BEIJING. Roller coaster makes unscheduled New Year stop

A roller coaster stalled at the top of a loop at China?s biggest amusement park, leaving passengers stranded upside down, their legs pointed toward the sky. Eighteen passengers were left hanging for half an hour several meters above the park on New Year?s Eve Monday in the eastern province of Anhui, the China Daily said. The passengers were riding the ?Fireball? attraction at the Wuhu Fangte Amusement Park when the rollercoaster came to an abrupt halt. ?Park officials and local authorities rescued the stranded passengers after about 30 minutes and six were rushed to hospital and treated for dizziness,? Xinhua news agency said. Investigations revealed that strong headwind had triggered a mechanical fault, the agency said.

HONG KONG. Hostess jailed for hanky-panky blackmail

A Hong Kong karaoke hostess was jailed for three years on the day before for blackmailing a senior government official by threatening to go public with a steamy videotape, a spokeswoman at the judiciary said. Hui Wing, 36, had threatened to expose her relationship with the official, referred to as ?Mr. X ? to protect his identity during the trial, unless he paid her HK$590,000 ($75,000). The Hong Kong official, who is married with children, had appeared in court behind a screen as Hui spilled details of the liaison, including descriptions of sex in his office and how she had accompanied him on business visits to neighboring Macau and Guangdong. District court judge Andrew Chan sentenced Hui to three years? jail on each of two counts of blackmail, with the sentences to run concurrently. Chan said, however, he believed Hui and Mr. X had developed a loving relationship during their four-month affair, even calling each other husband and wife before it soured.

LISBON. Anti-smoking chief breaks ban on Day 1

The head of the Portuguese agency responsible for enforcing a new ban on smoking in public was seen lighting up at a New Year party, breaking the law on the first day it came into effect. Antonio Nunes, president of Portugal?s food standards agency, was photographed by the daily Diario de Noticias smoking a cigar at a casino on the outskirts of Lisbon. Nunes told the daily he was not aware the anti-smoking law, which applies to cafes, restaurants and bars, also included casinos. But a spokesman for the Ministry of Health said it did. ?We will have to look into what is in the law,? Nunes said.

BEIJING. Wartime aircraft plant to open as resort

China is to create a tourist resort in a giant cave used by the former Nationalist government as a secret aircraft factory during World War Two, the official Xinhua news agency said Tuesday. The Haikong cave, in verdant mountains near the southwestern city and wartime capital of Chongqing, will cost about 500 million yuan ($68 million) to develop, the report said. The cave is ?an ideal place for conferences and leisure travel,? it said, citing the local investment bureau?s Web site. ?The enshrouded cave is 50 meters high and as spacious as a giant conference hall,? Xinhua added. ?The tourist bureau said that the manufacturing plant could be developed into a loft art workshop.? The plant was deserted in 1949, the report said, after the Nationalists fled to Taiwan after losing a brutal civil war with the Communists.

LONDON. Colon cancer risk traced to common ancestor

A married couple who sailed to America from England around 1630 are the reason why thousands of people in the United States are at higher risk of a hereditary form of colon cancer, researchers said on Wednesday. Using a genetic fingerprint, a US team traced back a so-called founder genetic mutation to the couple found among two large families currently living in Utah and New York.

study. Happiness may be good for your health

A happy heart just might be a healthier one as well, new research suggests. In a study of nearly 3,000 healthy British adults, led by Dr. Andrew Steptoe of University College London, found that those who reported upbeat moods had lower levels of cortisol ? a ?stress? hormone that, when chronically elevated, may contribute to high blood pressure, abdominal obesity and dampened immune function, among other problems.