Children die as storm hits ship
JAKARTA A passenger ship carrying 70 people disappeared in eastern Indonesia after reporting engine failure in stormy seas, a port official said yesterday. The bodies of two children were found drifting in nearby waters along with nearly two dozen survivors. The KM Wahai Star was on a regular voyage from Buru island to Ambon, the capital of Maluku province, when it lost contact before midnight Tuesday. (AP)
Ancient customs row
ROME An Italian minister trying to warn Italians against stereotyping Muslims over terrorism found himself in hot water when he said that wife beating was a “Sicilian-Pakistani” custom. The comments by Giuliano Amato, 69, the Interior Minister, enraged Sicilians. (Reuters)
Outback abuse
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SYDNEY Winkie Ingomar, 52, an elderly Aborigine, has pleaded guilty to supplying aboriginal girls with petrol to sniff and sexually assaulting them. A total of 11 aboriginal men and boys have now been charged with sexual assault of girls in the Outback town of Halls Creek in Western Australia. (Reuters)
Hunt for TB victim
LITTLE ROCK A man placed in isolation in hospital after having contagious tuberculosis diagnosed broke a window and fled. Police are seeking Franklin Greenwood, 50, who was quarantined at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital after he was seen coughing up blood. (AP)
Cleese on move
LOS ANGELES John Cleese is reportedly selling his horse ranch in Santa Barbara County for $28 million (£14 million). The 16-acre (6.5hectare) spread in Montecito with three bedrooms, four bathrooms and a swimming pool was bought by Cleese, 67, and his wife, Alice Faye, in 1999. (AP)
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Troops claim victory on Tamil Tiger bases
KILINOCHCHI Sri Lankan troops seized the last Tamil Tiger rebel base in the east of the country, giving the Government control of the region for the first time in 13 years, the army said.
The Tigers, however, declared the fight far from finished. “If they are coming into our territory, they will find stiff resistance from our people,” Rasiah Ilanthirayan, the Tigers’ military spokesman, said.
“We will deploy the necessary tactics and the necessary tools to protect our people.”(AP)
Compromise fails
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ANKARA Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, has rejected a call to nominate a nonpartisan figure for expected presidential elections, shattering hopes for a compromise between his Islamic-based party and the secular Opposition.(AP) Sarkozy lures Lang PARIS Jack Lang, a former culture minister, said yesterday that he was quitting the Socialist party leadership after being asked by President Sarkozy to join a reform commission – the latest target in Mr Sarkozy’s policy of “openness”. Mr Lang is considering the offer.(AFP)
Reagan honoured
WARSAW Poland is to award Ronald Reagan, who died in 2004, one of its highest honours in recognition of his role in the fall of communism. President Kaczynski will present the Order of the White Eagle to Nancy Reagan during a visit to the US next week. (Reuters)
Lorry bomb kills ten
ALGIERS A suicide bomber driving a lorry packed with explosives killed ten people and wounded another twenty near a military camp at Lakhdaria, 50 miles (80km) southeast of Algiers. The attack coincided with the opening of the Africa Games in Algeria. (AP)
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Ibiza oil leak fear
MADRID Twenty crew were rescued from a cargo ship after it collided with an islet near Ibiza port and later sank. The Don Pedro, which was carrying goods and lorries, was reported to have leaked diesel oil and fuel. Rescue workers were trying to limit any environmental damage.(AFP)
New sex claim
NEW ORLEANS A former brothel keeper has raised new allegations that David Vitter, 46, a US senator, was a client at her establishment in his hometown of New Orleans, one day after he apologised publicly for his connection to the “DC Madam”, Deborah Jeane Palfrey.(AP)
Closet donor
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TOKYO About two million yen (£8,000) has been left in municipal lavatories across Japan, in 10,000-yen bundles, accompanied by handwritten notes saying: “Please make use of this money for your self-enrichment” and “One per person”. (AP)