S'pore, RI hold joint exercise

S'pore, RI hold joint exercise

SINGAPORE: Singapore and Indonesia held a joint search-and-rescue
exercise in the South China Sea on Tuesday to test their
readiness to respond to an aircraft in distress, aviation
authorities said.

More than 100 personnel from the Civil Aviation Authority of
Singapore (CAAS) and the National Search and Rescue Agency of
Indonesia took part in the exercise, which also involved aircraft
and ships from the air force, navy and coast guard.

Apart from Indonesia, Singapore has concluded bilateral
search-and-rescue agreements with Malaysia, the Philippines,
Thailand and Vietnam, and has a "standing agreement" with Brunei,
CAAS said in a statement.

Indonesia has also concluded such pacts with Malaysia, the
Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia and the United States.
--AFP

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Aglance-Cambodia-vote
Top cop issues poll warning
JP/11/Cambodia

Top cop issues poll warning

CAMBODIA: Cambodia's top cop Hok Lundy on Tuesday ordered the
armed forces to leave their guns at home on polling day but
warned any violent protests in the aftermath of Sunday's national
elections would be met with force.

He said his troops must comply and that no guns would be
allowed near polling booths while the police and military must
also ensure security for voters, political activists, local and
international election monitors.

"Your duty will not be over until after the elections and your
duty will have to be fulfilled until the new government is
formed," he declared to reporters.

He said large political rallies were expected in the capital
on Friday, the last day of official election campaigning.

But Hok Lundy also warned that in a post-electoral environment
his men would be armed with police dogs, tear gas and electric
batons which would be used if political activists protested the
result in a violent fashion. --AFP

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Aglance-Australia-Myanmar
Ex-Myanmar prisoner protests in Brisbane
JP/11/prisoner

Ex-Myanmar prisoner protests in Brisbane

AUSTRALIA: A former political prisoner from Myanmar shuffled
through Brisbane in leg irons on Tuesday to raise awareness of a
recent bloody crackdown in his homeland.

Htoo Htoo Han, 33, winced in pain as he slowly made his way
through the city's business district. He plans similar
demonstrations in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

The shackles are a reminder of the three years he spent in
prison in Myanmar - also known as Burma - after his arrest at a
pro-democracy student uprising in 1988.

Htoo Htoo Han, then 19, was subjected to daily beatings and
torture and was chained for almost a year in an unsanitary cell,
he said.

Paroled after three years, Htoo Htoo Han fled to Thailand and
was later accepted as a refugee by the United Nations and moved
to Australia in 1996. --AP

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Aglance-KL-Chirac
'Jungle law should not rule the world'
JP/11/jungle

'Jungle law should not rule the world'

MALAYSIA: Visiting French President Jacques Chirac, accepting a
Malaysian peace award for his opposition to the U.S.-led war on
Iraq, said on Tuesday the world should not be ruled by the "law
of the jungle".

Chirac was speaking after being presented with the inaugural
Kuala Lumpur World Peace Award by Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad, who was also a strong opponent of the war.

All countries should be able to make their voices heard so
that none felt sidelined, marginalized or humiliated, he said.

Chirac said the United Nations "may not be a perfect
organization. It could be better structured, modernized, brought
up to date, but it is an unavoidable organization."

Chirac's five-hour visit to Malaysia, en route to the French
Pacific territory of New Caledonia, is the first by a French
president. --AFP