foreign news in brief

Nepal confirms first outbreak of bird flu

KATHMANDU, (AFP)

Nepal on Friday reported its first outbreak of bird flu in poultry, confirming a case of the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus in the eastern part of the Himalayan country.

"Laboratory tests confirmed that chickens in one of the livestock farms died of the bird flu virus," health official Udaya Pratap Singh told AFP from Kakarbhitta, near the Indian border.Singh said the tests, performed after a local farmer reported that 12 chickens died mysteriously on Thursday, confirmed the H5N1 strain of the virus. He said it was too early to say if there were any human cases."The area has been declared an emergency zone and surveillance has been increased," said Singh.Singh said police have been mobilised along the border to stop poultry imports from India.

"We have started spraying disinfectant on vehicles coming from India and imports of chickens, ducks, birds, eggs and other poultry related items has been banned," he said.

Hamas returns to Cairo for fresh truce talks

CAIRO, (AFP)

A Hamas delegation in Cairo on Friday for its second round of truce talks this week will insist on a prompt Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the blockade, a Hamas official said.

Representatives of the Islamist movement's Damascus leadership were invited for another meeting with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman on Friday after Israeli defense official Amos Gilad met him earlier in the afternoon.The Islamist movement had proposed earlier this week a year-long renewable ceasefire with Israel, in return for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza within a week and an end to Israel's blockade of the embattled Palestinian enclave.

"If what will be proposed (in the meeting) contradicts what our delegation spoke about, the delegation will have to either refuse it or return for consultations with (Hamas's) leadership," Osama Hamdan, the group's representative in Lebanon, told AFP.He said an end to the blockade was a pre-condition for a ceasefire, but Hamas would be willing to accept gurantees ahead of the truce.

"We want guarantees that the crossings will remain open. If Israel accepts the principle of guarantees, then we will start talking about their details."

Kidnap forces ICRC to halt operations in southern Philippines

MANILA, (AFP)

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has temporarily halted operations in the restive southern Philippines following the kidnapping of three of its workers, it was reported Saturday.

"We are temporarily halting operations in the area so we can revisit and assess our security arrangements," Roland Bigler, ICRC's spokesman in the Philippines, was quoted saying on the GMA7 television website.

He said the kidnapping Thursday of ICRC workers Andreas Notter, a Swiss national, Eugenio Vagni of Italy and Filipina Jean Lacaba was a "setback.

"The ICRC team was kidnapped by armed men from the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf as they left a jail on the island of Jolo.So far no demands have been made by the kidnappers."Our main concern is the safety of our colleagues," Bigler said.The website also quoted a statement by the Italian foreign ministry saying it has activated its crisis unit to monitor the situation.The Italian embassy last activated the unit in 2007 when Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi was kidnapped in Zamboanga.He was eventually released after months in captivity. Embassy officials declined to comment if ransom was paid for his safe release."So far no ransom demands have been made and no one has heard from the kidnappers," regional police spokesman Senior Superintendent Danilo Bacas told AFP.

NKorea says may retain nuclear capability

SEOUL, (AFP)

North Korea's foreign ministry on Saturday said the communist state might retain a nuclear capability even after the normalisation of ties with the United States.

"Even if the DPRK-US diplomatic relations become normalised, our status as a nuclear-armed state will never change as long as the US nuclear threat to us remains, even to the slightest degree," a spokesman for the ministry was quoted as saying by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency.

"What we earnestly desire is not the normalisation of DPRK-US ties but the strengthening of nuclear deterrence in every possible way," the spokesman added.

He said it was a "miscalculation" for the US to consider the normalisation of ties a reward for the communist state abandoning nuclear weapons.

Government to tighten laws against protests

SINGAPORE, (AFP)

Singapore's deputy prime minister said the island state, which is hosting a summit of Asia Pacific leaders this year, may further tighten laws against public protests, reports said Saturday.

Wong Kan Seng, who is also Home Affairs minister, said the government is reviewing public order laws and may pass legislation to deal more effectively with illegal protests and other acts of civil disobedience, the Straits Times said.

The legislation is expected to be passed in time for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in November which could attract both local and overseas protesters, he said.US president-elect Barack Obama, due to take office next week, is among the 21 leaders scheduled to attend the summit.

More than 80 pct of China's coastal waters polluted

BEIJING, (AFP)

Raw sewage and pollution from agricultural run-off polluted 83 percent of China's coastal waters in 2008, state media said Saturday.

China's coastal waters last year witnessed 68 red tides, or algae blooms, which feed off nutrients found in excess pollution and sap water of oxygen, killing off large amounts of sea life, Xinhua news agency said.

The State Oceanic Administration was cited as saying the algae blooms covered 13,700 square kilometres (5,500 square miles), an increase of more than 2,100 square kilometres over 2007, the report said.While some experts said the red tides were a result of climate change and heavy rain, environmentalists believe they were largely due to sewage and agricultural pollutant run-off, it said.

In August last year, one algae bloom caused havoc for the sailing competition of the Olympic Games when it engulfed waters surrounding the sailing venue in eastern China's Qingdao city.