News in Brief

US state backs toughest US gun law

Afp, New York
Connecticut passed the toughest US law on owning military-style rifles early yesterday, after an impassioned, hours long debate in a state where a gunman massacred 20 small children and six adults in December.
Under the law, more than 100 makes of rifles -- including the Bushmaster AR-15 used by deranged loner Adam Lanza in Newtown -- are added to an existing, but now vastly expanded ban on assault weapons. In addition, ammunition clips holding more than 10 rounds must now be registered, while new sales of the large clips are banned.
The law, which raises the minimum age for purchasers from 18 to 21, tightens the procedure for background checks. It also creates the first state registry in the United States of people convicted of gun-related crimes.

US posts $5m reward Kony

Afp, Washington
The United States offered $5 million Wednesday for the capture of Lord's Resistance Army(LRA) chief Joseph Kony, one of the world's most wanted men, and posted rewards for three other rebel leaders evading trial for war crimes.
The LRA, a Ugandan rebel group, has waged a brutal insurgency, accused of mutilations and child abductions for two decades across four countries.

China reports 4th bird flu death

Afp, Beijing
A man has died in China's business capital of Shanghai of a new strain of bird flu, state media said yesterday, bringing the total number of deaths from the H7N9 virus to four.
The 48-year-old poultry worker, from the eastern province of Jiangsu, was the eleventh person known to have been infected with H7N9 since the first human cases were reported earlier this year, according to China's CCTV.
The World Health Organisation on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of a pandemic because the sub-type is not thought to be transmitted from human to human, unlike the more common H5N1 strain.

Flood toll reaches 56 in Argentina

Afp, La Plata
The death toll from massive flooding in Argentina has risen to 56, prompting the government to declare three days of national mourning and drawing a message of concern from Pope Francis.
Most of the victims were found Wednesday after a second day of record rainfall in Buenos Aires and nearby La Plata, where flooding submerged cars and sent people scrambling to rooftops for safety.
At least 48 people died in La Plata, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) south of the capital, authorities said. La Plata is capital of Buenos Aires province. Six people died in Buenos Aires proper and two others in the city's suburbs.