■THAILAND
PM to reform slander law
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday agreed to consider reforming tough laws protecting the kingdom’s revered monarchy following the launch of an international campaign. Critics of the lese majeste law, which criminalizes any insult or defamation of the royal family, said it was being used for political ends amid a growing crackdown on alleged violators. More than 50 experts, including philosopher Noam Chomsky, have signed a campaign letter to be sent to the prime minister, but Abhisit pre-empted them yesterday by admitting to “problems” with the law’s enforcement.
■CHINA
Beijing to ‘protect’ Tibet
Authorities have pledged to spend 15 billion yuan (US$2.19 billion) over two decades to protect the environment in Tibet, which is at serious risk from global warming, the official China Daily reported yesterday. The cash would fund projects to preserve grasslands, woods and wetland, protect endangered animals, grow “forest shelter belts” to protect against gales and expand clean energy, the paper quoted the region’s governor, Qiangba Puncog (向巴平措), as saying. It was not clear if the “Ecological Protection Plan of Tibet” covered a series of hydropower projects planned for the region’s rivers, which are the source for many of Asia’s great waterways.
■INDONESIA
Tallest volcano erupts
The tallest volcano on Java erupted yesterday, spewing smoke and ash high into the sky and coating a nearby town in black dust, an official said. The 3,676m Mount Semeru burst into life shortly after midnight but officials said it posed no danger to people living in the area, 35km southeast of Lumajang. Winds had also helped to carry the harmful debris away from the most populated areas nearby, volcanologist Agus Budianto said.
■AUSTRALIA
Mid-air blast not suspicious
There is no evidence that explosive materials were involved in a mid-air blast that forced a Qantas airliner to make an emergency landing last year, air safety investigators said yesterday. An exploding oxygen bottle has already been blamed for blowing a gaping hole in the Boeing 747-400 carrying 365 passengers from Hong Kong to Australia in July, but the latest findings take the probe further. A preliminary Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in an interim report released in August that one of seven passenger oxygen cylinders failed and then exploded in the aircraft hold, rupturing the fuselage. The explosion punched through the cabin floor, and the malfunctioning cylinder fell back through the floor and out of the aircraft, it said.
■MALAYSIA
Diapers disguise cigarettes
Dates from Dubai. Of course. Diapers? Not so sure. Customs officials seized 45,000 cartons of cigarettes on Thursday that were hidden underneath diapers shipped from Dubai. Customs official S. Segaran said agents became suspicious of the shipment because diapers were rarely imported from Dubai. Typical items imported from Dubai included dates, he said. Why would “people import diapers from Dubai? Normally diapers won’t come from there,” he said. Segaran said on Friday they were investigating a man for allegedly smuggling D&J brand cigarettes, worth 1.5 million ringgit (US$403,000), to avoid customs duty. If convicted, he faces up to three years in jail.
■NETHERLANDS
Cannabis cafes closing
Two Dutch towns on Thursday said their eight cannabis “coffee shops” would be closed within the next six months to ward off the 25,000 marijuana-smoking tourists who flood their communities every week. The towns of Roosendaal and Bergen-op-Zoom, which are near the border with Belgium, said in a joint statement that the closures would take effect on Sept. 16. The move was being taken to “put an end to the nuisance and crime related to trafficking and the consumption of drugs” generated by the 25,000 tourists, a statement said. The mayors had announced last October their intention to withdraw the licenses of the coffee shops over security concerns.
RSS