PHNOM PENH - Phnom Penh ordered urgent action to stem the "worrying" number of bird flu deaths in Cambodia after a surge in the number of fatalities. Prime Minister Hun Sen issued a directive for police, agriculture and health departments to join forces to combat the virus, which has killed eight people this year. The latest fatality was a 35-year-old man who died after eating infected duck. AFP
COLOMBO - Authorities in the Maldives have called on the country's Islamic ministry and judiciary to stop the public flogging of a teenaged girl for having sex outside marriage, a government official said. A
court in Feydhoo sentenced the 15-year-old to 100 lashes after she admitted to having consensual sex, a court official said. Details of the consensual sex emerged when police investigated her complaint against her stepfather and another man of sexually abusing her, the official said. AP