■ Myanmar
18 fast for Suu Kyi
About 18 activists fasted yesterday to protest the detention of Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The US State Department reported last week that Suu Kyi was on a hunger strike. However, a Red Cross official on Saturday said Suu Kyi was well and not refusing food after a team from the organization visited her. The fast at Lumpini Park in the Thai capital began early yesterday and was scheduled to last 12 hours, according to the Bangkok-based human rights group Forum Asia, which organized the protest. "Today's event aims to send the message that ... [Myanmar's government] must release Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners immediately and unconditionally," the group said. Sunday marked the
■ China
Corruption clampdown
The son of a disgraced former Chinese governor and five others have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for corruption, in a major expose of graft linking government officials, private businessmen and state corporations. Li Bo, the son of former Yunnan province Governor Li Jiating, was given the heaviest sentence by the Kunming Municipal Intermediate Court. Beginning in 1996, Li Bo allegedly collected more than 15 million yuan (US$1.8 million) in bribes and kickbacks involving contracts for tobacco and gasoline, the Beijing Morning Post said. Sentenced with him was the former governor's mistress, Xu Fuying, and a former county chief was given the second-heaviest sentence -- 10 years -- for corruption and embezzlement.
■ Indonesia
Four die escaping fire
Four people died after leaping early yesterday from a burning ballroom on the top floor of a hotel on an Indonesian tourist island, police said. Nineteen others were injured in the fire on Batam island, sparked by a cigarette during a late-night wedding in the nine-story Harmoni Hotel's ballroom, police duty officer Bachrul Effendi said. It took firefighters two hours to put out the fire, which began at around 4am, he said.
■ Pakistan
Al-Qaeda hunters attacked
Attackers fired three rockets at an airport housing Pakistan military troops hunting for al-Qaeda and Taliban fugitives, but there were no injuries or damage, a military official said yesterday. The attack occurred late Friday in Bannu, a conservative tribal city about 250km southwest of the capital, Islamabad, said Major General Shaukat Sultan, a military spokesman. There was no claim of responsibility and Sultan said officials were investigating who was responsible. Two rockets exploded in deserted areas inside the airport grounds. The third rocket failed to explode, he said.
■ North Korea
Pyongyang sets up parade
North Korea has moved missiles and tanks to an airport near its capital for a military parade marking the founding anniversary this week of its communist government, reports said yesterday. North Korea is using the parade and other programs for tomorrow's national day celebrations to boost unity in a stand-off with the US over the Stalinist state's nuclear ambitions, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said. Scud missiles, tanks and military vehicles have gathered in Mirim Airport near Pyongyang for the parade, it said. North Korea was "decked in a festive attire to celebrate" the anniversary, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
■ Northern Ireland
Trimble wins tense vote
Northern Ireland's main Protestant party, the Ulster Unionists, on Saturday backed leader David Trimble and voted in favour of sticking with the province's stalled peace process. In a tense vote in a Belfast concert hall, the Ulster Unionist Council (UUC) supported Trimble against hardliners who had urged the council to reject the landmark 1998 Good Friday agreement for peace in the British province. Northern Ireland's Roman Catholic republicans want the province reunited with the Irish Republic to the south, while Protestant loyalists want it to remain part of Britain.
■ United Kingdom
Woman top millionaires list
A new study shows that divorce, inheritance and sexual equality in schools have helped Britain's women overtake the men in terms of numbers of millionaires, London's Sunday Times said. The report to be published this week by research company Datamonitor -- based on information from tax collectors, banks and other financial institutions -- showed that there are now 299,300 female millionaires in Britain compared with 271,700 male. The number of women millionaires in Britain has been steadily rising on the back of social trends, especially equal treatment for sons and daughters in inheritance and the climbing divorce rate, The Sunday Times said.
■ Germany
Dogs protest treatment
More than 3,000 dogs were paraded through central Berlin in a demonstration by owners for more rights and public tolerance. A number of the dogs in the parade that snarled traffic throughout the center of the German capital were wearing costumes. Speakers at the second annual "Fiffi Parade" called on the local government to set aside larger areas where dogs can roam free without leashes. "We need pro-dog rules and not anti-dog laws," said Gisela Duellberg, one of the organizers.
■ Germany
Al-Qaeda investigation ends
Prosecutors said Saturday they have closed an investigation into a Syrian-born German businessman who was suspected of links to the Hamburg-based al-Qaeda cell that carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the US. The investigation against Abdel-Mateen Tatari for suspected membership or support of a terrorist group was closed at the end of June, said Frauke Scheuten, a spokeswoman for federal prosecutors. Tatari has said he and his family knew members of the Sept. 11 cell, including lead hijacker Mohamed Atta, but insisted they never had any hint of terror plots.
■ Colombia
President to probe claims
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said Saturday his office would investigate lawmakers' claims that former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt might soon be freed by her left-wing rebel captors. Uribe spoke after two Colombian lawmakers claimed Friday that Betancourt, is set to be freed shortly by FARC rebels who want her to push for a hostage-rebel prisoner exchange. "I am going to investigate the root of your curiosity, but I have no news," Uribe said when questioned by reporters about the lawmakers' claims. Betancourt, is a French diplomat and has also become a cause celebre in France, which in June sent a military plane to Brazil in an apparent abortive rescue mission.
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
The United States Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday it plans to adopt rules to bar companies from connecting undersea submarine communication cables to the US that include Chinese technology or equipment. “We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement. “We are therefore taking action here to guard our submarine cables against foreign adversary ownership, and access as well as cyber and physical threats.” The United States has for years expressed concerns about China’s role in handling network traffic and the potential for espionage. The U.S. has
IDENTITY: A sex extortion scandal involving Thai monks has deeply shaken public trust in the clergy, with 11 monks implicated in financial misconduct Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith. Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in breach of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts. The monks are said to have paid nearly US$12 million, funneled out of their monasteries, funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation. The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern that their status
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
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