Iraq scribes defect to WestCAIRO: Two top Iraqi journalists who worked for media owned by Saddam Hussein's eldest son have fled to the West and asked for political asylum, Iraqi dissidents said yesterday. Abbas Al-Janabi, manager of the Al-Shabab television station, fled Iraq in March and Salam Douhi, managing editor of the influential newspaper Babil, left Baghdad shortly after, dissidents in London told the Associated Press. The two feared for their lives after they were dismissed by Saddam's son, Odai, the dissidents said on condition of anonymity.China flood tollBEIJING: Flooding from three days of rainstorms has left 11 people dead and 700 cut off in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian, Xinhua reported on Saturday.The serious flooding, which started on Tuesday in the city of Nanping, has caused the Minjiang river to swell significantly and precipitated 15 landslides, with 20 bridges and 863 water control facilities destroyed.Roads and railways have been cut andeconomic damage by Friday was estimated at 200 million yuan ($24 million). Since the start of winter, the southern provinces of Jiangxi, Hunan, Fujian and Zhejiang have received four times the normal seasonal amount of rain.IRA cease-fireBELFAST: A breakaway pro-British paramilitary group responsible for slaying more than a dozen Catholics said today it had called a cease-fire. Masked members of the loyalist volunteer force told local journalists in Portadown, the outlawed group's Protestant base southwest of Belfast, that they would "unilaterally cease-fire."The group's spokesman said they were taking their action to encourage the north's Protestant majority to vote "no" to the proposed Belfast peace accord, which will be subjected to a public referendum on May 22.Tokyo quakeTOKYO: A moderate earthquake with a magnitude of 4.9 struck near Tokyo early today morning. There were no reports of damage or injury. The quake hit at 3.45 am about 70 kms beneath southern Chiba, 33 kms eastof Tokyo, the meteorological agency reported. The agency said there was no danger of Tsunami, tidal waves that are sometimes triggered by earthquakes.A quake of magnitude 5 can cause moderate damage to buildings if it strikes in a residential area.Ailing economyKUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his wife, Siti Hasmah Ali, gave 125,000 ringgit ($33,422) in foreign currency and jewellery to a nationwide fund set up to raise money to help out the ailing economy, an official said today. The donation included a 70,000 ringgit diamond set owned by the Prime Minister's wife, the Bernama national news agency quoted a senior treasury official, as saying.Pak mishapISLAMABAD: At least 14 people were killed on Friday when a speeding wagon plunged into a canal near Daska town in central Punjab province, police said. The passengers of the ill-fated wagon belonged to the same family travelling to a nearby town to condole the death of a relative, a survivor said.
