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