Malaysian tanker owner to pay ransom for crew: The owner of a

Malaysian tanker owner to pay ransom for crew: The owner of a
hijacked Malaysian oil tanker has agreed to pay a 380,000-ringgit
(US$100,000) ransom for the release of three Indonesian crew
kidnapped by armed pirates in the Malacca Strait, a report said
on Thursday. The New Straits Times said the ship owner was
negotiating with the pirates, believed to be Indonesians, on
conditions for the release of the captain and two crew of the
M.T. Penrider. The M.T. Penrider, carrying 1,000 tons of fuel oil
from Singapore to Penang, was attacked and robbed on Sunday in
the Malacca Strait off Malaysia's Port Klang by gunmen armed with
AK47 and M16 rifles. --AFP

Iran orders contracts drawn for 2nd nuclear reactor:
Iran has given the nod to a larger scale nuclear program and has
ordered contracts drawn up to build a second nuclear reactor,
Iran's official news agency IRNA said on Thursday. Despite
international concerns that Tehran may be building an atomic
bomb, Iran's Supreme Nuclear Energy Council ordered contracts
written up for a second 1,000 MW nuclear reactor at the southern
port of Bushehr where Russia is helping Iran build its first
nuclear power station, IRNA said. The council also ordered
suitable sites be studied for the construction of further
reactors to generate an extra 5,000 MW from nuclear power.
--Reuters

France orders national emergency plan: The French government on
Thursday launched a nationwide emergency plan to cope with
victims of an 11-day heatwave that Health Minister Jean-Francois
Mattei said had caused between 1,500 and 3,000 deaths. The "Plan
Blanc" (White Plan) was ordered by Prime Minister Jean-Pierre
Raffarin, who cut short his vacations to return to Paris to head
a crisis meeting of his ministers. The heatwave broke on
Wednesday after persistent daytime temperatures around 40 degrees
Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and above. The measure was
initially implemented regionally in and around Paris on
Wednesday. --AFP

Greek quake injures more than 20, tourists flee: A major
earthquake off the western Greek island of Lefkada injured more
than 20 people including foreigners on Thursday, sparking an
exodus of holidaymakers at the height of the area's tourist
season. The tremor, which cracked roads and damaged buildings,
was the biggest to hit Greece for a decade and was felt in the
capital Athens, 300 km away, and in southern Italy. A spokesman
for the Athens Geodynamic Institute, which monitors earthquake
activity, said the quake measured 6.4 on the Richter scale and
struck at 8:15 a.m. (12:15 noon in Jakarta).