Ukraine’s ex-interior minister turned opposition leader has been injured in a scuffle between police and anti-government activists in the nation’s capital.

Yuri Lutsenko, a top organizer of the mass protests that have gripped Kiev for weeks, was injured in the early hours of Saturday when he tried to intervene in a confrontation between riot police and opposition activists. The clashes erupted outside a Kiev court had set long prison terms for three ultra-nationalist activists convicted of planning to blow up a statue in 2011.

Ukraine’s top human rights official said 11 people were hospitalized after the clashes.

Oscar-nominated Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou has been fined 7.48 million yuan ($1.2 million) for breaching China’s one-child policy, authorities say.

A letter sent to Zhang by the family planning bureau of Binhu District of Wuxi City, Jiangsu province in eastern China on Thursday demanded that he pay a penalty for having two “beyond-the-quota” children.

The fine comes after Zhang apologized in an open letter for his “excessive children” in December. He and his wife, Chen Ting, admitted to having two sons and a daughter.

Local officials in Jiangsu province calculated the fine based on the couple’s combined annual income, the document stated. Nine investigation teams had been sent to “collect evidence” since November.

The couple have to pay the fine within 30 days of receiving the letter, local authorities added.

However, Zhang, best known for movies such as “Red Sorghum,” “Raise the Red Lantern,” and “Hero,” is unlikely to benefit from the change.

The filmmaker also directed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Around 100,000 bats have fallen from the sky and died during a blistering heatwave in Australia.

Temperatures up to 43C are to blame for the mass deaths in at least 25 colonies in southern Queensland, the RSPCA said yesterday.

The bats have caused havoc in townships with teams of rubbish collectors run off their feet clearing them from trees and bushes.

Some residents say they have had to put up with the stench of rotting carcasses for four days.

At least 16 people have needed anti-viral treatment after being scratched by dying bats.

A Bat Rescue spokesman warned: “Don’t touch them, they’re stressed. If they do break your skin you can get a vaccination.” He said people should not try to clear them up themselves.

Canadian health officials confirmed Wednesday that a resident from Alberta has died from H5N1 avian flu, the first case of the virus in North America.

Canada’s Health Minister, Rona Ambrose, said the infected individual had recently traveled to Beijing.

Ambrose stressed that Canadians should not be worried about contracting the virus.

According to the World Health Organization, most avian flu viruses do not cause disease in humans. However, some like H5N1 are zoonotic, which means they can infect humans and cause disease, even death.