■ Russia
Moscow cozies up to China
Chilly European attitudes toward Russia are prompting the Eurasian giant to seek closer relations with China, a regional representative of President Vladimir Putin said yesterday. Putin's envoy in the Russian far east, Konstantin Pulikovsky, said closer relations with Russia's huge Asian neighbor are a "geopolitical goal" for Moscow and will strengthen its position in world affairs, according to his spokesman Yevgeny Anoshin. "Russia is not very popular in the EU; they are doing everything to decrease our participation in or influence on European issues," Pulikovsky said. "That's why it's very important that in the East, in Asia, there is a country that is our friendly to us -- the People's Republic of China."
■ Singapore
HIV disclosure rules revised
The Singapore government will make it compulsory for the spouses of HIV patients to be informed that their partner has the disease, a senior health official said in remarks published yesterday. Under the new law, the infected person's consent is not required before his or her condition is made known to the spouse, the first time the government has given the green light for physicians to breach patient confidentiality. Minister of State for Health Balaji Sadasivan was quoted as saying by the Straits Times newspaper that the new measures were necessary to protect the vulnerable. "The Infectious Diseases Act will be adhered to and the spouse will be informed," Balaji told an audience of doctors at the launch of a compulsory medical ethics course for trainee specialists on Thursday. "Where the law requires a physician to act in a specific manner, the physician must follow the law. No doctor is above the law."
■ Bangladesh
Boy dies from canings
A schoolboy was killed by canings from his teachers for not doing his homework and failing to pay attention in class, a news report said yesterday quoting an autopsy. The official BSS news agency reported that the autopsy on Dipu Islam, 12, said he died as a result of blows inflicted by a "blunt weapon." The headmistress of the boy's Dhaka school and his class teacher, who both caned him in the week before his death on July 5, were again refused bail on Thursday, the report added. After a first beating Dipu developed a fever which worsened after he was caned for a second time. He died in hospital several days later. Corporal punishment has been banned in Bangladesh schools since 1995.
■ Indonesia
Bird flu suspected in deaths
A man and his two daughters have died of suspected bird flu, authorities said yesterday, and initial investigations showed they had no contact with poultry, raising concerns of possible human-to-human transmission. The victims, a 38-year-old man and his two girls, age nine and one, would be the country's first human fatalities linked to the virus. They lived in a suburb of Jakarta and all died in the last week and a half, Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said. "These are suspected bird flu cases," Supari said at a news conference attended by officials from the World Health Organization. "We have sent specimens to Hong Kong to confirm the results, which will take seven to 10 days."
■ Sri Lanka
Aid-sharing deal blocked
The Supreme Court yesterday effectively blocked a controversial government deal with Tamil Tiger rebels to share billions of dollars in foreign aid for tsunami victims. Chief Justice Sarath Silva said locating the headquarters of the proposed Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure in a rebel-held area was illegal. The proposed fund to which international donors were expected to contribute was also illegal, the judge held.
RSS