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PHNOM PENH: Cambodia has closed its border with Thailand at the disputed Preah Vihear temple after a group of Thai protesters rallied near the ruins, officials said here on Tuesday. The border crossing was closed on Sunday evening when a group of Thai protesters rallied near the checkpoint due to Thai protesters demonstrated near the gate to the temple that caused authorities to fear something could happen to visitors to the Preah Vihear temple.
-- Xinhua
ZHANJIANG, China: The first Japanese warship to visit China since World War II arrived on Tuesday in a dramatic sign of improving relations between East Asia's two major powers. The 4,650-ton destroyer Sazanami, sailing from Kure in western Hiroshima prefecture and carrying earthquake relief supplies, steamed into the port city of Zhanjiang in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. Local residents said the port call was a promising sign of warming ties.
-- AFP
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak started talks on Tuesday with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikhon the Middle East peace, particularly the fragile Gaza truce. The two leaders are expected to discuss regional issues including negotiations with the Palestinians, the ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups. Olmert's visit to Egypt, the mediator between Israel and Palestinian militant groups, came six days after the truce in Gaza.
-- Xinhua
HARARE: Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said Tuesday the United Nations (UN) did not have the "jurisdiction" to postpone run-off presidential elections scheduled for later this week. "They [UN] can only recommend. They don't have the jurisdiction to postpone the election," Tsvangirai told Agence France-Presse by telephone. UN chief Ban Ki Moon said Monday that Friday's run-off vote with Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe should be postponed, after Tsvangirai pulled out due to violence against his supporters.
-- AFP
SYDNEY: Catholics attending a mass by Pope Benedict XVI in Australia will be handed condoms by protesters angered by his opposition to contraception, homosexuality and abortion, organizers said Tuesday. The protest will be staged by the NoToPope Coalition of Christians, atheists and gay groups during Catholic World Youth Day celebrations expected to draw hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to Sydney next month. "We will march to be with the pilgrims to hand out condoms to the pilgrims, the Catholic youth," spokeswoman Rachel Evans said.
-- AFP
WASHINGTON: Hearings for terror suspects before US military tribunals in Guantanamo are going ahead despite a Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the detainees have a right to challenge their detention in a civilian court. Legal experts had described the high court's decision as the death knell of the special tribunals created by President George Bush to try "war on terror" suspects. But Justice Department chief Michael Mukasey said the controversial tribunals at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, would continue their work.
-- AFP
MEXICO CITY: The US Food and Drug Administration has continued its investigations into Mexican tomatoes to determine if a salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 500 people in the US originated in Mexico, US authorities said Monday. US Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt told a press conference in Mexico that their investigations have not finished and the representatives of both governments are continuing their work. Leavitt arrived in Mexico Saturday to participate in the American Chamber of Trade activities.
-- Xinhua
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