CHINA
Landslide kills 19, injures 2
A landslide in the city of Yanan in Shaanxi Province buried a dormitory for highway construction workers as they slept inside, killing 19 and injuring two, Xinhua news agency said yesterday. The landslide crushed eight temporary dormitory rooms — nine people were killed on the site and 10 others died after unsuccessful attempts to save them, the agency reported.
AFGHANISTAN
Bomber kills police officer
A suicide attacker wearing a police uniform yesterday attacked a provincial police headquarters in Helmand Province, killing one officer and wounding four other people, an official said. The bombing is the latest by militants bent on weakening the Afghan security forces ahead of the withdrawal of most foreign troops at the end of this year. The unidentified attacker approached the police compound in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital, wearing a police uniform but was stopped by a guard at the entrance, Helmand provincial police spokeman Farid Ahmad Obaidi said. The bomber detonated his suicide vest, killing one nearby police officer and wounding three other officers and an army soldier, he said.
CAMEROON
Hostages released
Twenty-seven hostages seized this year by suspected militants from Boko Haram in Cameroon, including 10 Chinese workers, have been released, President Paul Biya’s administration said yesterday. The Chinese workers were seized in May near the town of Waza, 20km from the Nigerian border. Boko Haram is seeking to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria, so many Nigerians have fled to Cameroon to escape attacks by militants. In July, Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad and Niger agreed to form a 2,800-strong regional force to tackle Boko Haram militants. The others freed include the wife of deputy prime minister Amadou Ali, the administration said. Further details on the freed hostages and whether a ransom was paid remains unclear.
IRAN
Khamenei in good health
The official Web site of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says he went hiking in the mountains north of Tehran just one month after undergoing prostate surgery. The 75-year-old Khamenei, who is known to be fond of walks and hiking, was accompanied by his entourage on the hike early on Friday morning. His Web site says this was Khamenei’s first time hiking since the surgery. It quotes the top leader as saying the hike was arranged on the recommendations of his physicians as physical exercise is beneficial to the recovery process.
CHINA
Science professors charged
Authorities have arrested a leading scientist in transgenic biology on the charge of swindling state scientific research funds. The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology on Friday said that Li Ning (李寧), a professor at the Chinese University of Agriculture and member of the elite Chinese Academy of Engineering, was suspected of swindling state funds in his research project on the cultivation of new transgene biological species. His arrest came after national audits found seven professors from five universities obtained research funds of more than 25 million yuan (US$4.08 million) through false means. The ministry says two of them have been convicted and sentenced to prison.
UNITED STATES
Tsai admits N Korea sale
A Taiwanese businessman changed his plea on Friday to guilty of attempting to bypass US bans on supplying weapons machinery to North Korea, agreeing to cooperate with investigators in hopes of receiving a shorter prison term. Tsai Hsien-tai (蔡顯泰), 69, stood in a federal courtroom in Chicago with his legs shackled and spoke through a Chinese interpreter as he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate a law meant to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Among the items Tsai sought to purchase from an unnamed Illinois company and export was a center-hole grinder, a devise used in weapons manufacturing to drill smooth, precise holes, Tsai’s 24-page plea agreement says. The conspiracy count carries a maximum five-year prison term, though defense attorney Steven Shobat said he hopes Tsai gets no more than 16 months; prosecutors want a sentence of about two-and-a-half years. Tsai’s pledge to cooperate means he may have to testify at the trial of his son, Tsai Yueh-hsun (蔡岳勛), who has pleaded not guilty in the same case, Shobat said.
UNITED STATES
Jaguars maul boy at zoo
A three-year-old boy who was mauled by jaguars after falling into their exhibit at a zoo in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Friday is in critical condition, a hospital spokesman said. The child was seized at the neck by one of two jaguars and at the foot by the second cat after falling 4.5m into the enclosure at the Little Rock Zoo, his father and grandfather, who were with him when it happened, told Little Rock police. The boy suffered extensive scalp lacerations, a depressed skull fracture and several puncture wounds, the police report quoted a doctor at Arkansas Children’s Hospital at Little Rock as saying. The wounds did not appear to be life-threatening, the police report said. The boy’s father and grandfather said they threw a camera bag and an empty water hose spool at the animals, causing them to drop the child, according to the police report. When zoo personnel arrived, they entered the exhibit and used fire extinguishers to keep the jaguars at bay until the rescue was completed, police said.
UNITED STATES
Arrest in centenarian’s rape
Police in Wichita have arrested a suspect in the rape of a 100-year-old woman during a break-in at her home. The Wichita Eagle reports the 35-year-old man was being held on Friday on suspicion of rape and aggravated burglary. Police have not released the man’s name. Jail and court records list him as a Wichita resident with multiple convictions for burglary and theft. The woman, who lives alone, told police she was awakened the night of Sept. 29 by two intruders. She walked to a neighbor’s house at 7:15am the next day to say people were still in her home. Police Captain Troy Livingston described the victim as a strong, brave woman who is being cared for by her family.
UNITED STATES
Senator’s degree rescinded
The Army War College rescinded the master’s degree of Senator John Walsh on Friday, determining that Walsh, a Montana Democrat, plagiarized his final paper there in 2007. Walsh, a retired colonel in the National Guard, withdrew from this year’s election in August, weeks after the New York Times reported that he had copied large portions of the paper he submitted as a requirement to graduate from the War College. “The Army War College commandant notified Mr Walsh on Oct. 10 of the final decision to revoke his status as a graduate of the Army War College,” said Carol Kerr, the school’s public affairs officer.
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
US ELECTION: Polls show that the result is likely to be historically tight. However, a recent Iowa poll showed Harris winning the state that Trump won in 2016 and 2020 US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris courted voters angered by the Gaza war while former US President and Republican candidate Donald Trump doubled down on violent rhetoric with a comment about journalists being shot as the tense US election campaign entered its final hours. The Democratic vice president and the Republican former president frantically blitzed several swing states as they tried to win over the last holdouts with less than 36 hours left until polls open on election day today. Trump predicted a “landslide,” while Harris told a raucous rally in must-win Michigan that “we have momentum — it’s
TIGHT CAMPAIGN: Although Harris got a boost from an Iowa poll, neither candidate had a margin greater than three points in any of the US’ seven battleground states US Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the final days before the election, as she and former US president and Republican presidential nominees make a frantic last push to win over voters in a historically close campaign. The first lines Harris spoke as she sat across from Maya Rudolph, their outfits identical, was drowned out by cheers from the audience. “It is nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph with a broad grin she kept throughout the sketch. “And I’m just here to remind you, you got this.” In sync, the two said supporters
Pets are not forgotten during Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations, when even Fido and Tiger get a place at the altars Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs. Although the human dead usually get their favorite food or drink placed on altars, the nature of pet food can make things a little different. The holiday has roots in Mexican pre-Hispanic customs, as does the reverence for animals. The small, hairless dogs that Mexicans kept before the Spanish conquest were believed to help guide their owners to the afterlife, and were sometimes given