[One-Minute World News] from [BBC NEWS]
[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 10:13 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 11:13 UK
Wife of Taiwan's ex-leader jailed
The wife of Taiwan's former president, Chen Shui-bian, has been sentenced to a year in jail for perjury.
Wu Shu-chen was found guilty of asking her children to lie in court in an embezzlement case against her.
The verdict is the first in a string of corruption-related cases against the couple, their relatives and associates.
Mr Chen's son, daughter and son-in-law have each been jailed for six months, and the verdict against Mr Chen himself is expected later this month.
The Chens had a dramatic fall from favour after losing power in elections last year. The high-profile case against them is being seen as a test of the new government's resolve to crack down on official corruption.
Prosecutors say Mr Chen could face life in prison if convicted on all the counts against him, including embezzling public funds, money laundering and accepting bribes.
The former president has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, and claims he is being persecuted for his anti-China views by his successor Ma Ying-jeou.
Since taking office in 2008, Mr Ma has tried to improve relations with Beijing, and move away from Mr Chen's pro-independence policies.
'False testimony'
Wu Shu-chen instigated perjury by instructing her children to lie in court, a prosecutor told reporters.
The couple's son, Chen Chih-chung, daughter Chen Hsing-yu and son-in-law Chao Chien-ming were also found guilty of perjury.
The Chen family's "false testimony has wasted the country's judicial resources and prevented the court from exercising justice," a court spokesman is quoted as telling the French news agency AFP.
The court also handed down an 18-month sentence to Diana Chen, the former chairwoman of Taipei 101, one of the world's tallest buildings.
Prosecutors accused her of bribing the former president and his wife for an executive position in a state-run securities firm.
Wu Shu-chen faces further charges in the coming weeks, and the verdict for the case against her husband is due on 11 September.
[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 18:41 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 19:41 UK
Blanchett hurt during stage show
Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett has suffered a minor injury after being hit by a prop during a live performance of A Streetcar Named Desire in Sydney.
The Elizabeth star was accidentally hit in the head with a radio during a fight scene with her co-star Joel Edgerton.
Audience members said she left the stage with blood pouring down her head. The show was subsequently cancelled.
Tim McKeough from the Sydney Theatre Company, said the star's injury was not serious and she was "absolutely fine".
"There was a minor incident on stage that unfortunately did injure Cate," he said.
"There was a moment when another actor lifted the prop above his head and she somehow sustained a minor blow to the head."
Blanchett, 40, and her husband, Andrew Upton, are joint artistic directors of the theatre company.
[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 14:45 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 15:45 UK
China chemical explosion kills 18
A chemical explosion in eastern China has killed 18 people and injured 10 more, state media report.
The blast happened at around 1600 (0800 GMT) as a lorry carrying chemicals was being unloaded at a warehouse in Shandong province, Xinhua reported.
Some 26 fire-engines attended the site of the blast in the city of Linyi to put out a fire which it caused, the agency said.
The exact nature of the chemical involved has not yet been identified.
Seven people died at the scene and 11 others succumbed to their injuries after being rushed to hospital, Xinhua reported.
An investigation into the cause of the explosion is under way.
[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 09:15 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 10:15 UK
Reporters describe N Korea ordeal
Two US journalists jailed for illegally entering North Korea have described their ordeal for the first time.
Laura Ling and Euna Lee admitted entering North Korea for a short time, but said they were on the Chinese side of the border when they were arrested.
After their arrest the pair spent more than four months in detention before being freed at the intervention of former US President Bill Clinton.
Meanwhile a high-level North Korean official is visiting Beijing for talks.
The trip, to mark 60 years of diplomatic ties between the two nations, raises hopes that stalled six-party discussions on Pyongyang's nuclear programme might soon be back on the agenda.
North Korea abandoned the talks in April, following its nuclear and missile tests which prompted tough UN sanctions, but has since made a number of conciliatory moves that appear to indicate a softening of its position.
'Dragged forcibly'
The lengthy account published by Ms Ling and Ms Lee provides the most thorough account to date of the circumstances surrounding their detention.
{We tried with all our might to cling to bushes, ground, anything that would keep us on Chinese soil, but we were no match for the determined [North Korean] soldiers
Laura Ling and Euna Lee, US journalists}
In a statement posted on the website of their employers, Current TV, the two women said North Korean troops had abducted them shortly after they had briefly crossed the border into North Korea on 17 March.
"We were firmly back inside China when the soldiers apprehended us," said the women, who had been working on a story about human trafficking in the region.
"We tried with all our might to cling to bushes, ground, anything that would keep us on Chinese soil, but we were no match for the determined soldiers.
"They violently dragged us back across the ice to North Korea and marched us to a nearby army base, where we were detained."
The women said although there were no signs marking China's frontier with North Korea, they were aware that they were heading towards the border crossing as they moved on foot across the frozen Tumen River.
"Feeling nervous about where we were, we quickly turned back toward China. Midway across the ice, we heard yelling.
"To this day, we still don't know if we were lured into a trap," they added.
After their capture, Ms Lee and Ms Ling were sentenced to 12 years hard labour for trespassing and "hostile acts" against North Korea, but they were pardoned last month after Mr Clinton visited Pyongyang on their behalf.
They said parts of their captivity were "painful", but their experiences "pale when compared to the hardship facing so many people living in North Korea or as illegal immigrants in China".
Hotline restored
North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Yong-il arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, and was scheduled to meet Chinese foreign ministry officials later in the day.
"The two sides will exchange views on bilateral relations as well as other major issues of common interest," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu.
She gave no further details, but analysts suggest that the resumption of nuclear discussions could be one of the items on the agenda during the talks.
There have been numerous signs of a thaw in Pyongyang's relations with the international community in recent weeks.
A hotline between North and South Korea - closed down since May - has just been restored, and normal border traffic between the two Koreas resumed on Tuesday.
[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 10:13 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 11:13 UK
Wife of Taiwan's ex-leader jailed
The wife of Taiwan's former president, Chen Shui-bian, has been sentenced to a year in jail for perjury.
Wu Shu-chen was found guilty of asking her children to lie in court in an embezzlement case against her.
The verdict is the first in a string of corruption-related cases against the couple, their relatives and associates.
Mr Chen's son, daughter and son-in-law have each been jailed for six months, and the verdict against Mr Chen himself is expected later this month.
The Chens had a dramatic fall from favour after losing power in elections last year. The high-profile case against them is being seen as a test of the new government's resolve to crack down on official corruption.
Prosecutors say Mr Chen could face life in prison if convicted on all the counts against him, including embezzling public funds, money laundering and accepting bribes.
The former president has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, and claims he is being persecuted for his anti-China views by his successor Ma Ying-jeou.
Since taking office in 2008, Mr Ma has tried to improve relations with Beijing, and move away from Mr Chen's pro-independence policies.
'False testimony'
Wu Shu-chen instigated perjury by instructing her children to lie in court, a prosecutor told reporters.
The couple's son, Chen Chih-chung, daughter Chen Hsing-yu and son-in-law Chao Chien-ming were also found guilty of perjury.
The Chen family's "false testimony has wasted the country's judicial resources and prevented the court from exercising justice," a court spokesman is quoted as telling the French news agency AFP.
The court also handed down an 18-month sentence to Diana Chen, the former chairwoman of Taipei 101, one of the world's tallest buildings.
Prosecutors accused her of bribing the former president and his wife for an executive position in a state-run securities firm.
Wu Shu-chen faces further charges in the coming weeks, and the verdict for the case against her husband is due on 11 September.
[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 18:41 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 19:41 UK
Blanchett hurt during stage show
Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett has suffered a minor injury after being hit by a prop during a live performance of A Streetcar Named Desire in Sydney.
The Elizabeth star was accidentally hit in the head with a radio during a fight scene with her co-star Joel Edgerton.
Audience members said she left the stage with blood pouring down her head. The show was subsequently cancelled.
Tim McKeough from the Sydney Theatre Company, said the star's injury was not serious and she was "absolutely fine".
"There was a minor incident on stage that unfortunately did injure Cate," he said.
"There was a moment when another actor lifted the prop above his head and she somehow sustained a minor blow to the head."
Blanchett, 40, and her husband, Andrew Upton, are joint artistic directors of the theatre company.
[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 14:45 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 15:45 UK
China chemical explosion kills 18
A chemical explosion in eastern China has killed 18 people and injured 10 more, state media report.
The blast happened at around 1600 (0800 GMT) as a lorry carrying chemicals was being unloaded at a warehouse in Shandong province, Xinhua reported.
Some 26 fire-engines attended the site of the blast in the city of Linyi to put out a fire which it caused, the agency said.
The exact nature of the chemical involved has not yet been identified.
Seven people died at the scene and 11 others succumbed to their injuries after being rushed to hospital, Xinhua reported.
An investigation into the cause of the explosion is under way.
[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 09:15 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 10:15 UK
Reporters describe N Korea ordeal
Two US journalists jailed for illegally entering North Korea have described their ordeal for the first time.
Laura Ling and Euna Lee admitted entering North Korea for a short time, but said they were on the Chinese side of the border when they were arrested.
After their arrest the pair spent more than four months in detention before being freed at the intervention of former US President Bill Clinton.
Meanwhile a high-level North Korean official is visiting Beijing for talks.
The trip, to mark 60 years of diplomatic ties between the two nations, raises hopes that stalled six-party discussions on Pyongyang's nuclear programme might soon be back on the agenda.
North Korea abandoned the talks in April, following its nuclear and missile tests which prompted tough UN sanctions, but has since made a number of conciliatory moves that appear to indicate a softening of its position.
'Dragged forcibly'
The lengthy account published by Ms Ling and Ms Lee provides the most thorough account to date of the circumstances surrounding their detention.
{We tried with all our might to cling to bushes, ground, anything that would keep us on Chinese soil, but we were no match for the determined [North Korean] soldiers
Laura Ling and Euna Lee, US journalists}
In a statement posted on the website of their employers, Current TV, the two women said North Korean troops had abducted them shortly after they had briefly crossed the border into North Korea on 17 March.
"We were firmly back inside China when the soldiers apprehended us," said the women, who had been working on a story about human trafficking in the region.
"We tried with all our might to cling to bushes, ground, anything that would keep us on Chinese soil, but we were no match for the determined soldiers.
"They violently dragged us back across the ice to North Korea and marched us to a nearby army base, where we were detained."
The women said although there were no signs marking China's frontier with North Korea, they were aware that they were heading towards the border crossing as they moved on foot across the frozen Tumen River.
"Feeling nervous about where we were, we quickly turned back toward China. Midway across the ice, we heard yelling.
"To this day, we still don't know if we were lured into a trap," they added.
After their capture, Ms Lee and Ms Ling were sentenced to 12 years hard labour for trespassing and "hostile acts" against North Korea, but they were pardoned last month after Mr Clinton visited Pyongyang on their behalf.
They said parts of their captivity were "painful", but their experiences "pale when compared to the hardship facing so many people living in North Korea or as illegal immigrants in China".
Hotline restored
North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Yong-il arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, and was scheduled to meet Chinese foreign ministry officials later in the day.
"The two sides will exchange views on bilateral relations as well as other major issues of common interest," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu.
She gave no further details, but analysts suggest that the resumption of nuclear discussions could be one of the items on the agenda during the talks.
There have been numerous signs of a thaw in Pyongyang's relations with the international community in recent weeks.
A hotline between North and South Korea - closed down since May - has just been restored, and normal border traffic between the two Koreas resumed on Tuesday.
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