■ Indonesia
Police battle slum dwellers
Indonesian police clashed with hundreds of slum dwellers yesterday, firing tear gas and warning shots as they attempted to evict them from land in the capital slated for a shopping center, a media report said. Wailing families burned tires and screamed "Go to hell," at police, according to privately owned El-Shinta radio. Most families ignored orders to abandon their homes and watched as police began destroying some 1,500 shacks, the radio station reported. In the past month, local authorities have stepped up a campaign to remove shanties from land abandoned after the 1997 to 1998 Asian financial crisis.
■ South Korea
Fines target illegal workers
South Korea's government said yesterday it will double the fines imposed on illegal workers and their employers in an effort to reduce the growing problem of foreigners overstaying their visas. The Justice Ministry has revised regulations to impose up to 20 million won (US$17,390) in fines for employers of foreigners with expired visas or without valid visas, the Yonhap news agency said. The maximum fine was previously 10 million won (US$8,695). Illegal foreigners will also be fined a maximum of 20 million won, deported to their native countries and banned from re-entering Korea, Yonhap said, quoting the Justice Ministry.
■ Australia
Archbishop speaks on gays
Sydney's Anglican Archbishop said yesterday that the Britain-based church may have to expel its American wing and a Canadian diocese which blesses same-sex unions. Archbishop Peter Jensen said the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has three options for dealing with deep divisions in the 77 million-member church over the issue of homosexuality -- ignore it, recognize different opinions on homosexuality as valid, or withdraw recognition from the American church and the Canadian diocese of New Westminster. Williams has called a meeting for later this month of Anglican primates from all over the world to discuss the issue.
■ Pakistan
Troops hunt down suspects
Pakistan sent in troops and helicopters to a remote tribal region near the border with Afghanistan yesterday to hunt down suspected al-Qaeda militants hiding there. Major General Shaukat Sultan, spokesman for the Pakistan military, said the operation in the mountainous Wana region, some 350km southwest of the capital Islamabad, was a fresh effort to apprehend suspected al-Qaeda members. "It started early this morning in the Wana area," he said. "Our Quick Reaction Force is involved. Our ground troops and aviation assets are also taking part in it. No US or foreign troops are involved," he added.
■ Bangladesh
Man killed for porn protest
A man was beaten to death with bamboo sticks and a hammer for protesting the screening of pornographic material at a movie theater in northern Bangladesh, a news report said yesterday. Mesba-ul Haq, 21, scuffled with several moviegoers when he protested the showing of clips from a Western pornographic film during the screening Wednesday of a Bengali movie in Godagari village in Rajshahi district, the Daily Janakantha newspaper reported. At the end of the show, about six men assaulted Haq outside the theater, leaving him seriously injured. He later died at a hospital in Rajshahi city, 270km north of Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital.
■ Australia
Brothels ready for rugby
Australian brothels are recruiting extra dominatrices in anticipation of a boom in business generated by this month's Rugby World Cup, a sex industry spokesman said yesterday. With more than 100,000 overseas visitors expected for the tournament, Eros Association coordinator Robbie Swan said brothels believed business would increase by at least 30 percent. Swan said rugby union's English public school heritage meant demand for bondage and domination services was likely to skyrocket. Swan said that major events were always good for business. He said that in Canberra, where his business is based, the biggest event they'd ever had was the World Council of Churches conference in 1994 when business was up 250 percent
■ France
Pope still leading
Pope John Paul II is "very ill" but still is able to lead his Church, the head of the French episcopacy said Wednesday. "Things shouldn't be hidden. This pope is very ill," Stanislas Lalane said on Europe-1 radio, noting that the pope has difficulty moving and talking. The 83-year-old pontiff doesn't work alone, he said. "He is surrounded by collaborators. "But I assure you the Church is governed," Lalane said, noting John Paul's important decisions recently made and a heavy schedule that includes a ceremony on Oct.19 in which Mother Teresa is to be beatified. The pontiff suffers from Parkinson's disease.
■ United States
Jeb recruited by Bush team
Governor Jeb Bush of Florida will serve as chairman of his brother's re-election campaign in the state, whose votes could prove crucial in the presidential election next fall. The George W. Bush campaign announced the appointment on Wednesday, along with that of Brett Doster, a 32-year-old lobbyist and former aide to Jeb Bush, as the president's Florida campaign manager. The campaign also released the names of 59 leaders who will help raise money and get out the vote for President Bush here. They include Armando Codina, a Miami real estate developer and former business partner of Jeb Bush.
■ Germany
Glue spill clogs roads
A weary Dutch truck driver who nodded off at the wheel created a sticky situation for German emergency on Wednesday: his load of glue spilled right across the autobahn. Denmark's main route to the sun, the A7 freeway from the Danish border southwards, was blocked by the overnight crash. Police said the semi-trailer first veered into the soft shoulder, then swerved across the center strip and came to rest on the opposite carriageway. Between 1,000 and 2,000 liters of liquid gum for paper spilled from plastic barrels and had to be blasted off the asphalt with high-pressure steam guns.
■ United nations
Deal with Iran, US urged
Iran is likely to be able to make a nuclear weapon within two years and Washington should consider a deal giving Tehran security, diplomatic and economic benefits to persuade it to abandon its nuclear arms programs, according to a report prepared for the Pentagon. The report, by a weapons expert with close ties to the White House hard-liners, recommended UN measures to stop Iran importing technology that could be used in nuclear arms and said covert operations should be considered against Iranian nuclear facilities.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
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