TOKYO: The mooted appointment of the daughter of assassinated US president John F Kennedy to the high-profile post of ambassador to Japan, was greeted in Japan yesterday. Caroline Kennedy, an early supporter of Obama’s 2008 primary campaign before he took on and beat Hillary Clinton’s Democratic machine, is in the advanced stages of the selection process, an official said.
Manila rebels free policeman
DAVAO CITY: Leftist rebels yesterday released a policeman they had kidnapped last month in the southern Philippines. Officials said the New People’s Army (NPA) released Police Officer 3 Ruben Nojapa to his family in Compostela Valley province around 1pm. “He is all right but had to be brought to the regional police command for checkup and debriefing.”
‘Boycott Indian cargo’ call
COLOMBO: Dock workers at Sri Lanka’s main container port called yesterday for a boycott of cargo from India. Ruling party-affiliated workers staged the protest at Colombo harbour, demanding that the government retaliate against politicians in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu who have called for trade sanctions against Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority said there were no plans for any boycott.
Lanka releases Buddhist monks
COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan court yesterday freed three Buddhist monks and 14 others suspected of torching a Muslim-owned clothing store in Colombo. “The case was dropped because the police and the victim did not want to proceed,” a court official said. “The magistrate warned them to follow Buddha’s teachings or face serious consequences.”
Bombmaker held in Jakarta
JAKARTA: Indonesian police said yesterday they had arrested a man suspected of being the bombmaker in a terror group accused of robbing a jewellery store to fund militant activities. Fajar Sidik, 29, was detained in Semarang city, central Java province. Sidik was part of the group and “assembled pipe bombs and homemade firearms,” police said.
Undersea quake
erupts off Japan
Tokyo: A magnitude-6.0 undersea earthquake hit off eastern Japan yesterday. The US Geological Survey reported that the quake hit some 107km east of Miyako and some 327km northeast of Tokyo. Japan’s Meteorological Agency and the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency issued no tsunami alerts. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Games put off over wages row
JAKARTA: Indonesia postponed the Islamic Solidarity Games due in June until October after construction workers closed the main stadium in protest against not being paid in full, organisers said yesterday. Some 5,000 athletes from member countries of Organisation of the Islamic Conference were due to take part in the third edition of the games from June 6 to 17 in the city of Pekanbaru on Sumatra island.
Agencies
