Manila, rebels restore truce

Manila, rebels restore truce

PHILIPPINES: Troops and Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines
have reestablished a shaky, five-month truce after three days of
pitched battles, both sides said on Wednesday.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said the fighting at Datu
Piang town, a marshy area in the center of Mindanao island, would
not affect formal peace talks that are set to resume under the
auspices of Malaysia next month.

"This is an isolated situation that will not derail the peace
process," Arroyo said in a statement.

She said members of a cease-fire committee were meeting to
prevent an escalation of hostilities between government forces
and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the biggest Muslim
rebel group in this largely Roman Catholic nation.

"There are no reports of armed encounters since Tuesday night,
when both sides agreed to stop fighting," Lt. Gen. Rodolfo
Garcia, who heads the government team on the cease-fire panel,
told reporters.

"We have also agreed to disengage our forces in the conflict
area. However, the situation remains strenuous."

The fighting broke out when troops pursuing members of a
kidnap-for-ransom gang, who abducted a car dealer on Dec. 8,
clashed with hundreds of MILF rebels. -- Reuters

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Aglance-MTV-Myanmar
'MTV' takes on Myanmar's junta
JP/11/ASEAN

'MTV' takes on Myanmar's junta

SINGAPORE: Music television channel MTV has launched a campaign
for the release of detained Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San
Suu Kyi -- but viewers in Asia aren't likely see it.

MTV hopes the publicity blitz will raise the profile of Suu
Kyi's struggle against Myanmar's ruling military junta to the
level of Nelson Mandela's 1980s battle against apartheid, MTV
Networks Europe said in a statement.

"MTV is all about providing a platform for the voice of young
people, and we vehemently support everyone's right to freedom of
expression, no matter who they are or where they live," MTV
president Brent Hansen said.

But MTV's Singapore-based Asian network won't be taking part,
even though Myanmar, also known as Burma, is an Asian country.

There are no immediate plans to run the campaign on the
network's eight Asian channels, MTV Asia said late Tuesday in a
written response to questions. -- AP

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Aglance-Malaysia-ASEAN-visit
Badawi to tour ASEAN countries
JP/11/ASEAN

Badawi to tour ASEAN countries

MALAYSIA: Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is to
embark on a tour of ASEAN countries in January, a trip seen as a
tradition for newly-installed regional leaders to cement ties, a
report said on Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the dates for Badawi's
tour of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members
were being finalized.

"During the ASEAN-Japan commemorative summit in Tokyo last
week, all the ASEAN leaders invited the prime minister to visit
their countries as soon as possible," Syed Hamid was quoted as
saying by the Star newspaper.

Abdullah's first stops are expected to be Indonesia,
Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines -- the founding members
of ASEAN, the Star said.

It would be followed by a visit to Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and
Vietnam. -- AFP