said that one of the governor’s sons was at a smaller house on the same property with his wife at the time of the incident. Some local media reported that the governor’s wife fatally shot him in the face during an argument.
CUBA
Papal visit dates announced
The Roman Catholic Church has announced the dates and a partial itinerary for Pope Benedict XVI’s much--anticipated visit to the country. The church said in a statement on Sunday that the pontiff will be in the country from March 26 to March 28, following a visit to Mexico. Benedict will touch down in Santiago de Cuba, where he will be received personally by President Raul Castro. He will make a private trip the following day to the sanctuary of the country’s patron saint, the Virgin of Caridad del Cobre. He will later fly to Havana, where he is due to perform Mass at the sprawling Revolution Plaza on March 28 before departing early that afternoon.
UNITED STATES
Man charged over explosives
Authorities have charged a member of the military who was arrested after trying to go through a security checkpoint at a Texas airport with explosives in military-grade wrapping, the FBI said. Trey Scott Atwater, 30, was stopped at security at the Midland International Airport about 9am on Saturday. FBI spokesman Mike Martinez said Atwater was being held in jail and has been charged with trying to bring explosives onto an airplane. He will remain in custody at least until his arraignment today, given that the courts were closed yesterday for the holiday, Martinez said.
Australia has announced an agreement with the tiny Pacific nation Nauru enabling it to send hundreds of immigrants to the barren island. The deal affects more than 220 immigrants in Australia, including some convicted of serious crimes. Australian Minister of Home Affairs Tony Burke signed the memorandum of understanding on a visit to Nauru, the government said in a statement on Friday. “It contains undertakings for the proper treatment and long-term residence of people who have no legal right to stay in Australia, to be received in Nauru,” it said. “Australia will provide funding to underpin this arrangement and support Nauru’s long-term economic
‘NEO-NAZIS’: A minister described the rally as ‘spreading hate’ and ‘dividing our communities,’ adding that it had been organized and promoted by far-right groups Thousands of Australians joined anti-immigration rallies across the country yesterday that the center-left government condemned, saying they sought to spread hate and were linked to neo-Nazis. “March for Australia” rallies against immigration were held in Sydney, and other state capitals and regional centers, according to the group’s Web site. “Mass migration has torn at the bonds that held our communities together,” the Web site said. The group posted on X on Saturday that the rallies aimed to do “what the mainstream politicians never have the courage to do: demand an end to mass immigration.” The group also said it was concerned about culture,
ANGER: Unrest worsened after a taxi driver was killed by a police vehicle on Thursday, as protesters set alight government buildings across the nation Protests worsened overnight across major cities of Indonesia, far beyond the capital, Jakarta, as demonstrators defied Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s call for calm. The most serious unrest was seen in the eastern city of Makassar, while protests also unfolded in Bandung, Surabaya, Solo and Yogyakarta. By yesterday morning, crowds had dispersed in Jakarta. Troops patrolled the streets with tactical vehicles and helped civilians clear trash, although smoke was still rising in various protest sites. Three people died and five were injured in Makassar when protesters set fire to the regional parliament building during a plenary session on Friday evening, according to
STILL AFLOAT: Satellite images show that a Chinese ship damaged in a collision earlier this month was under repair on Hainan, but Beijing has not commented on the incident Australia, Canada and the Philippines on Wednesday deployed three warships and aircraft for drills against simulated aerial threats off a disputed South China Sea shoal where Chinese forces have used risky maneuvers to try to drive away Manila’s aircraft and ships. The Philippine military said the naval drills east of Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) were concluded safely, and it did not mention any encounter with China’s coast guard, navy or suspected militia ships, which have been closely guarding the uninhabited fishing atoll off northwestern Philippines for years. Chinese officials did not immediately issue any comment on the naval drills, but they
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