According to the Philippine Army, its unpaid electricity bill now amounts to $154,799. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres Jr. said the Army is validating the bill before paying it. However, Torres said if the Army fails to settle the bill promptly, military bases around the country will lose access to electricity and be forced to resort to standby generators for power. The Philippine Army has 80 battalion headquarters nationwide, excluding brigades and divisions. Torres said the PA has an annual budget for electricity consumption, but he said the increasing use of electricity by various Army field units means the military may not be able to cover the bill with its current funds.

he Chinese government announced a nation-wide crackdown on Chinese citizens who violate the country's one-child policy. China's 28-year-old child limit policy bans most urban families from having more than one child, although, families who live in the countryside are sometimes permitted to have a second child if their first is a girl.

lthough smoking is known to cause numerous health problems, including a shortened life-span, one London woman seems to be immune to the perils of cigarettes. Winnie Langley, who turned 100 on Tuesday, celebrated her century-marking birthday by lighting up her 170,000th cigarette-a feat most would consider to anathema to a long life. However, not for Ms. Lamgley, who has been smoking since 1914, when she was just seven years old.

In Japan, the Internet café has become a substitute for home. A survey of Japan's ministry of health indicated that the number of people who sleeps over at 24-hour Internet cafes for having no home or job total 5,400 nationwide, the Kyodo News reported. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's findings disclosed on Tuesday reveals what could be a widening of the rich-poor gap in Asia's richest country.

Money is definitely not grown on trees but in Japan, it is being found flowing freely in municipal toilets. The civil servants in 15 prefectures (states) in Japan are baffled over the discovery of envelopes containing 10,000 yen ($82) bills and well-wishing notes in municipal toilets. State run media reports that a nationwide hunt is on to find the source of nearly two million yen ($16,400) worth of bills that were discovered at many men's rooms in recent weeks.