■ South Korea
Protesters kept from base
Thousands of students and civic activists scuffled with police yesterday as they tried to approach the site of a new US military base to protest expansion plans, but no major clashes occurred. More than 4,000 anti-US activists tussled with police near the site in Pyeongtaek, about 65km south of Seoul, but couldn't break through a barricade blocking the road to the base site. "Withdraw US troops! Let's guard our farmland!" chanted protesters, wearing masks to hide their identity. The crowd later dispersed voluntarily. Nearly 20,000 riot police were deployed.
■ Nepal
King's powers to be stripped
The seven main political parties are planning to strip the king of most of his powers, especially control over the army, and declare the parliament supreme, they said. Rajendra Pandey, a senior leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML), said the proposal could wrest the king's control over the Royal Nepalese Army and give it to parliament, also changing its name to the Nepal Army. The king is also set to loose the "His Majesty's" tag to the government which may simply be renamed the Nepal government. Also on the agenda is scrapping the Raj Parishad or Privy Council, a key advisory body of the king.
■ Fiji
Monitors endorse election
Last week's elections, while fraught with many minor problems, were given a preliminary seal of approval by a British Commonwealth observer group yesterday. The week of voting ended on Saturday, with the result expected on Wednesday. Observer group chairman K.D. Knight said although there were some shortcomings they did not appear to be an attempt to "fix" the outcome. Problems during the week-long election included the late delivery of ballot papers on the opening day, names missing from the voter register and general confusion over how and where to vote. The observer team will remain to monitor the counting.
■ Indonesia
Five die from bird flu
Five people from the same family have died of bird flu, according to local tests, a health official said yesterday. The two men, two women and an eight-year-old girl lived closely with each other in the Karo district of North Sumatra and came from "the same family tree," said I Nyoman Kandun, the health ministry's director general of disease control. Kandun said the five had been in contact with sick poultry and pigs near their homes before they fell ill and died within days of each other over the past three weeks.
■ Malaysia
Maids gain new protections
Indonesian maids will get greater protection and financial security under an agreement signed by the Southeast Asian neighbors, media reports said yesterday. Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who witnessed the signing with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta on Saturday, said the deal would put an end to bilateral disputes over maid abuse allegations. Under the new accord, Indonesian maids will deal directly with their Malaysian employers, without the involvement of agents. The maids will also no longer need to pay anything before starting work as all costs such as the security deposit, transportation, handling of documents and the medical examination will be paid by the employers and then deducted from their wages, Bernama reported.
■ Germany
Hearts of gold, and mouths
The German Dentists' Relief Organization has been financing projects for children around the world with the proceeds from old gold fillings. Once every two or three years, Klaus Winter, the head of the German Dentists' Relief Agency, together with a few volunteers, sends around 70,000 letters to all the dental surgeons in the country requesting their old gold. "Every year, we receive around 20,000 envelopes with old gold crowns or gold fillings worth around 1.5 million euros [US$1.8 million dollars]," Winter says. With the proceeds from the gold donated by his colleagues' patients, he can finance charitable projects.
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