123 miners dead in China as search endsBEIJING - Chinese rescuers yesterday gave up the search for 120 miners trapped for weeks in a flooded coal pit, putting the official death toll from the accident at 123, Xinhua news agency said.
Only three bodies had been recovered since the Daxing colliery in Xingning, southern Guangdong province, flooded on August 7th, Xinhua said. - (Reuters)
Murder search body identified
LONDON - Scottish police searching for the killer of an 11-year-old boy identified the body of a man yesterday that they found over the weekend in a house near where the boy lived.
Police said they had carried out a postmortem on the body of 37-year-old Simon Harris, and were not looking for anyone else in connection with Harris's death. - (Reuters)
Russia apologises for airport mix-up
MOSCOW - Russia said yesterday it regretted preventing US senators Richard Lugar and Barack Obama from boarding their aircraft for several hours at a provincial airport, blaming a bureaucratic mix-up.
Senate foreign relations committee chairman Lugar and Obama, who also sits on the committee, had been due to fly on Sunday from the city of Perm to Ukraine in a US military aircraft but officials stopped them leaving the airport. - (Reuters)
Protester killed in Kurdish clash
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey - One man was killed and five policemen were injured on Sunday as a group of Kurdish protesters clashed with security forces in Turkey's troubled southeast, security officials said.
The violence flared as a 1,000-strong group from the pro-Kurdish DEHAP party asked authorities in Batman to hand over the corpses of six Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels who had been killed in a battle with the military. - (Reuters)
President warns over terrorism
JAKARTA - Indonesia's president warned yesterday of possible terrorist attacks in the coming two months, and said he would also take steps to show the country was still a tolerant Muslim nation.
Speaking at a seminar in Jakarta, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said bombmakers from the militant network Jemaah Islamiah posed a threat to the world's most populous Muslim nation. - (Reuters)
Politician resigns over comment
SYDNEY - An Australian political leader who, after a few beers, called the Asian-born wife of his political opponent a "mail-order bride", quit yesterday after news of his remark became public.
John Brogden quit as leader of the opposition Liberal party in the state of New South Wales as his comment was condemned across the political divide, with Liberal Prime Minister John Howard calling on him to apologise. - (Reuters)
Mother of British royal wife dies
LONDON - The mother of Sophie, Countess of Wessex, has died after a short illness, Buckingham Palace said yesterday.
The funeral will be private. Mary Rhys-Jones (71) had largely stayed out of the limelight after her daughter married Prince Edward in 1999. - (Reuters)
Vietnam to free 28 ethnic prisoners
HANOI - Vietnam said yesterday it will free 28 ethnic minority prisoners in a special amnesty for those jailed in the restive Central Highlands after anti-government protests.
The tribal people, along with 21 foreigners, were among 10,428 prisoners to receive pardons as Vietnam marks the 60th anniversary of its National Day on Friday. - (Reuters)