W O R L D

Taliban bomb attacks kill 8 Afghan civilians, two NATO troopers
Kabul, July 19
Eight Afghan civilians were killed in a Taliban bombing in northern Afghanistan today and two NATO soldiers were killed in similar bombs elsewhere in the troubled country, officials said.

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron visits British soldiers in Afghanistan. — Reuters

Over 200 killed in Syria: NGO
Beirut, July 19
More than 200 people, mostly civilians, were killed yesterday in violence across Syria, including 38 in Damascus where armed rebels are pressing an all-out offensive, a monitoring group said.

A building destroyed in Homs. — Reuters

Nawaz Sharif’s family summoned in graft cases
An accountability court has summoned the family of former premier and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif on July 28 in three dormant graft cases. Chaudhry Abdul Haq, the judge of Accountability Court-IV, has issued notices to the Sharif family on an application filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) seeking reopening of the references against the family.

Suu Kyi to receive highest US award
Washington, July 19
Congress will present Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi its highest civilian honour, the Congressional Gold Medal. Officials said the ceremony is scheduled to take place Sept 19 during Suu Kyi's visit to the United States.

Bulgaria says suicide bomber blew up airport bus
Burgas (Bulgaria), July 19
A suicide bomber carried out an attack that killed seven people in a bus transporting Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, the country's interior minister said on Thursday, and Israel said Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants were to blame.

Japan’s 2nd N-reactor restarts Tokyo, July 19 A second nuclear reactor has begun working in Japan, officials said today, the day after its operator was ordered to examine a possible active tectonic fault directly under the plant.   Workers removing unused nuclear fuel assemblies in Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on Thursday. — Reuters

‘Sports drinks do not boost energy, can cause obesity’
London, July 19
You might want to throw out your stock of sports drinks after reading this. According to researchers from Oxford University, claims of sports drinks to boost energy not only lack evidence, but high intake of these drinks can also cause weight gain.

US ship didn’t warn Indian fishermen: Dubai police chief
Dubai, July 19
The US ship that fired at Indian fishermen off the Dubai coast, killing one and injuring three, did not warn them, Dubai Police commander-in-chief was quoted as saying on Thursday.

Taliban bomb attacks kill 8 Afghan civilians, two NATO troopers

Kabul, July 19
Eight Afghan civilians were killed in a Taliban bombing in northern Afghanistan today and two NATO soldiers were killed in similar bombs elsewhere in the troubled country, officials said.

The civilians died in northern Faryab province when their mini-van struck a home-made bomb of the kind widely used by Taliban insurgents in attacks aimed at military forces.

"Eight civilians, including a woman and child, were killed and six others wounded," provincial police chief, Abdul Khaliq Aqsai told AFP, adding that a police convoy had been passing as the bomb exploded.

Jawed Badar, a spokesman for the provincial administration, said the civilians were travelling to the provincial capital for Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month which is set to start within days.

In separate but similar explosions, two NATO soldiers were killed in eastern and southern Afghanistan today, the military said, giving no further details.

Roadside bombs are the most the common weapon used by Taliban insurgents waging a war to bring down the government of President Hamid Karzai, which is backed by some 1,30,000 US-led NATO troops.

Most insurgent activity is centred in southern and eastern Afghanistan, but the militants have stepped up attacks in the previously peaceful northern and western parts of 
the country.

Yesterday, a bomb that authorities said was planted by the Taliban destroyed 22 fuel tankers carrying supplies for NATO troops in Samangan, a province along a key highway that connects Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, to the north.

Earlier in the week, a suicide bomb attack on a wedding party in the same province killed 17 people, including a prominent MP. — AFP

Over 200 killed in Syria: NGO

Beirut, July 19
More than 200 people, mostly civilians, were killed yesterday in violence across Syria, including 38 in Damascus where armed rebels are pressing an all-out offensive, a monitoring group said.

At least 214 people — 124 civilians, 62 soldiers and 28 rebels died in one of the bloodiest days of a 16-month revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's regime, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said today, revising an earlier toll.

The figure did not include the three members of Assad's inner circle who died in yesterday's bomb attack on security headquarters in the heart of the capital. Among victims in Damascus were residents killed in shelling by regime forces of the Qaboon, Kfar Sousa and Al-Kaddam neighbourhoods, as well people felled by sniper fire and in clashes between rebels and regular soldiers in the Rokn Eddin and Al-Hajar Al-Aswad neighbourhoods, the Britain-based watchdog said.

Violence has engulfed Damascus since the rebel Free Syrian Army on Monday announced the launch of Operation Damascus Volcano "in response to massacres and barbaric crimes" committed by Assad's regime. The FSA claimed responsibility for yesterday's security headquarters bombing which killed Defence Minister General Daoud Rajha, Assad's brother-in-law Assef Shawkat and General Hassan Turkmani. — AFP

Nawaz Sharif’s family summoned in graft cases
Afzal Khan in Islamabad

An accountability court has summoned the family of former premier and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif on July 28 in three dormant graft cases. Chaudhry Abdul Haq, the judge of Accountability Court-IV, has issued notices to the Sharif family on an application filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) seeking reopening of the references against the family.

The judge ordered the accused to respond to the application filed by NAB Special Public Prosecutor Khurram Nawaz. He also directed the NAB authorities to submit records of the cases by July 28.

About the delay in reopening the cases, the NAB prosecutor told the court that the accused went out of the country in 2001, shortly after the references were filed against them in the previous year.

The bureau had requested the trial court in 2008 to reopen the cases, but the court returned the application since it was not signed by the NAB chief.

The NAB prosecutor, however, could not satisfy the court on whether or not the Rawalpindi bench of Lahore High Court (LHC) had stayed the cases.

The Sharif brothers had petitioned the LHC on October 18 last year for annulment of the references against them. On May 17, the bureau had formally announced that inquiries against Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif would be reopened in accordance with President Asif Ali Zardari’s orders for scrutinising all politicians.

Suu Kyi to receive highest US award

Washington, July 19
Congress will present Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi its highest civilian honour, the Congressional Gold Medal. Officials said the ceremony is scheduled to take place Sept 19 during Suu Kyi's visit to the United States.

Suu Kyi is a Nobel Peace laureate and former political prisoner who was unable to leave her home country for more than two decades.

The opposition parliament leader recently was greeted enthusiastically during trips to Thailand and Europe.

Suu Kyi will also be presented with the Atlantic Council's Global Citizen Award on Sept 21 in New York. Suu Kyi, elected in April, will be feted for her long struggle against military rule in her homeland and for championing democracy. — AP

Bulgaria says suicide bomber blew up airport bus

Burgas (Bulgaria), July 19
A suicide bomber carried out an attack that killed seven people in a bus transporting Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, the country's interior minister said on Thursday, and Israel said Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants were to blame.

Iran denied it was behind Wednesday's attack at Burgas airport, a popular gateway for tourists visiting the Black Sea coast.

Video surveillance footage showed the bomber was similar in appearance to tourists arriving at the airport, Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said.

The bomber had been circling around a group of buses, which were about to take Israeli tourists to a resort near Burgas, for about an hour before the explosion, the surveillance footage showed.

"We have established there was a person who was a suicide bomber in this attack. This person had a fake driving licence from the United States, from the state of Michigan," Tsvetanov told reporters at the airport.

"He looked like anyone else — a normal person with Bermuda shorts and a backpack," he said.

The bomber was said to be 36 years old and had been in the country for between four and seven days before the attack. — Reuters

Japan’s 2nd N-reactor restarts

Tokyo, July 19
A second nuclear reactor has begun working in Japan, officials said today, the day after its operator was ordered to examine a possible active tectonic fault directly under the plant.

Kansai Electric Power Co (KEPCO), which runs the Oi power plant in the nation's industrial heartland, said it switched on Unit No 4 late yesterday, following the restart of Unit No 3 reactor earlier this month.

Yesterday Japan's nuclear watchdog ordered KEPCO to probe claims that the plant lay on one of the many fault lines that riddle the earthquake-prone country.

The restart comes after tens of thousands of people rallied in Tokyo on Monday demanding an end to nuclear power, the latest in a series of anti-atomic gatherings following the tsunami-sparked disaster at Fukushima last year.

The restarts at Oi ended two months in which Japan was nuclear-free after reactors across the country were shuttered in aftermath of Fukushima meltdowns. — AFP

‘Sports drinks do not boost energy, can cause obesity’

London, July 19
You might want to throw out your stock of sports drinks after reading this. According to researchers from Oxford University, claims of sports drinks to boost energy not only lack evidence, but high intake of these drinks can also cause weight gain.

The study published in the British Medical Journal assessed the evidence behind 431 performance enhancing claims in adverts for 104 different sports products including sports drinks, protein shakes and trainers. — PTI

US ship didn’t warn Indian fishermen: Dubai police chief

Dubai, July 19
The US ship that fired at Indian fishermen off the Dubai coast, killing one and injuring three, did not warn them, Dubai Police commander-in-chief was quoted as saying on Thursday.

According to the testimony of the injured, the Indian fishermen were not warned to move away by the US Navy, said Lieutenant-General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim. The crew told the police that they did not move towards the ship and instead attempted to avoid it, reported Khaleej Times.

“According to our findings and testimonies of the injured, I believe that they told the truth,” Lt-Gen Dhahi was quoted as saying. On Monday evening, Indian fisherman A. Sekhar was killed and M. Panduvanathan, K. Muthukannan and R. Muthumaniraj were injured when naval personnel on board USNS Rappahannock, a fuel re-supply ship, opened fire on a small motor vessel near Jebel Ali port off Dubai.

The fleet later issued a statement saying that the USNS Rappahannock attacked the small motorboat near the Dubai port of Jebel Ali, because the small vessel "ignored the warnings and came too close". — IANS