ARRESTED. YANG WEN, 25, a mainland Chinese man; for last
November's murder in Hong Kong of well-known businessman Henry Lam; in Hunan province, China. Lam, a
director of one of Asia's largest golf resorts, Shenzhen's Mission Hills Golf Club, was shot dead
while eating breakfast at his regular teahouse. Local media reported that he was having business
difficulties on the mainland.
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DIED. LARRY LESUEUR, 93, intrepid former CBS World War II correspondent best known for his coverage of the D-day invasion and the Allied liberation of Paris; in Washington, D.C. After the war, LeSueur won two Peabody Awards in 1949 and 1950, respectively, for his radio broadcasts of the birth of the United Nations.
DIED. NATALYA DUDINSKAYA, 90, Russian prima ballerina at Leningrad's Kirov Ballet in the 1940s and '50s; in St. Petersburg. Dudinskaya helped launch Rudolf Nureyev's career when she, at age 46, partnered with him.
PURCHASED. WARNER BROS.; the remake rights to the 2002 Hong Kong box-office hit Infernal Affairs for $1.75 million after a bidding war with DreamWorks, Paramount and Miramax that began late last month; in Hong Kong. Starring Hong Kong heartthrobs Andy Lau and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, the film was the territory's highest-grossing movie last year. The remake will be co-produced by prominent American actor Brad Pitt.
APPOINTED. MARINA BERLUSCONI, 36, eldest daughter of the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi; to head Italy's largest publisher, Mondadori, by its board; in Milan. Marina is also deputy chairperson of Fininvest, the Berlusconi family's holding company that controls Mondadori. The PM has come under fire for his multibillion-dollar business interests.
DIVORCING. HASSANAL BOLKIAH, 56, Sultan of oil-rich Brunei and one of the world's richest men; from his second wife, former air stewardess Mariam Abdul Aziz; in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. No reason was given for the divorce, which strips her of all royal titles. Rumors had been rife in recent months that the couple were estranged.
AWARDED. AUNG SAN SUU KYI, 57, Burmese opposition leader; the $1 million Free Spirit prize by the U.S.-based Freedom Forum foundation for fighting for democracy in military-ruled Burma; in Rangoon. It is the first time that the full $1 million has been granted to a single person. Freedom Forum officials who visited Suu Kyi said they could transfer the money to her, but did not explain how. Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, was released last May after 19 months of house arrest.
Numbers
5,000 percent above the level deemed acceptable for human contact is the content of raw sewage in
India's holy Ganges River, according to tests last year
$47 million is Thailand's estimate of damages done to its embassy and Thai-owned businesses during anti-Thai riots two weeks ago in Phnom Penh
$1.2 billion in opium revenues made Afghanistan the world's largest producer of opium poppies last year, says the U.N.
7.4 million Filipino expats have been given the right to vote in the Philippines' national elections, beginning in 2004
$11 billion is the yearly cost of motor-vehicle accidents in Southeast Asia, according to the Asian Development Bank
10 minutes is the time the SQL Slammer worm took to infect computer systems worldwide, making it the fastest computer virus ever known
55 percent of the Thai military recently failed routine health checkups and must undergo diet and fitness programs
Omen
At an annual Lunar New Year ritual, Hong Kong Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho Chi-ping drew a
fortune stick, hoping to divine the territory's fate in the coming 12 months. The prediction:
turbulence