Briefly World: UN inspectors arrive in Damascus on chemical probe

Syrian plainclothes security men whisked away the 20-member team,led by Swedish chemical weapons expert.

Damascus: UN inspectors arrived Sunday in the Syrian capital on a mission to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons,as Syrias government vowed to fully cooperate with them. Syrian plainclothes security men whisked away the 20-member team,led by Swedish chemical weapons expert Ake Sellstrom,from a crush of waiting reporters and cameramen as they arrived at their five-star hotel in the heart of Damascus. Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told the Associated Press before their arrival that Syria will fully cooperate with the team. AP

Britain reopens embassy in Yemen

London: The British embassy in Yemen was reopened Sunday after being closed for nearly two weeks over worldwide terror threats from al-Qaeda. British Embassy Yemen open as normal from Sunday 18 August. Apologies for the brief hiatus, British ambassador to Yemen Jane Marriott tweeted. PTI

110 killed by heavy rains in Pakistan

Karachi: At least 110 people have been killed and 300,000 affected due to the heavy monsoon rains and consequent flooding in many parts of Pakistan,the National Disaster Management Authority NDMA said Sunday. Senior NDMA officials said heavy rains and flooding had caused havoc in Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa,Punjab

and Balochistan provinces. PTI

23 bodies found in conflict area in Mexico

Morelia: At least 23 bodies were found in two neighbouring states in western Mexico where drug cartels,vigilantes and security forces have been fighting for much of the year,authorities have said. AP

Woman beaten to death for practising witchcraft

Kathmandu: A 45-year-old woman was thrashed to death by locals for allegedly practising witchcraft on a girl in southern Nepal,police said. Parbatidevi Chaudhary,a resident of Parsa district,was assaulted by a group of villagers on the charge of casting an evil spell on her neighbours daughter Pratibha,police said.The family members of Parbatidevi filed a complaint with police Saturday. PTI

China: 40 killed in worst flooding in decades

Beijing: At least 40 people have been killed and 32 are missing in heavy rains in northeast and southeast China while thousands of rescuers have been engaged in relief

efforts to deal with the worst flooding seen in decades. PTI