INDIA
Domestic terrorists suspected in Mumbai attack
NEW DELHI | India’s home minister said Thursday indications point to domestic terrorism behind the attack last month in Mumbai that killed 26 people.
Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told Parliament in a debate that no conclusion had been reached but all indications were an Indian group was responsible.
His comments reported by the Press Trust of India were the first indication of what the investigation has uncovered since the attack July 13.
No group has taken responsibility for the bombings. Local police have said the attack had the hallmarks of the Indian Mujahedeen but have not elaborated.
VIETNAM
Sub fleet launch expected in six years
HANOI | Vietnam will have a submarine fleet within six years, the defense minister reportedly confirmed on Thursday, in what analysts say is intended as a deterrent to China’s increasing assertiveness at sea.
“In the coming five to six years, we will have a submarine brigade with six Kilo 636-Class subs,” Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh was quoted as saying by the state-controlled Tuoi Tre newspaper.
Russian media reported in December 2009 that Vietnam had agreed to buy a half-dozen diesel electric submarines for about $2 billion.
JAPAN
SONY PORTABLE GAME NOT READY FOR CHRISTMAS
TOKYO | Sony’s next-generation portable game machine, the PlayStation Vita, won’t be available in the United States or Europe in time for Christmas, a crucial sales period for game console makers.
Expectations had been high the machine would be ready worldwide for the holiday shopping season. Sony earlier promised a “phased global rollout” starting late this year.
Sony Corp. Executive Deputy President Kazuo Hirai said Thursday the PlayStation Vita will go on sale by the end of the year in Japan and early next year in the U.S. and Europe.
PHILIPPINES
More police arrested in chili-torture scandal
MANILA | Police said Thursday they have detained six more officers in a widening investigation into the mistreatment of police recruits who were allegedly force-fed and rubbed with hot chilies.
A total of 14 police officers are now in custody, and their two superior officers are under investigation, National Police Chief Raul Bacalzo said.
Eight police officers were arrested on Monday after Loretta Ann Rosales , chief of the Commission on Human Rights, alerted the Interior Ministry to two videos she said showed a group of naked and blindfolded police recruits.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.