■ China
Hawkish general to resign
The deputy chief of general staff of China's People's Liberation Army, who once warned China could use nuclear weapons in a conflict over Taiwan, will step down this month, Hong Kong's Beijing-owned Wen Wei Po said yesterday. The newspaper said it was part of a military reshuffle but did not say who would replace General Xiong Guangkai (熊光楷), 66, who has held the post since January 1996 and is past the compulsory retirement age of 65. US newspapers said Xiong warned Chas Freeman, a former US assistant secretary of defense, in 1995 that China could use nuclear weapons in a conflict over Taiwan and that Americans care more about Los Angeles than Taipei.
■ Malaysia
Purse snatcher jailed
A habitual purse snatcher who used the money he stole to buy a house and luxury cars has been sentenced to three years in prison for money laundering, an official and news reports said yesterday. Abdul Khalid Hamid, who embarked on scores of petty robberies between 2000 and last year, pleaded guilty in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Monday to using illegal proceeds totaling 83,216 ringgit (US$21,899) to pay for property, the national news agency Bernama reported. Judge Rosenani Abdul Rahman ordered him to serve the sentence after he completes a nine-year prison term he received in a separate court in January for the thefts, a court official said on condition of anonymity according to protocol. Abdul, who snatched handbags from women while riding a motorcycle, used his earnings to make down-payments for a two-story home and four luxury vehicles, including two Mercedes-Benz cars.
■ Indonesia
Pilot sentenced for poisoning
An off-duty pilot was sentenced yesterday to 14 years in jail for the poisoning death of Indonesia's top human rights activist, but critics said that the masterminds remained free. The court said Pollycarpus Priyanto poisoned Munir Thalib on a Garuda airlines flight last year because he wanted to silence one of the government and military's most vocal critics. But judges did not say whether he was acting on higher orders, sparking criticism from Thalib's supporters who have long claimed that Priyanto was a scapegoat. "The accused has been found guilty of premeditated murder," said Judge Cicit Sutiarso. Priyanto stood up and screamed: "I didn't do it. I reject the verdict!"
■ Japan
Okinawa governor warns US
The governor of Okinawa, host to the bulk of US forces in Japan, warned yesterday that ignoring local anger over plans to relocate a Marine base on the southern Japanese island could hurt the US-Japan alliance. Washington and Tokyo agreed in October to relocate the Futenma Marine Corps air base on Okinawa, clearing the way for a deal to reorganize the nearly 50,000 US troops in Japan. The military base realignment is part of a global US effort to transform its military into a more flexible force. Residents of Okinawa and other communities, however, are resisting the plan out of concern about crime, noise and environmental damage associated with the bases.
■ Thailand
Myanmar snubs former PM
Military-ruled Myanmar has denied entry to a former Thai prime minister, prompting Bangkok to summon Myanmar's ambassador to clarify the move, the government said yesterday. "I don't know why they rejected the entry, but I hope this is just a misunderstanding," Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said after Chuan Leekpai was turned back on his private trip. Thai Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon said Bangkok summoned Ye Win, Myanmar's ambassador to the country, early yesterday, and voiced disappointment over his explanation.
■ India
More MPs filmed taking cash
Seven more Indian MPs have been caught on television asking for cash, hot on the heels of a similar scandal involving parliamentarians earlier this month, Star News TV said yesterday. Star News aired pictures of the "sting" operation which showed MPs from different parties, including the ruling Congress, apparently asking for cash ranging from five to 45 percent of the project value to approve spending on public works programs in their constituencies. The television footage, first aired late Monday and repeated on television yesterday, was the second similar expose by a TV channel in a month.
■ South Korea
Kim wants to meet Kim
Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung would like to visit North Korea to meet leader Kim Jong-il as soon as his health allows him to make the trip, his aide said yesterday. The North's Kim has three times invited the ex-South Korean president, with whom he held the first-ever inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang in 2000. Kim accepted the latest invitation made in August, agreeing to visit at an appropriate time, said Choi Kyung-hwan, an aide to the former South Korean president. "I will visit Pyongyang as soon as my health allows," Kim Dae-jung was quoted as saying.
■ United Kingdom
Flashing Santa sought
Police said on Friday they were looking for a Santa acting suspiciously -- a flasher who had repeatedly exposed himself to women, including on one occasion while dressed as Father Christmas. Officers in Swanage on the south coast of England said the flasher had struck a number of times since Dec. 6 and a week later exposed himself whilst wearing a Santa Claus outfit. "I would be very interested to hear from anyone who may have seen someone acting suspiciously while dressed as Father Christmas," Police Constable Jonathan Maunder said. "These incidents of indecent exposure have caused a great deal of upset to the women that the man has approached."
■ UAE
Region should be nuke-free
The Middle East should be turned into a nuclear-free region, leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council said on Monday, voicing concern over Israel's and Iran's nuclear ambitions. The heads of the oil-rich six-member bloc "appealed to the international community to make the Middle East, including the Gulf region, a zone free of weapons of mass destruction" at the conclusion of a two-day annual summit. In their final statement, the leaders called on "Israel to adhere to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and to open all its nuclear installations for international inspection."
■ Netherlands
Man admits to crime spree
A 22-year-old man has admitted carrying out 114 break-ins over little more than three months in Almere, a town to the east of Amsterdam, police said on Monday. Since the unnamed man was arrested on Nov. 13 the number of break-ins in the town has fallen by 80 percent. The man broke into businesses, schools, community centers and sport complexes, stealing mainly computer and office equipment, often exchanging his haul for cocaine. He drove through Almere, which is home to many commuters to the Dutch capital, pointing out to officers where he had gained illegal entry in a spree that began in August. Some 10 percent of the stolen goods were recovered.
■ Ukraine
Trial date set
A court on Monday set Jan. 9 as the starting date for the trial of three former police officers accused of murdering investigative journalist Heorhiy Gongadze. The politically charged case, which gripped the administration of former president Leonid Kuchma, has loomed over the presidency of Viktor Yushchenko, with suspicions that top level government officials under Kuchma may have had knowledge of the murder. After five hours of closed door hearings, the Kiev Appeals Court set the trial's beginning date. A fourth suspect is still being sought on an international warrant.
■ Germany
`War criminal' acquitted
One of the last trials of an alleged Nazi war criminal ended in acquittal on Monday when a judge in Munich cleared an 88-year-old Slovak pensioner of the wartime massacres of women and children. Ladislav Niznansky was acquitted of carrying out 164 murders at the end of World War II. He had been accused of being a member of the Nazis' notorious Edelweiss unit, which crushed a partisan uprising against Slovakia's Nazi puppet government. According to the prosecution, Niznansky allegedly took part in massacres in several Slovakian mountain villages.
■ United States
Transit workers go on strike
New York transit workers went on strike yesterday in a walkout that could cost the city up to US$400 million a day and leave millions of people struggling to get to work and school. The walkout by the 34,000 members of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) came after contract talks with the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority collapsed late on Monday. "Transit workers are tired of being underappreciated and disrespected," TWU chief Roger Toussaint told reporters, announcing the strike. The strike is the first in 25 years in the city's transit system that carries 7 million passengers daily.
■ United States
Murders on the increase
Murders across the country increased by more than 2 percent from January through June while the overall crime rate continued its downward trend, the FBI reported on Monday. The federal law enforcement agency said the largest jump in murders, totaling 13 percent, occurred in cities with fewer than 10,000 people. The number of murders went up by 2.3 percent in metropolitan areas. Murders increased in all regions of the nation, rising 4.9 percent in the Midwest, 2.2 percent in the South, 1.9 percent in the Northeast and 0.2 percent in the West. The other violent crime category that showed an increase in the first half of the year was robbery, which rose by 0.6 percent. For the remaining two categories of violent crimes, rapes decreased by 4.7 percent and aggravated assault declined 0.7 percent.
■ United States
`The Oddfather' dies
Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, a don of the New York mafia who sought to avoid jail by feigning mental illness, died on Monday in prison, the FBI announced. He was 77 years old. Gigante died at the US Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, said FBI spokesman Christine Monaco. The cause of his death was currently unknown, Monaco added. Nicknamed "The Oddfather" by news reporters, Gigante, who headed the powerful Genovese mafia family, admitted in 2003 to having simulated mental illness for years in attempt to avoid prison.
■ United States
Battles rage over greetings
Ebenezer Scrooge would enjoy Christmas in the US this year. Drowning out the sounds of sleigh bells ringing and children singing are the sounds of arguing. At issue is how to greet people, how to decorate main street and how to sell gifts -- all without offending someone. Religious conservatives are threatening lawsuits and boycotts to insist that store clerks and advertisements say "Merry Christmas." Countering are those who argue they are being inclusive and inoffensive with the secular "Happy Holidays."
■ Venezuela
Radioactive capsule stolen
The government on Monday warned of a radiation hazard and launched a nationwide search for a capsule with highly radioactive material that was stolen along with the truck carrying it. "We have a state of emergency at a national and regional level and are looking for the capsule everywhere," civil defense director Colonel Antonio Rivero said. The truck was stolen in the central-western Yaracuy state on Sunday night, officials said. Angel Diaz, director of nuclear affairs at Venezuela's Energy Ministry, asked the thieves to return the potentially deadly device. Diaz said he could not rule out the use of the capsule for "malicious purposes."
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