■ Singapore
Former PM's wife ill
The wife of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew suffered a stroke in London on Sunday and is being treated in a hospital there, Lee's press secretary announced yesterday. Kwa Geok Choo, 83, is in stable condition and improving, the spokeswoman said. Kwa left Singapore with her husband on Oct. 14 for visits to Berlin, Paris and London. They had been scheduled to return to Singapore today. Their oldest son Lee Hsien Loong, the deputy prime minister, has been picked to become Singapore's next prime minister. Lee Kuan Yew was prime minister for 31 years.
■ Indonesia
Snakes to tackle rat plague
Fed up with traditional methods that have failed to contain a plague of rats wreaking havoc in local rice fields, Jogjakarta is to take on the pests with the most dangerous predator of all: Mother Nature. Three hundred 2m-long pythons and five pairs of owls will be released into fields in next week, according to officials. "The rats are causing such problems we don't know what else to do," said Ahmad Yulianto, of the local agriculture and forestry office."This is our way to restore the balance of nature so we can all live in harmony."
■ China
Space plans expanded
Basking in glory after its first manned space launch, China has set its sights on putting three people into space for a week, the China News Service said yesterday. A space official who worked on the Oct. 15 to Oct. 16 voyage that made China only the third country to rocket a person into space, said preparations were under way for the next in the Shenzhou, or "Divine Ship," series, the semi-official news agency said. The Shenzhou VI was expected to blast off within the next two years, it reported. The Shenzhou V, carrying astronaut Yang Liwei, circled Earth 14 times during a 21-hour trip.
■ Solomon Islands
Australian troops pull out
Australia and New Zealand have started withdrawing troops from the Solomon Islands as a multinational peacekeeping mission restores law and order in the South Pacific island nation. Australia sent 1,400 military personnel to the Solomons in July as part of an Australian-led 2,225-strong force of soldiers and police from six regional nations to stop the lawless state from spiralling into anarchy. Defense Minister Robert Hill said yesterday substantial progress had been made, although there was still work to be done, and 800 Australian military personnel would return home by early December. "Significant work still needs to be done and there will be a military force there for some time of the appropriate size to give support to the police in their leadership of this particular mission," Hill told parliament.
■ Indonesia
Alleged terror leader on trial
An Afghan-trained Indonesian militant who allegedly headed the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror group goes on trial today for hiding suspects in last year's deadly Bali bombings. The trial of Abu Rusdan, a 53-year-old Islamic cleric, could provide key information about the state of JI after recent arrests of several key operatives, including its alleged field commander Hambali. The indictment against Rusdan alleges he was named JI's chief in a ceremony at a hillside villa close to Jakarta soon after the arrest of his suspected predecessor, Abu Bakar Bashir, in October last year, said his lawyer Mohammad Mahendratta.
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