France: Bus plunge kills 26
A bus carrying Polish Catholic pilgrims from the shrine of Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette near the village of Vizille in the French Alps plunged 65 feet off a steep mountain road, crashed into a river bank and burst into flames Sunday, killing 26 people and injuring 14, authorities said. Firefighters said the bus did not have the special permit required to use the 12 percent gradient road.
Afghanistan: Hostage deadline
A purported Taliban spokesman said Sunday that the hard-line militia had extended by 24 hours the deadline for the Afghan government to trade captured militants for 23 South Korean hostages, workers at an aid organization in Kandahar who were captured Thursday. The deadline is now 7:30 a.m. Pacific time today.
Sudan: Plans for Darfur projects
On the second day of a rare visit to Darfur, President Omar al-Bashir unveiled several development projects meant to bolster the war-torn province, but he did not visit any refugee camps. Darfur’s conflict began in 2003, when rebels attacked government troops and demanded that Sudan share more wealth and power with its long-neglected province. The government unleashed Arab militias to clear the areas that were home to the rebel movements. Since then, there have been more than 200,000 conflict-related deaths and more than 2 million people swept from their homes, according to estimates by international experts.
India: Robin Hood-style bandit dies
Indian police killed one of the country’s most notorious bandits Sunday – a man who ruled the ravines and forests between the central Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh through a mixture of fear and love for three decades, with many hailing him as a modern-day Robin Hood. Shiv Kumar, also known by the alias Dadua and thought to be in his 60s, led one of the few remaining bands of outlaws that have roamed central India for centuries, their exploits romanticized in Bollywood movies. Kumar had managed to evade police since escaping from custody in 1975 after being arrested for murder.
From Herald news services
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