HEADLINES:
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R/£ The planet in Brief
January 24, 2009 Edition 2
Nepal
Health workers have killed more than 23 000 chickens and ducks in south-east Nepal after authorities detected the country's first known instance of bird flu, officials said yesterday.
Nepal imposed a ban on poultry imports from India last year after several reported outbreaks there, but chickens are still routinely smuggled over the border.
There have been no reports of humans affected, said Harihar Dahal, a Ministry of Agriculture spokesperson.
Chickens near the town of Kakadbhitta, 400km south of the capital Kathmandu, tested positive earlier this month for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, the first confirmed report in the country. Health officials moved quickly to slaughter birds that could have been infected, Dahal said.
According to the World Health Organisation, bird flu has killed 251 people worldwide since 2003. Bird flu remains difficult for humans to catch, but experts fear the virus might mutate into a new form that spreads easily among people. - Sapa-AP
Taiwan
Taiwan's Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a man accused of killing his Vietnamese sister-in-law in an insurance fraud that included derailing a train, officials said yesterday.
Lee Tai-an was sentenced to life in prison in 2007 by a district court after he was convicted of collaborating with his brother Lee Shuang-chuan in the murder of Chen Hong-chen.
The High Court later reduced his sentence to an 18-year imprisonment, saying his involvement was lighter than his late brother's who masterminded the crime and committed suicide less than a week after the incident in March 2006.
Lee appealed the case at the Supreme Court, which ordered a new trial on the ground that Chen's cause of death was inconclusive and that a key witness's testimony was insufficient, a court official said. Lee Tai-an, who was released on bail in 2007 pending the appeal, maintained his innocence. - Sapa-AFP
Japan
Japan launched a satellite yesterday to monitor greenhouse gases along with seven smaller satellites in a mission that could boost business for the country's cash-hungry space programme.
The H-2A rocket, carrying the biggest number of satellites ever for a Japanese rocket, took off from the tiny island of Tanegashima, 1 000km south of Tokyo, after a delay of two days because of poor weather.
"The greenhouse gases-observation satellite has separated from the rocket and is functioning normally," said a spokesperson at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Japan's space agency.
The main satellite will enable scientists to calculate the densities of carbon dioxide and methane from 56 000 locations on Earth's surface, which Japanese officials hope will contribute to global efforts to tackle climate change. The mission is also a test for Japan as it sets its sights on the satellite-launch business in the face of competition from Europe, the United States and Russia, as well as newer entrants such as China and India. - Reuters
India
India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (76) will undergo coronary artery bypass surgery today, the government said, after medical tests showed blockages were found in his arteries.
"Dr Manmohan Singh will be undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery," the government said in a statement.
Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee would take over prime ministerial responsibilities while Singh recovers from surgery, a Foreign Ministry official said.
A general election is due by May this year and Singh is expected to continue as prime minister if the Congress coalition wins.
But any doubts about his health could undermine his re-election campaign, coming just as reports surface that Rahul Gandhi, heir to one of India's most powerful family dynasties, could be his successor.
Singh underwent bypass surgery in 1990 in the UK. He also underwent wrist surgery in 2006, plus prostate surgery and a cataract removal procedure last year, officials said.
Indian shares extended losses after the news, with the benchmark BSE index falling more than 1.5%. - Reuters
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