AFGHANISTAN
Partial results suggest runoff
Former minister of foreign affairs Abdullah Abdullah’s lead increased slightly in the partial results for the presidential election released on Sunday, but he and rival Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, a former finance minister and World Bank official, still seem to be heading for a runoff next month. The winner will replace President Hamid Karzai and will oversee a tumultuous period as the US and NATO are expected to withdraw most of their troops from the country by the end of the year. The latest numbers show Abdullah with 44 percent of the votes tallied so far and Ahmadzai with 33.2 percent. Both Abdullah and Ahmadzai have promised a fresh start with the West amid deteriorating ties and vowed to move ahead with a security pact with the US that Karzai has refused to sign. The partial results represent about half of the estimated 7 million ballots cast in the April 5 poll, with the final count due by May 14.
CHINA
Online porn purge continues
The government has shut down 110 Web sites carrying pornography, canceled more than 3,300 “obscene” accounts on social media sites and deleted 200,000 items deemed pornographic since January in a renewed effort to clean up the Internet, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. The “Cleaning the Web 2014” campaign was launched in response to the spread of online pornography despite repeated bans, according to a circular issued by the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications. Pornography is illegal in the country, but some critics fear the crackdown on material deemed obscene is the government’s latest attempt to tighten its grip on the Web and will be used in broader censorship. The campaign is set to last until November.
JAPAN
Scientist invents digital eyes
For those who cannot be bothered to show what they are thinking, scientist Hirotaka Osawa has the answer: “AgencyGlass,” a pair of digital eyes that can express delight, anger or even feign boredom. “I wanted to build a system that is capable of carrying out social behaviors for humans,” Osawa told reporters. Just as robots can reduce the burden of physical labor, the AgencyGlass — which looks like two small TV screens set in glasses frames — aims to cut down its user’s emotional demands by carrying out their eye movements for them. The two screens are connected to motion sensors and an external camera, showing a pair of eyeballs that can appear to be making eye contact while the wearer is looking away. The wearer has to choose their emotion in advance and switch to that mode before putting the glasses on. Osawa, of Tsukuba University, said possible applications include for flight attendants dealing with irritating passengers. “As the service sector grows and becomes more sophisticated, it becomes increasingly important that we behave by showing understanding to others,” he said. “That requires us to behave differently from our true feelings.” Such “emotional labor” can lead some to develop emotional illnesses, Osawa said, adding that his technology could help them.
MALAYSIA
Man dies after bus falls 10m
A bus plunged into a ravine in Pahang State, killing a British man and injuring 40 others, mostly foreigners, police said yesterday. The bus bound for Singapore fell into the 10m-deep ravine on Sunday, district police chief Yahaya Othman said. A British man, 32, died of head injuries at the scene, he said. The other 37 passengers were hospitalized, along with two Malaysian drivers and a tour guide.
UNITES STATES
Car slams into church
A car on Sunday slammed into a packed Florida church, just as its annual Easter concert was about to begin, barreling through its brick outer wall and several rows of pews and injuring about 20 people, authorities said. The car struck the Second Haitian Baptist Church when about 200 people were inside, Fort Myers police Lieutenant Victor Medico said. When officers arrived, church members were using car jacks to lift the vehicle off from people who were trapped beneath the vehicle, the (Fort Myers) News-Press reported. “Everybody was sitting and the service started and then, bing, the car came in,” said Jean Corjeles, who was in the church when the crash happened. Medico said the driver, a young Haitian woman, told investigators she was looking for a parking spot when the car malfunctioned and it drove “straight into the building,” adding that she said the car’s brakes malfunctioned. Lee Memorial health System spokeswoman Mary Biggs said 18 people were taken to Lee County hospitals, including four trauma patients. One of those four was later discharged.
CUBA
Chinese minister visits
Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) was in Havana on Sunday, the first stop on a tour of four Latin American countries. The purpose of the visit was to pave the way for a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) later this year. China is Cuba’s No. 2 economic partner after Venezuela. Beijing is also a critical source of financing for the Americas’ only communist-run nation, which is cash-strapped and cannot get financing from most lenders. Wang met with President Raul Castro in what official media described as a “brotherly exchange that underscored how excellent their bilateral ties are, and that they will continue to improve with an eye toward greater development.” The top Chinese diplomat was due to head to Caracas on Sunday on his second regional stop.
FINLAND
Parachutists die in crash
Officials said eight people died when a small plane carrying parachutists crashed to the ground and caught fire. Detective Superintendent Petri Kangas said three people survived the accident on Sunday after they parachuted from the aircraft above Jamijarvi airfield, about 70km east of Pori. Kangas said investigators did not know the cause of the accident, but that “apparently some parts fell off the plane before it crashed.” Police said the eight victims were found in the badly burned aircraft, a Comp Air 8 kit aircraft, popular among parachutists. Police said all 11 people on board were accounted for and that the three survivors were being treated for minor injuries.
UNITES STATES
Whedon bypasses industry
Joss Whedon is releasing a film he wrote and produced as a US$5 digital download, bypassing the normal channels of independent film distribution. In a video announcement on Sunday following the premiere of the supernatural romance In Your Eyes at the Tribeca Film Festival, Whedon said the film will be released immediately online via Vimeo On Demand and InYourEyesMovie.com. The film stars Zoe Kazan and Michael Stahl-David. The release will be the second film release for Whedon’s “micro studio” Bellwether Productions, following last year’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. He is now working on the Avengers sequel Age of Ultron, to be released next year.
Hundreds of protesters marched through the Mexican capital on Friday denouncing gentrification caused by foreigners, with some vandalizing businesses and shouting “gringos out!” The demonstration in the capital’s central area turned violent when hooded individuals smashed windows, damaged restaurant furniture and looted a clothing store. Mexico City Government Secretary Cesar Cravioto said 15 businesses and public facilities were damaged in what he called “xenophobic expressions” similar to what Mexican migrants have suffered in other countries. “We are a city of open arms... there are always ways to negotiate, to sit at the table,” Cravioto told Milenio television. Neighborhoods like Roma-Condesa
‘CONTINUE TO SERVE’: The 90-year-old Dalai Lama said he hoped to be able to continue serving ‘sentient beings and the Buddha Dharma’ for decades to come The Dalai Lama yesterday said he dreamed of living for decades more, as the Buddhist spiritual leader prayed with thousands of exiled Tibetans on the eve of his 90th birthday. Thumping drums and deep horns reverberated from the Indian hilltop temple, as a chanting chorus of red-robed monks and nuns offered long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Looking in good health, dressed in traditional maroon monk robes and a flowing yellow wrap, he led prayers — days after confirming that the 600-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution would continue after his death. Many exiled Tibetans
Dozens of residents have evacuated remote islands in southern Japan that have been shaken by nearly 1,600 earthquakes in recent weeks, the local mayor said yesterday. There has been no major physical damage on hardest-hit Akuseki island, even after a magnitude 5.1 quake that struck overnight, said Toshima Mayor Genichiro Kubo, who is based on another island. However, the almost nonstop jolts since June 21 have caused severe stress to area residents, many of whom have been deprived of sleep. Of the 89 residents of Akuseki, 44 had evacuated to the regional hub of Kagoshima by Sunday, while 15 others also left another
CEREMONY EXPECTED: Abdullah Ocalan said he believes in the power of politics and social peace, not weapons, and called on the group to put that into practice The jailed leader of a Kurdish militant group yesterday renewed a call for his fighters to lay down their arms, days before a symbolic disarmament ceremony is expected to take place as a first concrete step in a peace process with the Turkish state. In a seven-minute video message broadcast on pro-Kurdish Medya Haber’s YouTube channel, Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), said that the peace initiative had reached a stage that required practical steps. “It should be considered natural for you to publicly ensure the disarmament of the relevant groups in a way that addresses the expectations
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