Rainsy barred from flight to Jakarta

KUALA LUMPUR • Malaysia Airlines said yesterday it had barred veteran Cambodian opposition figure Sam Rainsy from a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta, on the instruction of the Indonesian authorities.

Mr Rainsy, who lives in self-imposed exile in France, has been in Malaysia since last weekend, after initially saying he planned to return to Cambodia last Saturday to rally opposition to Cambodian ruler Hun Sen.

Mr Denny Abdi, director of the South-east Asia division of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, said: "We are not aware of him coming to Jakarta."

REUTERS

Seoul court hears case of wartime sex slaves

SEOUL • Former South Korean wartime sex slaves went to court in Seoul yesterday to demand compensation from the Japanese government.

The first hearing in the case took place some three years after the 20 plaintiffs - including victims and their family members - filed their action, demanding compensation of 200 million won (S$233,000) each.

Claiming sovereign immunity, Tokyo is boycotting the proceedings at the Seoul Central District Court.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Plague in Beijing 'effectively controlled'

BEIJING • The Chinese authorities tried to ease public fears yesterday after two patients from the Inner Mongolia region were diagnosed with pneumonic plague on Tuesday at a hospital in Beijing.

Pneumonic plague, a potentially fatal and highly infectious disease, is caused by the same bacterium as bubonic plague, or the Black Death that killed millions in the Middle Ages.

The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said the two cases "have been properly treated" and the epidemic "effectively controlled".

DPA