The Daily Star: Internet Edition Wed. May 16, 2007

Vol. 5 Num 1050

Wed. May 16, 2007


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International

8 killed in Gaza ambush as Palestinian fighting spirals
Eight Palestinians were killed yesterday in an ambush on a presidential guard camp that was blamed on Hamas, as deadly factional fighting threatened to spiral out of control in the Gaza Strip.

Police say 60 Taliban killed in strikes, army says 11
Air strikes on Taliban rebels in southern Afghanistan killed about 60 fighters, a provincial police chief said yesterday, while the defence ministry issued a much lower death toll of 11.

Sarkozy fine tunes govt as Chirac bids adieu
French president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy was putting the finishing touches to his broad-based government yesterday as Jacques Chirac prepared to bid farewell in a nationwide address.

Pak court official slain for his ties to chief judge, lawyers say
A top court official shot dead at his home was targeted because of his ties to Pakistan's suspended chief justice and had come under pressure from the government, lawyers for the judge said yesterday.

Rice, Putin hold tense talks in Moscow
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met President Vladimir Putin yesterday on a visit aimed at allaying Russian complaints of American interference in both the military and political spheres.

6th UN Session on Indigenous Issues Begins
Call to establish indigenous people's rights to lands
The Sixth Session of United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues began on Monday at the UN Headquarters in New York with a call for establishing indigenous people's rights to their lands and natural

Legal action over Shetty, Gere kiss shelved
India's Supreme Court suspended legal action against Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty yesterday over enthusiastic kisses bestowed on her by Hollywood heart-throb Richard Gere.

Mahathir recovering well: son
Malaysia's ailing former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is recovering well after being admitted to hospital suffering breathing difficulties, his son and an aide said yesterday.

Malaysia mulls action over absconding foreign maids
Malaysia is considering stern action against maid agencies that encourage foreign housemaids to abscond from the homes where they are supposed to work, a minister said yesterday.

Vietnam jails dissident
A Vietnamese court yesterday sentenced a dissident to five years' prison for spreading propaganda against the communist state and for disrupting security, the sixth activist to be jailed in a week.

Italy to beef up military contingent in Afghanistan
The Italian government yesterday announced it was beefing up its military presence in Afghanistan, sending five new helicopters, 18 armoured vehicles and 145 additional troops.

Clashes with Pakistan to harm ties
Says Afghanistan
Clashes between Afghan and Pakistani border guards that left more than a dozen dead will further strain ties between the two neighbours, Kabul said yesterday.

India unveils draft law to curb road deaths
India yesterday unveiled a draft law to discipline reckless motorists and try and restore order on its chaotic roads, where tens of thousands die in crashes every year.

India tackles sex trafficking with maid ban
India will ban women under 30 from emigrating to work as domestic help in the Gulf and parts of Africa and Southeast Asia in a bid to curb sex trafficking, a report said yesterday.

30 Suu Kyi men arrested in Myanmar
Some 30 supporters of Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi were arrested yesterday as they headed to pagodas around Yangon to pray for her release from house arrest, a party spokesman said.

Exhibition highlights need to protect sea lanes
Asia Pacific naval forces kicked off the region's biggest sea defence exhibition in Singapore yesterday, highlighting the need to protect the world's key shipping lanes from extremist threats.

Russia to build N-centre in sanctions-hit Myanmar
Russia said yesterday it had agreed to help build a light-water nuclear reactor and research centre in Myanmar, an Asian state run by a military junta that is under European and US economic sanctions.

Toll climbs to 29 in Indian bus fire
The death toll from a head-on smash between a passenger bus running on compressed natural gas and a chemical tanker rose to 29 yesterday, the Press Trust of India said.