■ Pakistan
Troops executed by militants
Eight Pakistani soldiers have been found executed a few days after being taken hostage during fighting with al Qaeda militants and their tribal allies near the border with Afghanistan, officials said on yesterday. The soldiers, their hands tied behind their backs and apparently shot at close range, were found on Friday near Wana, the capital of the South Waziristan area in Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal territories. They were likely killed shortly after their convoy was ambushed on Monday, a Pakistan Army official said. The soldiers' deaths could spark an outburst of anger against the al Qaeda militants.
■ Asia
Cheney to pay a visit
US Vice President Dick Cheney begins an tour to northeast Asia on April 10 that will focus on curbing North Korea's nuclear ambitions, on Iraq and on trade policy. The trip, only his third overseas mission since taking office in 2001, will take Cheney to Japan, China and South Korea, Japan's Foreign Ministry and the White House said. The three Asian countries are among the six parties, along with Russia, the US and North Korea, to the slow-moving talks on reclusive Pyongyang's nuclear programmes, an issue that will top his agenda, analysts said.
■ Malaysia
Police arrest top crook
Malaysian police have detained an allegedly high-ranking underworld figure believed to control a stable of vice and illegal gambling dens, local media reported yesterday. The suspect's name was not disclosed pending formal charges being filed after a 60-day detention period. But reports said he was a businessman who carried important civilian honors, including the title "datuk" -- equivalent to a knighthood, and who is a justice of the peace. He was being investigated on suspicion of vice, gambling, crimes of violence, loan sharking and money laundering. The New Straits Times newspaper described the suspect as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" in the leadership of Malaysia's underworld.
■ Indonesia
Woman poses as president
A woman has been arrested for trying to trick the governor of Indonesia's capital into handing over US$17.4 million in election funds after claiming to act on behalf of President Megawati Sukarnoputri, a news report said yesterday. Governor Sutiyoso said he received a call from a woman claiming to be Megawati, asking for 150 billion rupiah (US$17.4 million) for emergency election expenses, the Kompas daily said. The phony Megawati told Sutiyoso that she would send a woman to his office to collect the money. When the woman claiming to be the "right hand" of Megawati came to his office on Friday, he handed her a letter which said: "150 billion rupiah? We are not as stupid as you think. Sorry."
■ Australia
Aussies `lack masculinity'
Australia's opposition leader said yesterday he wants better teaching, tougher discipline and more male teachers at the nation's schools. Labor leader Mark Latham, who believes Australian boys are suffering a "crisis of masculinity" because of a lack of male role models, unveiled part of his plan to tackle the problem in a speech to primary school principles. "We want to ensure that as parents select a school for their children, they have a guarantee of quality, strong resourcing, teaching and discipline," Latham said.
■ Russia
No to Jehovah's Witnesses
A Moscow court on Friday banned the Jehovah's Witnesses from practising in the Russian capital in a case that has dragged on since 1988 and prompted accusations of a crackdown on religious freedom. A Moscow district court upheld prosecutors' demand for the religious organization to be shut down in Moscow on the grounds that the group harms its members' life and health, the Interfax news agency reported. The court decision does not affect the group's activities elsewhere in Russia. "Jehovah's Witnesses are liquidated and banned in Moscow," a spokesman for the group, Christian Presber, told reporters, adding that an appeal would be lodged shortly.
■ Great Britain
School to be investigated
British lawmakers are to investigate a school in which nearly half the pupils miss months of classes each year to visit relatives in the subcontinent, many in Pakistan, London's Times newspaper said yesterday. More than 40 percent of pupils at Victoria Primary School in Keighley, northwest England, are absent for an average of 10 school weeks -- a quarter of the academic year, the daily said. In one case, a boy was reportedly taken away without warning or agreement and then simply returned to the school 14 months later. "Many of the parents come from tiny villages on the subcontinent, have no knowledge of schools and don't realize it's important," said Anne Cryer, the Labour member of parliament for the area.
■ United States
Bishop given probation
The former head of the Roman Catholic Church in Phoenix was sentenced on Friday to four years probation for leaving the scene of an accident that killed a pedestrian and ended the cleric's career. Bishop Thomas O'Brien also was ordered by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Stephen Gerst to perform 1,000 hours of community service with severely injured, dying or mentally ill individuals for the fatal hit-and-run last summer. The 68-year-old bishop, who for 21 years directed the 460,000-member Phoenix diocese, was also given a six-month deferred jail sentence, time he would have to serve if he fails to complete the terms of his probation and community service.
■ United States
Hemingway house to open
The granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway wants to open the house in which the writer shot himself to death in 1961 despite protests by neighbors, a newspaper report said. The house in Ketchum, Idaho, has never been on public display, but Mariel Hemingway, an actress and co-chairwoman of the Idaho Hemingway House Foundation, wants to restore the house and allow in tourists and hold literary and other events there. "People are fascinated with Ernest Hemingway as a man who knew how to live life," Mariel Hemingway said.
■ United States
Yellow ribbons removed
Yellow ribbons tied around utility poles to welcome soldiers home from Iraq were removed by the National Park Service, which says they are a political statement. About a dozen ribbons were posted along a park service-owned street that runs through the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, where his presidential library, birthplace and grave site are all located. A resident who was involved in placing about 40 ribbons around town said she cannot understand the objection.
FLYBY: The object, appears to be traveling more than 60 kilometers per second, meaning it is not bound by the sun’s orbit, astronomers studying 3I/Atlas said Astronomers on Wednesday confirmed the discovery of an interstellar object racing through the solar system — only the third-ever spotted, although scientists suspect many more might slip past unnoticed. The visitor from the stars, designated 3I/Atlas, is likely the largest yet detected, and has been classified as a comet, or cosmic snowball. “It looks kind of fuzzy,” said Peter Veres, an astronomer with the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center, which was responsible for the official confirmation. “It seems that there is some gas around it, and I think one or two telescopes reported a very short tail.” Originally known as A11pl3Z before
US President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday accused Harvard University of violating the civil rights of its Jewish and Israeli students, and threatened to cut off all federal funding if the university does not take urgent action. Harvard has been at the forefront of Trump’s campaign against top US universities after it defied his calls to submit to oversight of its curriculum, staffing, student recruitment and “viewpoint diversity.” Trump and his allies claim that Harvard and other prestigious universities are unaccountable bastions of liberal, anti-conservative bias and anti-Semitism. In a letter sent to the president of Harvard, a federal task
‘CONTINUE TO SERVE’: The 90-year-old Dalai Lama said he hoped to be able to continue serving ‘sentient beings and the Buddha Dharma’ for decades to come The Dalai Lama yesterday said he dreamed of living for decades more, as the Buddhist spiritual leader prayed with thousands of exiled Tibetans on the eve of his 90th birthday. Thumping drums and deep horns reverberated from the Indian hilltop temple, as a chanting chorus of red-robed monks and nuns offered long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Looking in good health, dressed in traditional maroon monk robes and a flowing yellow wrap, he led prayers — days after confirming that the 600-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution would continue after his death. Many exiled Tibetans
Hundreds of protesters marched through the Mexican capital on Friday denouncing gentrification caused by foreigners, with some vandalizing businesses and shouting “gringos out!” The demonstration in the capital’s central area turned violent when hooded individuals smashed windows, damaged restaurant furniture and looted a clothing store. Mexico City Government Secretary Cesar Cravioto said 15 businesses and public facilities were damaged in what he called “xenophobic expressions” similar to what Mexican migrants have suffered in other countries. “We are a city of open arms... there are always ways to negotiate, to sit at the table,” Cravioto told Milenio television. Neighborhoods like Roma-Condesa
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