News In Brief

9 peacekeepers killed in Mali: UN
CNN Online

Nine UN peacekeepers were killed in an ambush Friday in Mali, a UN spokesman said. Their convoy was attacked near Menaka, in the country's eastern Gao region, by heavily armed men on motorcycles, Said UN. The nine dead were from Niger. The attack was the deadliest yet of several against the forces in the country, the UN mission said on its Facebook page.

Grenade found on Modi's back-up jet
Afp, New Delhi

Crew members discovered a defused grenade in an Air India plane designated as a back-up for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his recent US visit, reports said yesterday. The Air India Boeing 747 crew found the grenade in the business class section of the aircraft late Friday and reported it to security officials on landing at Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, according to the reports.

Taliban's spokesman in Pakistan!
Ap, Kabul

An apparently errant tweet by the Taliban's spokesman in Afghanistan gave his location as being in neighbouring Pakistan. On Friday, a tweet by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claiming an attack included geolocation information that suggested he sent the message from Sindh, Pakistan. Twitter says such geolocation data is based on latitude and longitude data or other information provided by users at the time of their message.

Thailand's king in hospital with fever
Ap, Bangkok

Thailand's royal palace says the country's 86-year-old king was admitted to a hospital and being treated for a fever that doctors believe was caused by an infection. King Bhumibol Adulyadej arrived at Bangkok's Siriraj Hospital late Friday from his seaside palace.  Worries about the king's health and succession have contributed to Thailand's political instability of the last eight years.

China tests 10,000-km range nuclear missile
Pti, Beijing

China has flight-tested an upgraded version of its 10,000-km range Dongfeng missile which could reach most of the US and European cities, days before its National Day on October 1, 2014 to demonstrate its nuclear capability, media reports said. The DF-31B is an upgraded version of the DF-31A and the launch was at least the second time the PLA's Second Artillery Corps had tested a DF-31 missile in the past three months.