Aussie patrol boat collides with trawler
Aussie patrol boat collides with trawler
AUSTRALIA: An Indonesian fishing vessel sank after a collision with an Australian Navy patrol boat, defense ministry officials said.
The HMAS Geralton approached the 12 to 15-meter wooden boat before dawn on suspicion that it was fishing illegally in Australian waters, 360 kilometers northwest of Darwin, when the collision happened.
"The Indonesian vessel was abandoned by its crew and subsequently sunk," spokesman Bill Overton told Reuters.
The five crew members were taken to Darwin and will be repatriated to Indonesian without charges being laid after there was no evidence of fishing, he said.
The Navy has started an investigation into the cause of the collision. -- Reuters
;REUTERS;ANJ; ANPAi..u.. MALAYSIA-ELECTION Malaysia's PM coalition wins Sabah by-election JP/10/ASEAN2
BN coalition wins Sabah by-election
MALAYSIA: Malaysia's ruling coalition won an overwhelming victory in a by-election late on Saturday with ethnic-Chinese voters rallying behind Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's multicultural alliance.
The victory for the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in the Gaya parliamentary constituency, a largely Chinese precinct in the Sabah capital of Kota Kinabalu, was not unexpected.
Its candidate, Liew Teck Chan, beat two opposition candidates by a majority of 11,923 votes, a margin of victory far higher than that in the 1999 general elections, election officials said.
But only 45 percent of the 49,427 voters turned up to vote, the lowest ever turnout for a by-election in Malaysia.
"It is believed that many stayed away from the ballot boxes since the result was a foregone conclusion," the New Sunday Times newspaper said.
But the contest helped gauge the level of support among urban Chinese for Mahathir, who is retiring in October next year after 22 years in office, and for a controversial government plan to widen the use of English in schools. -- Reuters
;AP;ANJ; ANPAu..r.. Malaysia-Pirate Attack Fisherman killed in suspected pirate attack JP/10/ASEAN3
Fisherman killed in suspected pirate attack
MALAYSIA: A gang of suspected pirates fatally shot a fisherman in an attempted robbery near international waters off the western coast of peninsular Malaysia, police said on Sunday.
The bandits, armed with machetes and a rifle, stormed a Malaysian trawler on early Saturday while the crew was asleep, said a police spokesman in Perlis state, about 500 kilometers north of Kuala Lumpur.
A Thai crew member, identified as 16-year-old Atpon Singari, was shot dead after he shouted to alert the others that their vessel had been boarded, local media reported.
The suspected pirates indicated that they wanted to rob the vessel, but fled after the gunshot drew the attention of nearby trawlers, police said. None of the other 25 crew members were injured.
Police said they were investigating the incident. -- AP
;AFP;ANJ; ANPAi..r.. Thailand-Timor Timorese foreign minister due in Thailand JP/10/ASEAN4
Timorese foreign minister due in Thailand
THAILAND: East Timorese Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Ramos- Horta was due to arrive here on Sunday evening for an official visit during which he will discuss bilateral cooperation with Thai leaders, a foreign ministry official said.
Foreign ministry spokesman Rathakit Manathat said Ramos-Horta was scheduled to hold talks with his Thai counterpart Surakiart Sathirathai on Monday.
"One of the two topics they will discuss is the preparations for a visit planned by the East Timorese president to Thailand next month," he told AFP without specifying the dates President Xanana Gusmao would be here.
"The other topic will be developing further cooperation between the two countries," Rathakit said.
The Timorese minister will pay a courtesy call on Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and will also be granted a royal audience with King Bhumibol Adulyadej at his seaside palace in Hua Hin, south of Bangkok.
Ramos-Horta is due to depart Thailand on Tuesday evening. -- AFP