■ Cambodia
Bird flu kills 13-year-old
A 13-year-old girl has died of bird flu, bringing the country's death toll from the H5N1 virus to seven, the Health Ministry and the WHO said in a joint statement yesterday. The girl, from Kampong Cham Province that borders Vietnam, died on Thursday at a hospital in the capital, Phnom Penh, the statement said. She fell ill on Monday with fever and diarrhea and was admitted to a local hospital the next day before being transferred to the capital, where her condition worsened with a cough and shortness of breath.
■ United States
Priest accused of assault
A priest accused of starting a brawl after tempers boiled over during a round of golf on Thursday pleaded not guilty to felony assault charges during a court appearance in California. Michael Babin, a bishop at the Genesis Ministries International outside San Diego, together with his son Gabriel and a third man, Ruchell Robinson, are alleged to have attacked another golfer following a dispute over a golf ball. Prosecutors say Babin accused the victim, Jason Jennings, of trying to steal his ball after it plunged into a water hazard at the Oceanside Municipal Golf Course on Feb. 17 this year. Jennings was knocked down and beaten unconscious, witnesses said.
■ Bangladesh
Election date long off
National elections, already delayed amid deadly violence over allegations of ballot-rigging, will not be held for at least a year and a half, the top election official in the military-backed interim government said. "We need at least 18 months to prepare a flawless voter list along with photographs of voters," Chief Election Commissioner A.T.M. Shamsul Huda said. Political parties did not immediately comment about the decision to delay the voting. President Iajuddin Ahmed imposed a state of emergency on Jan. 11 following weeks of street protests demanding electoral reforms.
■ Pakistan
Bomb explodes near college
A bomb exploded near a women's college in the northwest late on Thursday, injuring two people, police said. The bomb was planted near the outer wall of the state-run college located in a congested neighborhood of Peshawar, police officer Riyaz Khan said. It partially damaged the wall, he said. Two passers-by were slightly wounded, doctors said. "It was a small home-made bomb, carrying half a kilogram of explosives," the police officer said. He said the purpose of the blast was to create "harassment." College guard Mohammad Shoaib said that its administration earlier received a letter warning that female students must wear scarves. Peshawar, has a history of bomb blasts blamed on various groups including Islamic extremists.
■ Uganda
Adultery law scrapped
The Constitutional Court scrapped an adultery law on Thursday that campaigners said discriminated against women. The court ordered the changes to the Penal Code, under which it was legal for a married man to have an affair with an unmarried woman but against the law for a married woman to have an affair with an unmarried man. "Section 154 of the Penal Code Act which penalizes married women on the offense of adultery is discriminatory," the court said in its ruling. Women found guilty of the offense had previously faced a fine or up to a year in jail. The ruling came after a legal challenge filed against the attorney general by a group of female lawyers. Their lawyer, Ladislaus Rwakafuzi, said the old rules had given cheating husbands a green light to pursue single women.
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