Anwar arrested in sodomy case

BY JALIL HAMID

Kuala Lumpur

July 16: Malaysian Opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim has been arrested for sodomy, his lawyer said on Wednesday, setting the stage for a political showdown that could further rattle the country’s financial markets.

The former deputy Premier had agreed to meet the police on Wednesday on a sodomy complaint lodged by a former aide, and the police had warned they would arrest him if he did not show up for questioning. Mr Ibrahim’s lawyers had said he would go to the police for questioning, but the arrest came about an hour before that.

"They say he was arrested under Section 377 of the Penal Code (sodomy)," Sankara Nair, Mr Ibrahim’s lawyer, said. "He was arrested as a suspect in the case."

—Reuters

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Sri Lanka captures Tiger base

Colombo, July 16: Sri Lankan troops have captured fresh territory held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as well as a strategically important Sea Tiger base in the northwestern Mannar district, the defence ministry announced on Wednesday.

The Army had reached Vidataltivu, 20 km north of Mannar, the northwestern coast of the island nation, a defence ministry statement said.

"Vidataltivu is the biggest township... and used by the terrorists as their main Sea Tiger base and the logistic hub in the west," the ministry said, describing it as a "fatal blow" to the LTTE.

"This is the first time after the departure of Indian Peace Keeping Force in 1987 that troops have dominated the area," the statement added.

In a separate report, the ministry claimed late Tuesday that at least 30 LTTE militants had been killed around the Vidataltivu area.

—IANS