In brief: US first tribute to Nagasaki

The US has sent its first representative to the annual memorial for the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, as the Japanese city remembered the historic horrors of radiation amid the nation's unfolding nuclear crisis.

As in past years, a moment of silence was being observed at 11.02am today, 66 years after the moment the bomb dropped on the southern city on August 9, 1945, in the closing days of the Second World War.

Mayor Tomihisa Taue called for a change in Japan's policy and to work to develop safer kinds of energy.

Village wiped out in landslide

Heavy rains have triggered a landslide that destroyed about 100 houses in a mountainside village west of Manila in the Philippines.

No injuries were reported as the 300 or so villagers had fled the area in time.

Guards had been posted to watch conditions in Asinan village after 100 homes were wiped out last week by cascades of rock, debris and rainwater.

Dozens of workers are using bulldozers to dig a dike to protect another nearby community with about 300 houses.

Semen fiend must pay ¤19k

A US man convicted of ejaculating into a co-worker's water bottle has been ordered to pay the woman more than $27,000 (¤19,000).

A judge ordered Michael Kevin Lallana to pay the woman for loss of wages, therapy and medical expenses.

Lallana was convicted earlier this year. Prosecutors say Lallana deposited his semen twice last year in the water bottle of a co-worker at Northwestern Mutual Mortgage Company in Newport Beach. The woman drank from the bottle both times.

Funk star has guitar stolen

A guitar valued at $5,000 has been stolen from the tour bus of George Clinton and his P-Funk band.

Shelby County Sheriff spokesman Chip Washington said the guitar was taken while the group was in town performing.

He said the instrument, brand name XOX Audio Tools, was designed for a member of Clinton's band.