Schroeder arrives in Malaysia
Schroeder arrives in Malaysia
MALAYSIA: German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder arrived in Malaysia
on Sunday for a three-day official visit which is part of a short
trip to four Southeast Asian countries.
His visit to Malaysia is the first such trip by a German
chancellor to this mainly Muslim country. Schroeder is also
scheduled to visit Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam before
heading back home on May 16.
Schroeder's trip to Malaysia comes ahead of scheduled visits
by French President Jacques Chirac and Russian President Vladimir
Putin in coming months.
Just like Malaysia, the three European countries opposed the
U.S.-led war in Iraq, and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is
regarded as a strong voice in the Islamic and developing worlds.
Mahathir has upset Washington with his outspoken criticism of
its Middle East policies, but Kuala Lumpur has supported the U.S.
war on terror launched in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. --
Reuters
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Aglance-Singapore-port-accident
Sailor killed in port explosion
JP/12/ASEAN
Sailor killed in port explosion
SINGAPORE: A Chinese sailor was killed on Sunday in a small
explosion aboard a Korean chemical tanker in Singapore's port,
officials said.
The incident aboard the Korean-registered Bum Ik occurred at 6
a.m. (5 a.m. in Jakarta) while the vessel was lifting its anchor
to leave after refueling in Singapore's port, said Ong Chong
Pheng, a spokeswoman for the Maritime Port Authority.
There was no cargo on board the tanker and no fuel leaked from
the ship, Ong said.
The ship was anchored off the Eastern Petroleum Anchorage, 2
kilometers southeast of Singapore's Bedok Jetty in the eastern
part of the island when the incident occurred.
The Bum Ik arrived in Singapore from Tianjin, China on May 10
and was headed to Sumatra in Indonesia, Ong said. Singapore port
and police officials are investigating the incident, she said. --
AP
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Aglance-Malaysia-fake-credit-cards
Police seize 1,000 fake credit cards
JP/12/ASEAN
Police seize 1,000 fake credit cards
MALAYSIA: Malaysian police have detained a 30-year-old man and
seized 1,000 forged credit cards with a total credit limit of 15
million ringgit (US$3.9 million) at the country's international
airport, a report said on Sunday.
The Sunday Star said police detained the individual, described
as a "runner", on May 2 when he was departing for Britain.
Abu Bakar Mustaffa, head of crime for Selangor state where the
Kuala Lumpur International Airport is located, said airport
workers detected the cards as his hand luggage was going through
a scanner.
"They detained him when they found the cards purportedly
issued by Citibank, Standard Chartered and OCBC Bank," Abu Bakar
said.
The newspaper said the cards, made in Malaysia, were ready to
be embossed and encoded.
Abu Bakar said more individuals could be detained as
investigations were continuing. -- AFP