A bomb ripped through a minibus in western Afghanistan on Monday, killing five civilians and wounding another eight, some critically, the interior ministry said. The Toyota Coaster bus had been taking passengers from the district of Pusht Rod in Farah province to Khaki Safed district. The attack was the latest sign of increasing violence in relatively peaceful western Afghanistan. “Five civilians were martyred and another eight civilians were killed,” said the ministry, adding that some of the wounded were in critical condition.
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Khmer Rouge prison chief verdict July 26
Phnom Penh : The verdict in the trial of Khmer Rouge prison chief Duch will be announced on July 26, an official at Cambodia’s UN-backed genocide court said on Monday.
The 67-year-old Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, is the first leader from the hardline 1975-1979 Communist regime to face international justice.
“Hopefully it will be a turning point for the people of Cambodia who have waited for more than 30 years to see someone from the Khmer Rouge brought to justice,” a court spok-esman said after announcing the verdict date. —AFP
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Journo first Bangladeshi to scale Everest
Dhaka : A 30-year-old journalist became the first Bangladeshi to conquer Mount Everest when he reached the summit of the world’s highest peak on Sunday, an official said.
Nasrin Jahan, deputy mission chief of Bangladesh’s embassy in Nepal, told AFP Monday that Musa Ibrahim, who works as a sub-editor for the Daily Star, was now on his way down from the peak. “He was the first in a team of 18 mountaineers who reached the top on Sunday. —AFP
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Indonesian worker bitten by ‘dragon’
Jakarta : An Indonesian worker freed himself from an attacking Komodo dragon by punching the reptile’s snout until it released him and ran away, a national park official said on Monday. Agustinus Jenaru, 20, was working inside an unfinished wooden bungalow on Rinca island when the 6.5-foot lizard entered and bit onto his left hand on Saturday, said Komodo National Park official Daniel Bolu Ngongo. Jenaru hit the jaws of the giant lizard for several seconds until it freed him. —AP
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3 WWII air bombs found in Volgograd
Volgograd : Three German made WWII air bombs have been found in the Volgograd region, an official of the regional emergency situations department has said.
“One of the bombs was found near the village of Ostrovnoy, and the other two near the village of Gromoslavka,” press secretary Ilona Yegorova was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass on Sunday.
“Local residents found the 50-kg bombs. Possibly, pouring rains unearthed the munitions,” she said.
—Itar-Tass