Five Islamists held for attack on pastor

DHAKA • Bangladesh police said yesterday that they had arrested five Islamists for the attempted murder of a Christian pastor whose throat was slashed last week.

The five members of the outlawed Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh group have been detained on suspicion of planning or carrying out the attack on Baptist pastor Luke Sarker in the town of Iswardi.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Arrest warrant out for Thaksin

BANGKOK • A Thai court yesterday issued an arrest warrant for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra after he failed to turn up for a defamation case filed against him by the army.

The ruling would appear to mean little as Thaksin lives abroad to avoid a jail sentence handed down in 2008 for graft, but it is another setback for the former telecoms tycoon, with some seeing it as the latest attempt to ensure he never returns to power.

REUTERS

Indian police detain two over rape of girl

NEW DELHI • Indian police yesterday detained two men in connection with the rape of a four-year-old girl who was found unconscious by her parents near railway tracks in New Delhi.

Police said the girl was raped and beaten with stones last Thursday. The victim lives in a slum with her parents, both working as daily wage earners.

REUTERS

Toll rates for eleven KL highways to go up

KUALA LUMPUR • Malaysia has given the green light for 11 private highways in and around capital Kuala Lumpur to raise their toll rates from Thursday amid concerns over rising inflation.

The toll rates of these highways will go up by between 20 sen and RM3 (seven cents and S$1).

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK