Two ships collide off Malaysian coast

Two ships collide off Malaysian coast

MALAYSIA: Two ships have collided off Malaysia's southern Johor
coast, a marine office spokesman said on Thursday.

The Sanko Robust, a cargo ship registered at Monrovia port,
and the Tirta Mas, a semi-container registered in Jakarta
collided Wednesday night near Kukup island, spokesman for the
Marine Office's Malaysia Rescue and Coordination Center (MRCC)
Hisham Ali was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.

The Tirta Mas partially sank. The Santo Robust suffered
technical problems and was directed to dock at Kukup for further
investigations.

However, Hisham said all 20 sailors on board Tirta Mas were
rescued by marine police and were brought to Kukup. No injuries
or loss of lives were reported. --AFP

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Aglance-Cambodia-blast
Four dead, 44 wounded at party
JP/11/ATW

Four dead, 44 wounded at party

CAMBODIA: A grenade exploded at a wedding celebration in
southeastern Cambodia, killing four people and wounding 44
others, officials said on Thursday.

The blast occurred late Tuesday in a village in Prey Veng
province, 50 kilometers east of the capital Phnom Penh, said Dim
Yarom, the province's deputy police chief. It appeared to be an
accident, he said.

Guests were dancing around midnight when the hand grenade
exploded, killing three people instantly. A fourth person died
later in a hospital and 44 people were injured.

One of the guests apparently had a grenade in his pocket, Dim
Yarom said.

He did not explain why someone might carry a grenade to a
wedding party, but Cambodia is awash with weapons, the deadly
legacy of almost three decades of war and unrest. --AP

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Aglance-RP-MILF
Southern RP blacked out by rebels
JP/PHILIPPINES

Southern RP blacked out by rebels

PHILIPPINES: Moro separatists blacked out the southern third of
the Philippines in overnight sabotage attacks, leaving about 18
million people in the dark for hours, officials said on Thursday.

Electricity supply was restored to most of Mindanao island by
Thursday as the government fired up emergency generating stations
to temporarily replace baseload plants disabled by the toppling
of transmission pylons overnight Wednesday, they said.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas blew up at
least five steel transmission towers before midnight using
improvised explosives from mortar shells on Wednesday, knocked
out the key Agus hydro-electric power complex outside this city.

No casualties were reported in the attacks, which blacked out
the key Mindanao cities of Davao, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro,
Cotabato, Butuan and Malaybalay, said Max Adiong, operations
chief for Mindanao of state-run National Power Corp. (Napocor).
--AFP

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Aglance-Thailand-drugs
Thai govt to review drugs blitz
JP/11/ASEAN

Thai govt to review drugs blitz

THAILAND: Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on Thursday
his government would review its controversial drugs blitz, which
has led to the killings of around 1,000 people across the
country.

In particular, the widely criticized policy of measuring the
performance of provincial governors and police commanders in the
campaign by how far they reduce controversial suspect blacklists
could change, Thaksin told reporters.

Provincial governors and police commanders across the country
have been ordered by the interior ministry to reduce the numbers
on their lists by 25 percent by Feb. 28, the end of the first
month of the crackdown.

The accuracy of the ministry's list of 46,177 names has been
widely questioned in the media, with the national police chief
Sant Saratunond distancing himself from it. --AFP