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KABUL: A suicide bomber blew himself up at a
police training ground in northern Afghanistan Monday, killing nine
policemen and wounding 25 others, an interior ministry spokesman
said.
The attacker, who was on foot,
struck at around 9 a.m. (0430 GMT) in the relatively peaceful
northern city of Kunduz, ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said.
“There was a suicide bombing in
front of a police station. Unfortunately nine policemen were
martyred and 25 others were wounded. The bombing coincided with the
exercise time of the policemen,” Bashary said.
NARATHIWAT, Thailand:
Separatist militants have killed four people in attacks across
Thailand’s restive south, police said Monday, while five schools
were set ablaze in the region.
One army ranger and one militant
were killed in Narathiwat province late Sunday when Islamic
insurgents raided an army base.
Local police said about 10
militants opened fire on the base where 100 policemen and soldiers
were stationed. Three policemen were also injured in the 20-minute
firefight between the two sides.
All the militants escaped and
took the body of the dead insurgent with them, police said.
Five schools, one health office
and a teacher’s house were also set on fire in Pattani province.
No one was injured.
JAKARTA: Indonesian armed
forces chief Marshal Joko Suyanto will visit Australia as part of
moves to strengthen ties between the two militaries, a report said
Monday.
Suyanto will meet his counterpart
as well as Prime Minister John Howard and hold meetings with some of
his government ministers during the two-day visit starting on
Wednesday, the state Antara news agency said.
The meeting with Australian Chief
of Defense Forces (Air Chief) Marshal Allan Grant Houston is
expected to follow up on a cooperation agreement between the two
forces signed several years ago, an official told Antara.
Suyanto is also scheduled to meet
Defense Minister Brendan Nelson and Foreign Minister Alexander
Downer.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has
banned mobile phones and handheld computers in high-security areas
of government offices to prevent spying, a report said Monday.
Chief Security Officer Johari
Jamaluddin said no breaches had yet been detected but the prevalence
of electronic devices raised fears of information leaks, the Star
daily said.
“We had never felt the need to
come up with such a ban before because the use of camera handphones
and other electronic devices was not rampant,” Johari was quoted
as saying.
“Now, everyone seems to have
them,” he said. “It is a bit inconvenient but for the sake of
the country’s security, everyone has to play their role.”
The government has also
introduced electronic jamming devices in “information security
zones” where official matters are discussed, the daily said.
HONIARA: The death toll
from this month’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in the
Solomon Islands has risen to 52 but is unlikely to rise
significantly higher, authorities said Monday.
Julian Makaa of the National
Disaster Management Office said the authorities were unaware of any
more people still believed to be missing in the devastated western
region of the South Pacific archipelago.
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare
called for long-term international assistance to help rebuild the
shattered region as authorities said 10 more deaths had been
recorded at the village of Nusa Baruku on the island of Gizo.
“Most of those killed were
young children,” said Makaa of the latest recorded deaths.
He said the deaths were confirmed
after villagers advised visiting officials during the weekend.
KUPANG, Indonesia: Health
officials are monitoring around 90 families in two Indonesian
villages for signs of anthrax, which has already killed five people,
an official said Monday.
The deaths forced authorities to
seal off the villages on Sumba Island on Saturday and begin mass
vaccination of livestock in the area, veterinary official Maria
Geong said.
“At least 90 families in the
two isolated villages are suspected of having been contaminated by
the anthrax bacteria,” Geong said.
All members of the families had
eaten parts of cows and water buffalo believed to have been
infected, she said.
SEOUL: A South Korean
court on Monday sentenced a US citizen of Korean origin to nine
years in prison for spying for communist North Korea, court
officials said.
Michael Jang, 44, was convicted
of violating the National Security Law, the Seoul central district
court said.
He also tried to organize a spy
ring in the South, they said.
The court also handed down jail
terms of four to six years to four South Koreans, including the
former deputy secretary-general of the minority Democratic Labor
Party, for helping Jang with his espionage.
Jang, a Seoul high school
graduate, went to the United States in 1982 to join the American
military, prosecution officials said. He secured US citizenship
later.
Prosecutors accused Jang of
launching a spy network in South Korea, but the court ruled Monday
there was no evidence this had actually been set up.
--AFP
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