Briefly World

Flags flew at half mast and entertainment programmes were cancelled across Russia on Monday as the country mourned...

Russia mourns club fire victims

PERM: Flags flew at half mast and entertainment programmes were cancelled across Russia on Monday as the country mourned 112 victims of a weekend nightclub inferno and dozens more fought for their lives in hospitals. Mourners heaped red and white flowers outside the snow-covered entrance to the scene of the disaster at the Lame Horse club in Perm,1,150 km from Moscow. President Dmitry Medvedev declared Monday a national day of mourning and has called for harsh punishments for those responsible for Fridays blaze.

If elected,Fonseka assures free media

COLOMBO: As the battle for presidency hots up in Sri Lanka,the main opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka has accused his political opponents of trying to intimidate the media and vowed to ensure press freedom if elected. In comments that came just a day after journalists from two state media organisations covering a meet of opposition UNP were allegedly assaulted by some party supporters,Fonseka urged the press to be fair in reporting.

6 schoolkids among 16 dead in Iraq

BAGHDAD: Six children were among eight people killed at a Baghdad school in what the Iraqi security forces said was an ammunition blast on Monday,among a total of 16 people killed in and around the capital. Just north of Baghdad,six anti-Qaeda militiamen were gunned down in broad daylight and the wife of a militia commander was killed when their home was bombed.Two hospitals in Sadr City said eight people were killed in the blast,including six primary school students.

Bolivias Morales wins new term

La Paz: Bolivian President Evo Morales has easily won a second term in elections,according to early exit polls that showed him with a strengthened mandate to pursue socialist reforms deeply dividing his country. Various polls suggested Morales,a 50-year-old former coca farmer who became Bolivias first indigenous President in 2006,attracted 62-63 per cent of the vote. His nearest rival,conservative former governor Manfred Reyes Villa,was credited with just 23-24 per cent,the polls said on Sunday.

Philippine police clash with clan supporters

SHARIFF AGUAK: Gunmen loyal to a powerful clan accused in the Philippiness worst political massacre clashed with police in the first reported violence since martial law was imposed in the southern region. No casualties were reported and government negotiators were trying to persuade about 2,400 gunmen to surrender peacefully,Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said.