Wikinews Shorts: June 6, 2007

A compilation of brief news reports for Wednesday, June 6, 2007.


Malaysian prime minister to get married

 
File photo of Abdullah Badawi taken in 2004

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will be married to Jeanne Abdullah in a private ceremony on Saturday. Premier Abdullah, 61, has been a widower since October 2005, when his wife of 40 years, Endon Mahmood, died of breast cancer.

Jeanne, 53, is a hotel management professional who has served as a supervisor at Seri Perdana, the prime minister's official residence in Putrajaya.

Sources


Trains delayed by sabotage in south Thailand

 
Map of the mainly-Muslim provinces where there is unrest

Train service in south Thailand is suspended until Friday, while State Railway of Thailand officials inspect tracks after sabotage was discovered on Wednesday in Yala.

Two days earlier, a passenger train bound for Pattani derailed after tracks were removed by suspected Muslim insurgents. Twenty people were hurt in the wreck.

Also on Wednesday, a Muslim man was fatally shot in Narathiwat, and a school was burned in Yala.

Sources


Malaysia reports new bird-flu outbreak

 
An Asian rooster.

One year after declaring itself free of the virus, a new outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu was reported on Wednesday in Malaysia, among poultry in Sungei Buluh, a village in Selangor state.

"We will cull birds within a one kilometer radius from the index cases," Kamarudin Mohammed Isa of the Department of Veterinary Services, was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse. Authorities expected kill about 2,000 chickens.

Malaysia's last outbreak of bird flu was in early 2006. No human cases were reported, and the nation declared itself bird-flu free last June. In March this year, Malaysia imposed a crackdown on poultry smuggling, after bird flu was reported in neighboring countries.

Sources


Two Indonesian planes make emergency landings

 
A Garuda Indonesia 737.

Two planes from two Indonesian airlines had to make emergency landings on Wednesday.

In one incident, a Gardua Indonesia Boeing 737-400 was forced to make an emergency landing after a leaking rubber seal on a cargo door resulted in a drop in cabin pressure. The flight was bound for Batam from Jakarta, but had to land in Palembang, South Sumatra.

Another 737, flown by Batavia Air, returned to Semarang, 30 minutes into its flight to Jakarta, because of engine trouble.

No injuries were reported in either incident.

Sources


Man attempts to jump into Popemobile

This story has been moved to a full article