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