■Vietnam
Mother kills newborn child
A woman in central Vietnam who killed her newborn child has been given a 12-month suspended sentence, state-run media reported yesterday. Y Dua, 32, gave birth to a boy in January and killed him because she feared she would be ousted from her village because she had broken traditional village rules by having a baby outside of marriage, Phap Luat Thanh Ho Chi Minh newspaper reported. Dak To District's People's Court gave Dua a suspended sentence because she was "poorly educated" and committed the crime in a situation where she had few choices, according to the newspaper.
■ North Korea
Japan accused of militarism
North Korea on Saturday accused Japan of trying to "revive militarism" after lawmakers in Tokyo approved a set of bills that give emergency powers to the military and government in times of war. "This clearly shows what a dangerous phase Japan's moves to revive militarism have reached," an unnamed spokesman for North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the state KCNA news agency. The spokesman said Japan was "obsessed with a vaulting ambition to convert the country into a military power" and accused it of making North Korea "its principal target." Japan's lower house approved the three emergency bills on Thursday. They are expected to be passed into law by the upper house by the end of the current parliamentary session next month.
■ China
Firms get tough on SARS
Chinese companies in Hong Kong and the neighbouring city of Shenzhen have adopted tough anti-SARS disciplinary measures, including the sacking of staff if they have visited infected areas. Staff at the Splendid China theme park in Shenzhen were warned a week ago not to visit the Baishizhou and Dachong districts of the city where more than 20 suspected cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, were recently detected, the South China Morning Post reported.
■ Bangladesh
Drug smuggler set free
The High Court in Bangladesh has set free a Nigerian national who spent a decade in jail for smuggling drugs into the country, anti-narcotics officials said yesterday. Nigerian Robert Blackson and his American girlfriend Eliada McCord were caught with more than 3kg of heroin in their possession at the airport in the capital Dhaka in 1992. Both were convicted and given life imprisonment terms by a criminal court under the country's stiff anti-drug laws. McCord was earlier released by the Bangladeshi authorities after her mercy petition and intervention by the US government.
■ The Philippines
Missionary book sells well
Filipinos were snapping up the controversial book of an American missionary held captive for more than one year by Moslem Abu Sayyaf rebels on a southern Philippine island.
Sales of Gracia Burnhams' book, In the Presence of My Enemies, have been brisk since it became available last Tuesday, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The main branch of the bookstore chain Powerbooks ran out of copies to display on the first day of release because most were on hold for early reservations, the Inquirer said. Jane Mendoza, a Powerbooks branch manager, said the store chain sold a total of 194 copies on the first day - "a big quantity" for a book that had no formal launch in the country.
■United Kingdom
Politicians lie professionally
It's official. After intensive research, scientists have concluded that politicians lie. In a study described in Britain's Observer newspaper, Glen Newey, a political scientist at Britain's University of Strathclyde, concluded that lying is an important part of politics in the modern democracy. "Politicians need to be more honest about lying," he told the newspaper. According to Newey, voters expect to be lied to in certain circumstances, and sometimes even require it. "Politics should be regarded as less like an exercise in producing truthful statements and more like a poker game," he said.
■ Belgium
Election seems close
Belgian voters cast their ballots yesterday in what analysts predict will be a fiercely fought contest to choose the country's next government. Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt's ruling "rainbow coalition" of liberal, socialist and green parties is braced for tough competition from rivals in both Dutch-speaking Flanders, and Wallonia, the Francophone part of the country. Pre-election surveys point to a three-way race in Flanders where the Flemish Liberals, Christian Democrats and Socialists are running neck and neck. On the ascent in Flanders is the far-right anti-immigrant Vlaams Blok. In contrast, popular support for the Greens is on the way down. In French-speaking Wallonia, according to surveys, the Socialist Party, led by Elio Di Rupo, remains the poll topper.
■ Cuba
More hijackers executed
A Cuban court has handed out five life sentences in an attempted plane hijacking last month, the communist-party newspaper Granma reported Saturday. Three other men were sentenced to 20, 25 and 30 years in prison for the attempted terrorist assault on April 10, in which they tried to force a domestic flight from Nueva Gerona to Havana to fly to the US, it added. A month ago, three men were executed for the attempted hijacking of a boat that they wanted to take to Florida. The executions and quick trial of the three men were criticized by governments and activists, as were the prison sentences handed down for 75 dissidents.
■ Zimbabwe
Mugabe expels journalist
Robert Mugabe stood accused on Saturday of flouting his own country's laws as opposition groups in Zimbabwe joined a chorus of international outrage at the forcible expulsion of Andrew Meldrum, the Zimbabwe correspondent for the Observer and Guardian newspapers. Yesterday in London he charged Zimbabwe's government with `abducting' him to frighten other journalists from reporting on the worsening human rights situation.
■ United States
Bush reports eight tickets
It's only rock 'n' roll, but questions are being raised about eight Rolling Stones concert tickets totaling US$2,533 for US President George W. Bush's daughter Jenna. On Thursday, George Bush released the financial disclosure form for himself and his family for last year, reporting a net worth of at least US$8.8 million and up to US$21.9 million. In the filing, Bush reported accepting six Rolling Stones concert tickets from the boss of Sony Entertainment at the time, Tommy Mottola, and two Stones tickets from the Secret Service detail in Austin, Texas.
Agencies
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