‘Dalai Lama ‘making a fool’ of Buddhism’
Reuters, Beijing
Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is “making a fool” of Tibetan Buddhism with suggestions he may not reincarnate, or reincarnate as something inappropriate, and the faithful are not buying it, a Chinese official wrote on Monday. The comments came as early election results put the leader of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Lobsang Sangay, on course for a second term, part of a strategy to sustain a decades-old struggle for greater autonomy for its Chinese-ruled homeland.
Indonesia says 10 nationals held hostage after ship hijacked
AP, Jakarta
Indonesia’s foreign ministry said yesterday that 10 Indonesian nationals are being held hostage in the Philippines after their ship was hijacked in the latest reminder of insecurity plaguing border regions of the two countries. The ministry said in a statement that the owner of the hijacked tug boat and coal barge has received two telephone calls, purportedly from militant group Abu Sayyaf, demanding a ransom.
Taiwan beheading suspect beaten by angry mob
AFP, Taipei
A man suspected of decapitating a four-year-old girl was beaten by an angry mob as he was detained in Taiwan, with parliament saying it would debate tougher sentences for child-killers following the shocking crime. The killer grabbed the child from behind as she cycled to a metro station in Taipei with her mother to meet relatives on Monday, and beheaded the child with a kitchen knife, police said.
The suspect pushed away the mother of the girl who had rushed forward to save her daughter, while seven bystanders were also unable to stop the man, who was arrested at the scene, police added.
