■ Thailand
Shootings kill seven
Seven people were killed in four separate shooting incidents in the nation’s troubled southern states, police said yesterday. In a drive-by shooting early yesterday, witnesses said at least five militants in a pick-up truck opened fire on a tea shop in Yala Province’s Raman District, killing four villagers and wounding four others. Nearby, in the Bannang Sata District of Yala, a 56-year-old Thai Buddhist man was shot dead and beheaded before his body was set on fire Friday, while his 28-year-old son was seriously wounded. A 41-year-old Thai Muslim man was shot dead in his pick-up truck in a drive-by shooting in the same area shortly afterwards. In the neighboring province of Pattani, a 56-year-old retired teacher was shot dead on Friday evening in the Meung District after leaving a mosque. More than 3,300 people have been killed since separatist unrest broke out in January 2004 in the south.
■ CHINA
Skimpy outfits barred
The government has told discos, karaoke bars and other entertainment venues to install windows in private rooms and ensure staff dress modestly from Oct. 1 as part of an effort to crack down on prostitution and drugs. Rules released on the Ministry of Public Security’s Web site state that entertainment venues must install transparent partitions between rooms that ensure “the whole environment of the consumer’s entertainment area in the room can be seen.” “When open for business, the transparent part of rooms and windows to rooms at singing and dancing entertainment venues must not be obstructed,” the rules say. Discos, karaokes and other bars in the country frequently have private rooms for hire and are a favorite places for businessmen to entertain guests.
■ Sri Lanka
Thirty-five rebels killed
Government forces attacked Tamil Tiger rebels along the country’s northern front lines, triggering a series of gunbattles that killed 35 rebels and one soldier, the military said yesterday. The latest fighting broke out in the Jaffna, Vavuniya, Welioya and Mannar regions bordering the rebels’ de facto state in the north on Friday, a defense ministry official said on condition of anonymity because of government regulations. Troops captured a rebel bunker along the front lines in Vavuniya on Friday after a clash that killed two rebels and one soldier, the official said. Other battles in Vavuniya killed 18 rebels and wounded three soldiers. Fighting in Mannar, Jaffna and Welioya left 15 rebels dead and one soldier wounded, he said. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not immediately be reached for comment.
■ Hong KOng
Drugs in schools on the rise
Police were preparing yesterday to put more officers on duty in schools after a surge in the number of drug cases involving young teenagers. The wealthy city of 6.9 million has seen a 50 percent annual rise in drug-related arrests involving youths aged between 10 and 15 in the first four months of this year, police statistics show. Police commissioner Tang King-shing said more than 1,800 people aged under 21 were arrested last year over cases involving drugs, a 70 percent rise from 2006. Speaking on government-run radio station RTHK, Tang said the force would recruit 27 more school liaison officers who will visit schools regularly and try to identify the sources of the problem. Legislators have also been asked to consider allowing random drug testing of pupils in an effort to weed out the suppliers spreading drugs inside schools.
RSS