Burning Rubber in Shanghai
SHANGHAI, China —Tickets have sold out, hotel rooms are booked solid, advertisements have taken over the city and even government officials are rushing to the race track.
The upcoming Shanghai stop of the Formula One motor-racing championship is causing race fever in China.
The Formula One will be held in China for the first time as it kicks off three days of action in Shanghai on Sept. 26.
The race track was completed in just 18 months. Shanghai will host the race up until 2008, when the Olympics comes to China.
South Korea Spies on Journalists, Politicians
South Korean journalists and politicians are observed by the country’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), even during personal meetings according to a Chosun Ilbo report.
The policy, in place since last November, is said to prevent security leaks. Both personal and official meetings would be reported and computerized at the NIS.
NIS agents are required to report on journalists, senior officials and ordinary employees of central and local daily newspapers, weekly and monthly magazines, broadcasting companies, and online newspapers. Also under target are lawmakers and their aides and secretaries, local autonomous government heads, and senior officials.
Record Number of Japanese Centenarians
TOKYO — The number of Japanese who have lived 100 years or more surged to a record high of 23,038 in 2004.
The Health Ministry figures project more than a third of the population to be age 65 or older by 2050, up from one-fifth now.
In 2003, Japanese women set a new record for life expectancy — 85.3 years. Japanese men, meanwhile, can expect to live 78.3 years.
The country’s rapidly graying population is posing major financial and cultural challenges.
Life expectancy for U.S. women is 79.9 years, and 74.7 years for men.
Experts say a traditional fish-based, low-fat diet may be Japan’s secret to long life. The new data was released just before Respect for the Aged Day on Sept. 15, a national holiday where each new centenarian receives a silver cup and certificate.
Filipinos Want Good Ties With the United States
MANILA, Philippines — About three-fourths of Filipinos see good relations with the United States as important for economic development and national security.
However, a majority also supported their government’s decision to withdraw its military from Iraq as demanded by insurgents to save the life of a Filipino worker, made in defiance of Washington and its coalition allies.
The Aug. 5 - 22 survey of 1,200 adults nationwide found that following decades of migration, 52 percent of Filipino families have relatives abroad — 22 percent in the United States.
The survey was conducted by Social Weather Stations for the Asia Foundation, a U.S. group that seeks to foster development in the Asia-Pacific region.
Japan Confirms 12th Case of Mad Cow
TOKYO — Japan has confirmed its 12th case of mad cow disease, the third discovery of the brain-wasting illness in the country this year.
A 5-year-old dairy cow tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy at a slaughterhouse in Shisui town, located in the southern Kumamoto prefecture, about 565 miles southwest of Tokyo.
Japan was the first country to confirm mad cow disease outside of Europe, where it has devastated cattle farms.
India Leads in HIV infections
India has the world’s largest number of HIV infections, according to a top international AIDS-fighting fund that dismissed official figures.
The latest U.N. data shows the HIV virus has infected 5.6 million people in South Africa and 5.1 million in India.
But many experts believe India’s actual figure is much higher, surpassing South Africa. They say official estimates leave out many people in this vast country of 1.03 billion who could be carrying the virus without knowing or reporting it.