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YANGON: Myanmar’s junta leader on Tuesday accused western
countries of using sanctions to derail the military’s “road
map” to democracy as the regime prepares for a constitutional
referendum. The junta unexpectedly announced that it would ask
voters to approve the new constitution in May after years of delay
to set the stage for the 2010 multiparty elections. The US tightened
sanctions against the regime last week and denounced the junta’s
plan as a “sham” vote that makes a mockery of global calls for
democratic reforms.
-- AFP
SEOUL: A 69-year-old man identified only as Chae
has confessed to torching South Korea’s most treasured historical
landmark because he had a grievance over a decade-old land dispute,
police said Tuesday. “The suspect confessed all of his criminal
acts to police,” said Namdaemun police station captain Kim Yong
Su. Chae had been arrested in 2006 for trying to start a fire at the
city’s Changgyeong Palace over the same grievance. He was fined
and given a suspended prison sentence, Kim told reporters.
-- AFP
WASHINGTON: Military prosecutors are seeking the
death penalty against six al-Qaeda detainees on murder and
conspiracy charges in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United
States, the Pentagon said Monday. The Defense Department called the
charges against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-confessed
mastermind of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, and five
others a “significant milestone.” Convening authority for the
trials Susan Crawford will review the evidence submitted by
prosecutors and will decide whether there is probable cause to refer
the cases to trial.
-- AFP
TOKYO: Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and other
Japanese leaders on Tuesday voiced outrage over an American
Marine’s alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl in Okinawa, saying
they are fed up with US troops’ crimes. “This can never be
forgiven,” Fukuda told a parliamentary committee a day after the
arrest of a 38-year-old Marine on the southern island. “I take
this very seriously.” He said the alleged crime would inevitably
affect government plans on US military relocation.
-- AFP
ABU DHABI: Almost half a million polio vaccines
will be provided by the United Arab Emirates Red Crescent Authority
(RCA) for some 98,000 children in Gaza as part of the drive to
certify occupied Palestinian territory polio-free by the end of
2008. RCA Secretary-General Dr. Saleh Al Taei said that the supply
of polio vaccines is an important part of a wide range of
interventions that are critically needed to protect children in Gaza
from preventable disease, disability and death.
WASHINGTON: Hillary Clinton’s stuttering White
House campaign faces the prospect of three new hammer blows Tuesday
with Democratic rival Barack Obama tipped to sweep a trio of
Washington-area nominating contests. Clinton insisted her historic
quest was in good shape despite a campaign staff shakeup and opinion
polls that suggest she will tumble to defeat in the US capital,
Maryland and Virginia after five Obama wins at the weekend. “I
think this is always going to be a competitive race because
there’s so much at stake,” the former first lady said.
-- AFP
WASHINGTON: Pentagon official Gregg William
Bergers, China-born US citizen and former Boeing engineer Dongfan
“Greg” Chung, Chinese citizen Yu Xin Kang and Taiwan-born US
citizen Tai Shen were all charged Monday with spying for China
involving sensitive military and aerospace secrets, including on the
space shuttle. The four were linked to two espionage conspiracies,
which the US Justice Department said posed a “grave danger” to
national security. Assistant US Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein
told reporters that the four are complete with traditional elements
of spy tradecraft.
-- AFP
BEIJING: China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs has
distributed 1.98 million cotton-filled warm clothes and quiltsto
victims in provinces that were worst hit by heavy snows or icy rains
over the past weeks. Since January 12, freaky winter storms have
plagued 19 provinces including southern provinces like Guangdong,
Hunan, Guizhou and Jiangxi, where people have rarely experienced and
prepared for sub-zero temperatures.
-- Xinhua
HANOI: Nearly 1,000 ducks in a flock raised by a
household in Vietnam’s southern Long An province died from Feb. 9
to 11, according to local newspaper Saigon Liberation on Tuesday.
The ducks raised by Phan Van Phuoc in Tan Tru district were
vaccinated against bird flu virus strain H5N1 for three times, but
their specimens are being tested for the virus. Phuoc said the
sudden deaths of the ducks, which were laying eggs, caused him to
suffer losses of approximately 160 million Vietnamese dong (10,000
U.S. dollars).
-- Xinhua
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