150 bodies dug out

JOS: At least 150 bodies are recovered from wells following deadly Muslim-Christian clashes in central Nigeria in which the estimated death toll already stood at about 300. “So far we have picked 150 bodies from the wells. But 60 more people are still missing, said Umar Baza, head of Kuru Karama village near the city of Jos told AFP on telephone. “We took an inventory of the displaced from this village, sheltering in three camps and we realise that 60 people can still not be accounted for,” he added.

4 held over attacks

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police said on Saturday they had arrested four men in connection with arson attacks on two Muslim prayer halls amid a spate of assaults on places of worship that have escalated ethnic tensions. The arrests follow the detention of 15 others for attacks on churches triggered by a court ruling that overturned a government ban on non-Muslims using the word “Allah” as a translation for “God”. Deputy police chief Ismail Omar told state news agency Bernama the four, aged between 16 and 28, were believed to be involved in the attacks on Thursday on two Muslim prayer halls.

Top J&K rebel killed

SRINAGAR: Troops shot dead a top-ranking militant in restive Kashmir and security forces battled Islamic rebels ahead of next week’s Republic Day national holiday, police said on Saturday. Rebel violence routinely increases in the revolt-hit Muslim-majority state ahead of the annual public holiday. Police said Tariq Lone, a leading militant belonging to the pro-Pakistan Hizbul Mujahedin, was killed late on Friday in a gunbattle with Indian troops in Kishtwar.

‘Red Shirts’ rally

BANGKOK: More than 2,000 supporters of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra rallied on Saturday at a golf course they claim was illegally built and linked to the king’s top aide, police said. The gathering of the so-called “Red Shirts” is the second this year against alleged judicial double standards, apparently aimed at building support for big new anti-government rallies promised by the movement in coming weeks. Police Colonel Suthee Thipsuk said more than 2,000 protesters rallied peacefully at the golf course in the southeastern province of Chanthaburi, with 450 security forces present.

Ex-Malay king dies

KUALA LUMPUR: The sultan of Malaysia’s Johor state, Iskandar Ismail, who served as the nation’s king for five years, has died aged 77, state media reported. Abdul Ghani Othman, chief minister of the southern state, announced the sultan’s death late on Friday after he was admitted to a local hospital the day before for an unspecified illness, state news agency Bernama said. “The sultan of Johor was very much respected and loved,” Abdul Ghani said, reading a statement on TV, according to Bernama. The sultan’s eldest son, Tunku Ibrahim Ismail Iskandar, was proclaimed as the state’s new sultan on Saturday morning.

Queen to address UN

UNITED NATIONS: Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II will address the UN General Assembly for the first time in more than 50 years during a July visit to New York, the British mission to the world body said on Friday. The 83-year-old monarch and her husband, Prince Philip, will arrive in New York on July 6 after making a nine-day state visit to Canada and leave later the same day, it said. The queen has addressed the United Nations General Assembly on only one previous occasion, in 1957. She is addressing the body in her capacity as the head of state of the United Kingdom and 15 other UN member states.