BEIJING: A senior Chinese official called for stricter management of religious activities, state media said yesterday, following explosions in China’s western region of Xinjiang which authorities say were masterminded by a religious militant.
Police shot dead six people and six more died when explosives they were carrying detonated in Xinhe county, according to weekend media reports. Blasts struck a beauty salon and a vegetable market.
Yu Zhengsheng, a member of the Communist Party’s seven-man Politburo Standing Committee, called for action to ensure that religious practice did not spill over into illegal acts.
HK mother held for maid abuse
HONG KONG: A Hong Kong housewife was arrested for allegedly assaulting her Bangladeshi maid, the latest in a series of cases highlighting the abuse of foreign domestic helpers.
The arrest of the 58-year-old mother-of-two, identified as Cheung Sau-kuen, comes just a week after thousands of domestic workers marched in the southern Chinese city to demand justice for an Indonesian maid allegedly assaulted by her employer.
The Bangladeshi helper, 27-year-old Akter Kalpona, accused Cheung of punching her in the head, pulling her hair, scratching her hands with a metal brush and confining her to a store room, The Standard newspaper reported.
Tsunami kids still in trauma
TOKYO: One in four nursery school children caught up in Japan’s 2011 tsunami disaster has psychiatric problems caused by the horrors of loss and destruction, with experts warning of a dire shortage of psychiatrists.
Researchers say that for some children, the effects may be felt throughout their lifetime unless they get the help they need.
A study found 25.9 percent of children aged between three and five suffer from symptoms including vertigo, nausea and headaches, with some exhibiting worrying behaviour such as violence or withdrawal.
Youngsters were scarred by losing friends, seeing their homes destroyed, by separation from parents or by the sight of the huge wall of water that crashed ashore, the study team said.
Agencies
