■ Malaysia
War declared on termites
The country's military is fighting a formidable foe -- termites. Many of the Southeast Asian country's 80 army bases are believed to be plagued by the pests, forcing authorities to assign special officers to tackle the problem, newspapers reported yesterday. "There are several problems with our camps, like old age and wear and tear. But the biggest problem are the termites," the New Straits Times quoted Deputy Defense Minister Zainal Abidin Zin as saying while visiting a naval base Friday in eastern Malaysia. "These termites are like guerrillas inflicting damage on our facilities," Zainal was quoted as saying by the Star.
■ Thailand
Russian women shot dead
The bodies of two Russian women were found on a beach in the resort town of Pattaya yesterday after they had been repeatedly shot by unknown attackers, police said. Police identified the women as Tatiana Tsimfer and Liubov Svirkova, who were last seen drinking beer on the beach in the early hours of yesterday, said Pattaya police chief Colonel Sutin Trappuang. Sutin said the women were tourists and had recently arrived in Pattaya. Witnesses reported hearing gunfire at about 5am in the area where the bodies were found, he said.
■ Sri Lanka
Rebel bases overrun
Sri Lankan troops overran three Tamil Tiger rebel bases this week, the defense ministry said yesterday after the guerrillas declared a five-year-old ceasefire all but dead. The ministry said security forces carried out a three-day operation around Friday's truce anniversary in the eastern coastal district of Trincomalee where it accused the rebels of attacking troops and civilians. "During the past 72 hours the army, supported by artillery and mortars, successfully neutralized the LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam] build-up, including three LTTE bases in the Kumburuppiddi jungles. Troops are still continuing their search and clearing operations to provide safety and security for the civilians and troops," the ministry said in a statement.
■ Australia
Asylum seekers rejected
Australia has asked Indonesia and Nauru to take 85 asylum seekers rescued from the Indian Ocean, the government said yesterday as media reported that the group would be sent back to Sri Lanka via Indonesia. Australia's conservative government, which takes one of the world's toughest stands against illegal immigration, said the 83 Sri Lankans and two Indonesians would not land on the Australian mainland. "These discussions are preliminary at the moment but I can say that they won't come to Australia," Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews told reporters in Sydney.
■ Malaysia
Southern autonomy ruled out
Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has ruled out giving autonomy to Muslim-dominated southern provinces wracked by a separatist insurgency, a news report said yesterday. Surayud said in an interview late Friday with Malaysia's national news agency, Bernama, that his government is trying to resolve grievances among southern Muslims through efforts such as reforming the justice system. Asked whether autonomy might be possible for the south, Surayud was quoted as saying: "No, not at the moment." Thailand's three southernmost provinces, which border Malaysia, are the only ones with Muslim majorities in the Buddhist-dominated country.
■ United States
Court rules kid killer insane
A Centennial, Colorado, woman who claimed she received spiritual messages from geese before allegedly stabbing to death her toddler granddaughter was found not guilty by reason of insanity. A judge on Friday ordered Carol Lynn Pappas, 53, committed to a mental health hospital, where officials will decide "when and if she will ever be released," said Kathleen Walsh, spokeswoman for the district attorney. Authorities said Pappas called 911 dispatchers on Oct. 29, 2005, and said, "I flipped ... the baby was crying and I couldn't handle it." When police arrived, they found Pappas holding a telephone.
■ Spain
Teacher fired for private life
The Roman Catholic Church has the right to fire religion teachers at state schools for what it deems to be inappropriate private conduct, the Spanish constitutional court has ruled. The verdict, delivered on Thursday, ended a legal battle by a teacher of Catholicism fired from a Canary Islands school for "having a sentimental relationship with a man who was not her husband, from whom she had separated," the decision said. The teacher, Maria del Carmen Galayo, said the dismissal violated her constitutional right to privacy.
■ United States
PRC military a `concern'
Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressed concern on Friday over China's military capabilities and the ease with which military spending can be hidden from public view. Gates' comments followed Vice President Dick Cheney's warning in Australia that China's rapid military build-up was "not consistent with China's goal of a peaceful rise." A former Soviet analyst and CIA director, Gates likened the problem of assessing China's military spending to that of tracking Soviet military spending during the Cold War. "My suspicion is that the Chinese are spending more on their military than what will be reflected in the state budget," he said.
■ Russia
Police deaths an `accident'
A land mine exploded at the headquarters of a police unit in Chechnya on Friday, killing five officers in what authorities said was apparently an accident caused by carelessness. The blast occurred at a police facility in the settlement of Novogroznenskoye, east of Grozny, Chechen Interior Ministry spokesman Magomed Deniyev said. Interior Ministry and emergency officials said five officers were killed and three injured. Media quoted Chechen Interior Minister Ruslan Alkhanov as saying the device was an old shell.
■ Belgium
Abbas coalition welcomed
The EU welcomed the prospect of a Fatah-Hamas coalition government but said it must recognize Israel if direct international aid to the Palestinian Authority was to be restored. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, on an EU tour to build support for an eventual lifting of an international aid embargo, said Palestinians were suffering. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said the coalition was positive because it stopped fighting. After meeting with EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana in Brussels on Friday, Abbas said: "We remain committed to the two-state solution, the recognition of Israel, renouncing violence and terror" and honor existing agreements between Israel and the Palestinians.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
‘POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE’: Leo Varadkar said he was ‘no longer the best person’ to lead the nation and was stepping down for political, as well as personal, reasons Leo Varadkar on Wednesday announced that he was stepping down as Ireland’s prime minister and leader of the Fine Gael party in the governing coalition, citing “personal and political” reasons. Pundits called the surprise move, just 10 weeks before Ireland holds European Parliament and local elections, a “political earthquake.” A general election has to be held within a year. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, leader of Fianna Fail, the main coalition partner, said Varadkar’s announcement was “unexpected,” but added that he expected the government to run its full term. An emotional Varadkar, who is in his second stint as prime minister and at
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia