News in Brief

US bans anti-personnel mines
Afp, New York

The United States said Tuesday it was halting the use of anti-personnel mines apart from in the tense No Man's Land between the Koreas, a step closer to compliance with a key global convention. The move brings the United States closer than ever to adhering to the international treaty prohibiting the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines.

Abu Qatada walks free
Afp, Amman

A Jordanian court acquitted radical cleric Abu Qatada of terrorism charges and immediately freed him yesterday, ending more than a decade of legal cases against the firebrand preacher. Abu Qatada, -- once described as the right-hand man in Europe of late Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden -- , was found not guilty of conspiring to attack tourists in Jordan during millenium celebrations, due to insufficient evidence, officials said.

Sena, BJP row drags on
Pti, Mumbai

In a fresh snub to BJP, the Shiv Sena has said it won't back off from its decision to contest at least 150 seats in the Maharashtra assembly polls. The Sena had submitted a fresh proposal to its alliance partners on Sunday night, keeping 151 assembly seats for itself, giving 130 seats to the BJP and leaving out just seven seats for its junior alliance partners.

US drones kill 8 militants in Pakistan
Afp, Peshawar

US drones yesterday fired missiles at a compound and vehicle and killed at least eight militants in a restive Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan, officials said. The attack happened in the border village of Lawara Mandi, 60 kilometres west of Miranshah which is the main town in North Waziristan tribal district.

Nepal PM free of cancer: Minister
Afp, Kathmandu

Doctors have given a clean bill of health to Nepal's Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, following successful radiotherapy for lung cancer, the country's information minister said yesterday.
Koirala, 75, travelled to New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center last week for follow-up consultations after he was diagnosed with cancer in June.

Bus crash kills 23 in India
Afp, Shimla

An overcrowded bus yesterday plunged off a mountain road into a reservoir in a Himalayan region in northern India, killing 23 people, a state official said. Authorities and divers searched for more bodies, fearing the death toll could rise as many passengers were riding on the roof of the 40-seat bus when it rolled down into the Gobind Sagar reservoir in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

Japan slaps more sanctions on Russia
Afp, Tokyo

Japan hit Russia with further sanctions yesterday over the crisis in Ukraine, in a further blow to efforts to end a longstanding territorial row between the pair. The fresh penalties, targeting exports of military equipment and technology to Russia, come a day after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reportedly dropped plans to host President Vladimir Putin later this year due to tensions over the conflict.