Another maid falls to her death

INDONESIA: An Indonesian housemaid fell to her death from her employer's apartment in the Singapore area of Tampines while cleaning the windows on Saturday.

Indonesian Embassy in Singapore spokesman Chalief Akbar identified the woman as Tirakat, who had been working in the city state for six years.

Chalief told Antara the embassy and Singaporean police were investigating the incident.

"At present, her body is still in a general hospital in Singapore. We will fly her body back to Indonesia after we contact her family in Indonesia," he said.

Tirakat was the 78th migrant worker to have died after falling from the same building. -- Antara

;JP;EVI; ANPAc..r.. Highlight-farmer-murdered Farmer beheaded in water dispute JP/2/HIGH

Farmer beheaded in water dispute

INDONESIA: A farmer from Bengkulu village, Bandu Agung was beheaded during a dispute over irrigation water, Antara reported.

Police said Saturday that Ceman, 35, was killed on Wednesday by his neighbor identified only as Sar, 32, who later surrendered to police.

South Bengkulu Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Djumli Syafrudin said Ceman accused Sar of controlling the irrigation water in his favor so it did not flow to Ceman's rice field.

"On Wednesday, they ran into each other in a rice field and Sar used his machete to kill Ceman there," he said. "I think it is quite a rare crime."

Riuslan, a resident of the neighboring village of Padang Guci, said conflict among farmers over irrigation water occurred frequently there. -- Antara

;AP; ANPAc..r.. Egypt-US-warships More U.S. warships cross the Suez JP/2/HIGH

More U.S. warships cross the Suez

EGYPT: Eight U.S. warships crossed the Mediterranean into the Red Sea Saturday to join the military buildup in the Middle East region ahead of a looming war in Iraq, Egyptian port officials said.

The warships that crossed through Egypt's Suez Canal included the submarines USS Providence, USS Newport News and USS Augusta; destroyer USS Donald Cook; guided missile destroyer USS Porter; guided missile cruiser San Jacinto and the oiler, USS Kanawha, the officials told The Associated Press.

On Friday, another five U.S. warships crossed the canal following the Pentagon's decision to move about 10 Navy ships from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, from where they could launch cruise missiles toward Iraq. -- AP

;AP; ANPAc..r.. Pakistan-terror-suspects Al-Qaeda suspects to be charged JP/2/HIGH

Al-Qaeda suspects to be charged

PAKISTAN: An anti-terrorism court in eastern Pakistan will charge a naturalized American doctor and his brother this month with having links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, a defense lawyer and court officials said Saturday.

Dr. Ahmad Javed Khawaja and his brother, naturalized Canadian Ahmad Naveed Khawaja, have been in custody since December when they were arrested by the Pakistani security agencies for allegedly sheltering al-Qaida men at their house in a small village near the Indian border east of Lahore.

"The prosecution has given us copies of the charges and the evidence they have collected against our clients," defense attorney Pervez Inayat Malik told The Associated Press.

"We have been told by the court that Dr. Khawaja and his brother will be charged on March 25."

Public prosecutor Rana Bakhtiar told AP after the court hearing that he has strong evidence to prove that the suspects were harboring al-Qaida men. -- AP

;AFP; ANPAc..r.. Cambodia-Thailand-riot Cambodia to reimburse Thailand JP/2/HIGH

Cambodia to reimburse Thailand

CAMBODIA: Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday agreed to reimburse Thailand in full for the damage to its embassy and businesses in anti-Thai riots.

Hun Sen said a letter agreeing to pay US$5.9 million to repair the embassy, which was torched and looted in January, was submitted to Thailand's charge d'affaires here.

"I told my foreign and finance officials that we will fully pay their claim and we should not ask for a discount, not even a single cent," Hun Sen said in a national radio address.

"This is our responsibility," he said, adding that the government would also pay for the 49 Cambodian houses that were burnt down or damaged.

"We will not only pay for the damage of foreigners' property, but we will also pay for Cambodians whose houses were burnt," he said, appealing to the Thais and Cambodians not to exaggerate their claims.

Dozens of Thai businesses were damaged or destroyed in the anti-Thai violence of Jan. 29, but officials have given no word yet on whether Cambodia has agreed to the final claim submitted by Thai authorities and businesses. -- AFP

;REUTERS; ANPAc..u.. Health-Asia-flu Flu virus infects more in HK, S'pore JP/2/HIGH

Flu virus infects more in HK, S'pore

HONG KONG/SINGAPORE: Eleven more people in Hong Kong and Singapore have developed symptoms of a mystery flu-like virus that has killed one person, infected scores of others and sparked a rash of travel cancellations in Hong Kong.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a global pneumonia alert this week after outbreaks in Hong Kong and Hanoi and has sent experts to Asia to track down the source.

Seven more people -- including five hospital staff -- have developed symptoms of the virus in Singapore, bringing the total number of cases to 16, the health ministry said on Saturday.

All the patients, except for two that have been discharged, are in a stable condition, it said.

Four more medical workers were admitted to hospital in Hong Kong on Saturday with similar symptoms, bringing the number of Hong Kong medical workers infected to 47.

Thirty-seven have since developed signs of severe pneumonia, up from 29 on Friday. Anxious Hong Kong residents have swept surgical masks off pharmacy shelves. -- Reuters