Charity workers killed

KABUL: Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry says a roadside bomb has killed three charity workers and wounded two others. The ministry says Sunday’s blast struck a vehicle carrying the charity workers to their office in Tarin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province in south-central Afghanistan. The ministry gave no further details. It was the latest in a series of attacks to strike civilians in the violence-prone Uruzgan province, a longtime Taliban stronghold. On Saturday one blast hit a convoy carrying a provincial council member from Wardak province, killing a bodyguard and wounding five others. Another explosion killed one policeman and wounded two in Kandahar. Three NATO service members have died since Friday.

12 feared dead

BEIJING: A state-run news agency says a freighter has collided with a fishing boat in waters off eastern China, killing one and leaving 11 others missing. The official Xinhua News Agency says the fishing vessel sank in the waters off Fujian province after Saturday’s collision. Of the boat’s 14 crew members, two have been rescued and another has died. Eight rescue vessels and 135 workers have been dispatched Sunday to search for the missing, the agency said.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Taiwan bypolls

TAIPEI: Taiwan’s ruling party suffered its second major electoral setback in a month, losing three by-elections as the president’s popular support sags following a slew of administrative blunders. The main opposition Democratic Progressive Party won the three legislative seats in Taoyuan, Taitung and Taichung counties on Saturday, the Central Election Commission said. Despite the setback, the ruling Nationalist Party still dominates the 113-seat legislature, controlling 74 seats against the DPP’s 30.

Acid attack

HONG KONG: Police arrested a man early Sunday after two bottles of corrosive liquid were hurled into a crowd at one of Hong Kong’s famous tourist spots, officials said. At least 30 people were injured in the city’s latest acid attack. The victims, including children and tourists, were all treated at local hospitals for burns and other injuries and released. The liquid was thrown on them Saturday night near Temple Street, a densely populated district known for its outdoor shops and restaurants in Kowloon area. Hong Kong has seen a series of similar attacks since December 2008 that have injured over 100 people.