■ Thailand
Rice-for-planes approved
The Cabinet has given the go-ahead to a defense ministry proposal to buy two Jetstream planes from Brazil worth more than 1 billion baht (US$14.4 million) under a barter deal, media reports said yesterday. The army will set aside 100 million baht from its budget for this year for the planes and pay for the remaining 900 million baht with rice, should Brazil accept the deal, the Bangkok Post said.
■ Uzbekistan
US to withdraw from base
US troops will leave their base in Uzbekistan by year's end at the Uzbek government's request, a senior US diplomat said, adding that bilateral ties have been in a "very difficult period." The ex-Soviet nation hosted the US soldiers for operations in Afghanistan in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, but demanded in July that they leave within six months as relations soured following US criticism of the Uzbek government's crackdown in May on protesters in the city of Andizhan.
■ Australia
Dutch break solar record
The favorite to win the 3,021km World Solar Challenge did so in record time yesterday. The Dutch team's Nuna 3 led 19 other sunshine-powered vehicles from the start in Darwin to the finish in Adelaide to claim a third title in a series that began in 1987. Race director Chris Selwood said Nuna 3 had broken its own race record of 30 hours and 54 minutes set in 2003. A final time has yet to be announced but Selwood said Nuna 3 may have averaged more than 100kph for the three-day journey. Australia's Aurora was in second place more than an hour behind the leader.
■ Sri Lanka
Tamils denounce EU ban
A European-based Tamil group said yesterday that a EU travel ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has done "irreparable damage" to the country's fragile peace process. The British government said in a statement on Monday that Tamil Tiger representatives will be refused entry to EU member states "until further notice" while the body decides whether to add the LTTE to its list of terrorist organizations. The Geneva-based International Federation of Tamils, an umbrella group of 150 smaller Tamil organizations, said in a statement that, "The decision not to receive any LTTE delegations into any of the EU member states denies the Tamil people and the LTTE the opportunity to present their case to the EU countries."
■ Australia
Student to guard rights
A kangaroo-hunting, beer-drinking 22-year-old student has been appointed academia's first "heterosexuality officer" with a vague mission to safeguard straight rights, a report said yesterday. The student association at the University of New England in New South Wales state appointed law student Dave Allen to the position earlier this year, the Australian newspaper reported. Many universities in Australia have gay and lesbian student groups, which receive a portion of their funding from mandatory student-union fees paid by every student. But the federal government has recently announced plans to make paying such fees voluntary, prompting protests from students who say the quality of student life on campus will decline if funds are cut. When asked what his duties were, Allen replied: ``None at the moment.''
■ South Africa
Magnate gunned down
A controversial mining magnate was shot and killed late on Tuesday in what police said may have been a deliberate attack. "Brett Kebble died in Johannesburg after shots were fired at his car," family spokesman David Barritt said in a statement. Kebble, 41, who sponsored a major South African arts prize, stepped down recently as chief executive from three South African mining firms after they ran into financial problems. Police spokesman Chris Wilken said officers were investigating the murder: "The motive is uncertain. There are two possibilities: Either it was a direct attempt on his life or it was a hijack attempt," Wilken said.
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