U.S. spy plane crashes in RP
U.S. spy plane crashes in RP
PHILIPPINES: An unmanned American spy plane crashed at sea on Sunday in the southern Philippines, where it has been used for aerial reconnaissance in U.S.-backed counterterrorism operations, military officials said.
It was the second U.S. crash since the exercises began in January. An MH-47 Chinook helicopter went down in flames over deep water on Feb. 22, killing all 10 men aboard. Five of the bodies were recovered on Saturday, and two remain missing.
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Erica Smith of the U.S. Pacific Command in Honolulu said the plane "made an emergency water landing on a routine training flight." The cause of the accident is under investigation, she said.
Maj. Cynthia Teramae, spokeswoman for U.S. forces in the Philippines, said the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was on its way back to a Philippine air force base in the southern port city of Zamboanga after a flight of less than an hour when something went wrong. --AP
;REUTERS;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Cambodia-refugees Cambodia gives U.S. green light for refugee asylum JP/9/ASEAN
Cambodia allows refugees to go to U.S.
CAMBODIA: Phnom Penh on Sunday gave the United States the go ahead to resettle more than 900 refugees who fled Vietnam last year, saying Hanoi had agreed to the move despite its long- running demands for their return.
The mainly Christian hill tribe people say they fled to refugee camps in Cambodia to escape persecution and repression in Vietnam, where the government last year sent troops to the central highlands to quell protests over land rights and religious freedom.
Washington said last week that conditions for the hill tribe people returning to Vietnam were not satisfactory and offered to resettle them all in the United States.
"The Royal Government of Cambodia has decided to allow the Vietnamese refugees to go for asylum in the United States," Prime Minister Hun Sen said in a speech during a Buddhist ceremony on the outskirts of Phnom Penh on Sunday. -- Reuters
;AP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-KL-Human Rights Head of Malaysia's human rights commission to step down JP/9/ASEAN
Human rights commission chief to quit
MALAYSIA: The head of Malaysia's national human rights commission -- who took up the post reluctantly -- will step down, an official has said.
Musa Hitam, a former Malaysian deputy premier, led the panel since it was created by the government in April 2000 to stem criticism of Malaysia's treatment of political dissidents and curbs on press freedom.
Musa also served as chairman of the UN Human Rights Commission in 1995.
He informed the panel recently that he would relinquish his post at the end of his two-year term on April 23, said the commission's secretary Kamaruddin Mohamed Baria. Musa would have been eligible for another term. --AP
;AP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Thai-highway pileup Six killed, 17 injured in highway pileup JP/9/ASEAN
Six killed, 17 injured in highway pileup
THAILAND: More than 20 vehicles piled up in a chain-reaction accident on a highway covered by smoke, killing at least six people and injuring 17, police said.
The accident in Saraburi province, 75 kilometers northeast of Bangkok, caused a traffic jam several kilometers long, said a police official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
He said a large fire alongside the highway had covered the road. When a vehicle slowed down abruptly in low visibility, others behind it started crashing one after another, he said.
He said 17 people were injured seriously and were taken to hospital. -- AP