Ex-militia boss jailed for murder

Ex-militia boss jailed for murder

EAST TIMOR: An East Timor court has convicted a former militia
leader of crimes against humanity committed during the
territory's bloody independence vote in 1999 and sentenced him to
12 years in jail, the court said on Monday.

The special panel for serious crimes at Dili District Court
found ex-militia commander Jose Cardoso Fereira guilty on Friday
of crimes including the murder of two pro-independence supporters
and the rape of three women in the border area of Lolotoe.

The United Nations estimates that more than 1,000 people were
killed in the violence surrounding the Aug. 30 independence
ballot in which East Timor voted overwhelmingly to split from 24
years of Indonesian rule.

The result triggered a wave of killing and destruction by pro-
Jakarta militia groups that many observers say were backed by
elements of the Indonesian military. --Reuters

Fans pay last respects to star Cheung

HONG KONG: Hundreds of grieving fans thronged a funeral parlor in
Hong Kong on Monday to pay their last respects to Cantonese pop
star and actor Leslie Cheung, whose suicide last week shocked
Chinese communities worldwide.

"I'm of course very sad. I've cried for a few days," said
Maggie Chiu, a 20-year-old student, as she held a bouquet. "I've
liked him since I was a child."

Cheung, an evergreen popstar and actor who looked a decade
younger than his 46 years, leapt out of a window of the Mandarin
Oriental hotel on April 1, leaving behind a suicide note which
newspapers said revealed emotional problems.

As rain fell, umbrella-toting fans from Hong Kong and abroad
began queuing up outside the funeral hall hours before the
ceremony opened.

Cheung was one of the first Asian stars to play openly gay
characters in films. He was best known globally for his part in
the blockbuster Farewell My Concubine, where he played a
homosexual Chinese opera singer - a role which closely mirrored
his life. --Reuters

China factory fire kills 21 people

CHINA: Twenty-one people were killed in a fire at a food-
processing factory in east China over the weekend, the official
China Daily said on Monday.

The fire broke out at a workshop in the Qingdao Zhengda Corp.
near the capital of Shandong province on early Saturday morning,
the newspaper said.

It was not known how many were injured or what caused the
fire.

Work-place accidents killed at least 100 people in China in
March, according to official figures. The government issued an
emergency notice calling for heightened safety awareness,
including mines. About 7,000 people were killed in mining
accidents last year. --Reuters