Malaysia imprisons
Malaysia imprisons Al-Arqam members
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia said yesterday four former followers of a banned Islamic sect, Al-Arqam, had been imprisoned for trying to revive the movement.
The four will be held under the powerful Internal Security Act (ISA) for at least two years, Bernama news agency reported.
Al-Arqam was founded in 1968 by leader Ashaari Muhammad and crushed by the authorities in 1994 when Malaysia's Moslem clergy ruled its teachings to be in conflict with Islam.
The four people imprisoned were identified as Hashim Ahmad, 42; Haji Ahmad Salim Omar, 49; Hasyim Jaafar, 40; and Pahrol Mohd Goui, 36, a director of a publishing firm.
After the 1994 ban, Ashaari and seven leaders were detained under the ISA and in October that year Ashaari confessed on national television to straying from Islamic teachings and misleading his followers.
;REUTER;EGO; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Cambodia-Philippines Cambodian FM visits Philippines JP/6/ASEAN2
Cambodian FM visits Philippines
PHNOM PENH (Reuter): Cambodia's Foreign Minister Ung Huot flies to the Philippines today for an official visit aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and cooperation.
Ung Huot said yesterday he was not scheduled to sign any agreements but would hold talks with President Fidel Ramos and other top officials and "meet the business people to talk about investment opportunities (in Cambodia)".
The minister will also visit the Manila headquarters of the International Rice Research Institute, which operates in Cambodia. He said the goodwill visit was aimed at "strengthening relations. He will return home on Thursday having completed his round of goodwill visits to all the seven members of ASEAN.
;UPI;EGO; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Singapore-ban Airlines opposes gambling ban JP/6/ASEAN3
Airlines opposes gambling ban
SINGAPORE (UPI): Singapore Airlines plans to oppose a U.S. ban against in-flight gambling on international carriers serving the United States, an airline spokesman said Monday.
Singapore Airlines has joined a coalition of international air carriers that plan to contest the U.S. ban, which opponents say could lead to losses of millions of dollars in revenue.
The coalition is more concerned with U.S. efforts to impose the ban on other countries' airlines than it is with promoting gambling, Singapore Airlines spokesman Rick Clements said.
"We're just against the principle of the United States trying to impose its own national laws extraterritorially," Clements said. Some coalition members also are concerned about U.S. attempts to ban in-flight smoking, he said.
Earlier this year, Singapore Airlines, along with several other carriers, announced plans to launch electronic gambling as part of an expansion of its entertainment and multimedia services.
;DPA;EGO; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Philippines-crime Manila dismisses 57 corrupt officers JP/6/ASEAN4
Manila dismisses 57 corrupt officers
MANILA (DPA): The government has dismissed 57 corrupt officers from the Philippine National Police (PNP), including seven believed to be responsible for the kidnapping and slaying of two businessmen, a top official said yesterday.
The dismissals were "in line with our relentless campaign to weed out scallywags in the PNP," Interior and Local Government Secretary Robert Barbers said.
In addition to the seven linked to the kidnapping-murder earlier this year, other policemen were dismissed because of cases filed against them for robbery, extortion, assault, drug trafficking, homicide, being absent without leave and other minor offenses.
Five of the dismissed police officers have appealed their cases to the National Police Commission. Barbers said the government has dismissed more than 200 policemen for various criminal and administrative offenses since he assumed office in April.
;DPA;EGO; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Vietnam-Adoption Baby traders arrested in Vietnam JP/6/ASEAN5
Baby traders arrested in Vietnam
HANOI (DPA): Law enforcement officers in Tien Giang province in southern Vietnam have arrested nine people on "baby trade" charges, official media reported yesterday.
The suspects allegedly bought 21 new-born babies from poor families in the Mekong delta, paying an average of some five million dongs (US$450) per infant, the Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People's Army) newspaper reported.
The offenders reportedly resold 15 babies to unspecified foreigners for adoption, and made a profit of several thousand dollars profit in each particular case.
The police department of Tien Giang province declined to disclose, whether the babies have been smuggled out of the country.
The alleged ring-leader, 41-year-old Tran Huu Phuoc, worked as judicial advisor for the Women's union of Ho Chi Minh City, and was able to provide assistance in adoption process. ;AFP;EGO; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Malaysia-Fiji Fijian PM given warm welcome JP/6/ASEAN6
Fijian PM given warm welcome
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Visiting Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka was accorded a state welcome yesterday before holding talks with his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad, officials said.
Rabuka, who arrived on Sunday for a three-day official visit accompanied by his wife, is leading an 18-member entourage to enhance trade and economic relations between Malaysia and the Pacific republic.
He is scheduled to have an audience with Malaysia's King Tuanku Ja'afar Abdul Rahman later yesterday before talks with Mahathir at the prime minister's office.