Briefly

PHILIPPINES

Abu Sayyaf gunmen killed on Basilan

ZAMBOANGA — Six members of the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf, including a senior leader wanted by the United States, were killed in a clash yesterday with Philippine troops on southern Basilan island, officials said.

Hamsiraji Sali, one of five Abu Sayyaf leaders wanted by Washington in the deaths of two American hostages, was among the six killed by a Scout Ranger platoon in Isabela township, military spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero said.

Washington has listed Abu Sayyaf — notorious for kidnappings and beheadings — as a terrorist group and has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of leader Khaddafy Janjalani, Sali and three others.

INDONESIA

Ruling party lags, offers coalition rule

JAKARTA — President Megawati Sukarnoputri’s ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said yesterday that it is willing to form a coalition with election rivals as partial results showed the party suffering a major loss of support in the April 5 election.

The PDI-P kept a slim lead as more votes were counted, but it was only marginally ahead of its main rival, Golkar. With nearly 44 million of 147 million ballots tallied, Mrs. Megawati’s party had 20.8 percent of the vote to Golkar’s 20 percent.

CHINA

Hong Kong man convicted, executed

SHENZHEN — A Hong Kong businessman was sentenced to death and executed in this southern China city yesterday after being found guilty of kidnapping and murder.

An intermediate court in Shenzhen, an hour’s drive from Hong Kong, announced the verdict for Wang Haibin yesterday, and Xinhua news agency reported that Wang was executed shortly after the verdict was read. Shenzhen has become notorious in recent years for the kidnapping of businesspeople.

Weekly notes …

Taiwan coast guard boats and helicopters carried 66 Chinese fishermen to safety yesterday after the ship on which they were living caught fire off southern Taiwan, officials said, adding that one was missing. The cause of the blaze was not known. Taiwan bars mainland Chinese fishermen who work for Taiwan captains from staying on the island, forcing them to live on “floating hotels” moored 14 miles offshore when they are not on a fishing trip. … Australian authorities have arrested a South Korean man accused of trying to smuggle 19 protected birds out of the country, Customs Minister Christopher Ellison said yesterday. He did not identify the 39-year-old man, who was caught at Sydney airport Tuesday and faces up to 10 years in jail and a fine of (U.S.) $83,000 if convicted. The Australian newspaper said the man was a senior official in the office of South Korean Prime Minister Goh Kun who arrived in the country Sunday and told customs agents that he had bought the birds at a pet shop for his personal collection.