Catholics, Muslims to pray for peace

Catholics, Muslims to pray for peace

SINGAPORE: Wars may be raging elsewhere but Muslims and Roman
Catholics in Singapore are getting together for a big dinner on
Dec. 27 to jointly celebrate the Idul Fitri and Christmas
holidays.

Some 300 people from the two faiths will take part in a
function hosted jointly by the Islamic Fellowship Association and
the St. Anthony's Canossian Convent.

"It's a historical event because this is the first time that
the Muslim and Catholic communities are jointly celebrating Eid
al-Fitr (idul Fitri), which is the after-Ramadhan festivities,
and Christmas," Ameerali Abdeali, secretary general of the
Islamic Fellowship Association, said on Friday.

The celebration will kick off with readings from the Koran and
the Bible, followed by an exchange of gifts. The supreme Muslim
religious leader and the head of the Roman Catholic Church in
Singapore will sit down to dinner along with guests from nine
other faiths. -- Reuters

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Aglance-Malaysia-Chinese
MCA suspends youth leaders
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MCA suspends youth leaders

MALAYSIA: A factional dispute within an important party in
Malaysia's ruling coalition has deepened with the surprise
suspension of all its top youth leaders ahead of internal
elections next year.

At a meeting late on Thursday, the decision-making body of the
Malaysian Chinese Association suspended the youth leaders to
restore "order, stability, peace and harmony" to the wing,
president Ling Liong Sik said.

But Chua Jui Meng, Ling's main rival in the party, accused him
of fomenting disunity and announced a national campaign to
denounce the suspensions as "a travesty of justice."

The association, which has more than 900,000 members and is
the country's largest group representing Malaysia's large ethnic
Chinese minority, is also the biggest ally of Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad's United Malays National Organization.

The dispute does not pose any serious threat to the stability
of Mahathir's government. But many members fear the conflict will
hurt the party in Malaysia's next general election, slated for
2004, and could weaken overall support for Mahathir, who has led
the country for 20 years. -- AP

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Aglance-Thailand-riot
One dead in college riot
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One dead in college riot

THAILAND: More than 200 Thai college students went on a rampage
against a rival school, wielding hand grenades and guns in an
attack that left one student dead and dozens injured, police said
on Friday.

In the assault late Thursday, hundreds of students from the
Bangkok campus of the Institute of Technology vocational college
threw hand-made explosives at the Bangkok Commercial College
compound, which was open for night classes.

One male student among the group of attackers was found shot
dead while dozens of students were left injured in the aftermath
of the melee, police said.

Students smashed and spray-painted more than 10 vehicles and
campus buildings in the riot that began around 7:40 pm and lasted
an hour, they added. About 210 students were detained and later
charged on four counts, including organizing a violent raid, arms
possession and rioting with intent to kill. -- AFP

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~Aglance-Cambodia-elections
EU starts Cambodian polls monitoring mission
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EU starts Cambodian polls monitoring mission

CAMBODIA: A European Union (EU) team assigned to observe
Cambodia's first genuine local elections emphasized on Friday the
need for the government to put an end to violence if it wants to
have a credible vote.

"Elections are democratic when they are free, and to be free
it's not possible to have intimidation or violence during all
procedures," Carlos Costa Neves, chief of the EU observation
mission, said at a news conference.

Neves, a member of the European Parliament, and his five-
member advance team arrived in Cambodia on Wednesday to begin
their mission of observing the run-up to voting slated for early
next year.

On Feb. 3, Cambodians will select men and women for commune
governing councils in the country's first genuine local polls.
Investigating violent attacks and killings of political
candidates and activists, and making sure they do not occur again
is one of the mission's priorities, deputy chief observer Mark
Stevens said. --AP