Briefs, December 19, 2012

Demand for doomsday pods outstrips supply

The Zhejiang inventor whose successful crash test of his survival pod earlier this year made him an internet celebrity says he cannot keep up with demand for the device as December 21 doomsday fears mount. Unable to churn out his "Atlantis Arks" fast enough, Yang Zongfu says he has stopped taking new orders for the metallic spheres, which cost up to five million yuan (HK$6.2 million) each. Yang has already told 11 buyers he will not be able to deliver before Friday. Stephen Chen

Ma pledges to uphold freedom of expression

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou pledged not to interfere with freedom of speech or the media, and said he had called on Beijing to release Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo. Ma said the National Communications Commission and the Fair Trade Commission were responsible for enforcing media regulations and that he would not interfere with their work. Bloomberg

Beijing 'slow to sanction N Korea'

China is resisting US-led efforts to order new sanctions against North Korea over its rocket launch, and the UN Security Council could take weeks to decide a formal move, diplomats said. Gary Locke, the US ambassador to Beijing, said that China and the United States were deeply divided about the best way to tackle North Korea's flouting of Security Council resolutions on ballistic technology. The 15-member Security Council, including China, condemned the rocket launch after it took place Wednesday. AFP