Rebels, Manila agree to new talks

Rebels, Manila agree to new talks

PHILIPPINES: Moro separatist rebel leaders involved in negotiations with the Philippine government were on Sunday granted "safety and security guarantees", as both parties agreed to resume formal peace talks and prevent any escalation of hostilities in the south.

The announcement came after two days of "exploratory talks" in Malaysia between government negotiators and the 12,500-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been waging a bloody 25-year insurgency.

The breakthrough, however, was marred by fresh clashes that left five rebels, a soldier and two government militiamen dead early Sunday.

In a joint statement released in Manila, both parties agreed to "achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting political settlement of the conflict in Mindanao", the southern third of the Philippines where the MILF has been waging a rebellion to establish an independent Islamic state since 1978. --AFP

;AP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. ATW-Cambodia-brothel Videotape of sex trade led to 36 girls' rescue from JP/10/ATW

36 girls rescued from brothels

CAMBODIA: Videos of sex trade transactions taken by a U.S.-based Christian human rights group prompted Cambodian police to raid an infamous brothel district in the capital and rescue 37 underage girls, a U.S. activist said on Sunday.

Police, tipped off by the Washington DC-based International Justice Mission (IJM), raided the brothel community of Svay Pak on Saturday and rescued the girls, some as young as 5 years old.

Thirteen pimps and brothel owners were arrested. All of them, as well as the rescued girls, are Vietnamese.

Scores of girls aged between 8 and 14 were being sold, and "the people prostituting the children were videotaped doing that", IJM president Gary Haugen said.--AP

;AP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. ATW-Taiwan-politics Taiwan's opposition parties name candidates for 2004 presidential JP/10/ASEAN

Taiwan's presidential nominee named

TAIWAN: Then two largest opposition parties voted unanimously at their separate congresses on Sunday to give their leaders authority to seek a joint ticket to oppose President Chen Shui- bian in next year's elections.

Nationalist Party leader Lien Chan and People First Party (PFP) leader James Soong -- rivals in the last presidential election in 2000 -- plan to start negotiating the joint ticket this week, party officials said on Sunday.

Together, they could pose a serious challenge to Chen, who won election three years ago largely because Lien and Soong ran separate campaigns, splitting up the once mighty Nationalist Party.

Lien, 66, is expected to run as president, with the charismatic Soong of the smaller PFP running as his vice president. --AP

;REUTERS;KOD; ANPAi..r.. ATW-AFGHAN-FIGHTING Two U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan JP/10/ATW

Two U.S. soldiers killed near Kabul

AFGHANISTAN: Two U.S. special forces soldiers were killed and another wounded when their vehicle was attacked in Afghanistan, U.S. officials said on Saturday.

The casualties occurred when a four-vehicle reconnaissance patrol was attacked near the town of Geresk in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. It did not identify the soldiers who were killed.

American B-52 bombers and helicopters pounded areas in southern Afghanistan where fugitives of the ousted Taliban were believed to be hiding, an Afghan official said on Saturday.

Afghan officials said at least eight suspected Taliban members had been killed and 12 arrested. --Reuters

;REUTERS;KOD; ANPAi..r.. ATW-India-tigress Tiger mauls French tourists in central India JP/10/ATW

Tiger mauls French tourists

INDIA: Two French tourists were among three people mauled by an angry tiger in a forest reserve in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, forest officials said on Sunday.

Authorities gave the names of the injured tourists as Crawden Heden and P.J. Peejaj. They were immediately taken to a hospital, along with the owner of a local hotel, and all are in stable condition, the officials said.

The incident took place on Saturday evening at Bandhavgarh national park, about 370 kilometers from Bhopal, the state capital.

"The tigress, Mohani, who attacked the tourists, had a brawl with another tigress who had trespassed into her area early on Saturday. It is possible that the tigress was full of anger when she saw the tourists and attacked them," forest officials said.

;REUTERS;KOD; ANPAu..r.. ATW-Philippines-Sin Cardinal Sin in hospital after seizure at Manila mass JP/10/ATW

Cardinal Sin collapses during Mass

PHILIPPINES: Cardinal Jaime Sin, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Manila and one of the most influential figures in the Philippines, was rushed to the hospital on Sunday after he collapsed while performing Mass.

Sin, who is due to retire on his 75th birthday on Aug. 31, suffered a seizure at a small chapel at his residence but was "awake and in stable condition", his spokesman Bishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement.

Doctors determined that Sin, who has a long-standing kidney ailment, had a mild stroke recently.

The cardinal is one of the most politically and socially vocal clerics in the Philippine church, which counts about 80 percent of the country's 80 million people among its flock.

Sin has condemned Manila's support for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and was instrumental in popular uprisings that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and president Joseph Estrada in 2001. --Reuters