■ Afghanistan
Soldier becomes 100th death
An American soldier returning from a patrol became the 100th fatality in the US military's two-year Afghan campaign when his vehicle collided with a truck, highlighting the dangers facing US forces in a nation roiled by a stubborn Taliban insurgency. The toll pales in comparison to the tally of American dead in Iraq, which is approaching 500. But it is still a striking number in a force that is a small fraction of the size of the 130,000-strong U.S. contingent in Iraq. The US military did not identify the soldier in a brief statement issued Monday. It said he was involved in an accident southwest of the Afghan capital Friday night and died of his injuries the next morning.
■ Japan
Iraq dangers highlighted
Top US military officer General Richard Myers left Tokyo yesterday for a tour of Mongolia, China and Australia after a stopover during which he warned of dangers facing Japanese troops to be sent to Iraq.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff flew out of Yokota Air Base in Tokyo's western suburbs, US military media coordinator Masao Abe said. Myers told a group of reporters in Tokyo on Monday that he would not rule out the possibility that Japanese troops would be the target of attacks during their deployment in Iraq to help humanitarian and reconstruction work there.
■ Cambodia
Police find chained girl
Cambodian police were shocked to find a six-year-old girl wearing dirty clothes chained by the leg in her grandparents' house, local media reported yesterday. The Khmer language Koh Santepheap newspaper said six-year-old Ny Cheath was attached by a 3m chain to a pillar in the house while her grandparents went to a local market in Kampong Cham, southwestern Cambodia. The article stated that local police rescued her Sunday morning after complaints by neighbors. Police said grandmother Chin Horn, 60, told them she chained the girl for fear she would steal property from the neighbors.
■ Hong Kong
Female seducers arrested
Two girls aged 19 and 16 have been arrested in Shanghai for allegedly seducing men online and drugging and robbing them of thousands of US dollars, a news report said yesterday. Zong Xiaozhen, 19, and Chen Xiaoqin, 16, allegedly set up dates with men over Internet chat rooms, according to the South China Morning Post. They are accused of luring 20 men to liaisons and robbing them of a total of 100,000 yuan (US$12,000), the newspaper said.
■ Singapore
Oral sex back in spotlight
A Singapore policeman has become the second officer in three months to face charges of engaging in oral sex with a minor, local media reported yesterday. Oral sex is illegal in this wealthy Southeast Asian city-state known for its strict rules and is punishable with life imprisonment. On Monday, a 25-year-old police corporal whose name has not been released pleaded guilty in Singapore's Subordinate Court to having oral sex with the younger sister of his fiancee in Oct. 2001, the Straits Times reported. The girl, who was 15 when the encounter allegedly took place, filed a police report in May last year, the report said. In a separate incident, a Singapore police officer was jailed for two years last November for having oral sex with a 15-year old girl he met on the Internet. The officer, Annis Abdullah, is appealing.
■ United Nations
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