News in Brief

Boston blast suspect goes on trial
Afp, Boston

The American student accused of carrying out the 2013 Boston marathon bombings that killed three and injured 264 others went on trial yesterday. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 21 -- who was born in Kyrgyzstan but grew up in the United States -- faces the death penalty if convicted of bombing Boston's signature race which he carried out with his elder brother Tamerlan.  Tamerlan died in a shootout with police after the blast.

450 killed in China's Xinjiang last year
Afp, Beijing

More than 450 people were killed in China's restive mainly Muslim Xinjiang region last year, Washington-based Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) said -- with three times as many deaths among members of the Uighur minority than ethnic Han Chinese. Xinjiang has seen a wave of unrest, labelled by authorities as "terrorism" and blamed on "separatists", which has sometimes spread to other parts of China.

450 killed in China's Xinjiang last year
Afp, Beijing

More than 450 people were killed in China's restive mainly Muslim Xinjiang region last year, Washington-based Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) said -- with three times as many deaths among members of the Uighur minority than ethnic Han Chinese. Xinjiang has seen a wave of unrest, labelled by authorities as "terrorism" and blamed on "separatists", which has sometimes spread to other parts of China.

IMF rules out fresh bailout for Sri Lanka
Afp, Colombo

The IMF yesterday ruled out a fresh bail-out for Sri Lanka, which had hoped to secure loans of more than $4.0 billion to restructure expensive debt taken on by the previous regime. Much of the country's post-war infrastructure under the administration of former president Mahinda Rajapakse was funded with Chinese debt and the new government had hoped to retire some of those loans.

Israel to double water supplies to Gaza
Afp, Jerusalem

Israel is to double the amount of water it channels annually to Palestinians in the blockaded Gaza Strip, a defence ministry body said yesterday. Israel says it is to increase the volume of water it provides to Gaza from five to 10 million cubic metres per annum, beginning within days. The decision was in response to growing needs in the Palestinian enclave, a spokeswoman told AFP.