S'pore warns of rising tensions with Malaysia
S'pore warns of rising tensions with Malaysia
SINGAPORE: Singapore's foreign minister told an emergency session of Parliament Saturday that the city-state must diffuse tensions with neighboring Malaysia before things escalated to dangerous levels.
A war of words between the two countries has intensified since December over long-standing disputes about water prices and competing claims to a strategic islet in the busy shipping lanes of the Singapore Straits.
"Loose talk of war is irresponsible and dangerous," Singapore's Foreign Minister Shanmugan Jayakumar told Parliament. "It whips up emotions that could become difficult to control."
He reiterated that Singapore was willing to refer disputes to international arbitration if the two countries could not break the current impasse on the issues.
The two nations have agreed to sign an accord next month referring the dispute over the islet to the World Court in the Hague. --AP
Bangladesh boat accident claims 12
BANGLADESH: At least 12 people, including a baby boy, were killed Saturday when two boats collided near the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, witnesses said.
An AFP photographer at the scene in Munshiganj district, 24 kilometers (15 miles) south of Dhaka, said 12 bodies had been recovered from the Dhaleswari river where the accident happened.
"Due to thick fog the two boats crashed," said Jashim, a police officer in Munshiganj.
He said the smaller boat was destroyed, while the larger one left the scene.
The fire brigade and police were still searching the area for any other passengers from the smaller boat.
Heavy fog has settled across Bangladesh over the past few weeks, making navigation difficult. --AFP
Arroyo unveils birth control bid
PHILIPPINE: Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said Saturday that her government would launch a new family planning campaign emphasizing "responsible parenthood, respect for life, birth spacing and informed choice."
However Arroyo stressed the campaign would focus on "natural family planning" methods approved by the dominant Catholic church. She made no mention of artificial contraceptives which the church opposes.
She said that next month, her government would launch a campaign for responsible parenthood to help couples space the births of their children, "so they can have the right number of children that they can afford to raise in dignity."
The Catholic church, which counts 80 percent of Filipinos as followers, has campaigned strongly against population control measures, threatening a backlash against politicians who campaign for family planning.
The Philippines population exceeded 80 million last year. The country has one of the highest population growth rates in Asia, 2.36 percent annually. --AFP
Italy pays tribute to Agnelli
ROME: Prime ministers, captains of industry, factory workers, foreign dignitaries, fashion designers, Nobel Prize winners, historians, footballers, Formula One drivers and Pope John Paul II all paid tribute Saturday to Giovanni Agnelli, the Fiat patriarch and the uncrowned monarch of Italy, who died of cancer on Friday at the age of 81.
The death of Agnelli has deeply shaken a country that had been awed by his power, money, style and acumen for the better part of the 20th century.
In a message, the pope said Agnelli had been "an authoritative protagonist of the important moments of Italian history" who contributed to the country's social and economic development.
Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi defined Agnelli, who was named a life senator in 1991, "a great Italian".
His funeral was to be held on Sunday morning in Turin's Cathedral while his body was to be buried during a private ceremony at the family's tomb in Villar Perosa, near Turin. DPA
6,800 Chinese prostitutes arrested
HONG KONG: The number of Chinese prostitutes arrested in Hong Kong more than doubled last year to a record high of 6,826, according to immigration officials Saturday.
The figure is more than twice the 3,057 arrested in 2001 and coincides with an opening up of the border between Hong Kong the mainland to attract more tourists.
The easing of restrictions has brought a flood of women from relatively poor southern China who can make more in a night in Hong Kong's Kowloon red light districts than they do in a month in some rural mainland provinces.
Hong Kong officials are now posting an extra line of immigration officers at border entry points to watch for women suspected to be entering the territory to work as prostitutes.
They also plan to speed up communications between Hong Kong and Beijing over women arrested by using the Internet rather than the traditional method of mailing details of detainees, Director of Immigration Lai Tung-kwok announced.
Prostitution is not illegal in Hong Kong but the women are routinely arrested for violating regulations by working on tourist or visitor visas.DPA