Garuda to reroute Europe flights

Garuda to reroute Europe flights

INDONESIA: National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia plans to shift
its Indonesia-Europe routes from southern Asia to northern Asia
to avoid Iraq should war break out, Antara reported on Saturday.

Garuda official Bahrul Hakim said that if a war began in Iraq,
Garuda's routes to Europe would fly over Russia.

"The routes to Europe usually take the southern route:
Denpasar- Singapore-London or Denpasar-Singapore-Amsterdam," said
Garuda official Bahrul Hakim.

Denpasar is the capital of Bali, Indonesia's most famous beach
resort and a popular tourist destination for Europeans. -- DPA

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Highlight-Thailand-king
King leaves hospital after operation
JP/THAILAND

King leaves hospital after operation

THAILAND: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's
longest-reigning monarch, was discharged from hospital on
Saturday after he underwent a hernia operation days earlier.

A team of royal physicians was satisfied with the 75-year-old
king's recovery after his operation on Tuesday, the Bureau of the
Royal Household said in a statement.

They recommended he refrain from activity while he recuperated
at Chitralada Palace in central Bangkok.

Before he left Siriraj Hospital, the king and his children
paid homage to statues of his deceased parents in the hospital
grounds.

King Bhumibol had another hernia operation last June. In
February 2002 he was hospitalized for prostate surgery after a
nine-year ailment, which a royal statement at the time said was
"not serious." -- AFP

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Highlight-Bangladesh-women
Violence against women growing
JP/2/HIGH

Violence against women growing

BANGLADESH: Activists Saturday bemoaned the lack of progress on
women's rights in Bangladesh, where five women are attacked with
acid every week despite a decade of rule by female prime
ministers.

Women's groups staged rallies across the Bangladesh capital
for International Women's Day, some led by victims of acid
attacks or by female laborers in garment factories, which bring
in a major chunk of the country's foreign exchange.

But many doubted Bangladesh had seen real change on women's
rights. One poster plastered around Dhaka showed a woman behind
bars crying out for freedom.

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia on Saturday greeted marchers who
have been crisscrossing Bangladesh since Feb. 22 to raise
awareness on women's and children's rights, telling them her
government was "committed to ending all sorts of discrimination
against women." -- AFP