■ Philippines
Cop kills three, himself
Three policemen were killed in a shooting rampage by another cop, who later shot himself dead in an eastern Philippine province, police said yesterday. The victims were on duty when the shooting occurred inside the headquarters of the police mobile group in Esperanza village in Sorsogon province, 345km southeast of Manila. Senior Superintendent Gil Hitosis said the suspect, police officer Rodel Docog, suddenly opened fire using his M-16 rifle shortly after entering the headquarters' radio room. Docog killed three of the officers inside the room, and injured another, Hitosis said. "After shooting indiscriminately, Docog then shot himself," he added.
■ New Zealand
Kiwis join US military drills
The US has allowed New Zealand to take part in a joint military exercise this week, after a 20-year freeze in defense cooperation, but has refused to say yesterday whether the approval signaled a wider thaw. Australia, Japan and Britain are also involved in the multinational exercise off Singapore to feature the interception of ships carrying weapons of mass destruction. Washington removed Wellington's ally status in 1985, after New Zealand banned nuclear-powered and armed vessels from its waters, and has since withheld military and intelligence cooperation.
■ Hong Kong
Pig-borne bug hits butcher
A butcher has contracted a pig-borne disease that has infected over 200 people and killed 39 in southwest China, triggering calls for the city's government to expand curbs on pork imports from the mainland. The 44-year-old man, who worked at Wellcome Supermarket, is the fourth person to become infected with the Streptococcus suis bacteria in the territory since the outbreak in China was first reported in June, and the ninth person to catch the disease in the city this year.
■ Australia
Sex slave allegation rejected
Australian Justice Minister Chris Ellison yesterday dismissed claims by a former policeman that as many as 1,000 foreign women are being held as sex slaves in brothels throughout the country. Former federal police officer Chris Payne told a conference last week that around 1,000 women were being forced to work in legal and illegal brothels nationwide. He said the figure marked a significant increase over the previous estimates of 200 to 300 women 10 years ago. Ellison told the Australian Broadcasting Corp radio that current police intelligence did not support the figure.
■ China
Editor blasts censorship
A veteran editor has launched rare attack on his state-run newspaper, criticising a proposed appraisal system which links reporters' pay with government or communist party approval. Li Datong, editor of a weekly supplement at the China Youth Daily, said the move would jeopardize editorial freedom -- an unusual show of dissent against the communist party's iron grip over the media. The appraisal system, to be implemented this week, gives guidelines on which reporters' salaries and bonuses would be calculated. Reporters would be awarded 300 points for stories praised by central government leaders, 120 points for those praised by the Communist Party Propaganda Department and 100 points for those praised by party officials. But by the same standard, reporters will receive negative points for writing stories that are criticized by these officials.
RSS