Times researcher freed in China
A Chinese court said Friday it would drop a high-profile case against a New York Times researcher, a few weeks before President Hu Jintao is to meet President Bush in Washington.
China’s decision on Zhao Yan fits a pattern of releasing token numbers of political or human rights prisoners in advance of major summit meetings.
“I’m so happy,” said Zhao Kun, the sister of the researcher. “When I heard the news, I felt like a window had opened in my heart. Everything seemed so bright.”
Zhao Yan was detained in September 2004 and charged several months later with revealing state secrets and with fraud. He faced 10 years in prison. The charges came on the heels of an exclusive story by the newspaper that former President Jiang Zemin planned to step down from a government military commission, surrendering his last major post.
London
Prince wins ruling on diary excerpts
Prince Charles won a court judgment Friday barring publication of more extracts from a private diary, but a judge ordered a trial to determine if other journals acquired by a newspaper should stay private.
The ruling triggered speculation the prince could be called to testify. But Charles’ office said the heir to the throne would not take the witness stand.
Charles had sued the publisher of the Mail on Sunday newspaper for breaches of confidentiality and copyright. The paper had published extracts from a diary he kept during a 1997 visit to Hong Kong, in which he referred to Chinese officials as “appalling old waxworks.”
High Court Judge William Blackburne ruled Charles could claim damages from the newspaper and could seek a permanent injunction to protect the Hong Kong journal.
However, Blackburne said he was unwilling to bar publication of seven other journals reportedly sold by a former employee without knowing what they contained. He ordered another hearing to determine whether they should be returned to the prince.
Mexico City
Students’ bus tumbles off bridge
A bus carrying dozens of teenagers on a school field trip toppled off a bridge on the outskirts of Mexico’s capital on Friday, killing 12 people and injuring at least 25, authorities said.
The bus was headed to a soft drink bottling warehouse when the crash occurred on a highway linking the capital and the central city of Pachuca.
Highway patrol officials said the bus driver was likely speeding when he struck a guardrail and careened off the Emiliano Zapata bridge, causing the vehicle to fall more than 25 feet to the highway below.