KL nabs another JI terror suspect

KL nabs another JI terror suspect

MALAYSIA: Malaysian police have detained another suspected member
of an al-Qaeda-linked regional terror group blamed for the Bali
bombing last October, police said on Friday.

Mohamad Amin Musa, 29, was picked up on Sunday in southern
Johor state and was being held under the country's Internal
Security Act as a Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) suspect, a police
spokesman said on condition of anonymity.

The organization aims to create a regional Islamic state and
is blamed for last year's Bali bombing in neighboring Indonesia
which killed more than 200 people, mostly Western tourists.

Members of JI's senior leadership including Southeast Asia's
most wanted man, Muslim cleric Riduan Isamuddin alias Hambali,
are believed to have close links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda
network. --AFP

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International Organization for Migration to expand Manila office
JP/11/ASEAN

IOM to expand Manila office

PHILIPPINES: The International Organization for Migration (IOM),
which assists migrants and refugees around the world, will
transfer some of operations from its Geneva headquarters to
Manila, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said on
Friday.

Under an agreement signed on Thursday by Philippine Foreign
Secretary Blas Ople and IOM regional representative Bruce Reed,
IOM will expand its Manila office, which serves as its
information technology and administrative support center.

The move will facilitate collaboration between the government
and IOM on initiatives concerning the welfare of Filipino
migrants, especially the plight of Filipino workers in the Middle
East if war in Iraq breaks out, the Philippine foreign affairs
said in a statement.

IOM provided major assistance to Filipino workers in the
Middle East during the 1991 Gulf War. The intergovernmental body
assists in humane and orderly migration of peoples and refugees
and has 98 member states and 33 observers. --AP

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Cambodia's King Sihanouk arrives in China for medical checks
JP/11/ASEAN

King Sihanouk arrives in China

CHINA: King Norodom Sihanouk and Queen Monineath arrived in
Beijing on Friday where they will undergo medical tests and
treatment expected to last several months, the Cambodian embassy
said.

Before his departure from Phnom Penh, Sihanouk told reporters:
"My wife and I have some health problems and the Chinese doctors
asked us to go there (to Beijing) for check-ups, that is why I
wish to get a permission from my beloved people to go there for
medical tests."

He said it was unlikely they would return to Cambodia in time
for the Khmer new year in April, but hoped it would be prior to
national elections in July.

Sihanouk, 80, has been suffering from colon cancer and
diabetes for years. He visits China about every six months for
checks. Last Saturday the king said results of blood tests had
shown he had a lung ailment and that his wife, 66, had a serious
health problem that required urgent checks in China. --AFP

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Cambodian smuggling suspects killed by Thai troops
JP/11/ASEAN

Two Cambodians killed in Thailand

THAILAND: Thai paramilitary troops fatally shot two Cambodian men
suspected of stealing motorcycles in Thailand and smuggling them
to neighboring Cambodia, a police official said on Friday.

The unidentified victims, believed to be in their early 30s,
allegedly failed to stop at a checkpoint on a jungle road in the
Buachet district of Surin province, 340 kilometers northwest of
Bangkok.

The troops called police after the shooting, a local officer
said on condition of anonymity. He said the victims had been
carrying an AK-47 assault rifle and a Chinese-made hand
grenade.--AP

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Prepare for war if you want peace: Singapore defense chief
JP/11/ASEAN

'Prepare for war if we want peace'

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Defense Minister Tony Tan on Friday
rejected suggestions to trim the city-state's defense spending,
saying a strong military is key to deterring potential aggressors
and fighting terrorism.

"Adequate defense spending is the insurance premium we have to
pay for peace. We have to invest in defense so that we do not
need to go to war," said Tan, who is one of two deputy prime
ministers.

"If we want peace, we have to prepare for war. This is the
basis of our policy of deterrence," he said during a
parliamentary debate on the budget.

Tan was responding to a suggestion from one MP that less
spending on defense will lead to greater chances for peace. --AFP