WASHINGTON: The US yesterday said it was “deeply concerned” by reports that opposition MPs have been expelled from Cambodia’s national assembly. On Wednesday, 28 MPs belonging to two opposition parties were told they were no longer valid members of parliament by a permanent parliamentary committee made up of ruling party members. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki urged assembly leaders “to allow all elected members to fulfil their commitment to serve the Cambodian people.” “Stripping salaries and parliamentary status of opposition party legislators deprives the Cambodian people of their voice and hurts the democratic process in Cambodia. Full participation of all elected representatives is essential to the democratic process,” he said.
Thailand-China train planned
Bangkok: Thailand will be connected with China via a high-speed railway running through northern Laos within the next seven years, Thai Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt said. He told a seminar and exhibition entitled “Thailand 2020” in the Thai northeastern province of Nakorn Ratchasima that the government planned to build a 625km rail system to link Bangkok with the northeastern border province of Nong Khai, across Mekong River from the Lao capital of Vientiane while Chinese high-speed trains will arrive from the south.
Gunmen kill five hooligans
MANILA: Five men believed to be members of a Philippine crime gang were killed yesterday, including two who were beheaded in a suspected revenge attack, police said. About 10 hooded gunmen broke into the shack where the gang was staying in the northern town of Bugallon and shot two of the men in the hands and feet, said Senior Inspector Ryan Manongdo, the provincial police spokesman. The gunmen then beheaded the two wounded men before shooting dead the three, he added. “The victims were allegedly engaged in illegal activities, such as burglaries and cattle rustling,” he said, adding that police were looking into the possibility that the killings were carried out by a family previously targeted by the gang.
12 die as bus falls off cliff
LA TRINIDAD, Philippines: A bus carrying supporters of a local politician fell off a cliff in the mountainous northern Philippines yesterday, killing 12 people, police said. The victims were supporters of the Mayor of the town of Buguias, Melchor Diclas, and going home from a victory party he hosted after he retained his post in last month’s elections. Rescuers found 10 bodies at the bottom of an 80-metre ravine and two were declared dead on arrival at nearby hospitals. Seven passengers were treated for injuries.
Quake strikes off Taiwan
Beijing: An earthquake admeasuring 5.9 magnitude on the Richter scale struck off the east coast of Taiwan yesterday, the US Geological Survey said. The quake hit at 00.38am and was centred 98km east of the city of Hualian, at a depth of 38 km. There were no reports of casualties or damage from the tremor, which struck 63km southwest of the Japanese town of Yonakuni in the Yaeyama Islands. AGENCIES
