In Brief

TAKEN – A Briton and an American were kidnapped yesterday from a ship off the coast of Nigeria’s southern state of Bayelsa, said diplomatic and security sources.

It was the latest in a wave of kidnappings and violence against foreigners in the oil producing Niger Delta, which had forced hundreds of workers to pull out of the region and reduced Nigerian oil output by 500 000 barrels a day. * THE BATTLE OF THE GIANTS – The battle to control the US Congress entered the final stretch Thursday as another poll showed the Democrats likely to benefit from voter anger over the Iraq war.President George W Bush and other Republican leaders took advantage on Wednesday of an embarrassing gaffe by Democratic Senator John Kerry to attempt to paint him and others in the party as unsupportive of US soldiers.* COOL – Court orders which aim to curb bad behaviour such as vandalism and abuse are seen by many British youths as “a badge of honour”, research warned Thursday.Nearly half of under 18s breached their anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) in 2004-05, according to figures from the Youth Justice Board (YJB), which oversees England and Wales’s youth justice system.* IN DEMAND – China is becoming an increasingly pervasive and powerful presence in Algeria, with a hand in sectors ranging from hydrocarbons and telecoms to construction and trade.From multi-million dollar petroleum projects to mom-and-pop stores, Chinese investment, trade and labour were in hot demand.* CRACKDOWN – Bangladesh’s senior civil servants were under orders Thursday to weed out politically biased staff as the interim government moved to head off further protests by proving it can hold impartial elections.President Iajuddin Ahmed, self-appointed head of the interim government overseeing January p olls, ordered the crackdown ahead of Friday’s opposition deadline to make key political changes to prove its neutrality.* WARNING – Fiji’s rebellious military commander warned that the country could be heading towards “bloodshed” but said the armed forces were not planning a coup.Military chief Voreqe Bainimarama was reacting to Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase’s refusal to step down and to Qarase’s failed attempt to replace him as head of the armed forces.”The last thing we want to do is have violence, the last thing we want to do is have bloodshed, but Qarase is pointing us in that direction,” Bainimarama said in an interview broadcast by Radio New Zealand.Nampa-AFP-AP-AFP-Reuters* THE BATTLE OF THE GIANTS – The battle to control the US Congress entered the final stretch Thursday as another poll showed the Democrats likely to benefit from voter anger over the Iraq war.President George W Bush and other Republican leaders took advantage on Wednesday of an embarrassing gaffe by Democratic Senator John Kerry to attempt to paint him and others in the party as unsupportive of US soldiers.* COOL – Court orders which aim to curb bad behaviour such as vandalism and abuse are seen by many British youths as “a badge of honour”, research warned Thursday.Nearly half of under 18s breached their anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) in 2004-05, according to figures from the Youth Justice Board (YJB), which oversees England and Wales’s youth justice system.* IN DEMAND – China is becoming an increasingly pervasive and powerful presence in Algeria, with a hand in sectors ranging from hydrocarbons and telecoms to construction and trade.From multi-million dollar petroleum projects to mom-and-pop stores, Chinese investment, trade and labour were in hot demand.* CRACKDOWN – Bangladesh’s senior civil servants were under orders Thursday to weed out politically biased staff as the interim government moved to head off further protests by proving it can hold impartial elections.President Iajuddin Ahmed, self-appointed head of the interim government overseeing January p olls, ordered the crackdown ahead of Friday’s opposition deadline to make key political changes to prove its neutrality.* WARNING – Fiji’s rebellious military commander warned that the country could be heading towards “bloodshed” but said the armed forces were not planning a coup.Military chief Voreqe Bainimarama was reacting to Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase’s refusal to step down and to Qarase’s failed attempt to replace him as head of the armed forces.”The last thing we want to do is have violence, the last thing we want to do is have bloodshed, but Qarase is pointing us in that direction,” Bainimarama said in an interview broadcast by Radio New Zealand.Nampa-AFP-AP-AFP-Reuters