■ Pakistan
Border fence started
Pakistan said on Wednesday it had started fencing parts of its western border with Afghanistan to stop cross-border movement of al-Qaeda and Taliban guerrillas. New searchlight towers and checkpoints were also being set up along the Afghan border in southwestern Baluchistan province, military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said. He did not say how long the fence would be. The Baluchistan border accounts for about half of the 2,450km frontier. The move comes after growing calls from US and Afghan officials for Pakistan to take steps to stem the flow of the militants back and forth into Afghan territory.
■ Indonesia
Commander in court
Indonesian prosecutors brought to court yesterday the commander of Kopassus, the country's top special force, accusing him of crimes against humanity over the killing of Muslim activists almost two decades ago. The prosecution accused Major-General Sriyanto, who was an army captain assigned to the North Jakarta military command when the incident took place on Sept. 12, 1984, of prompting a shooting spree that turned a rally into a bloodbath. The article under which Sriyanto is being charged carries a maximum penalty of death.
■ Japan
Former PMs asked to retire
In an attempt to create a younger, revitalized ruling party, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi yesterday urged two octogenarian former prime ministers to retire and not run in next month's national elections. Kiichi Miyazawa, 84, acquiesced, but Yasuhiro Nakasone, 85, adamantly refused, setting the stage for a showdown with Koizumi in the days leading up to the Nov. 9 poll. The notice came as Koizumi's ruling Liberal Democratic Party was making final adjustments to its candidate lineup before official campaigning begins Tuesday. Koizumi is eager to present a refreshed LDP to voters to underscore his intention to carry out reforms.
■ China
Work deaths on rise
Accidents in China's mines and factories killed 11,449 people in the first nine months of this year, a jump of nearly 9 percent over the same period last year despite a nationwide safety crackdown, officials said yesterday. Fatalities were down slightly in accident-plagued Chinese coal mines, but the number of deaths in non-mining industries rose by 19.1 percent to 5,203, said Liu Jiakun, deputy director of the Work Safety Administration. China launched the safety campaign last year in its mines and factories, which are among the world's deadliest.
■ Indonesia
US to return top suspect
US President George W. Bush promised to return Southeast Asia's top terror suspect Hambali to Indonesia for trial once American investigators have finished questioning him, an Indonesian government spokesman said yesterday. The White House confirmed that Bush agreed to try to make sure Hambali was handed over to Indonesia. "He committed to work with them at an appropriate time, that he would work to make sure that Hambali was handed over," White House communications director Dan Bartlett told reporters in Canberra, Australia, during Bush's visit there. "He did not set a timetable for that. [Indonesian] President Megawati [Sukarnoputri] seemed reassured by that commitment," Bartlett said.
■ United States
Ricin vial discovered
A vial containing the deadly poison ricin was found inside an envelope at a South Carolina postal facility, federal officials said Wednesday. The FBI was investigating but terrorism was not suspected. "Based on the evidence obtained so far, we do not believe this is linked to terrorism but is related to threats criminal in nature," said Brian Roehrkasse, spokesman for the Homeland Security Department. A letter inside the envelope referenced legislation in Congress involving truckers and included an extortion threat against the government, according to a federal law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The envelope carried the typewritten message "caution-Ricin-poison" on the outside, according to a statement issued by the Greenville County Sheriff's Office.
■ United Kingdom
Schoolboys take Viagra
Six British schoolboys were taken to hospital after taking the anti-impotence drug Viagra in their lunch-break, school heads said Wednesday. One of the pupils, all aged between 12 and 13, is believed to have brought the Viagra tablets into an all-boys school in Winnersh, west of London, and handed them around to five of his friends. The school called paramedics to the scene when they heard about the incident which happened last Tuesday and the boys were taken to the nearby Royal Berkshire Hospital. "All six have subsequently been discharged and are not expected to suffer any ill-effects," said a spokeswoman from the local education authority. "All of the tablets have been accounted for. The school has a strict no drugs policy and a pupil will be temporarily excluded for actions which placed other pupils at risk," the spokeswoman said.
■ United Kingdom
Llamas protect owner
Ambulance crews called to the aid of a 72-year-old farmer who injured himself after tripping over a rabbit hole were left powerless to help him Wednesday after his herd of stubborn llamas leapt to his defense. Graham Bailey, who farms four South American llamas, called Milo, Bertie, Horatio and Felix, fell in a field on his farm near Kettering, north England, and was stranded for two hours before a passer-by heard his screams. Attempts to rescue the stricken pensioner were scuppered when the head llama led the animals in a circle and began dancing around to protect him. "The ringleader Milo stirred the others up," an air ambulance spokesman said. "When the ambulance crews arrived they couldn't get to him because the llamas were protecting him," the spokesman said.
■ Canada
GM to rename LaCrosse
General Motors Corp (GM) will rename its Buick LaCrosse in Canada because the name for the car is slang for masturbation in French, embarrassed officials with the US car maker said. Company officials, who declined to be named, said it had been unaware that LaCrosse was a term for self-gratification among teenagers in French-speaking Quebec. GM officials in Canada are working on a new name for the car, a sedan that will go on sale next year to replace the Buick Regal. The mix-up is reminiscent of another GM vehicle with an unfortunate name. In the 1970s, GM exported its Chevrolet Nova to Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries, only to be told that Nova translated into "doesn't go."
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number