News In Brief

Gambia pulls out of Commonwealth
Afp, Banjul

The Gambian government announced Wednesday that the former British colony is pulling out of the Commonwealth with immediate effect, saying it would "never be a member of any neo-colonial institution".
The Commonwealth bloc is a voluntary association of more than 50 countries, many of them former territories of the British empire.
No further details were given but a foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the decision came after the government rejected a proposal by the Commonwealth last year to create commissions in Banjul to protect human rights, media rights and fight against corruption.

Plane crash kills 8 at Nigeria airport
Cnn Online

A charter plane crashed during takeoff in Lagos, Nigeria, yesterday morning killing at least eight people, the country's emergency management agency said in a post on Twitter. One survivor was found at the site.
The Associated Airlines plane was carrying 20 passengers, when it took off from Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Nigerian state-run TV broadcaster NTA reported.

30 killed in Indian road crash
Afp, Guwahati

A heavy goods truck careered onto the wrong side of the road and smashed head-on into two packed vehicles in the northeast of India yesterday, killing at least 30 and injuring 10, officials told AFP.
A police spokesperson said the accident took place on a highway early Thursday near the village of Doholapara in the Barpeta district of Assam, about 140 kilometres (90 miles) west of the main city of Guwahati.
The driver of the truck was arrested by police shortly after the accident.
"The two pick-up vans were carrying more people than the permissible limits. A probe has been ordered," district magistrate Siddhartha Singha told AFP, saying 28 died on the spot and another two had succumbed to their injuries.
Some 110,000 people were killed in road accidents in 2011 -- more than 300 every day -- according to the latest available statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau.

Militants clash in Pakistan; 13 killed
Afp, Peshawar

At least 13 militants died in northwest Pakistan yesterday when the Taliban launched a gun and suicide attack against a rival group, officials said.
A senior government official told AFP that clashes erupted when fighters from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attacked militant commander Maulvi Nabi Hanafi's house in Pakistan's Orakzai tribal district.
Hanafi, who leads an anti-Taliban militia, was wounded in the attack but survived, the official said.

Saudi jails, lashes 'naked' dancers
Afp, Riyadh

- A Saudi court has sentenced four men to up to 10 years in prison and 2,000 lashes for dancing "naked" in public, media reported yesterday.
In a video posted on YouTube, several men appear dancing atop a vehicle. None seemed naked.
The four were charged for encouraging vice, defying norms of the society and violating public morals," according to media.