■ INDONESIA
Suharto's health improving
The health of ailing former president Suharto has improved and he could eventually recover enough to go home, the head of his medical team said yesterday. Suharto has been in hospital for more than two weeks and is on a ventilator after suffering multiple organ failure. The medical team treating Suharto at Jakarta's Pertamina hospital said in a statement he was still on a ventilator, but his heart and lung functions had improved and there were fewer signs of systemic infection.
■ CHINA
Woman filmed lover's death
A 19-year-old Chinese student recorded the killing and dismembering of her married lover by her boyfriend, the Southern Metropolis Daily said on Friday. The second-year student in Yunnan Province, her boyfriend and another male accomplice had all been arrested after the killing last month, the report said. The victim, 39, was a married manager at a local highway and bridge building company, it said. The girl, who met the victim as a nightclub hostess, filmed as he was killed and his body was cut into "hundreds of pieces," the newspaper said.
■ INDIA
Animal activists arrested
Police arrested three animal rights campaigners for protesting bullfighting in the state of Tamil Nadu, the Press Trust of India reported on Friday. Ingrid Newkirk, president of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), was taken into custody on Thursday after she blindfolded a statue of Indian freedom champion Mahatma Gandhi. Two other PETA activists were also arrested in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore District on charges of "hurting the religious sentiments" and unruly behaviour, police said. The activists said they blindfolded Ghandi's statue to express their resentment against the centuries-old sport. The three were released on bail later on Thursday.
■ INDIA
Court convicts 12 of murder
A Mumbai court convicted 12 men on Friday of gang-rape, murder and fabricating evidence in the killing of 14 people during one of the country's worst religious riots. Their sentences will be announced tomorrow. All 12 sobbed when Mumbai Sessions Court Judge U.D. Salvi read out the verdict and said they would appeal the convictions in a higher court. Mumbai Sessions Court Judge U.D. Salvi acquitted seven other defendants. Eleven of the convicted men face possible death sentences for gang-rape, murder and conspiracy in the case, which dates back to the 2002 Hindu-Muslim riots in Gujarat state. The 12th, a policeman, was found guilty of fabricating and destroying evidence and faces up to 10 years in prison.
■ CHINA
Church leaders freed
Four church leaders have been released from a Chinese labour camp after their sentences were lifted following help from Christian rights association China Aid (CAA), the group said yesterday. Wang Caizhang, 34, Ma Zhao, 35, Yang Situan, 39, and Du Dongliang, 32, were sentenced in August to 18 months re-education after being caught holding Sunday worship in Hubei Province, CAA said on its Web site. In a ruling Hubei's Labor Administration Committee said the sentences of the four men were "not based on clear facts and not supported by sufficient evidence," CAA said. "This is clearly another victory of the rule of law in China," said CAA spokesman Bob Fu, who described the decision as unprecedented.
■ UNITED STATES
Writers may begin talks
Striking Hollywood writers could begin informal talks with studio chiefs as early as next week in an effort to end a two-month walkout that has hobbled the entertainment industry, a person familiar with the bargaining strategy of the writers union said. Word of the possible break in the stalemate came on Friday, a day after the Directors Guild of America announced a tentative contract deal that resolved new-media compensation issues that are also central to the Writers Guild dispute.
■ COLOMBIA
Theft scarier than volcano
A volcano in southwestern Colombia spewed ash on Friday after a violent eruption, while authorities fought to persuade thousands of living in the mountain's shadow to evacuate. No damages or injuries were reported in the eruption of the 4,276m Galeras volcano, which began at 8:06pm on Thursday. Although authorities ordered the 8,000 residents of the two towns nearest the volcano evacuated, few people abandoned their homes, fearing theft, the mayor of Pasto, Eduardo Alvarado, said.
■ BRAZIL
Police kill four in raid
At least four suspected drug traffickers were killed in a police raid on a slum in northern Rio de Janeiro on Friday, officers said. Armored police vehicles backed up by helicopters launched the heavily armed assault on the Pedreira favela. They were received with gunfire and grenades, military police said. An initial toll gave four suspects killed and one wounded. Four policemen were also wounded. Officers said the raid came after drug traffickers in the slum rebuffed an offensive by a rival gang.
■ UNITED STATES
Lawyer acquitted of rape
A lawyer once listed as one of People magazine's most eligible bachelors was acquitted on Friday of charges he tried to rape a 19-year-old woman, but he still faces allegations from two other women. Prosecutors alleged that Gary Zerola, 36, attacked the woman after charming her with gifts and alcohol. His attorney called the woman a party girl and habitual liar who made up a violent scenario. A jury in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, took less than a day to find Zerola, a former prosecutor, not guilty of assault with attempt to rape, kidnapping, indecent assault and battery and other charges. The woman, now 20, had testified that Zerola let her drive his Porsche and bought her a US$450 Dolce & Gabbana dress and US$200 shoes at Neiman Marcus. She said Zerola attacked her after they stopped at his apartment to use the bathroom.
■ UNITED STATES
Tiger may have been taunted
Police believe the three people mauled by a tiger yelled and waved at the cat from atop a railing before it lunged at them. Paul Dhaliwal, 19, was severely injured when the 113kg Siberian tiger named Tatiana clawed its way up the wall of its enclosure, leapt out and mauled him on Christmas Day. His brother, Kulbir, 24, was also injured, and their friend, 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr, was killed. All three victims had marijuana in their systems, and Paul Dhaliwal's blood alcohol level was 0.16 -- twice the legal limit for driving, according to the affidavit. "Clearly there's the lesson to be learned here," said zoo spokesman Sam Singer. "The lesson is that it's not a good idea to drink, it's not a good idea to be high on dope, and it's not a good idea to taunt a man-eating tiger."
FOREST SITE: A rescue helicopter spotted the burning fuselage of the plane in a forested area, with rescue personnel saying they saw no evidence of survivors A passenger plane carrying nearly 50 people crashed yesterday in a remote spot in Russia’s far eastern region of Amur, with no immediate signs of survivors, authorities said. The aircraft, a twin-propeller Antonov-24 operated by Angara Airlines, was headed to the town of Tynda from the city of Blagoveshchensk when it disappeared from radar at about 1pm. A rescue helicopter later spotted the burning fuselage of the plane on a forested mountain slope about 16km from Tynda. Videos published by Russian investigators showed what appeared to be columns of smoke billowing from the wreckage of the plane in a dense, forested area. Rescuers in
‘ARBITRARY’ CASE: Former DR Congo president Joseph Kabila has maintained his innocence and called the country’s courts an instrument of oppression Former Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) president Joseph Kabila went on trial in absentia on Friday on charges including treason over alleged support for Rwanda-backed militants, an AFP reporter at the court said. Kabila, who has lived outside the DR Congo for two years, stands accused at a military court of plotting to overthrow the government of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi — a charge that could yield a death sentence. He also faces charges including homicide, torture and rape linked to the anti-government force M23, the charge sheet said. Other charges include “taking part in an insurrection movement,” “crime against the
POINTING FINGERS: The two countries have accused each other of firing first, with Bangkok accusing Phnom Penh of targeting civilian infrastructure, including a hospital Thai acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai yesterday warned that cross-border clashes with Cambodia that have uprooted more than 130,000 people “could develop into war,” as the countries traded deadly strikes for a second day. A long-running border dispute erupted into intense fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, and the UN Security Council was set to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis yesterday. A steady thump of artillery strikes could be heard from the Cambodian side of the border, where the province of Oddar Meanchey reported that one civilian — a 70-year-old man — had been killed and
POLITICAL PATRIARCHS: Recent clashes between Thailand and Cambodia are driven by an escalating feud between rival political families, analysts say The dispute over Thailand and Cambodia’s contested border, which dates back more than a century to disagreements over colonial-era maps, has broken into conflict before. However, the most recent clashes, which erupted on Thursday, have been fueled by another factor: a bitter feud between two powerful political patriarchs. Cambodian Senate President and former prime minister Hun Sen, 72, and former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, 76, were once such close friends that they reportedly called one another brothers. Hun Sen has, over the years, supported Thaksin’s family during their long-running power struggle with Thailand’s military. Thaksin and his sister Yingluck stayed
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