Landslides triggered by heavy rains swept down on a village on Indonesia’s Java island at dawn today, burying homes beneath tons of mud and leaving dozens of people missing and feared dead, officials said. Most residents of Cijeruk, a village of about 200, were at home sleeping or performing early morning Muslim prayers when the landslide came down a nearby mountain, local government official Supriyanto said. Only 12 people had been rescued and one body had been recovered, but many of the remaining 200 people were missing and believed killed.
S. Korea: Stem cell probe hits U.S.
South Korea’s top university wants to interview an American researcher as part of its investigation of cloning claims made by a disgraced South Korea researcher. A Seoul National University panel said Tuesday that to carry out “an accurate investigation,” it has requested an interview with Gerald Schatten, a University of Pittsburgh researcher who co-authored the paper with discredited researcher Hwang Woo-suk on stem cell lines. The university said last week that Hwang did not create any of the 11 stem cell lines as he claimed in his paper published in the prestigious journal Science.
Israel: Sharon to transfer power
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will hand over power to his deputy during a heart procedure Thursday, his office said, the first time an Israeli leader has agreed to give up his authority because of illness. Sharon’s office played down concerns about the 77-year-old leader’s health, saying the procedure to close a small hole in his heart, including a period when he will be under general anesthesia, will last only three hours. Vice Premier Ehud Olmert will take over during the procedure, Sharon’s office said.
China: Jailed journalist released
The Chinese government released a prominent investigative reporter from prison Tuesday amid an intensifying crackdown on the press. Jiang Weiping, 50, who spent five years in prison after writing a series of hard-hitting articles on government corruption for a magazine in Hong Kong, was granted a sentence reduction for good behavior and released one year before his prison term was to end, according to his wife, Li Yanling.
From Herald news services
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