RI fishing boat seized in Australia
RI fishing boat seized in Australia
AUSTRALIA: Australian officials said on Saturday they had seized
an Indonesian boat and detained its crew following reports the
fishermen had attempted to board an Australian vessel.
The boat was found off the remote northern coast of Western
Australia with two Indonesian fishermen on board, a customs
spokesman told AFP.
"The boarding party went aboard the boat, which is to be
destroyed on the spot, and after the two crew have been put board
the (Western Australian Fisheries vessel) Walcott," he said.
Customs Minister Chris Ellison said the government was taking
the issue seriously and had spent "unprecedented resources"
protecting Australia's coastline. -- AFP
;AFP;
ANPAi..u..
Russia-space-US-ISS 2ndlead
'Space tourist' blasts off aboard Soyuz
JP/RUSSIA
'Space tourist' blasts off aboard Soyuz
RUSSIA: A Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Baikonur space center
in Kazakhstan early on Saturday, taking American "space tourist"
Greg Olsen and his fellow astronauts, a Russian and another
American, off towards the International Space Station, an AFP
reporter witnessed.
The rocket climbed faultlessly away from the Kazakh steppes
carrying the Soyuz TMA-7 capsule and its fee-paying and
professional crew. Ten minutes later, the capsule was placed in
orbit, Russian mission control said.
Olsen was accompanied by Russian cosmonaut Valery Tokarev and
U.S. astronaut William McArthur on the trip to the International
Space Station, where they will arrive on Monday after a period
adjusting to conditions. -- AFP
;AFP;
ANPAi..u..
US-politics-press sched-lead
Schwarzenegger enacts anti-paparazzi law
JP/US
Schwarzenegger enacts anti-paparazzi law
UNITED STATES: Movie star and California governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger signed into law on Friday tough new penalties
against paparazzi who commit assaults in order to snap lucrative
pictures of stars.
The law was spurred by a May incident in Los Angeles in which
a photographer was arrested for allegedly crashing his car
intentionally into Hollywood starlet Lindsay Lohan's Mercedes
Benz in a bid to get an unusual picture of her, resulting in
Lohan suffering cuts and bruises.
The toughened law also makes photographers liable for punitive
damages for any proceeds that result from the sale of photos
taken under such circumstances.
In addition, the new law for the first time makes employers of
paparazzi accused of such assault legally responsible for
ordering employees to committing such acts. -- AFP
;AP;
ANPA ..u..
India-Contaminated Liquor
14 die from drinking illegal liquor
JP/INDIA
14 die from drinking illegal liquor
INDIA: At least 14 people have died after drinking illegal home-
brewed liquor sold at unauthorized shops in India's remote
northeast, police said on Saturday.
The death toll was likely to rise because 61 others were
hospitalized after drinking the noxious brew on Friday night in
Tezpur, a town 180 kilometers north of Gauhati, the capital of
Assam state, police officer L. Bora said by telephone.
Many of those hospitalized were in critical condition, a
doctor said on condition of anonymity.
The liquor deaths triggered violence, with angry residents
attacking government offices and torching half a dozen motorbikes
and some shops in the area, Bora said, and that samples of the
home-brew liquor had been sent to a lab for tests. -- AP
;AP;
ANPA ..r..
Thailand-Tsunami Invitations
Thailand offers free trip for memorial
JP/THAILAND
Thailand offers free trip for memorial
THAILAND: Invitations for an all expenses paid three-day trip to
the tsunami one-year memorial ceremony in Thailand will be sent
in mid-October to thousands of victim's relatives around the
world, officials said.
The Thai foreign ministry will coordinate with foreign
embassies in Bangkok to send invitations to some 1,740 immediate
family members of those who passed away in the tsunami and about
2,000 injured victims, said Kiattikhun Chartprasert, foreign
ministry deputy spokesman.
The Thai government is inviting the guests for a tsunami
memorial service on Dec. 26. -- AP