A roundup of today's other world news in brief
Four Turkish police officers killed after gunmen fire on their station
ISTANBUL – Gunmen killed four Turkish police officers yesterday after opening fire on their police station in Dortyol, in the south eastern province of Hatay, state-run news agency Anatolian reported.
The gunfire came from a delivery truck with a forged registration plate which approached the police station, Anatolian said. It was not clear if they were rebels from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), who have stepped up attacks on Turkish security forces. Earlier this month PKK fighters fired a rocket at a police station in the south-eastern province of Siirt injuring eight people.
Turkey’s government is under pressure to curb violence ahead of parliamentary elections in July 2011. – (Reuters)
Islamists demand handover of TVs
MOGADISHU – Somali Islamist rebels have ordered residents in areas they control to hand over televisions and satellite dishes.
They warned that anyone who did not comply would be considered a spy, residents said yesterday.
The affected region is largely controlled by the al Shabaab group, a rebel militia linked to al-Qaeda, which enforces a harsh version of sharia law that includes banning school bells, ringtones on mobile phones and music on radios. – (Reuters)
Israeli helicopter crashes in Romania
BUCHAREST – An Israeli military transport helicopter carrying seven soldiers has crashed in a mountainous area of central Romania yesterday during a joint exercise, Romania’s defence ministry has said.
Private television channel Realitatea TV said mountain rescue teams had found four bodies but did not provide any details on their identity, adding that a search for the remaining three soldiers was under way yesterday.
The ministry said the helicopter was carrying six Israeli soldiers and one Romanian. – (Reuters)
Chinese city bans online monitoring
Parents in one Chinese city are to be prevented from snooping on their children’s online activity and text messages.
Adults, including family members, are banned from searching through children’s computers or phones under a new regional law passed in Chongqing, southwest China, state media has reported.
The regulation outlaws snooping into their e-mails, text messages, web chats, and browser history.
The regulation is designed to protect the rights of children, but is surprising given widespread concern in China about excessive internet use among young people and their access to unsuitable material.
Psychologists have sought to have internet addiction listed as a clinical disorder and treatment camps have sprung up across the country.
The Chongqing Evening Post yesterday described the new regulation, adopted on Friday, as the first of its kind in the country. Other Chinese media said it expanded an existing national rule, but both experts and children doubted whether it would have an impact in practice. – (Guardian service)