Lawyers’ demo in Pak

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani riot police used sticks to beat lawyers demanding the reinstatement of dozens of judges sacked by former President Pervez Musharraf, an AFP correspondent witnessed on Thursday. The melee broke out after around 100 black-suited lawyers tried to enter the Supreme Court building by climbing the main gates, shouting slogans against the new chief justice appointed by Musharraf in November. — AFP

Fake cop in real jail

BEIJING: A former security guard in central China passed himself off as a police officer for three years before being caught on Tuesday, fooling even his wife, state media reported on Thursday. Zhang Haitao, 28, of the central city of Zhengzhou who had seen his boyhood dreams of becoming a cop frustrated by lack of education, started posing as one in 2005, the China Daily said. Zhang obtained police uniforms, ID badges and equipment — some fake and some real — and roamed the streets of Zhengzhou offering advice on traffic violation cases. He told his wife he had got a temporary job in the city’s police traffic unit. — AFP

Mine blast kills 23

BEIJING: Twenty-three people were killed on Thursday in a gas explosion at a coal mine in northeast China, state media reported. The blast occurred at a mine in the city of Fuxin in Liaoning province, one of China’s main coal producing areas, Xinhua news agency said, giving no further details. An official at the State Work Safety Administration said she was unaware of the accident. — AFP