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International News

From The Asian Reporter, V18, #19 (May 6, 2008), page 2.

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — A suspected Australian drug smuggler died after some of the 60 hashish-packed condoms he allegedly swallowed burst, Thai police said. John Paul Jones, 51, died in southern Thailand after an X-ray allegedly found 60 hashish-packed condoms weighing a total of 28 ounces in his stomach, Lt. Col. Weerasak Pokarat said. The scattered drugs badly affected his colon and liver, Weerasak said, adding the Australian Embassy was informed of his death. He said if Jones had survived, he would have faced a drug trafficking charge, carrying a maximum prison term of 20 years. Weerasak said Jones had been charged with possession of hashish in 2006 but was acquitted after a yearlong trial. Friends had taken Jones to a hospital in Surat Thani province, saying he had been complaining of severe stomach pain for five days, Weerasak said. The friends disappeared after dropping Jones off.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s oldest giant panda, Ling Ling, a longtime star at Tokyo’s largest zoo and a symbol of friendship with China, died recently of heart failure, zoo keepers said. Ling Ling was 22 years and seven months old, equivalent to about 70 human years, according to the Ueno Zoo. It said he was the fifth-oldest known male panda in the world. Ling Ling had lost his appetite and strength because of his old age, and recently suffered from heart and kidney problems, zoo official Motoyasu Ida said. Keepers and visitors mourned the panda, which was the zoo’s most popular attraction for more than 15 years. Public broadcaster NHK showed many visitors writing condolence messages, some brushing away tears. Ling Ling died just one day after the zoo withdrew him from public view because of his worsening health. Born at China’s Beijing Zoo in 1985, Ling Ling came to Tokyo in 1992. He had travelled to Mexico three times in recent years for unsuccessful mating. Ling Ling was the only giant panda owned by Japan, with eight other pandas elsewhere in the country all loaned by China, according to media reports.

BEIJING (AP) — A Beijing court has handed down the first jail sentence in the Chinese capital for copyright infringement, state media reported. Beijing is flooded with pirated DVDs and fake designer goods. The United States and European Union have been pushing China to do more to fight piracy, saying it costs their companies billions of dollars each year. The government has been trying to crack down ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August. Xinhua News Agency said Zhou Cheng, 40, was jailed for one year and fined about $1,430 by the Chaoyang District People’s Court. The Beijing Daily newspaper said Zhou was the first counterfeiter to be jailed for copyright infringement in the city. Previously, DVD pirates were ordered to pay minimal fines. Xinhua said Zhou was arrested last December for selling DVDs for about $2.15 each at a store in Chaoyang. He had nearly 11,000 pirated DVDs in his store. Zhou could have been jailed for up to seven years, it said.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s first astronaut says she will do her best to help her country develop its own space technology. Yi So-yeon, a 29-year-old bioengineer, told a news conference after her return home that she will "pay back" the support the South Korean people gave for her trip to space. Yi works for the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute. The South Korean government paid Russia $20 million for her flight to the international space station aboard a Russian capsule last month.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Authorities seized 16.5 pounds of methamphetamines and arrested two Taiwanese citizens at Jakarta’s airport, an Indonesian customs official said. The foil-wrapped drugs were found in the men’s suitcases when they arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on a flight from Hong Kong, said customs chief Eko Darmanto. He said the methamphetamine powder is generally used to make Ecstasy pills and has a street value of around $1.2 million. Drug smugglers and manufacturers are often sentenced to death in Indonesia, a predominantly Islamic nation of 235 million people. At the end of 2007, about 140 people, including more than 40 foreigners, were on death row in Indonesia, most of them for drug-related crimes.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong Disneyland has opened its classic boat ride "It’s a Small World" in a bid to boost sluggish attendance at the theme park. The new attraction launched amid lower-than-expected visitor numbers two years after the theme park opened in September 2005. The ride, which first appeared at the 1964 World Fair in New York, features 38 Disney characters and 241 moving and talking figures of children dressed in different national costumes. They sing a theme song in four new languages — Cantonese, Putonghua, Korean, and Tagalog. The theme park was supposed to be a triumphant showcase of the Disney brand on the doorstep of mainland China. In its first year it attracted 5.2 million visitors — 400,000 fewer than projected — and attendance slumped to about 4 million in the second year. It faces increased competition from Ocean Park, a local marine-based adventure park. There have also been reports of a possible Disney theme park development in Shanghai.