■ SingaporeLee Kuan Yew carries on
Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew will stay in government as long as he is able to carry out his duties and will only retire when he is no longer able to contribute, the Sunday Times reported. "I will retire from office when I am no longer able to contribute to the government," Lee, the city-state's senior minister, told the newspaper ahead of his 80th birthday on Tuesday. Lee retains an influential position in the ruling People's Action Party government cabinet, holding the position of senior minister ever since his designated successor, Goh Chok Tong, assumed the post of prime minister in 1990.
■ United Nations
Afghanistan needs donors
The leader of the Afghan government's reconstruction effort said Friday that existing pledges of international aid amounted to barely one-third of the US$15 billion his government believes it needs to bring basic services to the country. A budget shortfall could delay elections scheduled for June, he said. The official, Haneef Atmar, Afghanistan's minister for rural rehabilitation and development, called for a new donors' conference early next year, two years after the original conference in Tokyo, which produced pledges of US$4.5 billion -- later increased to US$5.2 billion -- to repair the damage done by more than two decades of war.
■ India
No peace in sight
Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha has ruled out talks with Pakistan unless it stops what he called "cross-border terrorism," saying the military regime in Islamabad is a stumbling block to peace. Sinha said in an interview published by the Hindustan Times newspaper yesterday that no dialogue was possible, even on the sidelines of the UN general assembly this month, which both Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf are expected to attend. Surging violence in recent weeks in Kashmir has also cast new doubts on tentative peace moves between the South Asian rivals.
■ Philippines
Press freedom pledged
Despite a critical homegrown press, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo pledged never to curtail press freedom and reiterated an apology to a journalist she berated for interviewing a senator linked to a failed coup. But Arroyo appealed to media late Saturday to highlight the good news about her administration, saying the economy has managed to grow modestly despite many unflattering developments. Arroyo had a brief spat with journalists after she told GMA TV reporter Tina Panganiban Perez last month that she was "abetting rebellion" when she interviewed opposition Senator Gregorio Honasan.
■ Hong Kong
Pig attacks cyclist
A Hong Kong cyclist required hospital treatment after he was attacked and set upon by a wild pig. Wong Pok-hon was cycling to work along a highway in sleepy Tai Po district in the New Territories when the 1.2m grey-brown beast suddenly appeared and rammed into his bike, sending him sprawling, the Sunday Morning Post reported. After the collision, the pig continued its unprovoked attack and attempted to bite Wong who was forced to use his bike as a shield to protect himself from the raging hog. The attack ended when another cyclist spotted Wong and fought off the pig with a metal bar.
■ EstoniaEU entry poll kicks off
Estonians started voting yesterday in a referendum on EU entry, expected to produce a resounding "Yes" and draw the curtain on this small Baltic country's Soviet past. Across the country polls, opened at 9am and will close at 8pm. Preliminary results are expected to be announced three hours later. Opinion polls have shown that seven out of 10 Estonians will vote in favour of the EU despite fears that Estonia's dynamic and liberal economy might get bogged down in the bloc's red tape. Supporters of membership dismiss such fears, arguing that joining the wealthy bloc will bring this nation of 1.4 million people into the European mainstream and secure its freedom and democracy.
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