Isnin, 9 Disember 2013

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

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The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro


Pop star Bieber brings cheer in typhoon-hit Philippines

Posted:

MANILA: Pop megastar Justin Bieber sang to young survivors of the Philippines' deadliest typhoon Tuesday after he flew into the disaster zone to boost an international relief effort.

Bieber flew unannounced to the central city of Tacloban just over a month after it was devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan and sang Christmas carols to children at a local school amid tight security, witnesses said.

"He sang Holy Night for the children," said Kate Donovan, a spokeswoman for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), one of three aid agencies expected to benefit from Bieber's charity work.

Photos posted on social media showed young fans with mobile phones snapping away at the Canadian teen heart-throb, who has more than 46 million followers on Twitter.

Prior to visiting the Philippines, Bieber had posted a message on fund raising website Prizeo.com urging his millions of fans to donate to the victims of the typhoon, the strongest to ever hit land.

Haiyan cut across the central Philippines on November 8, destroying scores of communities along its path.

Tsunami-like storm surges it triggered also swallowed up many coastal areas, and were blamed for majority of the nearly 6,000 deaths.

More than 1,700 others remain missing and about four million have been displaced.

In his message on Prizeo, Bieber said those donating to his cause could win a chance to personally see him record music next year.

"In the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, its victims in the Philippines need our help - and they need it now," he said in his appeal.

Many other international celebrities have also lent their voices to the massive rehabilitation effort, including Grammy-award winning singer Alicia Keys who visited victims airlifted to Manila two weeks ago. -AFP

Twenty-seven held over Singapore riot

Posted:

Singapore: Twenty-seven men from South Asia were arrested in connection with Sunday night's riot in Little India, which apparently started after a bus ran over and killed an Indian worker as he was crossing a road.

Videos uploaded on social media within the hour of the accident showed the private bus being set upon by an angry mob even as the 33-year-old victim's body remained pinned under the vehicle.

The victim has been identified as Indian national Sakthivel Kumaravelu (pic).

Sakthivel has been working in Singapore as a construction worker with Heng Hup Soon, a scaffolding company, for about two years, said a man who identified his body at the Singapore General Hospital mortuary yesterday.

The man, who declined to be named, said Sakthivel's family has not been notified of his death.

He added that Sakthivel's body was not decapitated as reported by some news outlets but he did suffer injuries to his face.

During the violence, one man from the mob was seen in a video striking the windscreen and windows of the bus with a pole, while another tossed a litter bin at the vehicle from close range, shattering the front windscreen.

The crowd continued to grow, cheering and shouting vulgarities in Tamil – turning violent in a matter of minutes, said eyewitnesses.

First responders to the accident, including a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) ambulance and a police patrol car, arrived at the junction of Race Course Road and Hampshire Road shortly after they received a call for help at 9.23pm.

SCDF rescuers were trying to reach the victim, who was trapped under the bus, with hydraulic tools when the crowd apparently attacked them.

"Projectiles were thrown at the SCDF rescuers while they were extricating the body," said a spokesman.

The mob spiralled out of control quickly after that, turning on the police, including the reinforcements who had arrived by then.

"Some of the men lit beer bottles with fire and threw them at the police; I saw them throw more than 10 bottles," said P. Kannan, who was waiting for a friend at the Little India MRT station.

Police estimates later put the mob at about 400-strong.

Commissioner of Police Ng Joo Hee said 300 police officers were activated to contain the rioters.

These included men from the Special Operations Command (SOC) and Gurkha Contingent, who arrived at the scene clad in anti-riot gear.

Residents living at Blk 661 Buffalo Road, many of whom had a bird's eye view of how the riot unfolded, said they saw at least three police patrols cars being turned onto their sides by the mob.

Two ambulances at the scene were also attacked, one was seen with its windscreen smashed, while another, which was next to a Traffic Police Expressway Patrol, was on fire.

Rohit Sodhi, 25, a service staff member at the Jungle Tandoor Restaurant: "I heard what sounded like bombs going off. Three times. Then I saw a huge mob running towards my restaurant and down Upper Dickson Road. The police chased them."

SOC officers, fanned out in anti-riot formation along the street, managed to break up the violent mob shortly after they arrived at the scene.

Commissioner Ng said during a press conference after the incident that the situation was resolved within the hour of the first call received.

"As far as we know now, there was no Singaporean involved in the riot," said Commissioner Ng.

"The unwanted violence, rioting, destruction of property, fighting the police, is not the Singapore way."

Two police patrol cars and an ambulance were set ablaze during the riot.

The burning vehicles triggered a few explosions before firefighters were at scene to put out the fire.

A total of nine SCDF and police vehicles were damaged in the incident, including an ambulance and three patrol cars that were burnt.

The SCDF said it had conveyed 18 casualties, including four SCDF officers, to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) for treatment. The police said 10 of its officers were hurt during the riot. They have all been discharged from the hospital.

The bus driver has been arrested and is out on bail, police said yesterday. The male Singaporean driver, who was warded at TTSH earlier yesterday, is being investigated for causing death by a negligent act.

He is understood to have been ferrying workers between Little India and a dormitory at Jalan Papan when he reversed into Sakthivel. The deceased is believed to have been drunk.

Sunday night's incident came as a surprise to many, because not since the racial riots in Singapore in 1964, have the police been activated to respond to such unrest.

Polytechnic student Jovial Ng, 19, who lives on Buffalo Road said: "We studied about the Maria Hertogh riots in social studies but we never expected to witness anything like this in real life."

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a Facebook post early yesterday called the riot a "very grave incident".

"The situation is now under control, and investigations are underway. Whatever events may have sparked the rioting, there is no excuse for such violent, destructive, and criminal behaviour. We will spare no effort to identify the culprits and deal with them with the full force of the law.

"I urge all Singaporeans to stay calm. Do send the police any information, photos or videos of the incident that you may have. I also wish the injured officers a full and speedy recovery." — The Straits Times/ Asia News Network

Traders pick up the pieces the morning after

Posted:

Shopowners and residents affected by the riot in Little India were seen clearing up the debris from the violence, with most counting their losses.

Abdul Hakeem, a shop assistant at fruits and vegetable retailer Guru's Marketing, said yesterday that it would most likely take him "all day" to determine how much costs he would incur.

"When I arrived this morning, I saw this," he said, pointing to a pile of trampled vegetables at his shop front along Buffalo Road, a stone's throw away from where the riot broke out at about 9.30pm the night before along Race Course Road.

A few doors away, the female shop assistant of a vegetable retailer, who refused to be named, said she came to work in the morning to find a mess of broken glass in front of her shop.

"It is what it is," she said, when asked if her business would be affected.

Most businesses along Race Course Road were open as usual yesterday with restaurants starting to fill up by noon.

Groups of foreign workers were seen chatting among themselves at the nearby Tekka Lane, getting updates on what had happened.

Construction worker Roejan Raj, who stays in a rented room along Kerbau Road, said: "Everyone is still asking questions."

Outside a Little India MRT station exit along Race Course Road, glass from smashed lights lay strewn on the ground and SBS Transit staff were seen covering the mess with white plastic sheets. — The Straits Times/ Asia News Network

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

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Thai PM rejects protesters' demand to step down

Posted:

Bangkok (AFP) - Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Tuesday refused demands by anti-government protesters to resign ahead of upcoming elections, urging them to abandon their "people's revolution".

Bangkok has been shaken by more than a month of mass opposition rallies aimed at ousting Yingluck and ridding the kingdom of the influence of her older brother, deposed former leader Thaksin.

Around 140,000 people were estimated to have gathered in Bangkok on Monday, calling for the elected government to step down.

The protesters are a loosely-allied group united by their animosity towards Thaksin, a billionaire tycoon-turned-politician who was overthrown in a military coup seven years ago but is widely thought to control the government from abroad.

Yingluck, who called an early election on Monday in an effort to calm the political turmoil, said her cabinet was legally-bound to act as an interim government until the polls are held.

"I would like the protesters to stop and to use the electoral system to choose who will become the next government," she told reporters after a cabinet meeting early Tuesday.

A visibly emotional Yingluck -- who said she had not discussed with party colleagues whether she would run in the February 2 election -- reacted angrily to protesters' calls that her family be removed from Thailand.

"I have retreated as far as I can -- give me some fairness," she said.

Rally leader Suthep Thaugsuban has rejected elections and vowed to set up a parallel government that would suspend the democratic system in Thailand and redraw its constitution.

He issued an ultimatum late Monday calling on Yingluck and her colleagues to resign from the caretaker government.

Huge crowds converged on the government headquarters on Monday in one of the largest turnouts since the protests began, bringing with them a caravan of food stalls and vendors of a wide variety of protest paraphernalia -- from t-shirts to tiaras.

Numbers had dwindled dramatically overnight after Bangkok-based protesters returned to their homes to sleep.

Thaksin is loathed by many in the royalist elite and Bangkok middle class, but loved among the working classes and those in his rural northeastern heartland.

His overthrow in 2006 by generals loyal to the king ushered in years of political turmoil and rival street protests by the royalist "Yellow Shirts" and Thaksin's supporters, known as the "Red Shirts".

Pro-Thaksin parties have won every election in more than a decade, but all governments linked to the divisive former premier since 2006 have been cut short by military or judicial intervention without serving a full term.

Observers have raised fears that if another Thaksin-allied government is forcibly removed it could trigger a fresh round of violence in the politically turbulent nation.

Yingluck's ruling Puea Thai Party is widely expected to win the upcoming vote, bolstered by Thaksin's enduring popularity.

The opposition Democrat Party -- whose MPs resigned en masse Sunday because they could not achieve anything in parliament -- has not won an elected majority in about two decades.

Democrat Party officials said Monday they had not yet decided whether to take part in the upcoming election.

Tensions remain high after several days of street clashes last week when police used tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets against rock-throwing demonstrators.

The unrest has left five people dead and more than 200 injured. Authorities have said they would try to avoid fresh confrontation.

The demonstrations were triggered by an amnesty bill, since dropped by Yingluck's ruling party, which opponents feared would have cleared the way for Thaksin's return.

The former premier went into exile in 2008 to avoid jail for a corruption conviction which he says was politically motivated.

Najib: Khazanah to contribute RM10mil to aid flood victims

Posted:

NUSAJAYA: Khazanah Nasional Berhad will be contributing RM10mil to aid those affected by the recent floods.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that the contribution will go towards rebuilding works and financial aid for flood victims.

"The contribution is to aid the relief, recovery and preparedness efforts in states currently affected by the floods," he said.

Najib made the announcement after launching Traders Hotel Puteri Harbour and Legoland Malaysia Resort here on Dec 10.

Najib added that the overwhelming support shown for both Traders Hotel and Legoland was further proof of the success of Iskandar Malaysia.

"Since its launch in June, Traders Hotel has welcomed 90,000 guests while Legoland Malaysia has received more than two million visitors," he said.

Najib also added that on Tuesday morning, he had attended a meeting with Khazanah's board of directors and had been briefed on their encouraging growth and performance.

"I am confident that future Khazanah projects will also enjoy similar success and details on these projects will be announced from time to time," he said.

North Korea's 'reign of terror' worries South's leader

Posted:

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea is engaged in a purge amounting to a "reign of terror" that has claimed the scalp of the country's second most powerful man and risks further damaging relations with the South, President Park Geun-hye said on Tuesday.

Park took office in Seoul earlier this year as North Korea conducted its third nuclear test, enraging world public opinion, and threatened to engulf its southern neighbour and its ally, the United States, in a war. The isolated state shelled a South Korean island in 2010 and is widely believed to have sunk a South Korean naval vessel in the same year.

"North Korea is currently carrying out a reign of terror, undertaking a large-scale purge in order to strengthen Kim Jong Un's power," Park told a cabinet meeting, part of which was broadcast on television.

"From now one, South-North Korea relations may become more unstable."

In her usually carefully scripted manner, the president called for vigilance to safeguard the achievements of the wealthy south.

"In times like these, I think it is a nation's duty and politicians' job to keep people safe and free democracy strong," she told the meeting.

State media on Monday said Jang Song Thaek, the uncle of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un, had been dismissed from his posts for "criminal acts" ranging from mismanagement, corruption and leading a "dissolute and depraved life".

Television in the tightly controlled and impoverished state showed him being frogmarched by uniformed personnel out of a meeting of the ruling Workers' Party.

Associates of Jang are believed to have been executed in the purge of a man once viewed as a regent for Kim Jong Un, aged about 30 and the third of his family dynasty to run the country.

PURGE, PUBLIC EXECUTIONS

A member of the South's parliament last week also said the young leader had embarked on a lengthy purge of possible rivals.

"Kim Jong Un is strengthening the reign of terror... Last year 17 people were public executed but this year there were about 40," Cho Won-jin told journalists after a briefing by the country's intelligence agency.

It was the NIS intelligence agency that first broke news last week that Jang had been dismissed.

Tension rose sharply on the Korean peninsula earlier this year after the United Nations imposed tough, new sanctions on Pyongyang in response to its latest nuclear test.

It eased as South and North Korea reopened the joint Kaesong factory park in September just north of the heavily militarised border, five months after the North abruptly shut it.

But despite the gesture to reopen the only remaining cooperation endeavour between North and South, Pyongyang again warned it would turn Seoul into a "sea of fire".

The North has repeatedly attacked Park, the daughter of Park Chung-hee, South Korea's long-serving dictator, who laid the foundations for the country's growth and prosperity.

Jang came in for further denunciations in the North's state media on Tuesday as Rodong Sinmun, the ruling party's official newspaper, said people had vented their anger towards him and pledged loyalty to Kim Jong Un.

"It wouldn't be gratifying enough to put them in an electric furnace and burn them," Jin Yong Il, a North Korean worker at a steel complex was quoted as saying by the newspaper, referring to Jang and his entourage.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: World Updates

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North Korea's 'reign of terror' worries South's leader

Posted:

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea is engaged in a purge amounting to a "reign of terror" that has claimed the scalp of the country's second most powerful man and risks further damaging relations with the South, President Park Geun-hye said on Tuesday.

Park took office in Seoul earlier this year as North Korea conducted its third nuclear test, enraging world public opinion, and threatened to engulf its southern neighbour and its ally, the United States, in a war. The isolated state shelled a South Korean island in 2010 and is widely believed to have sunk a South Korean naval vessel in the same year.

"North Korea is currently carrying out a reign of terror, undertaking a large-scale purge in order to strengthen Kim Jong Un's power," Park told a cabinet meeting, part of which was broadcast on television.

"From now one, South-North Korea relations may become more unstable."

In her usually carefully scripted manner, the president called for vigilance to safeguard the achievements of the wealthy south.

"In times like these, I think it is a nation's duty and politicians' job to keep people safe and free democracy strong," she told the meeting.

State media on Monday said Jang Song Thaek, the uncle of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un, had been dismissed from his posts for "criminal acts" ranging from mismanagement, corruption and leading a "dissolute and depraved life".

Television in the tightly controlled and impoverished state showed him being frogmarched by uniformed personnel out of a meeting of the ruling Workers' Party.

Associates of Jang are believed to have been executed in the purge of a man once viewed as a regent for Kim Jong Un, aged about 30 and the third of his family dynasty to run the country.

PURGE, PUBLIC EXECUTIONS

A member of the South's parliament last week also said the young leader had embarked on a lengthy purge of possible rivals.

"Kim Jong Un is strengthening the reign of terror... Last year 17 people were public executed but this year there were about 40," Cho Won-jin told journalists after a briefing by the country's intelligence agency.

It was the NIS intelligence agency that first broke news last week that Jang had been dismissed.

Tension rose sharply on the Korean peninsula earlier this year after the United Nations imposed tough, new sanctions on Pyongyang in response to its latest nuclear test.

It eased as South and North Korea reopened the joint Kaesong factory park in September just north of the heavily militarised border, five months after the North abruptly shut it.

But despite the gesture to reopen the only remaining cooperation endeavour between North and South, Pyongyang again warned it would turn Seoul into a "sea of fire".

The North has repeatedly attacked Park, the daughter of Park Chung-hee, South Korea's long-serving dictator, who laid the foundations for the country's growth and prosperity.

Jang came in for further denunciations in the North's state media on Tuesday as Rodong Sinmun, the ruling party's official newspaper, said people had vented their anger towards him and pledged loyalty to Kim Jong Un.

"It wouldn't be gratifying enough to put them in an electric furnace and burn them," Jin Yong Il, a North Korean worker at a steel complex was quoted as saying by the newspaper, referring to Jang and his entourage.

Tearful Thai PM Yingluck asks protesters to take part in election

Posted:

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Her eyes welling with tears, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra pleaded on Tuesday for anti-government demonstrators to clear the streets and support a snap election, but defiant protest leaders called for her to step down within 24 hours.

After weeks of sometimes violent street protests, protesters rejected her call on Monday for a general election and said she should be replaced by an unelected "people's council", a proposal that has stoked concern Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy may abandon its democratic process.

Yingluck she would continue her duties as caretaker prime minister until the election, which is expected on February 2.

"Now that the government has dissolved parliament I ask that you stop protesting and that all sides work towards elections," she told reporters.

"I have backed down to the point where I don't know how to back down any further," Yingluck said, with tears in her eyes. She quickly composed herself.

An estimated 3,000 protesters camped out overnight around Government House, where Yingluck's office is located, a day after 160,000 protesters converged peacefully on the complex in one of Bangkok's largest protests in memory.

They made no attempt to get into the grounds, which appeared to be defended by unarmed police and soldiers. The crowd could swell again on Tuesday, a public holiday in Thailand for Constitution Day.

The protesters want to oust Yingluck and eradicate the influence of her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled by the military in 2006 and has chosen to live in exile rather than serve a jail term for abuse of power.

This is the latest flare-up in almost a decade of rivalry between forces aligned with the Bangkok-based establishment and those who support Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon who won huge support in the countryside with pro-poor policies.

"POWER VACUUM"

In a late-night speech to supporters massed around Government House on Monday, protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban gave Yingluck 24 hours to step down.

"Suthep has asked the prime minister and the government to step down from their duties," said Akanat Promphan, a spokesman for the protest group.

"We want the government to step aside and create a power vacuum in order to create a people's council," he said, adding protesters would camp near the prime minister's offices for three days.

Lawmakers from the main opposition Democrat Party resigned from parliament en masse on Sunday, saying they could not work with Yingluck. Its leaders have refused to be drawn on whether they would participate in the election.

In April 2006, amid mass protests against Thaksin, the pro-establishment Democrats refused to contest a snap election he had called. He was deposed by the military five months later.

Aware that the allies of Yingluck and Thaksin would almost certainly win any election, Suthep has called for a "people's council" of appointed "good people" to replace the government.

In another speech on Monday, he called Yingluck's government incompetent and corrupt for policies such as a costly rice intervention scheme and said the people would select a new prime minister. He did not say how that would be done or how he planned to take over the levers of power.

Suthep was dismissive of the early election. "The dissolving of parliament is not our aim," he told Reuters.

His campaign opens up the prospect of a minority of Thailand's 66 million people dislodging a democratically elected leader, this time without help from the military.

The politically powerful army, which has staged or attempted 18 coups in the past 80 years, has said it does not want to get involved, although it has tried to mediate.

Thaksin is widely seen as the power behind his sister's government. The protests were sparked last month by a government bid to introduce an amnesty that would have expunged his conviction and allowed him to return home a free man.

Yingluck's Puea Thai Party won the last election in 2011 by a landslide, enjoying widespread support in the north and northeast, Thailand's poorest regions. She will be its candidate for prime minister if the party wins in February.

(Additional reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak; Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Paul Tait)

U.S. Korean War veteran released by North says made 'confession' under duress

Posted:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An elderly U.S. Korean War veteran released from detention in North Korea said on Monday a videotaped "confession" he made was given under duress and that he believed he may have been held in a misunderstanding over his interest in the war.

Merrill Newman, 85, said in a statement that he was kept under guard in a North Korean hotel during a detention that lasted over a month, and that his interrogator told him he would be sentenced to jail for 15 years if he did not cooperate.

"Anyone who knows me knows that I could not have done the things they had me 'confess' to," Newman said in the statement issued two days after he arrived at San Francisco airport on Saturday following his release.

Newman, who was a U.S. special forces soldier during the 1950-53 Korean War and worked with guerrillas fighting behind the lines against the communists in the north, was pulled off a flight on October 26 as he was about to leave the reclusive East Asian nation at the end of a tourist visit.

The California native was held for crimes North Korea said he committed during the war, when he was a lieutenant with a U.S. Army unit nicknamed the "White Tigers," serving as an adviser to a group of partisans who fought deep behind enemy lines.

Newman said that during his tourist trip he had expressed interest in visiting some of those "who fought in the war" in the Mount Kuwol area. He said he had helped train partisan fighters operating in that area during the war.

"The North Koreans seem to have misinterpreted my curiosity as something more sinister," he said. "It is now clear to me the North Koreans still feel much more anger about the war than I realized. With the benefit of hindsight, I should have been more sensitive to that."

No peace treaty was signed between the U.S.-led forces fighting for South Korea against North Korea and China, which was fighting alongside its Cold War ally.

AVID TRAVELER

North Korea had called Newman a war criminal, saying he masterminded espionage and subversive activities against the state "and in this course he was involved in killings of service personnel of the Korean People's Army and innocent civilians," the official KCNA news agency has said.

KCNA had said Newman, who has a heart condition, was being deported on humanitarian grounds and because he had admitted to his wrongdoing and apologized.

In an ungrammatical statement given over a week ago on North Korean state media, Newman said he knew the former partisans he had worked with during the war had escaped to South Korea, but that he wanted to find their remaining families and relatives.

Newman also said in the videotaped message that he had a "plan to meet any surviving soldiers."

In his statement to U.S. media on Monday, Newman said that the confession was not voluntary, saying he made a point of emphasizing the bad grammar in the text North Korean authorities had given him to read to show that it was coerced.

Newman, a former manufacturing and finance executive who lives in a retirement community in the upscale city of Palo Alto, also said North Korean authorities looked after his health and fed him well.

Some of Newman's fellow soldiers in the Korean War had said they would not have visited North Korea. But Pyongyang has allowed other American veterans of the war to visit, a fact Newman noted in his latest statement.

Newman's wife, Lee, had previously told CNN that Newman made the visit "to put some closure" on that aspect of his life.

Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American who worked as a Christian missionary, remains imprisoned in North Korea after he was convicted in May of crimes against the state and sentenced to 15 years of hard labour. U.S. leaders have called on North Korea to release Bae, as they did in Newman's case.

Newman also expressed hope that Bae "will be allowed to rejoin his family."

(Additional reporting by Dana Feldman,; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Philip Barbara)

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

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Tearful Thai PM Yingluck asks protesters to take part in election

Posted:

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Her eyes welling with tears, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra pleaded on Tuesday for anti-government demonstrators to clear the streets and support a snap election, but defiant protest leaders called for her to step down within 24 hours.

After weeks of sometimes violent street protests, protesters rejected her call on Monday for a general election and said she should be replaced by an unelected "people's council", a proposal that has stoked concern Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy may abandon its democratic process.

Yingluck she would continue her duties as caretaker prime minister until the election, which is expected on February 2.

"Now that the government has dissolved parliament I ask that you stop protesting and that all sides work towards elections," she told reporters.

"I have backed down to the point where I don't know how to back down any further," Yingluck said, with tears in her eyes. She quickly composed herself.

An estimated 3,000 protesters camped out overnight around Government House, where Yingluck's office is located, a day after 160,000 protesters converged peacefully on the complex in one of Bangkok's largest protests in memory.

They made no attempt to get into the grounds, which appeared to be defended by unarmed police and soldiers. The crowd could swell again on Tuesday, a public holiday in Thailand for Constitution Day.

The protesters want to oust Yingluck and eradicate the influence of her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled by the military in 2006 and has chosen to live in exile rather than serve a jail term for abuse of power.

This is the latest flare-up in almost a decade of rivalry between forces aligned with the Bangkok-based establishment and those who support Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon who won huge support in the countryside with pro-poor policies.

"POWER VACUUM"

In a late-night speech to supporters massed around Government House on Monday, protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban gave Yingluck 24 hours to step down.

"Suthep has asked the prime minister and the government to step down from their duties," said Akanat Promphan, a spokesman for the protest group.

"We want the government to step aside and create a power vacuum in order to create a people's council," he said, adding protesters would camp near the prime minister's offices for three days.

Lawmakers from the main opposition Democrat Party resigned from parliament en masse on Sunday, saying they could not work with Yingluck. Its leaders have refused to be drawn on whether they would participate in the election.

In April 2006, amid mass protests against Thaksin, the pro-establishment Democrats refused to contest a snap election he had called. He was deposed by the military five months later.

Aware that the allies of Yingluck and Thaksin would almost certainly win any election, Suthep has called for a "people's council" of appointed "good people" to replace the government.

In another speech on Monday, he called Yingluck's government incompetent and corrupt for policies such as a costly rice intervention scheme and said the people would select a new prime minister. He did not say how that would be done or how he planned to take over the levers of power.

Suthep was dismissive of the early election. "The dissolving of parliament is not our aim," he told Reuters.

His campaign opens up the prospect of a minority of Thailand's 66 million people dislodging a democratically elected leader, this time without help from the military.

The politically powerful army, which has staged or attempted 18 coups in the past 80 years, has said it does not want to get involved, although it has tried to mediate.

Thaksin is widely seen as the power behind his sister's government. The protests were sparked last month by a government bid to introduce an amnesty that would have expunged his conviction and allowed him to return home a free man.

Yingluck's Puea Thai Party won the last election in 2011 by a landslide, enjoying widespread support in the north and northeast, Thailand's poorest regions. She will be its candidate for prime minister if the party wins in February.

(Additional reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak; Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Paul Tait)

Visa-on-arrival reinstated for India and China nationals who travel to Malaysia through third country

Posted:

PUTRAJAYA: The Government has relaxed visa restrictions for tourists from India and China in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2014 next year.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Indian and Chinese tourists will be granted the visa-on-arrival (VoA) facility, but only for those who enter Malaysia through a third country.

Currently, India and China passport holders are required to apply for a visa for travel to Malaysia.

"But we will not compromise if there are those who come to cause social problems or do not return (to their home country)," Dr Ahmad Zahid said at the Immigration Day gathering here on Tuesday.

Malaysia had in 2010 scrapped the VoA facility offered to visitors from eight countries, including China and India, due to abuse.

It has been reported that thousands of tourists have abused their VOA, which was introduced in 2006 in conjunction with Visit Malay­sia Year 2007, by overstaying.

An Immigration official said there were 39,000 Indian nationals and 6,000 Chinese citizens who have overstayed in Malaysia.

Separately, Dr Ahmad Zahid also announced that Malaysians who apply for an international passport will no longer need to enclose a physical photograph with their applications starting March 1 next year.

"They (Malaysians) will just need to bring themselves to the counter, where their photograph will be taken," Dr Ahmad Zahid said.

No extra cost will be charged on consumers for the service, Dr Ahmad Zahid added.

Plantations, TM nudge KLCI to another record high

Posted:

KUALA LUMPUR: Sustained window dressing for selected heavyweights and plantations pushed the FBM KLCI to a fresh record high at the midday break on Tuesday.

At 12.30pm, the KLCI was up 3.83 points to 1,845.7. Turnover was 643.57 million shares valued at RM786.93mil. The broader market was cautious with losers beating gainers 331 to 292 while 306 counters were unchanged.

Reuters reported stocks mostly edged up in Asian trade, while tighter money market conditions in the euro zone helped the euro climb to a five-year peak against the yen and a six-week high against the dollar.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was slightly higher, though trading was cautious ahead of next week's U.S. Federal Reserve meeting.

At Bursa Malaysia, the recovery in crude palm oil (CPO) prices and a firmer ringgit encouraged mild window dressing, with funds seen buying plantation and Telekom Malaysia. CPO rose RM15 to RM2,660 while the ringgit rose to 3.2018 against the US dollar, the strongest since Nov 21.

KL Kepong rose 46 sen to RM24.38, BLD Plantations 35 sen to RM9, PPB Group 16 sen to RM15.20 and Genting Plantations 12 sen to RM11.30.

TM added 11 sen to RM5.58.  SP Setia, which will release its results later this week, rose 12 sen to RM3.07.

UMW Oil & Gas rose 33 sen to RM3.75 on a positive outlook report from CIMB Equities Research. Smaller oil and gas related player Dayang added 12 sen to RM5.57.

HLFG was the top loser, down 22 sen to RM15.78, Takaful lost 20 sen to RM10.16 and Prolexus 10 sen to RM1.17.

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M'sian Rubber Board to build new HQ

Posted:

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) will build a new headquarters and other key facilities at Sungai Buloh beginning next year.

The project costs RM1.1bil.

The development will be carried out by MRB's project delivery partner KLIA Premier Holding's units - KLIA Associates and KLIA Consultancy Services on theMRB-owned 216.5ha Sungai Buloh land.

"The MRB is expected to invest a big portion of the money obtained from the asset monetisation programme in Sungai Buloh to develop five facilities," said the MRB chairman Datuk Wira Ahmad Hamzah at the signing of the agreement yesterday. The project will see the construction of a new headquarters, a research and development centre, a college, a rubber discovery museum centre and a business cluster. Ahmad added it was envisaged these five facilities would extend MRB's prime focus to be a centre for rubber research that would eventually be recognised internationally.

The entire project will be done in phases starting from next year and is scheduled to be completed by Aug 30, 2018.

MRB said that the project delivery partner was chosen after an open tender process based on merit and not on cost basis alone.

The project delivery partner agreement's scope of works include building planning, developmental approval, design, construction, duration and the final project accounts.

Tesco picks up small stake in Lazada which sells goods in M'sia

Posted:

The world's third-biggest retailer Tesco Plc has bought a small stake in Lazada, the Southeast Asian online retail company said on Monday.

Lazada, which sells consumer electronics, household goods, toys and sports equipment in Indonesia,MalaysiaThailand and Vietnam, raised $100 million in June from investors, in a bid to lift Southeast Asia from its status as an e-commerce backwater.

Lazada, founded by German venture capital group Rocket Internet in early 2012, said it had secured about $250 million in funding from investors including the British grocer, Access Industries, Investment AB Kinnevik and Verlinvest. ()

Bloomberg reported that Tesco had invested "tens of millions" of pounds in the online marketplace, citing the British grocer's Multichannel Director Robin Terrell.

The company declined to provide more details.

Tesco said last week that it aimed to dominate a new multi-channel era - selling a range of goods from bread to clothing and banking products from its supermarkets and online, rather than slashing food prices to win market share from rivals such as Wal-Mart's Asda.  - Reuters

Hytex suspends chairman and MD

Posted:

PETALING JAYA: Hytex Integrated Bhd (HIB) has suspended its executive chairman Sau Kim Hing @ Soo Kim Sin and managing director Saw Kam Fock @ Saw Kim Hock until the conclusion of its extraordinary general meeting (EGM).

HIB said it was suspending the executive duites of its executive chairman and managing director with immediate effect "to mitigate interruptions to the daily operations of the HIB group of companies to the detriment of the company."

In August, HIB, a textile and apparel manufacturer listed on Bursa Malaysia's Main Market, announced a "withdrawal of special notice received from members of the company on the intention to remove directors of the company".

The company, however, prior to this announcement, had not mentioned the special notice.

Based on reports, Sau and Saw, along with other family members, used to be longtime majority shareholders of HIB, mainly via Precious Continent Sdn Bhd. Soo is the founder of the business.

The family ceased to be substantial shareholders when Precious Continent disposed of all its HIB shares in two transactions in January and February this year.

In September, HIB was issued a unusual market activity query by Bursa Malaysia following its sharp rise in price and volume of its shares at the time.

The company's board of directors and major shareholders said in a reply that it was not aware of any rumour or report that might account for this unusual activity.

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Sultan: No reason to change weekend

Posted:

KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor will not make Friday and Saturday its rest days, said Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.

The Sultan said that Selangor had been a centre of nationwide and international commerce even before Independence and switching to a Friday-Saturday weekend might discourage investments and affect business dealings in the state.

"There are many international businesses in Selangor and I do not think that the banking community would like it (a change).

"If Friday is a public holiday, it will be hard to coordinate with other countries, including Singapore.

"It will be hard for the business community to carry out their transactions and it could affect the stock markets," he said in an interview with The Star.

Johor's Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar anno­unced the change to Friday and Satur­day as rest days from the present Saturday and Sunday effective Jan 1.

The Johor Ruler said the change would make it more convenient for Muslims to perform their Friday prayers. 

Kedah, Kelantan and Tereng­ganu are the states which now have Friday and Saturday as their off days.

Sultan Sharafuddin said in Selan­gor that there have been no complaints from the Muslim community on any problems in performing the Friday prayers.

"Every time I go to a mosque in Selangor on Friday, it is always full. The employers have always been accommodating and allowed their staff to perform their religious duties.

"There is no reason for us to change it (the weekend) to Friday (and Saturday)," he said.

On the raising of racial and religious issues in the country after theGE13, Sultan Sharafuddin urged the rakyat of the various races and religions to continue to respect one another.

"I think the rakyat of different races get along well with one another, but certain issues are created by politicians. We must always remember that the country cannot progress without teamwork and without the help of all the races. Malays, Indians, Chinese and the others must learn to work together as no single race can move forward alone," he said.

Sultan Sharafuddin, who is the head of Islam in the state, reminded Malaysians not to touch on the religious sensitivities of other groups.

"For many years, each group never touched on the religious and cultural sensitivities of others. We never criticised or questioned what the other groups were doing.

Referring to the issue on the use of the term Allah, he said: "I hope that the non Muslims will not get involved in all things Islam."

He expressed regret that there were still cases of people using mos­ques for political ceramah in the state.

"The reason I disallowed this practice was because it could divide the ummah (community). We should go to the mosque to perform our duties to God," he said.

The interview with the Sultan was held in conjunction with his 12th year on the throne and his 68th birthday on Dec 11.

Country's tallest condo to be ready in 2017

Posted:

JOHOR BARU: In just seven months, 50% of the Astaka @ 1 Bukit Senyum, the tallest high-end residential tower development project in the region, has been snapped up by buyers.

The project, which has a total of 438 units, commenced in early July this year and is expected to be ready by 2017.

Its developer Astaka Padu Sdn Bhd is selling each unit between RM2mil and RM8.45mil.

Astaka Padu chief executive officer Datuk Zamani Kassim said another 20% of the units have been booked while waiting for the sales and purchase agreements to be signed.

"The Astaka, which means 'royal pavilion' in English, is already on its way to becoming a new landmark here.

"Once completed, the Astaka, standing proudly at 304m above sea level, will be the tallest residential tower not only in the country but throughout the region," he said during the official launch of the Astaka by Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar here yesterday.

He said the Astaka is being developed on the site of the former Hockey Stadium and Johor Baru Indoor Stadium.

"The towers will house 438 luxury suites, including penthouse duplexes. The units will have a built-up area ranging from 2,207 sq ft to 5,408 sq ft. Each floor will house four units.

"The projected gross development value of The Astaka will be more than RM1bil and will be the forerunner in the Johor Baru city transformation plan," he said.

The project will have a first phase of mixed development, which includes two condominium towers.

Zamani added that the contractor appointed, Penta Ocean Construction Company Ltd of Japan, is well-known in the construction industry, especially in Singapore, with projects including the ION Orchard, the Esplanade Theatre Bay and Marina Promenade.

No infectious disease outbreaks reported amid floods

Posted:

MALACCA: There have been no reports of of infectious disease outbreaks due to the floods that inundated the east coast states and Johor since last week.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said district health office staff had visited the relief centres to monitor the health of flood victims.

"It is the ministry's standard operating procedure to visit and monitor the health of flood victims at evacuation centres and provide advice, such as diet and medication," he told reporters after opening the Malacca Healthy Living carnival organised by the World Youth Foundation (WYF) here yesterday.

In BATU PAHAT, Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Abdul Rahim Mohamad Radzi advised rescue and humanitarian aid workers to protect their safety and health while carrying out their duties in hazardous conditions.

"They should stay strong and healthy because they are important in helping and supporting the people who need their services at this critical time," he said during a visit to the district Civil Defence Department (JPAM) office and distribution centre yesterday.

Meanwhile, Johor JPAM director Col (CD) Ghazali Abd Rahman told his officers and volunteers to be on alert and be ready in the event of another wave of floods.

In KUALA LUMPUR, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the construction of a tactical bridge at Sungai Limbun-gan, Kemaman in Terengganu was expected to begin as soon as all building materials had arrived at the location.

He said a squadron of army engineers based in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan were already at the site yesterday.

"This bridge is important to provide a vital link to areas affected by floods there so that relief operations to bring food, medicine and other essential supplies can be carried out," he told reporters at the Gleneagles Hospital here, where he has been admitted to undergo angioplasty for a blocked artery.

Kemaman is one of the worst hit districts in the East Coast in the wake of the northeast monsoon season.

The tactical bridge is to be built as a 5m-stretch of the river bank there has collapsed.

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Deals of the day-mergers and acquisitions

Posted:

The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2100 GMT on Monday:

** Britain is set to shelve plans to outsource its 159 billion pound ($260 billion) military equipment buying program to a private firm, a defense ministry source said, after one of the two consortia left in the running pulled out.

** Three state-owned Gulf firms are considering a joint bid for a minority stake in Occidental PetroleumCorp's Middle East and North Africa (MENA) unit, a deal that could be worth between $8 billion and $10 billion, three banking sources said.

** Essex Property Trust Inc, a manager of residential properties on the U.S. West Coast, offered to buyBRE Properties Inc for about $4.48 billion in stock and cash.

** Sysco Corp will buy US Foods Inc for about $3.5 billion from its private equity owners in a deal that will combine the top two U.S. food distributors and create a company commanding at least a quarter of the $235 billion North American market.

** KKR & Co LP and Bain Capital are among suitors that have placed initial bids for Tyco International Inc's South Korean security systems unit, a business valued at about $1.6 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

** India's foreign investment regulator deferred a decision on Vodafone Group Plc's proposal to take full ownership of its Indian unit in a $1.6 billion deal, two government officials said.

** Lloyds Banking Group said it would bolster its capital by selling its remaining 21 percent stake in wealth manager St James's Place, worth about 700 million pounds ($1.15 billion).

** Kazakhmys is selling its stake in Kazakhstan's largest power station for $1.3 billion, the copper miner said on Monday, boosting its finances as it also told investors that its Bozshakol mine would cost almost a fifth more than planned.

** Tesco Plc, the world's third-biggest retailer, has bought a small stake in Lazada, the Southeast Asian online retail company said.

** Post Holdings Inc said it would buy private label peanut butter maker Golden Boy Foods Ltd and protein bar maker Dymatize Enterprises LLC for about $680 million to build up its nutritional and private-label foods.

** Dairy products producer WhiteWave Foods Co said it would buy organic food brand Earthbound Farm from investors including private equity firm Kainos Capital for about $600 million to expand its offerings of organic products.

** President Vladimir Putin tightened his control over Russia's media on Monday by dissolving the main state news agency and replacing it with an organization that is to promote Moscow's image abroad.

** Austrian conservatives are pushing to sell more state-owned shares in big companies such as OMV, Telekom Austria or Austrian Post as coalition talks heat up with the Social Democrats.

** Swedish investment firm Kinnevik said it had sold its entire stake in renewable packaging company BillerudKorsnas for 3.7 billion Swedish crowns ($567 million).

** British engineer Kentz said it had agreed to acquire U.S.-based Valerus Field Solutions for $435 million in cash, to expand its engineering capability and presence in Latin America.

** Nokia has offered to pay 270 million euros ($369 million) to Indian authorities to unfreeze assets in a tax dispute, according to sources familiar with the matter.

** Alibaba Group will invest HK$2.82 billion ($361 million) in appliance maker Haier Electronics Group Ltd in a deal aimed at expanding the Chinese e-commerce giant's logistics reach to the millions of consumers in China's vast interior.

** Lloyds Banking Group said it had agreed to sell a portfolio of British corporate real estate loans to an entity affiliated with Cerberus European Investments for 90 million pounds in cash.

** Colombian state-owned oil company Ecopetrol and Canada's Talisman Energy said they discovered an estimated 1.3 billion barrels of oil in southeastern Colombia and that about a tenth of it was likely to be recoverable.

** The consortium of conglomerates Ayala Corp and Metro Pacific Corp is likely to emerge the winner after submitting the highest offer for a 1.72 billion pesos ($39 million) deal to operate a smart-card system for the Philippines' elevated rail network.

** HSBC Holdings Plc is considering floating up to 30 percent of its British retail and commercial banking arm to help meet UK regulation and unlock value for shareholders, the Financial Times reported.

** Hungarian state-owned energy group MVM could buy German firm RWE's 49 percent stake inBudapest gas utility Fogaz Zrt as soon as this year, the daily Magyar Nemzet quoted Fogaz CEO Laszlo Koncz as saying in an interview.

** Saudi Arabia's Dabbagh Group is planning to sell a 19 percent stake in its lubricants business Petromin ahead of a potential public offering of the unit in 2015, banking sources aware of the matter said.

** Czech investment group PPF is in talks to sell its stake in EPH, a holding group that owns energy companies around central Europe, sources from the involved parties said.

** German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 said it was buying Comvel, operator of German travel websites weg.de and ferien.de, from Investor Media Ventures.

** Russia's Uralkali, the world's largest potash producer, is to create a joint venture for potash distribution with Malaysia as it seeks to boost sales in South East Asia, the company said.

** U.S. fertilizer company Mosaic Co said it would buy back 43.3 million restricted shares from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation and the Anne Ray Charitable Trust over the next eight months.

** French energy group Areva said it agreed a commercial partnership in renewable energy with ChinaGeneral Nuclear Power that would focus on offshore wind power.

** German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd's merger talks with Chile's Vapores may herald further deals with other peers, its chief executive said, as the group strives to catch up with the industry's top three players.

** German publisher Axel Springer said it agreed to buy German news publisher N24 for an undisclosed amount.

** The deadline to bid in a court-supervised auction of struggling Canadian wireless startup Mobilicityhas been extended by a week to Dec. 16, a regulatory filing showed.

** Scents and flavours maker Symrise may lift its stakes in probiotics specialist Probi and another Swedish food ingredient company as it seeks growth in nutritional supplements that carry the promise of better health.

** Time Warner Cable's incoming chief executive Rob Marcus said he is not in a hurry to sell the company and that management is focused on running the business for the "long haul."

** French gas and power group GDF Suez said on Monday it had sold a 50 percent stake in a 440 megawatt French onshore wind farm to Credit Agricole Assurances.

** Lenders to troubled Stemcor, the world's largest steel trader, have been selling their exposure to hedge funds and distressed debt specialists before a key restructuring deadline on December 13, banking sources said.

** Italian casual clothing brand Harmont & Blaine has received offers from around 15 funds interested in buying a minority stake which the company plans to sell in the first quarter of 2014, its chief executive said. 

S&P 500 floats up to record close

Posted:

NEW YORK: Stocks edged higher on Monday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record high, as traders awaited more clues from the Federal Reserve on whether the U.S. central bank would soon begin winding down its economic stimulus.

Volume was light and a volatility index fell, signaling calm among traders. The Dow industrials traded within 43.11 points from session high to intraday low, in the Dow's tightest daily range since August 17, 2012.

Speeches from a number of policymakers on Monday suggested that the Fed may be closer than previously thought to trimming its $85 billion a month in bond purchases. The stimulus program has helped drive the U.S. stock market's rally this year.

A recent string of strong economic data, however, has removed some of the market's anxiety about the eventual ending of the Fed's quantitative easing program.

A Reuters poll showed on Monday that economists expect the Fed to begin trimming its quantitative easing program in March, but some are warming up to the idea that it will do so as early as this month or at the January meeting.

The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee will hold its final meeting of 2013 on December 17-18.

"The Fed isn't going to tighten (monetary policy) any time soon; they will taper, but only because the economy doesn't need the stimulus anymore," said John Manley, chief equity strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management in New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 5.33 points or 0.03 percent, to finish at 16,025.53. The S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 3.28 points or 0.18 percent, to end at 1,808.37, a record closing high. TheNasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 6.23 points or 0.15 percent, to close at 4,068.751.

The S&P 500 is up 26.8 percent for the year. The benchmark index is on track for its biggest annual gain in more than a decade.

Twitter's stock closed at its highest level since the company went public in early November. The stock jumped 9.3 percent to end at $49.14 after a spate of product announcements that could boost Twitter's revenue prospects.

Sysco Corp <SYY.N> shares climbed 9.7 percent to $37.62 after the food distributor said it would buy rival US Foods for about $3.5 billion and assume about $4.7 billion in debt to create a company with about $65 billion in annual revenue.

In contrast, McDonald's <MCD.N> shares fell 1.1 percent to $95.72 after the fast-food restaurant chain reported weaker-than-expected global sales at established restaurants for November. A sharp drop in comparable-store sales in the United States hurt its global sales, McDonald's said.

Shares of Edwards Lifesciences Corp <EW.N> dropped 5.4 percent to $62.73 after the company forecast 2014 earnings below analysts' estimates and said it would face new competition in the United Statesand Europe.

About 5.6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, below the 6.16 billion average so far this month, according to data from BATS Global Markets.

Advancers and decliners were evenly distributed on the New York Stock Exchange. On the Nasdaq, two issues rose for every three that fell.=Reuters

French army battles militias in Central African Republic&#39;s capital

Posted:

BANGUI (Reuters) - The French army said it has restored some stability in the capital of Central African Republic after battling gunmen on Monday in an operation to disarm rival Muslim and Christian fighters responsible for killing hundreds since last week.

Shooting erupted near Bangui's airport in the morning when gunmen refused to hand over weapons and French forces later came under attack by former rebels in the city centre, but by evening there were no armed groups on the streets, the army said.

"There are no more patrols by armed groups in the city and the population is no longer threatened by the terror that these groups caused," said Colonel Gilles Jaron, spokesman for the French army joint staff in Paris.

"The spike in violence has gone down and we have returned to a more stable situation. We are still deployed in Bangui to carry out our mission," Jaron said.

Paris boosted its military presence to 1,600 troops over the weekend as waves of religious violence swept its former colony.

At least 465 people have been killed in Bangui alone since Thursday, according to Red Cross officials.

U.S. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has authorized military transport aircraft to carry troops to the country from Burundi to support the French-led effort, a Pentagon spokesman said.

Hagel authorized the use of the planes on Sunday after being asked for airlift assistance by French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, the spokesman said in a statement.

Central African Republic has spiralled into chaos since mainly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power in March and embarked on months of looting, raping and killing. Seleka's leader, Michel Djotodia, installed as the interim president, has lost control of his loose band of fighters.

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor said any party involved in the violence could be prosecuted.

ATTEMPT TO INTIMIDATE

Christian militias and gunmen loyal to ousted president Francois Bozize attacked Bangui on Thursday, the same day the U.N. Security Council authorised France to use lethal force to help African peacekeepers already struggling to restore order.

In an early test of France's resolve, its troops traded fire with gunmen near the airport on Monday morning.

"Many armed elements who held positions in Bangui have left their positions to go back to their barracks," said Jaron, who called the incident "insignificant".

However, French troops again came under attack later in the day in the PK 5 neighbourhood from suspected Seleka fighters.

"It was an attempt to intimidate. We responded with 20mm cannon, then sent in a platoon to carry out clean-up operations," said Captain Guillaume Fresse, spokesman for the French forces in Bangui.

The French operation is running smoothly though its most difficult phase lies ahead, France's ambassador to the United Nations, Gerard Araud, told reporters in New York.

"The French forces have reestablished law and order in Bangui, even if there is still some looting in the periphery," said Araud, president of the U.N. Security Council this month, after briefing the council on the situation.

With French forces on checkpoints and on patrol, crowd violence erupted in several districts of Bangui.

In the Castor neighbourhood, a Reuters reporter saw a crowd attack a man they accused of being a disarmed Seleka fighter after French soldiers removed weapons from a house there and then left.

At a mosque in the PK 5 neighbourhood, the resident imam showed journalists the bodies of two men who he said had been beaten to death by Christians.

French troops have been broadly welcomed in a city struggling to emerge from a period that saw fighters, both Christian and Muslim, go door-to-door killing civilians.

SHOPS REOPEN

As French warplanes and helicopters flew low overhead, residents reappeared on the streets and some shops and market stalls reopened for the first time since last week.

"Yesterday we couldn't even come here to cross this road because the Seleka came and set up a base here," said a woman who gave her name only as Armelle. "Thank God the French came. If there's peace, things will get better."

However, the United Nations said it had counted some 72,000 people displaced by the violence staying in various sites in Bangui, including at the airport, where French troops and African peacekeepers have their base.

"There are still conflicts in some neighbourhoods. There's still killing," said Amy Martin, head of the U.N. aid agency OCHA in Bangui. "For now, we don't have the feeling that people are ready to go home.

Information began to trickle in from parts of the country cut off from the capital since last week.

A humanitarian worker in the town of Bossangoa said the number of dead there from several days of violence between Seleka and Christian "anti-balaka" militias had risen to 38. France has sent two companies of troops to the town, Araud said.

In Bozoum, in the northwest, U.N. officials received reports of dozens of dead, and there was also violence in the nearby town of Bocaranga.

Humanitarian agencies and rights groups said the final toll was likely to be much higher.

(Additional reporting by Marine Pennetier in Paris, Joe Bavier in Abidjan, Matthew Mpoke Bigg in Accra, Bate Felix in Casablanca, Phil Stewart in Washington, David Alexander in Doha and Louis Charbonneau in New York; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Ralph Boulton and Paul Simao)

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