Briefly world

Bangla closes Oppn daily,jails editor

Dhaka: A Bangladesh court on Wednesday jailed the editor of the mouthpiece of the Opposition BNP of ex-Premier Khaleda Zia,following a night long siege at its office after the newspaper was proscribed by the government. Earlier on Wednesday,the Bangladesh police arrested the editor,Mahmudur Rahman of BNP mouthpiece Amar Desh. Police stormed the newspaper office early this morning and arrested our acting editor Mahmudur Rahman, chief reporter Syed Abdal Ahmed said.

Singapore jails maid for sexual abuse

Singapore: A Singapore District Court on Wednesday sentenced a 27-year old Indonesian maid to prison for three years for having sex with her employers minor son. The boys grandmother saw the maid performing oral sex with the 12-year-old boy last Christmas,according to local media reports. The woman,who was not named,had engaged in consensual sex and performed oral sex on him on four occasions at his home last year. District Judge John Ng said she had abused her position of trust.

UK taxi driver kills 12,wounds 25

SEASCALE: British police say a taxi driver went on a shooting spree across rural northwestern England,killing 12 people and wounding 25 others before turning the gun on himself. The rampage in the county of Cumbria is Britains deadliest mass shooting since 1996. Officers found the body of 52-year-old suspect Derrick Bird in woods near the Lake District village of Boot. A gun was found alongside the body. The shootings took place Wednesday in Whitehaven and nearby Seascale and Egremont,about 350 miles from London.

Religious leaders launch tirade against Ahmedis

Religious hardliners launched a fresh tirade against Pakistans Ahmedi sect,just days after a terrorist attack on mosques of the religious minority left 95 dead and over 100 injured. Leaders of Tahfuz-e-Namoos Risalat Mahaz,a religious grouping of over 20 Sunni parties,demanded the government take strict action against the Ahmedi community for committing blasphemy. At a press conference,leaders of this movement didnt condemn Fridays attacks and instead demanded that the Ahmedi leaders be penalised for statements they had issued after the carnage. They spoke at length about the sins allegedly committed by Ahmedis against Islam. Their rabid comments were published in many Urdu dailies. However,the electronic media and English dailies didnt cover the press conference.

Punjabi Taliban ready for major attack on Pak

Interior Minister Rehman Malik claimed that the Punjabi Taliban were preparing for a major terror attack in the country. The Punjab government led by CM Shabaz Sharif is said to be reluctant in acting against banned organisations operating in Punjab in spite of evidence that these may have been involved in terrorist attacks in the province recently. A recent secret document based on data collected in south Punjab finds that banned groups are carrying out a sustained drive to recruit fresh cadres from the among poverty- stricken,illiterate and unemployed youth in the region.