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Opposition journalist found dead in Belarus
MINSK, Oct 19: Police in Belarus were investigating Wednesday the death of an opposition newspaper journalist amid claims by his brother that he was murdered. Vasily Grodnikov, 66, was found dead Tuesday at his home in Zaslavl, a town near the capital Minsk, by his brother Nikolai Grodnikov. He was well known for his articles critical of the authoritarian government of President Alexander Lukashenko published in the opposition newspaper Narodnaya Volya (People's Will)--AFP.
Former top PetroVietnam official jailed for 21 years for graft
HANOI, Oct 19: A former deputy general director of PetroVietnam, the communist country's oil and gas giant, was jailed for 21 years for graft by a court in southern Vietnam, court sources said Wednesday. Six other officials got sentences ranging from four years to life imprisonment in the biggest corruption case ever to hit the state-owned company, a clerk at Ba Ria Vung Tau People's Court said--AFP.
Taiwan "rice bomber" jailed
TAIPEI, Oct 19: A Taiwanese man who carried out a bombing campaign in protest at rice imports was Wednesday sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in jail for endangering public safety, a court official said. Yang Ru-men, a 25-year-old chicken vendor, convicted of planting more than a dozen explosive devices, was also fined 100,000 Taiwan dollars (2,978 US), a spokesman for Taipei district court said--AFP.
Three rebels die as quake-hit Kashmir probes minister's death
SRINAGAR, Oct 19: Troops shot dead three Muslim rebels in quake-hit Indian Kashmir, officials said Wednesday as they probed the killing in broad daylight of the region's junior education minister. "The three were killed during a gunbattle late Tuesday in (southern) Pulwama district," army spokesman Vijay Batra told AFP.
Floods kill three, 12,000 flee homes in Indonesia's Aceh
BANDA ACEH, Oct 19: Flash floods have swept through Indonesia's tsunami-stricken province of Aceh, killing at least three people, injuring dozens and forcing thousands to flee their homes, the Red Cross said Wednesday. The Simpang river burst its banks late Tuesday after a week of heavy rain, destroying about 400 homes in two districts of southeastern Aceh, said Red Cross spokesman Syahrial--AFP.
Thai FM cuts off contact with Malaysia
BANGKOK, Oct 19: Thailand's foreign minister said Wednesday he has stopped speaking with neighboring Malaysia, amid an escalating war of words sparked by 131 Thai Muslims who fled across the border into Malaysia. Thai Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon told reporters that he had cut off contact with his counterpart Syed Hamid Albar "since he used such inappropriate words" at the weekend--AFP.
Islamic party moves to allow cinemas in Kelantan state
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19: The hardline Islamic party ruling Malaysia's conservative Kelantan state is now accepting applications from would-be cinema operators, a top official said Wednesday, in a sign of ongoing liberalisation. —AFP.
Separatists welcome proposal to open Kashmir border
ISLAMABAD, Oct 19 : The leading rebel commander fighting Indian rule in Kashmir on Wednesday welcomed Pakistan's proposal to open the disputed border in the wake of the earthquake and called on India to agree. —AFP
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