AFGHAN OFFICIAL SAYS 11 KILLED IN U.S. DRONE ATTACK IN NURISTAN PROVINCE

KABUL: An Afghan official said 11 people including six civilians were killed in a US drone attack in the northeastern Nuristan province. Hafiz Abdul Qayum, the provincial governor, said on Tuesday that six civilians and five Taliban insurgents were killed in the Monday night attack in Waygal district. Qayum said villagers and Taliban gathered to visit an insurgent wounded in an earlier attack when the house was targeted by the drone, killing both civilians and insurgents. US forces did not immediately comment on the attack. In a separate attack in western Farah province today, an intelligence service official was killed by unknown gunmen, said Mohammad Naser Mehri, spokesman for the provincial governor.

Two stabbed to death in rare Japan violent crime

TOKYO : Two people including a policeman were killed in Japan on Tuesday, officials said, when a man stabbed the officer, seized his gun and shot a security guard. A police spokesman told AFP the attacker had stabbed the officer at a police station in central Toyama prefecture, then grabbed his gun and fled the scene. The suspect was injured after being shot in the stomach by police as they tried to arrest him.

Germany to deport ‘bin Laden bodyguard’

FRANKFURT AM MAIN: A Tunisian man who allegedly served as a bodyguard to Osama bin Laden was detained in Germany on Monday and is to be deported, officials said. The 41-year-old, identified as Sami A, has lived in Germany for about two decades, but outrage over his presence has grown in recent months as the mood hardens towards rejected asylum seekers. He had previously successfully argued against his deportation, saying he risked torture in his homeland.

AP

Van rams into Dutch daily’s head office, no injuries

AMSTERDAM: The head office of the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf was hit by a delivery van in the small hours of Tuesday in what police said was a deliberate act, but no one was injured. The building was almost empty at the time. Editor-in-chief Paul Jansen said the motive was unclear. “Unfortunately, journalism has been a target for attacks more than once”, he said. “This is a cause of great concern, but we will not be intimidated.” REUTERS

Conservative Friends of India gets new cochair

LONDON : Rami Ranger, whose rags-to-riches story reflects the success of many Indian migrants to the UK, has been appointed co-chairman of the Conservative Friends of India, a group affiliated to the ruling Conservative Party. Ranger, whose family was among thousands hit by the Partition, arrived in London in 1971 and went on to found a multi-million pound business empire. He was named co-chairman along with Zac Goldsmith.