News in Brief

Musharraf murder charges adjourned
Afp, Rawalpindi
Pakistan's ex-military ruler Pervez Musharraf yesterday failed to appear in court to be indicted over the murder of former premier Benazir Bhutto due to what police said were security concerns.
Judge Chaudhry Habibur Rehman adjourned the indictment until August 20 and ordered Musharraf to appear then.

Tibetan self-immolates in Nepal
Afp, Kathmandu
A Tibetan exile died after setting himself ablaze at a Buddhist monument in Nepal Tuesday in an apparent protest against Chinese rule over Tibet, a police official said. Around 120 Tibetans have set fire to themselves since February 2009, mostly in China.

George W Bush gets heart stent
Afp, Washington

 
Former US President George W Bush yesterday underwent a surgery to clear a blocked artery in his heart but plans to resume his normal schedule this week, his office said.
Doctors detected the problem during a routine check up on Monday on the 67-year-old ex-president and successfully implanted a device called a stent to unblock his artery in an operation carried out in Texas, the office said.

Court trims Khodorkovsky term
Afp, Moscow
Russia's supreme court yesterday trimmed by two months the 11-year prison camp term of former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky over a conviction which supporters say was ordered by the Kremlin.
The ruling means that Russia's most famous convict, who was first detained in October 2003, should now walk free in August 2014.

Japan unveils biggest warship since WWII
Afp, Yokohama
Japan unveiled its biggest warship, Izumo, since World War II yesterday, a $1.2 billion helicopter carrier aimed at defending territorial claims, drawing criticism from regional rival China which accused its neighbour of "constant" military expansion.
The ceremony to showcase the 248-metre (810-feet) vessel came as Shinzo Abe's conservative government, which took office last December, considers ditching the nation's pacifist constitution and beefing up the military.

Ex-UK MP becomes Pak governor
Afp, Lahore
Britain's first Muslim MP Mohammad Sarwar was on Monday sworn in as governor of Pakistan's most important province, an official report said.
Sarwar, who served as a member of the British parliament from 1997-2010, has become the new governor of Punjab and is considered a close confidante of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Sarwar had surrendered his British nationality to take up the top job in Punjab.