Louis Gabriel Sanchez, head of the Chiapas legislature’s Ecological Commission in Mexico wants to deport dozens of foreign Zapatista supporters who live in Montes Azules and provide support to the rebel group.  The lawmaker said that by providing assistance to the guerillas, the foreigners were violating their tourist visas, which prohibit visitors to Mexico from participating in any kind of political activity.

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Prime Minister Adrian Nastase of Romania has promised to ban all international adoptions, without exception, after the European Union threatened to cut off its chances of joining the organization.

Three years ago, Romania suspended foreign adoptions because the EU was concerned that the system in Romania was corrupt and that Romanian children were being sold to foreigners.  The US and some EU countries pressured Romania to lift the suspension.

EU officials have accused Romania of backing out of its promise to reform the adoption system.  The EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Guenter Verheugen, said that Romania was close to failing to meet EU requirements for entry into the organization.

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Last year, 133 illegal immigrants attempted to enter Singapore by sea.  Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs, Ho Peng Kee, said traffickers help bring illegal immigrants in vehicles or boats or provide forged passports. The increase methods of illegal immigration required enforcement agencies to be always on alert at the checkpoints and during coastal patrols.

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The SmartGate Australian system is the first in the world to use facial recognition for border control.  The new technology will allow frequent flyers to bypass customs and have their identity checked by face-scanning machines, thereby speeding up passenger processing without reducing security.

Passengers will step into a kiosk and place their passport photograph face down on a scanner.  Five simultaneous photos are taken of the person and compared to the photo in the passport.

Of the 4,000 Qantas crew registered to use the new system, 98% said they preferred the machine to a check by a customs officer.