■ PHILIPPINES
`Dirty Harry' shuns son
The tough-talking mayor of Manila who earned the nickname "Dirty Harry" for his anti-crime crusades said yesterday he won't lift a finger to help his son who was nabbed in a drug bust. Mayor Alfredo Lim said his 44-year-old son, Manny, should pay for his actions. "Whatever trouble he got himself into, he has to bear it," Lim said during a flag-raising ceremony at Manila Police District headquarters. Radio DZBB reported that Lim refused to visit his son in jail after he and two others were arrested in a hotel room on Saturday, allegedly carrying 100g of methamphetamine worth about 600,000 pesos (US$15,000).
■ AUSTRALIA
Fighter sale to proceed
Canberra withdrew yesterday its threat to cancel a A$6 billion (US$4.6 billion) contract to buy 24 US-manufactured Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters. Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said the sale would go ahead after a review by officials of the aircraft's capabilities. Fitzgibbon ordered the review after accusing the previous government of pushing the Defense Department into the deal last year for political rather than national security reasons. But although the former government had not properly compared the Super Hornets with potential alternatives, Fitzgibbon found they were more than adequate.
■ AUSTRALIA
Haneef to sue government
An Indian doctor jailed without charge last year in a bungled counterterrorism case will seek compensation from the government, he and his lawyer said yesterday. Mohammed Haneef, who was deported when the case alleging his involvement in failed terrorist attacks in London and Scotland collapsed, has a strong claim to a substantial payout, lawyer Rod Hodgson said. He did not cite an amount. "There are several grounds, including the effect on reputation, the wrongful imprisonment ... also the period of time that Dr Haneef was kept in custody," Hodgson told reporters.
■ AFGHANISTAN
Danish soldiers killed
A Taliban-style suicide car bomb exploded near a NATO convoy in the south yesterday, killing two Danish soldiers and wounding another, the Danish Army Central Command said. NATO's International Security Assistance Force said the explosion was aimed at a patrol in Girishk District of Helmand Province. The attacker detonated a car bomb near the convoy, Helmand police chief Mohammed Hussain Andiwal said. "It was a busy hour of the day when everyone was going to their work," Andiwal said. The army said the soldiers were working on a reconstruction project.
■ HONG KONG
Three sex workers killed
Police are investigating the murder of three sex workers in the past few days, with police keeping open the possibility yesterday that a single serial killer might be responsible. Since Saturday, three prostitutes, all in their 30s, have been found murdered in their ransacked apartments in two districts in the New Territories. The first two women had been robbed and strangled to death, one with a hose, while the third was certified dead with no apparent injuries early yesterday morning. "We are adopting a very open-minded approach, we will rigorously pursue all lines of inquiries," said Steve Li, a police superintendent.
■ UNITED STATES
Bees swarm Highway 99
Millions of swarming honey bees are on the loose after a truck carrying crates of the insects flipped over on a California highway. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) says 8 million to 12 million bees escaped on Sunday from crates and swarmed over an area of Highway 99, stinging officers, firefighters and tow truck drivers who tried to clear the accident. CHP officer Michael Bradley says a tractor trailer flipped over while entering the highway on its way to Yakima, Washington.
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