■ Afghanistan
Taliban frees captives
Two Indians kidnapped by Taliban militants in southeastern Afghanistan have been freed after more than two weeks in captivity, Afghan officials said yesterday. The two were kidnapped on Dec. 6 when they went to buy chickens in a village near Shahjoy, 280km southwest of Kabul, in the heart of Zabul province which has been wracked by violence blamed on Taliban militants. Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali said last Thursday Afghan officials had been negotiating for the release of the Indians who were working for Indian joint venture firm BSC/C and C that was helping rebuild the important Kabul-Kandahar highway.
■ The Philippines
Estrada's release questioned
Philippine government prosecutors said yesterday they would seek a Supreme Court ruling to block the release of ex-president Joseph Estrada for three months to get medical treatment in the US. "We might ask for a temporary restraining order," chief special prosecutor Dennis Villa Ignacio said. He was speaking a day after a special anti-graft court, which is trying Estrada on charges of massive corruption, agreed to release him for medical treatment.
■ Bangladesh
Maoist rebel dies in shootout
A shootout between Maoist rebels and security personnel left an insurgent dead and four policemen and a frontier guard wounded, officials said yesterday. The fighting erupted late on Tuesday after government security forces raided a suspected rebel hideout in a remote village in Khulna district, 135km southwest of national capital Dhaka. Police recovered the bullet-ridden body of a guerrilla after about a dozen other rebels fled in darkness, a police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Frontier troops last week joined police in a drive against suspected Maoist rebels who have killed more than a dozen villagers in western Bangladesh in the past two months.
■ Singapore
Chinese visitors welcomed
Singapore is easing visa restrictions for visitors from China, widely seen as the next big source market for tourists, as the city state's tourism sector struggles to recover from this year's SARS outbreak. From next month, visas issued to Chinese visitors travelling independently of tour groups would be valid for five weeks, up from three, and visitors could stay for up to 30 days, up from 14, the tourism authority said yesterday. Forty-three Chinese tour agencies would be able to help customers obtain visas to Singapore, up from three, a board official said.
■ Thailand
Python asphyxiates helper
A Thai man remained unconscious in hospital yesterday after being nearly asphyxiated by a 4m python he was transporting on a motorbike for release in a national park. Emergency workers called to a roadside on Tuesday in Prachinburi province, 136km east of Bangkok, were shocked to discover the python tightly coiled around victim Samrauy Phonlerk, a local villager. More than a dozen people beat the snake with sticks for over 20 minutes before the 20kg reptile released its death grip and was eventually subdued, local police Lieutenant Chumphol Buachum said. Samrauy, 43, had volunteered to release the snake in the province's remote national park after alarmed residents caught it slithering through Prachinburi town.
■ United States
Pentagon backs vaccine
The Pentagon defended the safety, effectiveness and necessity of the anthrax vaccine it has made mandatory for US troops on Tuesday, but stopped administering it one day after a judge ordered an end to the inoculations without the consent of service members. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Department of Defense said, "The Department will stop giving anthrax vaccinations until the legal situation is clarified." On Monday, a district judge issued an order prohibiting mandatory anthrax inoculations until a trial could be held on a lawsuit filed by six unnamed military personnel and Pentagon civilian workers.
■ Italy
PM's station given lifeline
The Italian Cabinet passed an emergency decree on Tuesday to save one of the prime minister's private TV channels from possible closure at the end of the year. The decree is seen by critics as the most blatant case so far of Silvio Berlusconi changing laws to protect his business interests. The decree gives four months breathing space to Retequattro, which a court had ruled must move to satellite at the end of this year, where it could lose an estimated 250 million euros annually in advertising revenue.
■ Canada
Vancouver hit by syphilis
Vancouver is facing the worst outbreak of syphilis per capita in the developed world, with city health officials fearful of a looming epidemic of the sexually transmitted disease once thought almost wiped out in North America. Some 254 new cases have been diagnosed locally this year authorities said early this week -- more than the total for North America in two decades, with more expected, said Dr. Michael Rekart of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control. "Our outbreak is primarily among sex trade workers now, but we're worried about it jumping to the gay community and beyond and creating a bigger epidemic," Rekart said.
■ Canada
Court upholds ban on pot
The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld laws banning the use of marijuana, just months before Ottawa is expected to introduce legislation scrapping those very same laws. Three men convicted of possessing pot had appealed their cases all the way to the nation's top court, saying the threat of imprisonment for using the drug in private was excessive and breached their constitutional rights to life and liberty. But the court, in a 6-3 decision, said laws banning the possession and trafficking of pot were fair because the drug was widely considered to be dangerous.
■ Malawi
Tembo cleared to run
Malawi's Supreme Court of Appeal on Tuesday wiped the criminal record of the country's main opposition leader, John Tembo, paving the way for him to return to parliament and stand for president next year. Tembo, 72, is seen as frontrunner to represent an opposition coalition against the ruling United Democratic Front's Bingu Mutharika, the anointed successor of President Bakili Muluzi.
The High Court ruled in August that Tembo should be barred from holding office for seven years because he had a criminal record -- a previous conviction for contempt of court. The Supreme Court ruled that Tembo's conviction was civil, and therefore did not mean he had a criminal record.
Tunisian President Kais Saied yesterday condemned a European Parliament resolution on human rights calling for the release of his critics as “blatant interference.” The EU Parliament resolution, voted by an overwhelming majority the day before, called for the release of lawyer Sonia Dahmani, a popular critic of Saied, who was freed from prison on Thursday, but remained under judicial supervision. “The European Parliament [resolution] is a blatant interference in our affairs,” Saied said. “They can learn lessons from us on rights and freedoms.” Saied’s condemnation also came two days after he summoned the EU’s ambassador for “failing to respect diplomatic rules.” He also
Tropical Storm Koto killed three people and left another missing as it approached Vietnam, authorities said yesterday, as strong winds and high seas buffeted vessels off the country’s flood-hit central coast. Heavy rains have lashed Vietnam’s middle belt in recent weeks, flooding historic sites and popular holiday destinations, and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Authorities ordered boats to shore and diverted dozens of flights as Koto whipped up huge waves and dangerous winds, state media reported. Two vessels sank in the rough seas, a fishing boat in Khanh Hoa province and a smaller raft in Lam Dong, according to the
Sri Lanka made an appeal for international assistance yesterday as the death toll from heavy rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 123, with another 130 reported missing. The extreme weather system has destroyed nearly 15,000 homes, sending almost 44,000 people to state-run temporary shelters, the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said. DMC Director-General Sampath Kotuwegoda said relief operations had been strengthened with the deployment of thousands of troops from the country’s army, navy and air force. “We have 123 confirmed dead and another 130 missing,” Kotuwegoda told reporters in Colombo. Cyclone Ditwah was moving away from the island yesterday and
The pledge by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to “work, work, work, work and work” for her country has been named the catchphrase of the year, recognizing the effort Japan’s first female leader had to make to reach the top. Takaichi uttered the phrase in October when she was elected as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Many were initially as worried about her work ethic as supportive of her enthusiasm. In a country notorious for long working hours, especially for working women who are also burdened with homemaking and caregiving, overwork is a sensitive topic. The recognition triggered a
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