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News briefs

News briefs

Can you hear me now?
Apple Inc.’s highly anticipated iPhone will be available June 29, according to a company spokesman. The combination cell phone, media player and wireless Web-surfing device will retail in the US for $499 and $599, depending on configuration.
China’s approach to Internet cafes
China will license no new Internet cafes this year while regulators carry out an industry wide inspection, the government says, amid official concern that online material is harming young people.
Brighter economic outlook
The Thai economy looks brighter after the Constitutional Tribunal’s decision to dissolve four political parties, according to the Kasikorn Research Center.
The leading think tank reported that the tribunal’s ruling regarding party dissolutions on May 30 made Thailand’s situation at this political juncture become much clearer, although it has yet to be seen how the referendum on the charter draft will affect the overall climate and whether the general election would be held at year-end as scheduled.
Same, same but not different
The landmark verdict handed out by Thailand’s Constitution Tribunal seemed not strong enough for unruly politicians to change their behavior, according to a survey.
ABAC Poll director Noppadol Kannikar said nearly two-thirds of the poll’s respondents, 63.4 per cent of the total 3,189 persons interviewed believed that despite the harsh punishment, Thai politicians’ behavior would remain unchanged.
Northeast hit hard by dengue fever
The 5th Disease Prevention and Control Office in Nakhon Ratchasima Province reports 488 patients of dengue fever have been detected in the area.
Director of the 5th Disease Prevention and Control Office, Dr. Somchai Tangsuphachai says all provinces in the Northeastern region have high tendencies to be hit hard by dengue fever this year.
Too much work
A Japanese policeman, distraught by working long hours and weekends for two months, stabbed himself in the stomach with a knife to get some time off.
Japanese workers often face long overtime hours and weekends with little or no compensation, and frequently must make long commutes to work.
Death from overwork, known as “karoshi,” has steadily increased since the Health Ministry first recognized the phenomenon in 1987.
What’s the population of Myanmar?
Military-ruled Myanmar is preparing for its first nationwide census in more than two decades, using upgraded computer systems, a local newspaper reported.
Since gaining independence from Great Britain in 1948, Myanmar has conducted two national censuses, in 1973 and 1983.
In recent years, population estimates have been based on partial surveys and population growth rates. The country is currently estimated to have 57 million people.
The last laugh
Patrick Knight is collecting jokes and will pick the funniest one for his last statement before he is set to die June 26 for shooting his neighbors, Walter and Mary Werner, to death almost 16 years ago outside Amarillo, Texas in the US.
“I’m not trying to disrespect the Werners or anything like that,” he said from death row. “I’m not asking for money. I’m not asking for pen pals or anything like that. All I’m asking for is jokes,” Knight said.
He’s had about 250 wisecracks mailed to him on death row or e-mailed to a friend who has a Web site for him.
Cheaters beware
The Hustler porn magazine publisher Larry Flynt offered $1 million dollars to anyone who could provide proof of an illicit sexual encounter with a high-ranking US government official.
In a full-page advertisement in The Washington Post, Flynt asked for “documented evidence of illicit sexual or intimate relations with a Congressperson, Senator or other prominent officeholder.” He said he would pay up to $1 million for material that could be verified and published in Hustler.

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