11 killed in mishap

MULTAN: At least 11 people were killed and 29 others injured in a head-on collision between a passenger bus and a tractor in central Pakistan’s Punjab province on Sunday, police said. The driver of the speeding bus headed for Lahore lost control while overtaking another vehicle and ploughed into the tractor near the town of Chaubara. — AFP

Plague claims two

BEIJING: Two Tibetans have died from the plague after eating rodent meat, but health authorities have said the situation is under control, Chinese state media reported on Sunday. Two were part of a group of five from Tibet’s Zhongba county who fell ill after eating meat from the rodent species marmot earlier this month, Xinhua said. — AFP

Man kills mother

BHUBANESWAR: A 26-year-old man killed his mother after she objected to his watching television in a neighbour’s house. The incident, which took place on Friday at Tiranapada village in Khurda district, came to light after police arrested the youth on Saturday. Alok Bhoi had gone to his neighbour’s house to watch television. Musi Bhoi, 50, scolded him for returning home late at night. In a fit of rage, Alok pushed her, killing her instantly. — HNS

Quake jolts Sulawesi

JAKARTA: A 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck the Indonesian province of North Sulawesi on Sunday, causing panic among residents in several cities but no injuries or damage were reported, a government seismologist said. The quake, centred about 50 km under the sea and 107 km east of Manado, struck at 0922 GMT, said Soetino of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency. — AP

7 killed in blast

KABUL: A massive explosion at a weapons dump near an airfield in northern Afghanistan killed five Afghans and two German soldiers, officials said on Sunday. The blast was believed to be an accident and occurred on Saturday in northern Takhar province as some of the weapons were being moved before being destroyed, the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said in a statement. — AFP