■ South Korea
North opens border for aid
North Korea has agreed to open its heavily armed border for relief goods from the South, countering criticism that it would rather remain isolated than accept aid for the victims of a deadly train explosion. The North's Red Cross called its South Korean counterpart on Friday to say South Korean relief trucks would be allowed to travel to the town of Kaesong, just north of the border, the national news agency Yonhap reported. North Korea said it would then drive the trucks, loaded with school supplies such as blackboards, desks and chairs, at Kaesong, Yonhap reported.
■ Hong Kong
Falun Gong protests
The Falun Gong meditation group accused the government yesterday of denying entry to at least 20 of its followers from Taiwan and Macau for what officials described as "security reasons." Falun Gong is banned as an "evil cult" in mainland China, but remains legal and holds frequent protests in Hong Kong. Many Falun Gong practitioners were visiting Hong Kong for a conference that began yesterday, but at least 20 of them have been turned away and sent back to Taiwan and Macau since Wednesday, said Hong Kong-based Falun Gong spokesman Kan Hung-cheung.
■ China
Six HIV patients held
Amnesty International says it is seriously concerned about the safety of six people with the AIDS virus who have been detained in central China. The London-based rights group said in a statement Friday that it fears the six are being held for seeking government help and risk being mistreated in jail for speaking out about AIDS. An officer at the Shangcai County detention center in Henan Province confirmed yesterday that six people with HIV were being held there. He said they were detained on Tuesday for "making trouble" and would be released after 15 days. He said they didn't face trial or criminal charges.
■ Thailand
New arrest in lawyer case
A fifth policeman has been arrested in connection with the disappearance and suspected slaying of a Muslim lawyer who'd been defending nine suspected Islamic militants, police said. A court yesterday rejected bail applications of Lieutenant Colonel Chatichai Liemsangaun of the Crime Suppression Division, who turned himself in to police late Friday after a warrant was issued for his arrest, said police Colonel Kachornsak Pansakornan. No formal charges have yet been filed against him. Chatichai is the fifth policeman to be arrested for alleged involvement in the suspected abduction and killing of Somchai Neelahphaijit, 52.
■ South Korea
Defections increase
A total of 366 North Koreans defected to South Korea in the first three months of this year, up 14 percent from the same period a year ago, the Unification Ministry said yesterday. The number of North Koreans fleeing their communist country for the South has been rising annually in recent years. Last year the number was 1,285, up from 1,140 in 2002 and 583 in 2001. Most defectors cross from North Korea into China, which shares a long border with the impoverished North. North Korea has been depending on outside help to feed its 22 million people since 1995. The Koreas were divided in 1945. Their border remains sealed and heavily guarded by nearly 2 million troops on both sides.
■ Nigeria
Tribal fighting kills 100
Clashes between rival Nigerian tribes of Christians and Muslims have killed more than 100 and wounded 1,000, a Nigerian Red Cross official said Friday. Details of the latest fighting over farmland and livestock in the remote communities on the border between the central Plateau and Taraba states on Tuesday have been slow to emerge, partly because telephone lines in Taraba are not working. "It must have been more than 100, but we cannot confirm a specific number of dead," the Nigerian Red Cross Society official said. A newspaper in Plateau state reported at least 120 killed in attacks on the villages of Old Sarkin Kudu, New Sarkin Kudu, Auoshima One, Auoshima Two, Angon Masu and Sabon Layi.
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