■ AUSTRALIA
PM `disgusted' over party
Australia's prime minister said yesterday that he was "absolutely disgusted" that Indonesia's counterterrorism chief had hosted convicted terrorists at a party, and that the Australian government would formally object. Brigadier General Surya Dharma, the head of Indonesia's anti-terror unit, threw a party last month whose guests included two Islamic extremists convicted in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians. Dharma said the party was part of his unit's strategy of co-opting extremists as informers or preachers of moderation.
■ CHINA
Motorists reject `WC'
Some Beijing motorists are flushed with anger over new license plate numbers that contain the letter combination "WC," saying it gives them "unpleasant images." Along with "OK", "hello" and "bye-bye," the abbreviation for the Victorian "Water Closet," or toilet, has became one of the most well-known English expressions in China. It remains all-too-vivid for some of the 800 Bejing car owners issued with the initials on their license plates. Authorities, however, say they will not change the policy.
■ THAILAND
Ex-PM extradition possible
A team of Thai prosecutors flew to London yesterday to talk to British counterparts about extraditing ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on corruption charges. "We are not yet submitting, during this trip, any formal request for Britain to repatriate him," Nanthasak Poolsuk, head of the team of prosecutors, said. The case against Thaksin, ousted in September of last year and accused of over rampant corruption, stems from his wife's purchase of land in Bangkok at an auction in which other bidders dropped out.
■ SOUTH KOREA
Former adviser arrested
A former top policy maker has been arrested with his suspected lover on charges of bribery in a sex-for-favors scandal, prosecution authorities said yesterday. Byeon Yang-kyoon, 58, and Shin Jeong-ah, 35, were detained late on Thursday after a court issued arrest warrants for them, prosecutors said. Byeon was dismissed from his powerful post as top policy advisor for President Roh Moo-hyun after allegations surfaced a few months ago that he abused his position to help Shin along her career path.
■ SOMALIA
Pirates beat crew: captain
Pirates who seized two South Korean fishing vessels off the coast of Somalia are beating the crews and giving them rice mixed with sand to eat, the vessels' captain said yesterday. Captain Han Seok-ho appealed for government help, saying the pirates were demanding an unspecified ransom. "We are living like animals," Han was quoted as telling Yonhap news agency by phone. "The situation is very dangerous. Today, they dragged us to the beach [from our ships] and beat us with metal pipes." An Hyeon-su, the ships' owner, said on a radio program that negotiations to win the crews release hit a snag last week after the government refused to help raise ransom money.
■ BELGIUM
Teen given life sentence
A teenager who targeted foreigners on a shooting rampage last year was jailed for life on Thursday after he became the country's first person to be convicted on a new charge of racially motivated murder. Hans Van Themsche, 19, was charged with killing a two-year-old white girl and her Malian nanny and attempting to kill a Turkish woman in Antwerp in May last year before a policeman shot him. The murders shocked the country as Van Themsche admitted wanting to kill foreigners and because members of his family belonged to the far-right Vlaams Belang party, whose stronghold is the port city of Antwerp.
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