Briefs, November 24, 2012
TOKYO - Two more US servicemen were arrested in Japan yesterday as anti-American sentiment runs high following the rape of a woman in the southern Japanese island of Okinawa. Police in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo, arrested 23-year-old US sailor Oscar Hayes Wiygul on suspicion of public indecency after he allegedly walked around naked in an Internet cafe. In a separate incident, police arrested Fernandez Luis, a 27-year-old marine serving at the Futenma Air Base in Okinawa, on suspicion of drunk driving.
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian activists slammed the wedding of a 12-year-old to her 19-year-old boyfriend, renewing their calls for the government to outlaw child marriages. Nur Fazira Saad and Fahmi Alias married last week in northern Kedah state after the girl's father agreed to the union and an Islamic court granted permission, daily reported. But Ratna Osman, executive director of activist group Sisters in Islam, described the young couple's marriage as "shocking". AFP
YANGON - Myanmar accused a Rohingya militant group of carrying out an attack that left one dead and three people missing - including a soldier - near the Bangladesh border. The incident in Rakhine state took place on November 6 as the soldier and civilian engineers inspected a border fence near Maungdaw. There has been no news on the whereabouts of the missing trio despite Bangladeshi border guards joining the hunt. AFP
COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's parliament began an impeachment hearing against the country's chief justice, defying a Supreme Court request for a suspension of proceedings. Shirani Bandaranayake, the first woman to be Sri Lanka's top judge, faces claims of financial and official misconduct, sources said. AFP
