Five killed in Kashmir

SRINAGAR: A woman and her daughter were among five people killed in separatist-linked violence in Kashmir, police said on Saturday. Sarwa Begum, 50 and her daughter Farida Akhter, 22, were shot dead in the village of Mamar near Handwara late on Friday, police said. In Salar village in Anantnag district, suspected rebels shot dead two people active in the state’s ruling People’s Democratic Party. Separately, an Indian army soldier was killed in an ambush by suspected militants near Kangan. — AFP

Buddha finger flown back

HONG KONG: Hong Kong flew one of the Buddha’s fingers back to China on Saturday after a 10-day exhibit here that organisers say drew nearly a million people to view the sacred artifact. Saffron-robed monks kept vigil by the finger’s bulletproof case as it was carried from the display venue. China loaned Hong Kong the finger to mark Buddha’s birthday late last month. — AP

Afghan ex-king home

KABUL: Afghanistan’s former king Mohammad Zahir Shah has returned to Kabul after a 17-day trip to the United Arab Emirates for medical treatment, a spokesman for the presidential palace said on Saturday. “He returned back yesterday (Friday) from Dubai,” Khaleeq Ahmad said. “He was accompanied by the national security director Dr Zalmay Rassoul and family members and some members of his office.”— AFP

Mystery illness in China

BEIJING: A mysterious illness in a Chinese village sickened 194 people, and authorities were investigating whether polluted drinking water was to blame, a news report said on Saturday. People in Changba, in the northern province of Shaanxi, began suffering from diarrhoea, fever and dizziness on Tuesday, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The number afflicted rose to 60 by Thursday and 194 by Friday, it said. — AP

Aceh sees 10 killed

BANDA ACEH: Ten people including seven separatist rebels have been killed in the latest violence in Aceh, the military said on Saturday. The Free Aceh Movement rebels were killed in several clashes in the districts of Aceh Besar and North Aceh on Friday, provincial military spokesman said. Earlier, a local military chief said that rebels killed three civilians and wounded a two-month-old infant and a 14-year-old boy. — AFP