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

;AFP; ANPAc..r.. 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

;AFP; ANPAc..r.. 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