Globetrotting

Dilshad Beg's killers identifiedKATHMANDU: Nepalese police have identified the killers of National Democratic Party lawmaker, Mirza Dilsh...

Dilshad Beg8217;s killers identified

KATHMANDU: Nepalese police have identified the killers of National Democratic Party lawmaker, Mirza Dilshad Beg, but have not been able to arrest them. The daily Himalaya Times said the controversial NDP lawmaker was gunned down on the night of June 30 near his house by five assailants. The police, according to the daily, have identified them as Arun Singh, alias Karan Singh, along with Juber Khan, Sanjaya Madekar, Sandesh Sharma and Rajendra Sharma. The newspaper quoted police as saying the first three suspects had been living at a hotel in the Nepalese capital and the last named, Rajendra Sharma, had rented a room and been living there for quite sometime.

UNDP man dead

UNITED NATIONS: Noted Pakistani economist and former top official of the United Nations Mahbub-ul-Haq died here yesterday. Haq, 64, was diagnosed to be suffering from pneumonia after he collapsed about two weeks ago and went into coma a few days earlier. The annual human development report,produced by the United Nations, was Haq8217;s brainchild when he was a top official at the UN development programme UNDP. The report, hailed by advocacy groups and criticised by governments, uses such indices as life expectancy, literacy, various freedoms and health standards as indicators. Haq is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son.

Quake collapse

TAIPEI: An earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale rocked central Taiwan today, causing a hotel to collapse and trapping twelve people. The quake occurred at 12.52 pm in the Ali Mountains, about 250 km south of Taipei, with its epicentre five km underground, the seismological observation centre said. The old Juili Hotel in the scenic mountain area partially tumbled during the quake, radio and television reports said.The air force has sent helicopters to the hotel to rescue the victims after four bridges leading to the resort collapsed.

London mayor

LONDON: A Bangladeshi restaurant owner has become the first non-white to declare hiscandidature for the London mayoral elections to be held next month. With an election pledge, 8220;power to the people and a plague on politicians8221;, Hamidur Rahman Choudhary declared himself as a firm runner in elections with a promise to make London 8220;the most respected city in the world8221;.

Europe swim

HYANNIS: A French-born resident of Texas plunged into the Atlantic from Hyannis8217; Kalmus beach to start a 5,471-kms attempt to swim to Europe. Benoit Lecomte, 31, hopes to reach Brest, France, by October 10 by swimming six to eight hours daily which began yesterday in two-hour shifts, he said.Lecomte who will use a wetsuit, fins and snorkel will be accompanied in his quest by 12-metre-long support vessel.

Boat tragedy

BEIJING: At least 14 people were killed and about 40 missing in a major ferry disaster in the upper reaches of the flooded Yangtze river in southwest China8217;s Sichuan province on July 12. While rescue teams recovered 14 bodies, 57 passengers escaped death.