■ Hong Kong
Murder suspect wife in court
An American woman appeared in court yesterday on a charge of murdering her investment banker husband and was ordered to stay in custody while police continue their investigation. Nancy Kissel, 39, is accused in the beating death of 40-year-old Rob Kissel, who was a managing director in debt markets in the Hong Kong office of Wall Street investment bank Merrill Lynch. Kissel kept her eyes downcast during her first court appearance and nodded when Magistrate Timothy Jenkins asked if she understood the charge. She did not have to enter a plea. Police found her husband's body on Nov. 6 wrapped in plastic sheets and carpet in an underground storeroom the couple had rented.
■ cambodia
King admonishes police
Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk yesterday sent a handwritten letter to the national police demanding the institution lose its "Fascist" ways. "If our dear National Police wants to be worthy of the people, it should not spurn and suppress peaceful and unarmed demonstrators by using dogs that are trained to kill, electric batons and other inhuman and fascist methods," wrote the monarch. "Our National Police must be `Buddhist' and not `Fascist'." The letter, faxed to news agencies, came just two days after riot police beat approximately 300 garment workers with electric batons when they attempted to march from a Phnom Penh garment factory to the National Assembly.
■ China
Cops that gamble, drink fired
China has fired 259 police officers this year for gambling, drinking on duty, drunk driving and carrying guns off duty, as part of attempts to professionalize the country's force, state media reported yesterday. The sackings follow new rules imposed earlier this year explicitly forbidding such behavior, resulting in investigations of 587 police officers, the Shanghai Daily reported. Fifteen inspection teams are monitoring police behavior nationwide, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
■ Nepal
UN investigation requested
Human rights group Amnesty International has asked Nepal to let UN experts investigate alleged illegal detention, torture and disappearance of people suspected of being Maoist rebels. "Several people who have recently been released have made serious allegations of torture and ill-treatment during their period of detention. Most are held blindfolded all the time," the London-based group said in a statement yesterday. Amnesty said it has asked Nepal to let experts from the UN Human Rights Commission investigate reports that at least 60 people have been illegally arrested or had disappeared since late August, when fighting resumed after the rebels pulled out of peace talks.
■ Malaysia
Newspaper chief sacked
The editor-in-chief of Malaysia's New Straits Times group has lost his job after publishing comments that media executives said had upset the country's ruling party, media sources said yesterday. The sacking of Abdullah Ahmad, following what one source said was a Saudi protest over an article criticizing the kingdom's royal family, is set to cause ripples in the industry because media editors usually rise and fall with the government's nod. The New Straits Times is linked to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's ruling United Malays National Organisation.
■ Singapore
Al-Jazeera wants journalists
The controversial Arabic television station, al-Jazeera, is seeking journalists in Singapore and "anywhere we can find them" for its English-language Web site, a spokesman said in a published interview yesterday. The station has already advertised in The Staits Times, seeking experienced journalists with a good grasp of international and Middle East affairs. The spokesman told the daily newspaper Streats that vacancies have been filled and its English Web site is expanding. The Qatar-based news network has been criticized by the US and Britain for its news coverage that is viewed as inflammatory and biased.
■ Brazil
Slave descendants get land
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva promised on Thursday to give land rights to descendants of runaway slaves, saying blacks in Brazil still face discrimination similar to slavery. Speaking in a community founded by Brazil's most famous runaway slave leader, Zumbi, Lula said his government would give titles to land making up the estimated 743 such settlements in a country that imported more African slaves than any other. Brazil received 40 percent of all African slaves, part of the reason that the country has the world's second largest black population after Nigeria.
■ Colombia
Rebels to free backpackers
Colombian Marxist rebels said on Thursday they would soon free Spanish and German backpackers they kidnapped in September but made no mention of four Israelis and an Englishman they were also holding. The announcement by the National Liberation Army came as one rebel demand for freeing its seven hostages appeared to have been met. The Roman Catholic Church said it would participate in a commission to look into the human rights situation in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
■ United States
Bush's rating steady
President George W. Bush continues to have a positive job approval rating with the public -- even though there are considerable doubts about his handling of key issues. The fact that many people like Bush may be keeping his overall approval healthy, a Los Angeles Times poll suggests. Bush's job approval was at 54 percent in the Times poll out Thursday. It has ranged from about 50 percent to the mid-50s in several recent polls. People are divided on his handling of Iraq and his handling of the economy -- though his ratings on Iraq have been sliding and his ratings on the economy have been moving up gradually from relatively low ratings in late summer.
■ India
Migrants flee violence
Thousands of migrants rushed to leave India's northeast state of Assam yesterday after days of violence in which at least 34 people have died and hundreds of homes torched. Most of the dead are settlers from neighboring Bihar state in a conflict triggered by competition for jobs in Assam. Thousands of settlers, some leaving behind their possessions, crowded railway stations across the state to catch trains headed for Bihar. The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), fighting for an independent Assam nation, on Wednesday ordered Biharis to leave or be killed.
■ United States
Doubts over Blair's health
Fresh doubts about British Prime Minister Tony Blair's health were raised on Thursday night after the Queen reportedly disclosed he had suffered heart problems in the past. Downing Street attempted to stonewall inquiries but a well-placed source from the prime minister's Sedgefield constituency claimed the Labour leader suffered palpitations or a similar condition before the 1997 election. No 10 refused to discuss Blair's health as comments attributed to the Queen cast further doubt on official denials of difficulties.
■ United States
Phil Spector charged
Prosecutors on Thursday charged 1960s pop producer Phil Spector with the murder of an actress in his hilltop mansion nine months ago, officials said. The long-delayed criminal complaint alleges that Spector used a gun in the killing of Lana Clarkson, 40, on Feb. 3. Spector, who has remained free on US$1 million bail, appeared Thursday for an arraignment wearing black clothes, dark glasses and platform shoes. The music mogul did not enter a plea and was ordered to appear in court again on Jan. 23 for a date to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for trial.
■ United States
Plague expert in court
A bubonic plague expert facing 69 federal charges, including lying to the FBI, took the stand in his own defense on Thursday, saying government agents coerced him into making a false statement to calm public fears about missing plague samples. Thomas Butler, a plague expert at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, testified in federal court that he made a statement declaring he had destroyed the vials containing bacteria that cause the plague because he trusted the FBI officer involved. "If you continue to say they [the vials] are missing or stolen, and not destroyed, we are going to be here a long time," Butler quoted FBI Agent Dale Green as telling him during questioning.
■ Greece
Hunger strikers near death
Five jailed anti-globalization demonstrators on hunger strike since late September are edging closer to death, one of their lawyers said on Thursday. The five -- two Spaniards, a Briton, a Syrian and a Greek -- were among seven protesters arrested in riots on the sidelines of an EU summit in northern Greece in June and charged with crimes including possession of explosives and weapons. The group were jailed pending trial but a court date has yet to be set and the group's lawyers have appealed to the Greek minister of justice for release on bail. The hunger strikers, protesting their innocence, were transferred last week to Athens' top security prison after their condition deteriorated.
■ Zimbabwe
Court releases protesters
A magistrate freed 52 people, including 14 labor leaders, two days after their arrest during nationwide demonstrations against President Robert Mugabe's autocratic rule. Nearly 90 people were arrested on Tuesday, including 52 people arrested in the capital, among them the four top leaders of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. The 52 detainees first appeared Thursday, but were released on condition that they return yesterday to face charges of violating the nation's strict security laws. Labor leaders called for a nationwide strike to protest Tuesday's arrests, but it failed to take hold Thursday.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
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