■ South Korea
GNP backs tracking devices
The opposition Grand National Party (GNP) yesterday said it would back legislation to have convicted sex offenders wear electronic tracking devices. It said strong measures were required to stop a rapid increase in sexual crimes. According to GNP figures, the number of sexual offenses in South Korea rose from 10,600 in 2000 to 14,154 last year. Electronic surveillance devices would help authorities keep track of sexual offenders, he said, adding 83.4 percent of convicted sex offenders reoffend. The electronic tracking system was first suggested by GNP leader Park Geun-hye earlier this month, sparking criticism from human-rights groups.
■ Nepal
Police detain activists
Police raided a hide-out and arrested a democracy activist on their most-wanted list and two other student leaders who had eluded capture since the king's crackdown on dissidents in February, officials said yesterday. An estimated 3,000 politicians, human-rights campaigners, trade unionists and journalists have been arrested since King Gyanendra's takeover on Feb. 1, but the three student leaders eluded authorities by frequently changing hide-outs. The three, including most-wanted leader Gagan Thapa, were arrested on Monday. They are all members of the Nepal Student's Union, the student wing of Nepali Congress, the largest party in Nepal.
■ Indonesia
Crimes suspect promoted
The military named as its spokesman a general indicted by UN prosecutors for alleged war crimes during East Timor's break from Indonesia in 1999 -- a posting likely to anger rights groups calling for those involved in the violence to be punished. Suhartono Suratman was named chief spokesman in a ceremony at military headquarters yesterday, said Sri, a member of his staff who gave only one name. His appointment to the high-profile job follows similar promotions for other generals accused in the rampage by Indonesian troops and their militias following a UN referendum. Up to 2,000 people were killed and most of the territory destroyed during the violence.
■ Malaysia
Millionaire feared dead
A 52-year-old Malaysian millionaire disappeared while snorkeling off northern Borneo, after a 10-year-old boy tried to save him but nearly drowned himself, a newspaper reported yesterday. Police and family members have launched a massive air-and-sea search operation for businessman Lam Nyet Khiong, who went missing on Sunday in the Sulawesi Sea off Lahad Datu in Borneo's Sabah state, the Star newspaper said. It said Lam had taken a boat trip with four friends, and the 10-year-old boy, Liew Yee Fei, who put on a life jacket and swam toward Lam when he appeared to be under attack by something in the water. Yee Fei, apparently tired by the effort, lost consciousness and drifted for two hours until a marine police boat patrolling the area chanced upon him.
■ Australia
Wild camels to be culled
Thousands of wild camels in the Outback will be shot from helicopters as part of an attempt to control the animals' burgeoning numbers, a state official and local media said yesterday. With no natural predators and ample grazing land, the wild camel population has exploded in parts of central, northern and western Australia. Scientists estimate there are as many as 500,000 camels roaming the country's vast deserts.
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