MANILA, Philippines

Rescued dogs euthanized; lack of rehab facilities cited

Additional Photos

A Philippine Animal Welfare Society volunteer pets a pit bull that was rescued from a dogfighting ring Tuesday in San Pablo, Philippines. The Associated Press

Sixteen pit bulls rescued from a dogfighting ring in the Philippines were euthanized Tuesday for lack of facilities to rehabilitate them and prevent them from reappearing in underground arenas.

Roughly 300 dogs were rescued in separate raids late Friday in Laguna province south of Manlia, said Anna Cabrera of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society. Seventeen with the worst injuries were put down over the weekend, and the health of the living dogs and the progress of rehabilitating them will determine how many of them ultimately survive.

Police arrested eight South Koreans suspected of running an illegal online gambling operation in which players outside the Philippines bet on dogs fighting at a clandestine compound.

Some of the dogs rescued Friday were saved from another facility in Cavite province in December, Cabrera said. She said the dogs were “recycled” – adopted by people who resold them to the suspects to continue fighting.

“That is a fate worse than death,” she said.

“We don’t want that to happen for a second time, and in light of security issues, we have opted to put the pit bulls humanely to sleep if no one steps forward with a plan to rehabilitate and shelter them,” she said.

PARIS

Presidential hopeful urges 75 percent tax on wealthy

French presidential candidate Francois Hollande, leading in polls but lacking in ideas that stick in voters’ minds, finally dropped a bombshell: As president, he would levy a 75 percent tax on anyone who makes more than 1 million euros ($1.33 million) a year.

The flashy idea from the normally bland Socialist proved wildly popular, fanning hostility toward executive salaries and forcing President Nicolas Sarkozy to defend his ostentatious friendships with the rich. It also unleashed debate in the French press about whether the wealthy would decamp for gentler tax pastures.

As much as France likes the plan, it does not seem to have assured Hollande’s victory, which, just three weeks before the first round of voting, is growing more uncertain as Sarkozy reaps the benefits of projecting presidential mettle following France’s shooting attacks.

Polls put the two men neck-and-neck in the first round April 22, and show Sarkozy gaining on Hollande for the decisive runoff May 6.

Centrist candidate Francois Bayrou has dismissed the plan as absurd — contending that when all was added up, the top bracket would be taxed at nearly 100 percent. Many economists see the tax as dangerous at worst and ineffective at best, and even Hollande admits it’s not meant to balance the budget.

BEIRUT

Activists dispute reports of pullout by Syrian forces

Syrian troops began pulling out Tuesday from some calm cities and headed back to their bases a week ahead of a deadline to implement an international cease-fire plan, a government official said.

The claim could not immediately be verified, and activists near the capital, Damascus, denied that troops were leaving their area. They said the day that regime forces withdraw from streets, Syria will witness massive protests that will overthrow the government.

“Forces began withdrawing to outside calm cities and are returning to their bases, while in tense areas, they are pulling out to the outskirts,” the government official said in Damascus without saying when the withdrawal began. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

President Bashar Assad agreed days ago to an April 10 deadline to implement international envoy Kofi Annan’s truce plan. It requires regime forces to withdraw from towns and cities and observe a cease-fire.

Khaled al-Omar, an activist in the Damascus suburb of Saqba, denied that any withdrawal was under way in his area.

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