News in Brief

Blast kills 40 at Iraq mosque
Reuters, Hilla

 
At least 40 people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Shia Muslim funeral in a southern Iraqi town yesterday. Police said some bodies were still trapped beneath the debris. At least 50 people were wounded. Those inside had been mourning the death of a man killed a day earlier by militants.

Britain recruiting cyber-warriors
Afp, London
Britain is to set up a dedicated military unit to counter cyber attacks, the defence secretary announced yesterday as he issued a call for tech-savvy new recruits.
The Ministry of Defence is looking to recruit hundreds of computer experts to help defend Britain's national security. The "cyber reservists" would work alongside regular forces in the new Joint Cyber Reserve Unit in a bid to protect key computer networks and safeguard data.

Chopper crash kills 5 in India
Afp, Mumbai
A privately-operated helicopter crashed in a remote part of Maharashtra state yesterday, killing all five people on board, a police officer said. The Press Trust of India news agency said the helicopter crashed after coming into contact with power cables. No further details of the accident were immediately known.

Israel announces arrest of Iranian 'spy'
Afp, Jerusalem
Israel's Shin Bet security service yesterday announced the arrest on September 11 of an Iranian "spy" carrying photographs of the US embassy in Tel Aviv.
The suspect, holding a Belgian passport, was sent to Israel by Iran's elite Republican Guards and arrested at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion international airport, Shin Bet charged in a statement.

Mumbai collapse death toll hits 61
Afp, Mumbai
The confirmed death toll from the collapse of a residential block in Mumbai rose to 61 yesterday as the search ended with all the missing accounted for, officials said.
The five-storey block in the Indian city's east, home to 22 families and owned by the municipal authority, came crashing down at daybreak on Friday.

Sudan's largest newspaper shut
Afp, Khartoum
Sudan's most popular newspaper, which has been a regular critic of a controversial government decision to cut fuel subsidies, has been ordered to stop publishing, its director said yesterday.
The move against Al-Intibaha comes as journalists complain of worsening censorship since the fuel-subsidy decision and resulting price increases sparked deadly protests last week killing dozens.