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
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MALAYSIA-ELECTION
Malaysia's PM coalition wins Sabah by-election
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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
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Malaysia-Pirate Attack
Fisherman killed in suspected pirate attack
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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
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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