LTTE boats destroyed

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan fighter jets attacked the Tamil Tiger naval wing early on Monday, destroying three rebel boats as fighting raged between the two sides in the country’s civil war, the military said. Government troops also attacked a Tamil Tiger base across the front lines in the Mannar region early Monday, killing seven rebels, Nanayakkara said. A

day earlier, fighting left 33 combatants dead, the military said. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was not available for comment. — AP

Pakistan tests missile

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday test-fired a surface-to-surface ballistic missile, said Dawn News. This is the first training launch of the Hatf-VI, also called Shaheen-II, long-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile, which can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads, according to the report. The missile has a range of over 2,000 km. —Xinhua

13 hurt in blast

BHUBANESWAR: At least 13 people sustained burn injuries, 10 of them critically, after crackers exploded accidentally during a folk dance in Orissa’s Cuttack district, police said on Monday. The incident took place when hundreds of people were watching the show on Sunday night in village Asureswar. — HNS

Blasts rock Yangon

YANGON: Two explosions rocked Yangon over the weekend, but no one was killed or injured in the explosions, security officials confirmed on Monday. The first bomb was planted under a car parked near the five-star Traders Hotel, on Sunday. The second blast, also under a car, followed 45 minutes later on Maha Bandula Street. —DPA

Miliband meets Mush

ISLAMABAD: Britain’s foreign secretary met embattled President Pervez Musharraf on Monday, a day after backing plans by Pakistan’s new government to negotiate with militants who renounce violence. Musharraf and David Miliband discussed the war on terror and other issues during their meeting in Islamabad, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Sadiq said. Miliband, on a two-day visit to Pakistan, then went to see new Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. — AP