KL, S'pore refer island row to ICJ

KL, S'pore refer island row to ICJ

MALAYSIA: Malaysia and Singapore on Friday cleared the last
hurdle in referring their territorial dispute over an island to
the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Officials from both sides exchanged documents to ratify a
special agreement signed three months ago by their foreign
ministers to take their dispute to the ICJ, according to a
foreign ministry statement here.

Malaysia was represented by foreign ministry deputy secretary-
general Aziz Mohammed and Singapore by its High Commissioner in
Kuala Lumpur, Ashok Kumar Mirpuri at the ceremony in the
government capital of Putrajaya.

The island, known as Pulau Batu Puteh to Malaysia and Pedra
Branca to Singapore, is the latest source of tension between the
two countries. --AFP

;AFP;KOD;
ANPAu..r..
Aglance-Thai-Asia-UN-drugs
Traffickers pursue new markets after Thai anti-drug blitz: UN
JP/11/ASEAN

Traffickers pursue new markets

THAILAND: Drug manufacturers and traffickers are seeking new
users beyond their traditional methamphetamine market in Thailand
following a brutal crackdown here, the United Nations drug agency
said on Friday.

The makers of methamphetamines, predominantly in Myanmar, have
turned to neighbors India, Cambodia and Laos to peddle pills
since Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's three-month war on
drugs which ended April 30, a top official in the UN Office on
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said.

Thaksin's self-described drug war, during which over 2,000
people were killed, has forced dealers to reconsider their normal
practice of moving the pills across the border from Myanmar,
identified by experts as Asia's number one producer of the
stimulants.

Thailand is the world's largest per-capita consumer of the
pills -- known here as yaa baa, or "crazy medicine", with five
percent of Thailand's 63 million people considered users and with
the crisis now funneling into other countries. --AFP

;AP;KOD;
ANPAu..r..
Aglance-S'pore-SARS-jail
Singapore man sentenced to 6 months in jail for violating home
JP/11/ASEAN

Man jailed for violating quarantine

SINGAPORE: A Singapore man, suspected of having Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), was jailed for six months on Friday
for repeatedly flouting home quarantine orders, police said.

Officers arrested Chua Hock Seng, 50, last week after he went
out drinking twice even though medical authorities ordered him to
stay at home, said police spokesman Stanley Norbert.

His conviction and sentencing on Friday marks the first time
the city-state has invoked tough new laws, ushered through
Parliament last month, aimed at curbing the spread of SARS.

For the past week, Chua had been isolated at a former drug
rehabilitation center as a health precaution. He has now been
given a clean bill of health and will be moved to a standard
prison cell, said Norbert. --AP

;AFP;KOD;
ANPAu..r..
Aglance-Malaysia-Anwar
Malaysia's Anwar gets prison break to attend daughter's wedding
JP/11/ASEAN

Anwar attends daughter's wedding

MALAYSIA: Jailed Malaysian ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim was on
Friday given a brief prison break to attend his eldest daughter's
wedding after his bail hearing in court.

Anwar arrived under armed escort at the family's residence in
a Kuala Lumpur suburb to attend the wedding of his 22-year-old
daughter, Nurul Izzah, to engineer Raja Ahmad Sharir Iskandar,
26, in a Malay ceremony held under tight security.

After changing into a Malay costume, Anwar, who is still
wearing a neckbrace due to an old injury, gave his daughter's
hand to the groom during a 30-minute religious rite watched by
some 200 family members and relatives.

Nurul Izzah, who met her husband during a study tour in London
in 1999 after her father was ousted and jailed, said: "I am happy
that he could attend the wedding." --AFP

;REUTERS;KOD;
ANPAu..r..
AGlance-Philippines-negotiator
Philippine negotiator with Muslim rebels quits
JP/11/ASEAN

RP negotiator with Moro rebels quits

PHILIPPINES: The Philippine government's chief negotiator with
the country's biggest Moro rebel group quit on Friday, dealing
another blow to the difficult quest to reach a peace deal.

The government of the Roman Catholic nation and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have held talks for years to end
three decades of violence on the southern island of Mindanao but
two deadly bombings blamed on the rebels quashed hopes of any
progress.

The latest round of talks brokered by Malaysia were scrapped
this week as Manila stepped up military operations and offered a
reward of nearly US$1 million for the capture of key MILF
leaders.

Jesus Dureza, who chaired a government panel seeking to forge
a peace pact with the rebels, said in a letter to President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo he was stepping aside to focus on
development efforts on war-torn Mindanao. --Reuters