■ Philippines
Greenpeace fined
Environmental activist group Greenpeace was fined yesterday for damaging coral reefs in a World Heritage Site in the western Philippines after its flagship Rainbow Warrior ran aground in the protected area. The incident occurred on Monday as Greenpeace led an expedition to the Tubbataha Reefs off Palawan Province, 600km southwest of Manila. According to a joint statement by Greenpeace and the management office of the Tubbataha National Marine Park, the Rainbow Warrior's bow sliced through a reef formation and damaged a total area of 96m2. The fine for the damage was assessed at 384,000 pesos (US$6,857), the statement added.
■ Kyrgyzstan
20 killed in prison riots
At least 20 inmates were killed yesterday after riots in four jails in the Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan sparked by the transfer of a jailed criminal gang leader, a prison administration official told reporters. "More than 20 prisoners were killed after special operations this morning," the official said on condition of anonymity. The riots were sparked by an attempt to move around 25 inmates led by criminal kingpin Aziz Batukayev out of Moldovanovka jail near Bishkek where a lawmaker was killed last month during a visit in clashes between inmates and prison guards, officials said. "There was an attempt to move several criminal gang leaders, including Aziz Batukayev, into quieter prisons and search all the prisoners," the official said.
■ India
Acclaimed writer dies
Renowned Indian writer Amrita Pritam, whose prose and poetry reflected the pain of the subcontinent's division and the turbulence of her own life, has died in her sleep at age 86. Pritam died Monday at her home in New Delhi, where she had been bedridden since a 2002 fall broke her pelvis bone, Press Trust of India reported. Pritam was first published at 17. In a career that spanned more than six decades, she wrote 24 novels, 15 collections of short stories and 23 volumes of poems in both Punjabi and Hindi.
■ Japan
Death penalty may be nixed
Speculation that Japan, one of the few developed nations to maintain the death penalty, may review its policy grew yesterday after the country's new justice minister said he would not sign execution warrants. Seiken Sugiura later retracted the remark, made at a late night news conference after his appointment on Monday, but not before stirring talk that the government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi may consider a review of capital punishment. Japan, alongside its close ally the US, is among a small group of developed nations retaining the death penalty. Kyodo news agency quoted Sugiura as saying he would not sign for executions, carried out in Japan by hanging.
■ Azerbaijan
Election doomed: report
Human Rights Watch said that it would be impossible to hold a free and fair parliamentary election in Azerbaijan this coming weekend due to violence and intimidation of the opposition. In a report issued on Monday, the New York based group described arrests and beatings of opposition supporters, and expressed fear of a new crackdown against protesters. "The existing climate of intimidation, particularly against the opposition Azadliq bloc, has sent a strong message to voters about whom they should support" in Sunday's balloting, Human Rights Watch said.
■ Tanzania
Opposition claim victory
Zanzibar's main opposition party said yesterday its candidate won a presidential poll which has triggered three days of violence in the semi-autonomous islands. "Despite the massive attempts at rigging, our returns indicate our presidential candidate has won," said Ibrahim Lipumba, national president of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF). He said 50.63 percent of the votes from Sunday's poll backed Seif Sharif Hamad, CUF candidate for the Zanzibar presidency, compared to 49.37 percent for the ruling party's candidate.
■ Iran
Proposal leads to murder
A 52-year-old Iranian has been sentenced to death for killing his 70-year-old lover when she asked to marry him, a newspaper reported yesterday. A court report in the Etemad daily said a taxi driver, identified only as Hamidreza, became furious when his elderly lover Setareh proposed marriage. "I went to her house and she said she had deep feelings for me and suggested we get married," he told the court. Hamidreza explained he already had a wife and children. "She then got frustrated and slapped me," he said. The man knocked her unconscious and suffocated her with bed-sheets before making off with her jewelery.
■ United States
Mayor barred from town
A Texas mayor can't set foot in the small city he leads until a criminal case against him is over, but he still plans to run it. Bartlett Mayor Bobby Hill, 61, was arrested last week and accused of stealing money from his 1,500-person city, about 85km northeast of Austin. State District Judge Ken Anderson ruled yesterday that until the case is over, Hill must live outside city limits. His attorney, Marc Ranc, said the mayor's job is only a part-time position, and Hill can still conduct city business by phone and do paperwork at home. He faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted.
■ United Kingdom
New citizens must pass test
Prospective citizens as of today will have to know bits of history and law. The test questions will come from the 145-page government handbook Life in the UK: A Journey to Citizenship, which covers British history, government, housing, employment, law, culture and resources for citizens. A candidate must get at least 18 out of 24 questions correct to pass the computer-based test. Tests will be administered for a fee of ¥34 around the country. Next year, the Home Office plans to make the test a requirement for those seeking permanent residency and citizenship.
■ United Kingdom
Marines help in drug bust
Royal Marine snipers firing from a helicopter blasted out a speedboat's engines in the Caribbean and seized over ?200 million (US$353 million) worth of cocaine, a newspaper reported yesterday. The armor-piercing shots allowed a Navy team from the frigate, HMS Cumberland, to arrest a gang of drug traffickers as they raced across the ocean, the Sun reported. The four-strong gang at first tried to outrun their pursuers. However, they were forced to give themselves up after the snipers disabled the speedboat's engines. They seized two tonnes of cocaine. Cumberland is currently on a four-month tour in the Caribbean to provide disaster relief and conduct anti-drugs smuggling patrols.
■ Iraq
US issues dinar payment
The US military has started paying Iraqi contractors in dinars, it said yesterday. On October 14, "a 3rd Infantry Division finance office issued the first payment in Iraqi currency while in theater," a statement said. Iraqis continue to be paid mostly in dollars for goods and services provided to US-led forces, but for the first time, "a dinar check payment has been issued to local vendors." US financial officer Major Richard Santiago pointed out the advantages. "Issuing dinar payments improves the financial stability of Iraq by promoting the Iraqi banks while using their local currency," he explained. "This is truly a win-win situation for all."
■ United kingdom
Gulf disease recognized
Gulf War syndrome was officially recognized on Monday as a distinct set of symptoms suffered by British army veterans sent to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in 1991. Yesterday's ruling will place renewed pressure on the Ministry of Defense to respond more positively to claims by Gulf war veterans. The case was brought by Daniel Martin, an army medic in the 1991 Gulf War. Veterans have been trying for years to persuade the ministry to acknowledge the existence of a collection of symptoms attributable to cocktails of vaccinations and inoculations against chemical and biological attacks.
■ Turkey
EU sets entry tasks
Turkey will have two years to eliminate torture, establish freedom of religion and assert civilian control over the military if it wants to become a EU member in ten years, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The British newspaper said it had seen a draft in which the European Commission will this month give Turkey a checklist of a nearly 150 short-term tasks for becoming an EU member. The draft fills in the gaps left by last month's decision to begin membership talks with Ankara, it said. European leaders clinched an historic deal on Oct. 4 enabling Turkey to plan for membership.
■ Kuwait
Soldier faces murder charge
A US Army sergeant charged with murdering two colleagues in Iraq faced a formal investigation on Monday. Staff Sergeant Alberto Martinez faces a possible death sentence if convicted of the premeditated murder of commander Captain Phillip Esposito and Lieutenant Louis Allen in a blast in Iraq in June. The murder took place in Tikrit. During Monday's pre-trial probe, nine witnesses were questioned in front of an investigating officer. Senior Master Sergeant Kevin Fitzgerald, an ordnance expert said he saw the remains of a mine in Esposito's room along with the spoon of three grenades.
■ Poland
Intelligence bosses fired
The heads of intelligence services will be fired soon in an overhaul of the agencies, Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz said on Monday. Marcinkiewicz's Law and Justice party won last month's general elections largely on a promise to revamp law enforcement and security agencies, which they say remain influenced by people from the old communist regime. Hours after being sworn in, Marcinkiewicz said the government would dissolve the military intelligence agency (WSI). "The WSI will be eliminated, and replaced by other structures to guarantee Poland's security," Marcinkiewicz said.
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