News In Brief

2 Algerian Gitmo prisoners repatriated
Afp, Washington

Two Algerian prisoners at the US military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay have been transferred back to their homeland, the Pentagon said in a statement yesterday.
Nabil Said Hadjarab and Mutia Sadiq Ahmad Sayyab were handed to the government of Algeria under a deal announced last month as part of efforts to eventually close the War on Terror military prison. Some 164 detainees now remain at Guantanamo Bay, the Pentagon said.

Iraq blasts toll hits 86
Afp, Baghdad

The toll from a wave of violence in Iraq, including attacks in the capital, rose on Thursday to at least 86 killed and over 200 wounded, officials said.
The unrest on Wednesday included more than a dozen bombings in the capital, with the deadliest attacks targeting Shia Muslim neighbourhoods.
It was the latest in surging violence nationwide that has sparked worries Iraq may be sliding back towards the all-out sectarian war that killed tens of thousands in 2006 and 2007.

Koreas sign deal on Kaesong committee
Afp, Seoul

The two Koreas formally yesterday signed an agreement forming a joint committee that will meet next week and is tasked with re-opening and running a joint industrial park shut down in April.
The initial challenge facing the 12-member committee is hammering out a schedule that will lead to the resumption of operations at the Kaesong complex.
The South's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said the first meeting would take place Monday in Kaesong.

41 killed in Kenya bus disaster
Afp, Nairobi

At least 41 people were killed yesterday in a bus crash west of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the Kenyan Red Cross said.
The bus was travelling from Nairobi to Homa Bay on the banks of Lake Victoria when it flew off the road, rolled over and plunged down a hill.
Police and the Kenyan Red Cross said at least 27 other passenger had suffered "multiple injuries".