■ Pakistan
Troops executed by militants
Eight Pakistani soldiers have been found executed a few days after being taken hostage during fighting with al Qaeda militants and their tribal allies near the border with Afghanistan, officials said on yesterday. The soldiers, their hands tied behind their backs and apparently shot at close range, were found on Friday near Wana, the capital of the South Waziristan area in Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal territories. They were likely killed shortly after their convoy was ambushed on Monday, a Pakistan Army official said. The soldiers' deaths could spark an outburst of anger against the al Qaeda militants.
■ Asia
Cheney to pay a visit
US Vice President Dick Cheney begins an tour to northeast Asia on April 10 that will focus on curbing North Korea's nuclear ambitions, on Iraq and on trade policy. The trip, only his third overseas mission since taking office in 2001, will take Cheney to Japan, China and South Korea, Japan's Foreign Ministry and the White House said. The three Asian countries are among the six parties, along with Russia, the US and North Korea, to the slow-moving talks on reclusive Pyongyang's nuclear programmes, an issue that will top his agenda, analysts said.
■ Malaysia
Police arrest top crook
Malaysian police have detained an allegedly high-ranking underworld figure believed to control a stable of vice and illegal gambling dens, local media reported yesterday. The suspect's name was not disclosed pending formal charges being filed after a 60-day detention period. But reports said he was a businessman who carried important civilian honors, including the title "datuk" -- equivalent to a knighthood, and who is a justice of the peace. He was being investigated on suspicion of vice, gambling, crimes of violence, loan sharking and money laundering. The New Straits Times newspaper described the suspect as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" in the leadership of Malaysia's underworld.
■ Indonesia
Woman poses as president
A woman has been arrested for trying to trick the governor of Indonesia's capital into handing over US$17.4 million in election funds after claiming to act on behalf of President Megawati Sukarnoputri, a news report said yesterday. Governor Sutiyoso said he received a call from a woman claiming to be Megawati, asking for 150 billion rupiah (US$17.4 million) for emergency election expenses, the Kompas daily said. The phony Megawati told Sutiyoso that she would send a woman to his office to collect the money. When the woman claiming to be the "right hand" of Megawati came to his office on Friday, he handed her a letter which said: "150 billion rupiah? We are not as stupid as you think. Sorry."
■ Australia
Aussies `lack masculinity'
Australia's opposition leader said yesterday he wants better teaching, tougher discipline and more male teachers at the nation's schools. Labor leader Mark Latham, who believes Australian boys are suffering a "crisis of masculinity" because of a lack of male role models, unveiled part of his plan to tackle the problem in a speech to primary school principles. "We want to ensure that as parents select a school for their children, they have a guarantee of quality, strong resourcing, teaching and discipline," Latham said.
■ Russia
No to Jehovah's Witnesses
A Moscow court on Friday banned the Jehovah's Witnesses from practising in the Russian capital in a case that has dragged on since 1988 and prompted accusations of a crackdown on religious freedom. A Moscow district court upheld prosecutors' demand for the religious organization to be shut down in Moscow on the grounds that the group harms its members' life and health, the Interfax news agency reported. The court decision does not affect the group's activities elsewhere in Russia. "Jehovah's Witnesses are liquidated and banned in Moscow," a spokesman for the group, Christian Presber, told reporters, adding that an appeal would be lodged shortly.
■ Great Britain
School to be investigated
British lawmakers are to investigate a school in which nearly half the pupils miss months of classes each year to visit relatives in the subcontinent, many in Pakistan, London's Times newspaper said yesterday. More than 40 percent of pupils at Victoria Primary School in Keighley, northwest England, are absent for an average of 10 school weeks -- a quarter of the academic year, the daily said. In one case, a boy was reportedly taken away without warning or agreement and then simply returned to the school 14 months later. "Many of the parents come from tiny villages on the subcontinent, have no knowledge of schools and don't realize it's important," said Anne Cryer, the Labour member of parliament for the area.
■ United States
Bishop given probation
The former head of the Roman Catholic Church in Phoenix was sentenced on Friday to four years probation for leaving the scene of an accident that killed a pedestrian and ended the cleric's career. Bishop Thomas O'Brien also was ordered by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Stephen Gerst to perform 1,000 hours of community service with severely injured, dying or mentally ill individuals for the fatal hit-and-run last summer. The 68-year-old bishop, who for 21 years directed the 460,000-member Phoenix diocese, was also given a six-month deferred jail sentence, time he would have to serve if he fails to complete the terms of his probation and community service.
■ United States
Hemingway house to open
The granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway wants to open the house in which the writer shot himself to death in 1961 despite protests by neighbors, a newspaper report said. The house in Ketchum, Idaho, has never been on public display, but Mariel Hemingway, an actress and co-chairwoman of the Idaho Hemingway House Foundation, wants to restore the house and allow in tourists and hold literary and other events there. "People are fascinated with Ernest Hemingway as a man who knew how to live life," Mariel Hemingway said.
■ United States
Yellow ribbons removed
Yellow ribbons tied around utility poles to welcome soldiers home from Iraq were removed by the National Park Service, which says they are a political statement. About a dozen ribbons were posted along a park service-owned street that runs through the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, where his presidential library, birthplace and grave site are all located. A resident who was involved in placing about 40 ribbons around town said she cannot understand the objection.
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