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
;AP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. 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
;REUTERS;KOD; ANPAu..r.. 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
;REUTERS;KOD; ANPAu..r.. 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