News in Brief

8 killed in Nepal landslides
Afp, Kathmandu
Landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains in Nepal have engulfed scores of homes, killing eight people and leaving five missing, officials said yesterday.
The dead included three children aged between three months and 12 years, Surendra Bahadur Shah, a senior police official in western Nepal, told AFP.
The victims died when the landslides on Sunday and Monday hit their homes.

US consider $1b in aid to Jordan
Afp, Washington
US lawmakers are mulling a $1 billion aid package to Jordan, a third of which would defray costs of regional instability, including huge refugee flows from neighboring Syria.
A subpanel of the House Appropriations Committee will review the aid during a markup of a broader bill committing some $34.1 billion in overall State Department and foreign operations for fiscal year 2014, which begins October 1.
While the overall figure is about 19 percent less than the current year's amount, owing to efforts to reduce the US deficit, the funding request for Jordan, a close ally, was fully met.

19 killed in Thai bus accident
Afp, Bangkok
Nineteen people were killed and 20 hurt yesterday when a double decker coach collided with a truck in central Thailand and burst into flames, authorities said.
The inter-province bus, which was travelling from Bangkok to Roi Et in the northeast of the country, caught fire after the crash.
Images from Thai television news showed the extent of the damage to the vehicle, which appeared to have been completely incinerated and reduced to its metal shell.
Authorities said the crash was a head-on collision involving three vehicles.

Pakistan violates ceasefire: India
Pti, Jammu
Pakistani troops violated ceasefire and opened fire at Indian posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district, the fourth violation this month.
The Pakistani troops opened small arms firing at Indian posts in forward area along LoC in Poonch district at 22:30 hours on Monday night, defence PRO Col R K Palta said.
The Pakistani troops also fired Pika rifle rounds. The firing continued for 20 minutes on Monday night, Col Palta said.