■ Bangladesh
Man fired over suspect meat
The caterer at a dormitory on Bangladesh's Dhaka University has been fired after students complained they were served dog meat, officials said on Thursday. Students at the Hajji Mohammad Mohsin Hall protested after a student suspected that the meat on his plate was of a "dog or fox," instead of beef or mutton. He drew the attention of other students, who rushed to the authorities demanding an immediate investigation. "We have seized the menu and expelled the hall caterer," said Ahmed Zaman Anwar, provost of the 1,200-student dormitory. "The offending meat has been sent for tests at a laboratory and are waiting for the results," he said.
■ Philippines
Parents want hijacker freed
Parents of children held hostage on board a Manila bus called on police yesterday to release the chief culprit, saying he was a good man who had helped their community. Armando Ducat, who owns a pre-school day center in a Manila slum district and his accomplice, Cesar Carbonell, held 26 of the children and four teachers hostage on Wednesday in a 10-hour standoff as he railed against corruption in government and demanded free housing and education for his charges.
■ Turkmenistan
President strengthens grip
The new president was elected head of the country's highest legislative body yesterday, strengthening his grip on power in the natural gas-rich Central Asian nation. The roughly 2,500 members of the People's Council voted unanimously to appoint President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, the only candidate, their chairman. Berdymukhamedov replaced longtime autocratic President Saparmurat Niyazov following his death in December. A former health minister, he has canceled some of Niyazov's least popular policies and promised more openness in the ex-Soviet republic that borders Iran and Afghanistan.
■ Japan
Inspired man stows away
A man inspired by the sight of a luxurious British cruise liner managed to sneak himself onboard for a free one-week voyage before being caught in Hawaii, police said on Thursday. Osamu Ikegame, 40, said he could not stop himself when he saw the Aurora docked in Yokohama and climbed a 2.5m fence at the harbor, according to police. Ikegame then successfully boarded the round-the-world cruise on March 20, said a Yokohama harbor police spokesman. But the free ride ended in Hawaii for Ikegame after the cruise operator found out he had no ticket. Ikegame -- who is not known to have a regular job but described himself as a computer engineer -- was arrested on Thursday on charges of unlawful entry, a day after police flew him home from Honolulu.
■ Sudan
Military arrest hijacker
A man armed with a knife hijacked a Sudan Airways plane from Libya and forced it to land at Khartoum airport early yesterday but was later arrested by special forces, a civil aviation authority official said. "The hijacker burst into the pilot's cabin about one and a half hours from landing and told the captain he wanted to meet with the British ambassador, then he asked to meet the American ambassador and the media," Abdel Hafiz Abdel-Rahim said. "Snipers dressed as journalists then took him into custody," he added. Abdel-Rahim said the hijacker identified himself as Haloub Saeed but authorities were trying to confirm this.
■ Ireland
U2's Bono knighted
Rock star and global humanitarian Bono became a knight of the British empire on Thursday -- just don't call him "sir." "You have permission to call me anything you want -- except sir, all right? Lord of lords, your demigodness, that'll do," Bono, 46, told reporters after he was knighted in a jokey, informal ceremony in the Dublin home of British Ambassador David Reddaway. Reddaway asked whether Bono was disappointed that becoming a knight no longer involved a sword or kneeling. "Please, I wasn't expecting you to kneel," Bono deadpanned, his hand on the ambassador's shoulder.
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