■ Malaysia
Muslim role seen for Iraq
Malaysia said yesterday that Muslims should take responsibility for peacekeeping in Iraq, but only under the command of the UN Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, speaking on the eve of an Islamic summit, said Muslim countries should not send troops to help the US-led coalition that toppled Saddam Hussein. "You cannot have peacekeepers from countries which are not Muslim," Syed Hamid told a news conference before the eight-day meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Malaysia's new administrative capital, Putrajaya. "It must be done under the umbrella of the UN. We cannot take part if it is still under the United States," he said.
■ Thailand
Last WW1 veteran dies
Thailand 's last surviving veteran of World War I, Second Lieutenant Yod Sangrungruang, has died at the age of 106, reports said yesterday. Yod, who was a recipient of France's Legion d'Honneur award, was just 20 years old in 1917 when he joined 1,284 Thai soldiers in volunteering to fight with the Allies in France. He served as a mechanic in France before returning to Thailand in 1919 and was awarded a medal for his services from Thai King Rama VI. In 2000, French President Jacques Chriac awarded Yod the Legion d'Honneur, France's highest decoration.
■ The Philippines
Arroyo favors parliament
Philippines President Gloria Arroyo said yesterday that she preferred a parliamentary style of government and that she would put it to the electorate when seeking a new term in next year's presidential contest. If she wins the election on May 10 next year, Arroyo would serve for six years, meaning a change of system would be unlikely before June 30, 2010. "A parliamentary form of government improves the political interface between the executive and the legislature and thereby could galvanize reforms more efficiently and effectively," Arroyo said in a statement.
■ China
Media warned over SARS
China has stepped up warnings to local authorities against covering up any new SARS outbreak, but has also slapped stern regulations on how the media reports a fresh epidemic. In a speech carried by the People's Daily yesterday, Health Minister Wu Yi (吳儀) said her department would be in charge of reporting any potential new outbreak of the disease and that media outlets could only publish information vetted by the ministry. "The news media must strictly report the outbreak of epidemics in accordance with the circulars issued by the Ministry of Health and must not report any information that has not be verified," Wu said.
■ Hong Kong
Tung opponents plan rally
Opponents of Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa (董建華) said yesterday they will stage a weekend protest calling for his resignation even though they likely will fail to obtain required insurance to cover potential damage. Police have approved the anti-Tung rally set for tomorrow in a downtown park, but insurance providers have balked at providing any coverage. Although Hong Kong has frequent protests, they are typically peaceful and the demonstrators say the insurance requirement appears to be a government ploy to discourage dissent. "I haven't even been able to get a quote," Anti-Tung Solidarity spokesman Andrew To said by phone
■ United Kingdom
Moore, Sting honored
Queen Elizabeth II Thursday awarded a knighthood to James Bond star Roger Moore for his services to charity, and also bestowed an honour on rock singer Sting for his musical achievements. The awards, announced in the queen's birthday honors list in June, were made at Buckingham Palace, the monarch's London residence. Moore became Sir Roger following his knighthood while Sting was awarded the CBE (Commander of the British Empire) -- one gong away from being knighted. Moore, 75, received the gong for his tireless work for children's charity UNICEF for which he has been a goodwill ambassador for the past 12 years.
■ United states
Board game stirs uproar
A controversial adaptation of the board game Monopoly featuring a thuggish, bandana-wearing black man with bug eyes has outraged African Americans in Chicago. While the original Monopoly board game featured a gentlemanly character in a top hat and cane, in Ghettopoly, the black man clenches a marijuana cigarette in his teeth and holds an Uzi in one hand and a bottle of malt liquor in the other. While the original boardgame rewarded them for such achievements as winning second place in a beauty pageant, Ghettopoly players get cash for doing things like getting everyone in their neighborhood hooked on crack cocaine.
■ Liberia
Stop meddling, Taylor told
The Security Council warned Liberia's ousted president, Charles Taylor, on Thursday against trying to keep running the war-battered West African country from exile in Nigeria. "We think that his activities need to be curbed so that he does not remain in political contact with his former supporters," said US Ambassador John Negroponte, the Security Council president for October. "So I think it's very important that he observes the terms of his having left Liberia and that he respects the commitment that he undertook not to pursue political activities from outside the country," Negroponte said.
■ The hague
Milosevic knew of massacre
A former UN commander testified at Slobodan Milosevic's war crimes trial on Thursday that he believed the former Yugoslav president knew about the 1995 Srebrenica massacre while it was happening. Former British General Rupert Smith, who headed the UN Protection Force known as UNPROFOR, said he met with Milosevic on July 15, 1995, while Bosnian Serbs were slaughtering an estimated 7,500 Muslims in the UN-declared safe zone of Srebrenica. Smith said General Ratko Mladic, who is accused of ordering the Srebrenica massacre, attended the meeting. The British general said he believed Mladic's presence there implied that Milosevic knew about the killings.
■ United States
91 year old robber caught
A 91-year-old man who walks with a cane and is hard of hearing pleaded guilty to stealing nearly US$2,000 from a bank, his third such robbery in less than five years. Leaning on his cane and wearing a headset to listen to the judge, J.L. Hunter "Red" Rountree initially responded "not guilty" when asked for his plea Thursday. "I mean, `Guilty,'" Rountree later said. "I'm sorry."
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
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