KL restaurants boycott Coca-Cola
KL restaurants boycott Coca-Cola MALAYSIA: About 1,200 Malaysian restaurants have stopped selling Coca-Cola to protest what they consider a symbol of Western oppression of Muslims, a coalition of Islamic non-governmental organizations said on Tuesday.
The boycott is meant to "send a signal that Muslims will not tolerate Western efforts ... to trample on the rights of Muslims in Palestine, Iraq and anywhere else in the world", said Ma'amor Osman, secretary-general of the Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia.
The campaign against the soft drink giant is expected to last three months. The consumer body and at least 30 other non- governmental groups that have banded together in the campaign will then select another Western business to boycott, Ma'amor told a news conference.
A spokesman for Coca-Cola Malaysia said he could not immediately comment on the claim that the restaurants had ceased selling its soft drinks. --AP
;DPA;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Philippines-Dinner Town mayor suffers fatal heart attack during dinner with Arroyo JP/12/ASEAN
Mayor collapses at dinner with Arroyo
PHILIPPINES: The mayor of a southern Philippine town suffered a fatal heart attack during a pre-Christmas dinner with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at the presidential palace, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
Presidential spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said Narcisita Moran, mayor of Jabonga town in Agusan del Norte province, 654 kilometers south of Manila, collapsed during the dinner at the Malacanang Palace late on Monday.
A presidential security guard officer said Moran, who was in her late 50s, was immediately given first aid by in-house doctors before she was rushed to the nearby Manila Medical Center.
Tiglao said the pre-Christmas gathering was organized as part of efforts by Arroyo to keep in touch with local leaders, especially from communities that are remote, and discuss the problems of their communities. --DPA
;AFP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Thailand-S'pore Thailand to hold joint cabinet meeting with Singapore JP/12/THAILAND
Bangkok, S'pore to hold joint meeting
THAILAND: Thailand and Singapore will hold a joint Cabinet meeting in January, in the second of a series of planned meetings with ministers from regional nations, Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra said on Tuesday.
"The joint Cabinet meeting will focus on economic issues," Thaksin said, adding that the venue for the Jan. 10 to Jan. 12 event had not yet been finalized.
Thailand will hold its first joint Cabinet meeting with Malaysia on Dec. 22 in the Muslim-majority southern province of Songkhla.
Thaksin said several Asian countries including Bangladesh had expressed interest in teaming up with Thailand's Cabinet, but that neighbors Laos and Cambodia were next on the list.
The meeting with Malaysian ministers is expected to focus on cooperation in the fishery and tourist industries, and expanding checkpoints between the two countries. --AFP