Malaysians wounded in Iraq

Malaysians wounded in Iraq

MALAYSIA: Two relief workers from Malaysia were wounded and three journalists kidnapped in an ambush by unidentified gunmen in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, Malaysia's official Bernama news agency reported on Sunday.

An Iraqi man acting as an interpreter for the workers of aid agency Mercy Malaysia was killed in the incident on Saturday.

The three Malaysian journalists -- a reporter from the Sun newspaper, a photographer with the New Straits Times and a national television station RTM cameraman -- were later released by their captors, Bernama said.

Acting Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was quoted by Bernama as saying the two workers, including Mercy Malaysia president Jemilah Mahmood, were being treated at a hospital in Baghdad and were reported to be out of danger. --Reuters

;AFP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. ATW-Vietnam-whale-offbeat Whale funeral draws 1,000 mourners JP/11/ATW

Whale funeral draws 1,000 mourners

VIETNAM: A crowd of 1,000 mourners turned up at a funeral for a whale in central Vietnam, where the creatures are revered, police said on Saturday.

The whale, weighing around three tonnes and measuring seven meters, died a few hours after it beached on the Nam O beach in the city of Da Nang on Friday, a local policeman said.

Villagers held a funeral and buried the animal according to local custom.

"There is a temple to worship whales here. Local people call them 'Sir Fish' and they bury all the dead whales they find with full ceremony," the policeman said. --AFP

;AFP;KOD; ANPAi..r.. ATW-EU-enlarge-Hungary Hungary hails vote to join EU JP/11/ATW

Hungary hails vote to join EU

HUNGARY: Hungary's government and newspapers on Sunday hailed the overwhelming success of the country's referendum on joining the European Union (EU), although there was concern about the lower than expected turnout.

Nearly 84 percent of Hungarians voted on Saturday in favor of EU membership. The result means Hungary can now join the 15- nation bloc in 2004, along with up to nine other candidate states from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean.

Sunday's newspapers unanimously welcomed the result.

Several tabloids appeared with a European flag covering their entire front page, accompanied by headlines reading: "We are coming, Europe" and "Europe? YES!".

Romano Prodi -- the president of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm -- praised the result in a videophone conversation with Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy that was broadcast on Hungarian state television late on Saturday night. --AFP

;REUTERS;KOD; ANPAi..r.. ATW-Venezuela-bomb Bomb blast stuns Caracas JP/11/ATW

Bomb blast stuns Caracas

VENEZUELA: A bomb ripped through an office building early on Saturday in Caracas, where hours earlier Venezuelan government and opposition negotiators had agreed to hold a referendum on President Hugo Chavez's government, police said.

No one was injured in the blast, which badly damaged the lower floors of the Caracas Teleport building, including the basement where the negotiators had met with Organization of American States officials.

Only two people were in the office block at the time of the explosion, which bent metal girders, blew out chunks of masonry and shattered windows, scattering debris outside. Police investigators picked through the rubble.

Police said the explosion was similar to Feb. 25 bomb attacks in Caracas at a Spanish Embassy technical office and the Colombian consulate. --Reuters

;DPA;KOD; ANPAu..r.. ATW-US-Human-genetic-study Human genetic decoding study ends JP/11/ATW

Human genetic decoding study ends

UNITED STATES: Results of 15 years of research into the human genetic code are to be released on Monday in Washington by scientists from six countries who have deciphered up to 99.99 percent of the DNA carrier of such information.

Following their use of the latest technology, the researchers are to make an official presentation of the genetic sequence of the three billion DNA building blocks which constitute the human genome, or its complete set of genetic material.

The research was conducted in laboratories of the Human Genome Organization, or HUGO, in the United States, China, Germany, Japan, Britain and France.

Francis Collins, the leader of National Human Genome Research Institute, in Bethesda, Maryland, near Washington, planned a symbolic celebratory presentation of the data to the heads of government of all countries that took part in the research.

The data is to be used in identifying and battling such illnesses as cancer, heart and circulation ailments, and diabetes. --DPA