KL told to lift Iban Bible ban

KL told to lift Iban Bible ban

MALAYSIA: Indigenous Iban people in Malaysia's eastern Sarawak state on Wednesday urged the government to lift a recent ban on the Christian Bible published in their mother tongue, the official Bernama news agency said.

Iban parishioners in the state on Borneo island have demanded that the home ministry of mainly-Muslim Malaysia reverse the decision on the Iban-language Bible -- Bup Kudus.

Benedict Nawas, 35, who attends Iban services at a local church, said the ban had caused confusion and anxiety among the congregation.

"While educated Iban-speaking Christians can refer to English versions of the Bible, rural parishioners depend on their mother tongue to understand the scriptures since most of them are illiterate," he said.

Bup Kudus, the complete bible with the Old and New Testaments in the Iban language, has been widely used by churches in Sarawak since its first edition in 1988 and was among 35 books banned by the ministry last week, Bernama said.

Ibans were previously known as the headhunters of Borneo island. -- AFP

;AFP;ANJ; ANPAu..r.. Vietnam-corruption Eight high ranking party officials detained in Vietnam over corru JP/11/ASEAN2

Party officials held over graft

VIETNAM: Eight party members, including a party chief, head of police and acting chairman of local commune government in Vietnam's Central Highlands have been detained over a corruption scandal, police said on Wednesday.

The eight, all coming from Dak Sin commune in Dak Lak province, were taken into custody last week, a local policeman said.

Three other commune officials, including the chairman of the People's Council, were implicated in the same case and put under house arrest.

"The case was just opened when local people sent their complaints to the provincial authorities," the policeman said.

Police said the "elite group," which was made up of top local authorities, had for many years embezzled public money, appropriated individual properties and imposed several illegal taxes on local people which they then pocketed.

Vietnam frequently ranks among the most corrupt countries in the world in surveys carried out by anti-graft organizations. -- AFP

;REUTERS;ANJ; ANPAi..r.. WEATHER-PHILIPPINES Philippines braces for typhoon over Easter holiday JP/11/ASEAN

RP braces for Easter typhoon

PHILIPPINES: The northern Philippines was bracing for a typhoon packing winds of up to 180 kph (112 mph) that was expected to hit land in the middle of this week's Easter holiday weekend.

Bobby Rivero, a forecaster at the government's weather bureau, said on Wednesday the typhoon -- named Kujira internationally but called Amang in the Philippines -- was on course for the main island of Luzon.

"If it will maintain its speed and direction -- it's still at west northwest at 24 kph -- it could hit the Philippine landmass by early Saturday or late Friday," Rivero said.

On Wednesday afternoon, the typhoon was about 1,500 km (900 miles) southeast of Luzon over the Pacific Ocean.

Local media said some officials had warned against traveling by boat around the nation of 7,100 islands over the holidays.

Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos are expected to be on the move by land, air and sea over the four-day weekend starting on Thursday as they visit relatives or head to the beach. -- Reuters

;AFP;ANJ; ANPAu..r.. Thailand-drugs Death toll in Thailand's drug war hits 2,275, say police JP/11/ASEAN

Deaths in drug war hit 2,275

THAILAND: The death toll in Thailand's brutal 10-week-old war on drugs has soared to 2,275, or more than 30 killings per day, police said on Wednesday.

The national police office said of those killed, 51 people were shot dead by police in self defense while seven police officers were also gunned down.

Authorities have managed the arrests of just 249 suspects in connection with the killings, police said.

"(National police chief) Gen. Sant Sarutanond was pleased with the crackdown and has vowed to carry on with harsh measures against drug barons for the remaining 15 days of the war on drugs," police spokesman Pongsapat Pongcharoen said in a statement.

Since the campaign began on Feb. 1, police have arrested 51,531 drug suspects, of whom 404 were apparent drug producers and 15,160 apparent traffickers, Pongsapat said.

Police confiscated 14.1 million methamphetamine pills and seized more than one billion baht (US$23.36 million) in suspects' assets. -- AFP

;AP;ANJ; ANPAu..r.. AS-GEN--Thailand-Stolen Buddhas Buddha statues stolen from holiday shrine in Thailand JP/11/ASEAN

Buddha statues taken from shrine

steal

THAILAND: About 100 ancient Buddha statues were stolen from a makeshift shrine erected outside a temple to accommodate Thai new year worshipers, an abbot said on Wednesday.

The 100 wooden statues, carved about 200 years ago, and a large sandstone Buddha statue disappeared after being put on display at the Haunakham monastery, said the monastery's abbot, Phra Chonchai Akatamo.

He said the sandstone statue was later found dumped with its head broken off along a road about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the temple, in Kalasin province, 430 kilometers (265 miles) northeast of Bangkok.

Thai Buddhist temples traditionally move what are believed to be their holiest statues to open-air pavilions during the Thai new year, or Songkran, to allow worshipers to sprinkle them with water.

Phra Chonchai said the statues disappeared from the pavilion on Monday. "I believe the thieves had targeted the sandstone image for years and took the opportunity of Songkran to steal it," he said. -- AP