RI to help RP probing deadly blast

RI to help RP probing deadly blast

PHILIPPINES: Indonesia vowed full cooperation on Tuesday into a probe over reports that five Indonesians were allegedly behind last week's bombing of a wharf in the southern Philippines that left 16 people dead.

"We are on the same side," said Johannes Manginsela, Indonesian vice-consul in Davao city, where the deadly blast occurred. "We will cooperate in the investigation," he added.

A Philippine intelligence report has said that five Indonesians, allegedly members of the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) group, may be behind the bombing, the second in Davao in about a month.

Manginsela said he was aware of the Manila intelligence report linking the five Indonesians to the bomb blast at Davao city wharf that also injured more than 50 others. --AFP

;AFP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Malaysia-transvestite Villagers drive out transvestites JP/10/ASEAN

Villagers drive out transvestites

MALAYSIA: A Malaysian village, tired of the stigma of being a haven for transvestite prostitutes for five decades, has mounted a blitz to drive them away, a report said on Tuesday.

Residents in the Tanjung Bendahara village in northern Kedah state are fighting back with a military-style campaign to arrest transvestites and cut their access to customers, the Malay Mail reported.

Villagers have imposed a six-hour curfew from midnight, set up a makeshift roadblock on the sole access road to screen visitors and carried out night patrols, the daily said.

So far, more than 20 transvestites have been caught and handed over to the police or the religious affairs department, it added.

Village development and security secretary Ramli Abdul Rahman told the daily that they resorted to the measures after all other efforts failed. --AFP

;DPA;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-RP-fire-killed 12 killed in Philippine fire JP/10/ASEAN

12 killed in Philippine fire

PHILIPPINES: Twelve people, including five children, were killed when a fire razed several houses in a southern Philippine city, police said on Tuesday.

All the victims were living in a two-story house where the fire started on Monday in the village of Poblacion in Valencia City, Bukidnon province, 885 kilometers south of Manila.

Police officer Virgilio Dumandan said initial investigation showed the fire was caused by faulty electrical wiring.

"The fire was suspected to have started on the first floor of the house," he said. "All the victims were sleeping on the second floor and were trapped."

The fatalities included five children aged one to five years. --DPA

;AP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Vietnam-fires Fires kill 19 people in three months JP/10/ASEAN

Fires kill 19 people in three months

VIETNAM: Vietnam recorded 20 percent more building fires during the first three months of the year despite increased prevention efforts by the government, and the blazes killed 19 people, an official said on Tuesday.

In the first quarter of this year, 538 fires were reported, 90 more than the same period last year, said the official of the Fire Control and Prevention Department on condition of anonymity.

The fires, mostly in homes and workplaces, killed 19 people, injured 60 and caused an estimated 28 billion dong (US$1.8 million) of damage. Wildfires destroyed 1,054 hectares of forest.

Fires are a serious concern in crowded Vietnam despite the government's increased inspections of production facilities and homes to ensure compliance with fire prevention regulations. --AP