Neighbour Briefs

Bird flu in B’desh

Dhaka: At least 117,000 chickens were destroyed in northern Bangladesh on Sunday after avian flu outbreak on one of the country’s largest poultry farms. The H5N1 strain of flu was detected on Saturday when 400 chickens died at the Kazi Farms complex in Thakurgaon town, district livestock chief Mosaddekur Rahman said. “Tests confirmed the H5N1 bird flu in 15 sheds of the farm and we ordered destruction of all 117,600 chickens,” he said.

Pak attack kills 13

PESHAWAR: Helicopter gunships pounded Taliban hideouts in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal district on Sunday, killing at least 13 militants, officials said. The shelling destroyed three militant hideouts and two houses of Taliban commanders in the Orakzai region, military and administration officials said. The gunships targeted hideouts in Ferozkhel, a village on the outskirts of Kalyal, the main town in Orakzai region.

Fonseka charge

COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan opposition alliance on Sunday rejected as politically motivated charges against defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka, who will face a court martial on Tuesday. The government last week appointed a tribunal to try the detained ex-army chief on charges of participating in politics while in office. Anura Dissanayake, spokesman for the Fonseka-led Democratic National Alliance, said the charges were politically motivated.