10 METRO Tuesday, November 10, 2009 D METROWorld IRAN: Police are ready to enforce Islamic punishment law, such as amputating hands, as a failure to carry out these punishments has led to an increase in crime, police chief Asghar Jafari said yesterday. Under Islamic law, repeat offenders face amputation for theft, but sentences are seldom carried out. Tehran has in the past faced criticism for amputations from the United Nations, among others. ChINA: Nine Uighurs have been executed for taking part in Julys ethnic rioting in Xinjiang province. The nine were convicted of murder and other crimes during the riots that left nearly 200 people dead in the countrys worst ethnic violence in decades. Another 20 people were indicted yesterday on charges related to the deaths of 18 people. The verdicts were reviewed by the Supreme Peoples Court before the executions took place. INdoNesIA: A strong earthquake struck Sumbawa island early yesterday, killing at least one person and injuring around 80 after damaging homes, schools and mosques. The epicentre of the 6.7-magnitude quake was 15km north-northwest of Raba. There was no tsunami warning issued after the quake. Separately, a landslide in Palopo in South Sulawesi killed eight people, while five others remain missing. VeNezuelA: President Hugo Chavez has ordered his military to prepare for war as the best way to preserve peace in the region over a dispute concerning a military cooperation pact signed last month between Bogota and Washington. But Colombian President Alvaro Uribe rejected the remarks made by Mr Chavez (pictured), proposing instead to approach the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Security Council of the United Nations. eNglANd: Firefighters spent six-hours digging a trench to access a pipe 1.2m underground to rescue... a duck. Brownie managed to get stuck in an overflow pipe of a pond near Stroud, Gloucestershire. The daft ducks owners phoned emergency services who rescued the adventurous quacker in a feat described as beyond the call of duty. A Malaysian guide looks at the worlds biggest flower in Ulu Geroh in Perak state. The Rafflesia is under threat from both deforestation and harvesting for traditional medicine JAPAN: A singer-actress famous for her sweet, girl- next-door image has been given a suspended jail sentence for possession and use of illegal stimulants. In the latest celebrity drugs case, a court handed down an 18-month jail term, suspended for three years, to 38-year-old Noriko Sakai (pictured) who shot to fame in the late 1980s with pop songs. Sakais case follows the recent arrest of other high-profile personalities on substance abuse charges. Hurricane Ida mudslides kill 134 people By MARCOS ALEMANTROOPS and civilians yesterday dug through rock and debris in the hope of finding dozens of people missing in a mudslide that swept away a town, part of a wave of floods and landslides that killed at least 134 people in El Salvador. Amid a persistent drizzle, rescuers dug frantically for survivors with shovels and even bare hands. But the search was made difficult by collapsed walls, boul- ders and downed power lines that blocked heavy machinery. Military helicopters have been flying in food for the searchers and survivors. Days of heavy rains loosened mud and rocks that rolled down the slopes of the Chichontepec volcano, burying homes and cars in Verapaz, a town of about 7,000 people 50km outside the capital, San Salvador. President Mauricio Funes toured Vera- paz yesterday, saying simply: This is a disaster. He urged El Salvadors con- gress to approve millions of dollars in loans from the Inter-American Develop- ment Bank, saying some of the funds would be used for reconstruction. Hurricane Idas presence in the western Caribbean late last week is thought to have played a role in drawing the rain- packed, Pacific low-pressure system to- ward El Salvador on the other side of Central America, a US Navy hurricane specialist said. Almost 7,000 people nationwide saw their homes damaged by landslides or cut off by floodwaters following three days of downpours from the system. Survivors: A man carries a small child through a street damaged by heavy rains and high winds Pictures: EPA/Reuters Trapped: Residents walk past a truck submerged in mud following mudslides caused by heavy rain BT...Vodafone... Why gamble? Move to Chorus NTL and save 133. You may not know it, but if youre a BT customer for broadband and phone, you will be moved to Vodafone. (Yes, they could have asked!) 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