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World News Quick Take

■ Hong Kong
T-shirts OK for LegCo
Rebel Hong Kong lawmaker "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung (梁國雄) hailed a victory for "common sense" yesterday after he won his battle to wear T-shirts to the territory's legislative council meetings. Leung, known for his trademark waist-length hair and Che Guevara T-shirt, said the decision was a sign that the "old empire" was gone. "There are a lot of things that people just accept but don't know why," said the pro-democracy legislator. "I've been given a mandate to get into the LegCo and speak for the people. We have freedom of expression. I don't see why wearing a T-shirt should be considered disrespectful," he added. Leung had clashed with Legislative Council president Rita Fan (范徐麗泰) over the matter. But the council's sub-committee on rules and procedures has now asked Fan to withdraw a circular asking all legislators to wear collared shirts and jackets to meetings.

■ Malaysia
Thugs to collect taxes
A Malaysian state will hire former thugs and bullies to get residents to pay their taxes and deal with illegal squatters, a news report said Friday. Shahidan Kassim, chief minister of northern Perlis state, said the government will interview 20 former gangsters and bullies to join an enforcement unit, The Star daily reported. Nobody still facing prosecution would be hired, Shahidan said. Perlis officials were not immediately available for comment on the report. The recruits are to be trained to help the state deal with squatters who build homes illegally on government land and people who refuse to pay their taxes. "With a more physical presence in the enforcement unit, (the unit) may be able to get more ratepayers to settle their dues promptly," Shahidan told The Star. The Perlis chief minister is well known for his unorthodox policies.

■ Malaysia
Kids survive jungle ordeal
Three Malaysian children survived five days lost in the jungle by consuming water and wild fruits, a report said yesterday. More than 100 rescue workers were involved in the search in central Pahang state for six-year-old Saharuddin Salehuddin, his five-year-old brother Budin and three-year-old sister Mariam since Saturday, the New Straits Times said. The three were found 6km from their house late Thursday, weak and covered with bruises and insect bites, it said. They were sent to hospital for medical treatment. "We just drank water from the puddles [on the jungle floor]. We found some wild fruits in the jungle, but we mostly gave them to Mariam," Saharuddin was quoted as saying. Rubber-tapper Salahuddin Abdul Halim, 41, said he had been losing hope of seeing his children alive.

■ The Netherlands
Training camp raided
Dutch authorities raided a suspected training camp of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrilla group in the south yesterday, arresting 29 people, prosecutors said. "This was a result of a year-long investigation," a pro-secution spokesman said. "We suspect this was a training camp." He said there was no connection between the raid and others in recent days linked with investigations into sus-pected Islamic militants following the murder of an outspoken filmmaker.

■ United Kingdom
Pole dancing not for kids
A plan to teach children the risque art of pole dancing has been cancelled after an uproar from child welfare groups, the teacher said Thursday. Dance teacher Sarah Davis announced pole dancing classes for children over 12 at her Birmingham studio, arguing it was a demanding activity which would improve fitness. But the charity Childline, which campaigns on behalf of abused and at-risk children, condemned the lessons. "At the least this is misguided, at worst it's an outrage," Childline's top official said. "There are hundreds and thousands of other, much more appropriate ways in which children can keep fit, enjoy sport and dance."

■ United Kingdom
Long drive to abandon dad
An elderly man left on his own in a hospital with a note round his neck was driven all the way from Spain by his family after they found they could no longer cope, British press reports said yesterday. The 82-year-old, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, was found sitting confused in the waiting room of the Accident and Emergency Department of Oldchurch Hospital in Romford, east of London. The note read: "Please look after him. We can't cope any more." Authorities traced his family to southern Spain, where they moved some years ago. The Telegraph said the man's wife had left his birth certificate and details about his condition before return-ing to Spain.

■ United States
Ex-Somalian officials sued
Former Somalian prime minister Mohamed Ali Samatar, now a resident of Virginia, was sued for allegedly allowing war crimes and other human rights abuses to be commit-ted in the 1980s. A similar lawsuit was filed Thursday against a former Somali Army battalion commander who allegedly carried out and supervised killings, torture and beatings. He also lives in Virginia. The lawsuits were filed on behalf of torture survivors and relatives of those killed during the regime of dictator Siad Barre.

■ United States
A male contraceptive nearer
US and Indian researchers appear to have come one step closer to allowing men should take more responsi-bility for birth control with successful injections in male monkeys that work through immunology, not hormones. In the test reported yesterday in the journal Science, nine male Macaque monkeys were treated with solutions containing a protein from the testis, the Eppin protein. Seven of the monkeys became infertile but five of them recovered fertility after the treatment stopped. The researchers speculated that the Eppin protein in the injections produced anti-bodies that interfered with a normal interaction in sperm production. They said a similar approach could be possible for reversible contraception in humans. males.

■ Iran
No answer given to EU plan
Iran failed on Thursday to give a definitive answer to an EU demand it freeze sensitive nuclear activities or face referral to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions, a diplomat familiar with the talks said. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the EU diplomat said Tehran's response to a tentative agreement hammered out with the EU in Paris last weekend, while "not too disappointing" had not produced the clear and final answer the EU had wanted. The diplomat declined to comment further on the contents of the Iranian answer, which he said was now being studied in the capitals of Britain, Germany and France after being handed to their ambassadors at a meeting in Tehran.

■ United States
Cops use taser on 6 year old
Police used a stun gun on a 6-year-old boy in his principal's office because he was wielding a piece of glass and threatening to hurt himself, officials said. The boy, who was not identified, was shocked with 50,000 volts on Oct. 20 at Kelsey Pharr Elementary School. Principal Maria Mason called 911 after the child broke a picture frame in her office and waved a piece of glass, holding a security guard back. When two Miami-Dade County police officers and a school officer arrived, the boy had already cut himself under his eye and on his hand. The officers talked to the boy without success. When the boy cut his own leg, one officer shocked him with a Taser and another grabbed him to prevent him from falling, police said.

■ United States
Abu Ghraib trial to move
A military judge has ordered the trials of the soldiers accused of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison moved from Baghdad, Iraq, to the US, a move that lawyers for the accused said was intended to draw more public attention to the proceedings. Lieutenant Colonel Fred Taylor, a judge advocate in the regional defense counsel's office at Camp Victory in Iraq, notified the soldiers' lawyers of the judge's order in an e-mail message sent Thursday. The message said all further hearings in the case would be held at Fort Hood, Texas. Seven soldiers, all reservists in the 372nd Military Police Company based in Maryland, were accused in the scandal.

■ United States
Rapist gets 195 years in jail
A man was sentenced to 195 years in prison yesterday for sexually assaulting female mall workers and young children over several years in Wisconsin. James Perry, 34, received the sentence after pleading guilty to 25 out of the 51 counts authorities filed against him. The remaining charges were dismissed. Judge Diane Nicks called Perry's crimes horrific. "He is the man that causes us all to depend on prayer for safety because we cannot identify the predator in our midst," she said. Perry's guilty plea covered crimes against 19 victims, including five under age 13.

■ United States
Hundreds protest Iraq war
Hundreds of people marched late Thursday to protest the war in Iraq and the US-led assault on the rebel-held city of Fallujah. It was the first demonstration organized by United for Peace and Justice since President George W. Bush was re-elected on Nov. 2. The protest took place on Veterans Day. The group organized a large anti-war protest in August. Protestors gathered in front of the offices of Democratic senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schummer, holding signs reading "Stop the assault on Fallujah" and "End the occupation of Iraq."

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