S'pore defends self against bombs
S'pore defends self against bombs
SINGAPORE: Singapore said on Friday it has further tightened
already strict security measures to defend itself against deadly
bomb attacks, such as the ones that rocked the nearby Indonesian
resort island of Bali last month.
Wong Kan Seng, a minister of state for home affairs, said on
Friday that since the Bali bombings, Singapore police have begun
patrolling bars, shops and office buildings, regarded as softer
targets than the embassies, factories and airports local police
focused on after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
At immigration checkpoints, police will implement more
stringent checks, and will now train all security guards to
handle bomb threats, Wong said.
The city-state has been working hard to defend its reputation
as an oasis of calm in an often-turbulent region. Singapore
authorities have detained dozens of men over the past year,
saying they are part of a terror group called Jamaah Islamiyah
that is linked to al-Qaeda. --AP
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Aglance-Malaysia-Royal Killing
Suspected killers of Malaysian prince's wife plead not guilty
JP/11/ASEAN
Murder suspects plead not guilty
MALAYSIA: Five men who are facing the death penalty for alleged
involvement in the kidnap-slaying of the second wife of a
Malaysian prince pleaded not guilty on Friday.
Mat Saad Mat Isa, a farmer, Sabarudin Non, a carpenter, and J.
Manimaran, a fisherman, have been charged with the murder of
Hazliza Ishak, 26, a former model and aspiring actress.
Hazliza was the second wife of 62-year-old Raja Jaafar Raja
Muda Musa, who is second in line to take over as sultan of
Malaysia's Perak state.
An employee at Raja Jaafar's palace, Aristonsjah Tengku
Mohamad Ansany, and Rahim Ismail, unemployed, are both accused of
abetting the murder.
High Court Judge V.T. Singham fixed Nov. 8 to hear the case
after the men entered their pleas. --AP
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AGLANCE-THAILAND-MYANMAR
Thailand to investigate Myanmar embassy letter bombs
JP/11/ASEAN
Thailand to probe Myanmar bombs
THAILAND: Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Friday
ordered an investigation into letter-bombs sent to Myanmar
embassies in Japan, Malaysia and Singapore in the past week that
Yangon blames on political exiles.
Myanmar's embassy in Singapore called in the city state's bomb
squad on Wednesday to destroy a letter containing a small
detonator that was posted from Thailand.
Similar letters turned up in the post at Myanmar's diplomatic
missions in Japan and Malaysia, prompting Myanmar authorities to
blame what they called dissident terrorist groups of exiles
living outside the military-ruled state.
Thaksin said he told Thai diplomats in the three countries to
gather evidence for a report to be handed to Myanmar. --Reuters
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AGLANCE-PHILIPPINES-AMBUSH
Four killed in ambush in southern Philippines
JP/11/ASEAN
4 killed in ambush in southern RP
PHILIPPINES: Gunmen in the Philippines shot dead a policeman and
three others in the latest violence in the troubled south of the
country.
Police said the victims were driving in Cotabato City in
Mindanao late on Thursday when gunmen in a van blocked their
vehicle then sprayed it with automatic rifle fire.
The other three killed included a former mayor of a town in
Sultan Kudarat in the province of Maguindanao, his driver and a
member of a military-linked citizen's armed forces unit.
The shootings follow a series of bomb attacks in Zamboanga
City in Mindanao in recent weeks that killed 12 people, including
a U.S. serviceman. --Reuters