At a glance

Passenger sleeps through his Cairo-Frankfurt flight -- and backCAIRO: A passenger on a flight from here to Frankfurt ended up on the flig...

Passenger sleeps through his Cairo-Frankfurt flight 8212; and back

CAIRO: A passenger on a flight from here to Frankfurt ended up on the flight back home because he slept through the landing and return take off, airport sources said. They said on Thursday that the crew of the Egyptair plane did not notice the passenger, an Eritrean, in a 8220;deep sleep.8221; The man, in his 40s, was shocked when the plane landed back here and demanded compensation from the airline. Egyptair officials deducted the cost for the new ticket to Frankfurt from the account of the airline8217;s station manager in Frankfurt as a penalty for negligence.

Ruling party emerges single largest in Lanka provincial poll

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka8217;s ruling People8217;s Alliance led by President Chandrika Kumaratunga has emerged as the largest single party in Thursday8217;s southern provincial council elections but fell one seat short of a simple majority. The opposition United National Party, has bagged 21 seats while the ultra left wing JanathaVimukthi Prumuna JVP, which has strong pockets of influence in the province managed to gain seven seats. The lack of a simple majority might force Kumaratunga8217;s party to come to an understanding with the JVP to form the government.

Sharif govt using I-T dept to intimidate me: Najam Sethi

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani journalist Najam Sethi has accused the Nawaz Sharif government of using the income tax department to intimidate and harass him and his wife Jugnu Mohsin for their outspoken views. 8220;After the failure to make concocted charges levelled against me in the supreme court, the government has now resorted to dirty tactics of using income tax department to harass me,8221; the Friday Times editor said. 8220;This shows the real reason of arresting me last month,8221; he was quoted by The News. Sethi said since his detention last month, he, his wife and his publishing company Vanguard Books, had been suddenly slapped with over two dozen notices by the income tax department. 8220;Since June 1, Jugnu Mohsin8217;s bankaccounts have been frozen illegally and money transferred to the income tax department illegally,8221; he added.

China destroys magazines over pro-democratic reform article

BEIJING: China last month ordered all copies of a Beijing-based magazine destroyed to eliminate evidence of one article calling on the Communist leadership to initiate democratic reforms, a human rights group said on Friday. The state press and publishing council banned all 50,000 copies of the May edition of Beijing Literature featuring an article jointly written by the magazine8217;s editors and several Beijing-based intellectuals in the pro-democratic Freedom Faction. The article discussed the spirit of 1919 mass demonstrations by thousands of students from prestigious Beijing University at Tiananmen Square over the decision to give German concessions in the port city of Qingdao to the Japanese.