AFGHANISTAN: 54, INCLUDING CIVILIANS, RELEASED FROM TALIBAN PRISON

KABUL: At least 54 people, including security personnel and civilians, were released from a Taliban prison in southern Helmand province, a provincial official said on Tuesday. Omar Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor, said the prisoners were freed after a commando unit raided the prison late Monday night in Musa Qala district. Zwak said there were 32 civilians, 16 police, four soldiers and two military doctors who had been locked up by the insurgents. He said security forces were still securing the area.the Taliban did not immediately comment on the raid, but the insurgents are in control of the majority of the districts in Helmand, where they have increased their attacks against provincial officials and security forces. AP

Heatwave blankets Japan, kills 14 over long weekend

TOKYO : An intense heatwave killed at least 14 people over a three-day long weekend in Japan, media reported on Tuesday, and high temperatures hampered the recovery in flood-hit areas where more than 200 people died last week. Temperatures on Monday, a national holiday, surged above 39 degrees Celsius in some inland areas and combined with high humidity to produce dangerous conditions, the Japanese Meteorological Agency said. REUTERS

‘Lava bomb’ hits tour boat in Hawaii, 23 injured

HONOLULU: A blob of hot volcanic lava struck an ocean tour boat just off the Big Island of Hawaii on Monday, injuring 23 people, in the worst casualty incident from the eruption of the Kilauea Volcano. A huge steamdriven explosion, caused by molten rock mixing with seawater as it poured from the shoreline, sent a “lava bomb” through the roof of the boat. REUTERS

China: Woman held after tossing ink on Xi’s poster

BEIJING : A woman who livestreamed herself throwing ink onto a picture of Chinese President Xi Jinping has been detained, according to activists who accuse authorities of suppressing speech to protect a “cult of personality” around the country’s leader. The Us-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders activist network said authorities have also taken 28-year-old Dong Yaoqiong’s fathe.

World’s oldest bread, baked 14,500 years ago, found

WASHINGTON: Charred remains of a flatbread baked about 14,500 years ago in a stone fireplace in northeastern Jordan have given researchers a delectable surprise: people began making bread millennia before they developed agriculture. The discovery shows hunter-gatherers in the Eastern Mediterranean achieved the cultural milestone of bread-making far earlier than previously known. REUTERS