■ INDIA
Sonia Gandhi hospitalized
India's ruling Congress Party chief Sonia Gandhi was in hospital but in stable condition on New Year's day following an asthma attack, the Press Trust of India news agency reported yesterday. The 61-year-old Italian-born politician was taken to New Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram hospital with breathing difficulties late on Monday. She was diagnosed with a chest infection, B.K. Roy, chairman of the hospital's board, told the news channel CNN-IBN. Her condition was reported to be stable.
■ PHILIPPINES
Guerrillas raid mining firm
Communist guerrillas attacked a copper mining firm in a remote southern Philippine town, firing grenades into the compound, burning two buildings and seizing weapons in the pre-dawn assault, police said. No one was injured in the attack yesterday on the mining compound near Tampakan township in South Cotabato Province. About 50 New People's Army guerrillas barged into the compound and overwhelmed a few civilian guards, who briefly engaged the rebels in a gunbattle, provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Robert Kiunisala said. The guerrillas seized a pistol, shotgun, two-way radio set and laptop computer from the guards at Sagittarius Mining Inc's compound in South Cotabato, an army spokesman said.
■ INDIA
Gunmen attack police camp
Heavily armed suspected Islamist militants attacked a federal police camp yesterday, killing seven policemen during New Year celebrations, authorities said. One civilian was also killed in the pre-dawn attack in Rampur town in Uttar Pradesh state. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack.
■ JAPAN
Seven caught in avalanche
Rescue workers headed to a mountain yesterday to recover seven climbers caught in an avalanche, four of whom were reported to be unconscious, police said. They had been reported missing after the avalanche on Mount Yarigatake, a 3,180m peak in the Northern Japan Alps, but were found by other climbers nearby and dug out of the snow. "Four of them seem to be unconscious," police said after speaking over the telephone with one of the climbers who found them. Police said in a statement that a mountain rescue team was heading to the site.
■ CHINA
WWII cave becomes resort
A giant cave used by the former Chinese Nationalist government as a secret aircraft factory during World War II is slated to become a tourist resort, Xinhua news agency said yesterday. The Haikong cave, in verdant mountains near the wartime capital of Chongqing, will cost about 500 million yuan (US$68 million) to develop, the report said. The 50m cave is "an ideal place for conferences and leisure travel," it said, citing the local investment bureau's Web site. "The tourist bureau said that the manufacturing plant could be developed into a loft art workshop," Xinhua said. The plant was abandoned in 1949, the report said.
■ AUSTRALIA
David Hicks out and about
Former Guantanamo Bay inmate David Hicks has gone swimming, met with his father and ventured out without being recognized since his release from prison three days ago, a report said yesterday. He is being shielded by supporters and has been moving from house to house to avoid detection, his father Terry Hicks told the Age newspaper. Hicks said in a statement on his release that he was not strong enough to deal with the media spotlight. He also reportedly fears he could be targeted by extremists for giving up his Muslim faith and denouncing Osama bin Laden. But he was spotted by a reporter from the Age newspaper on Monday as he met his father.
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