INDONESIA MOB KILLS NEARLY 300 CROCODILES TO AVENGE MAN’S DEATH

JAKARTA: A mob slaughtered nearly 300 crocodiles at a breeding ground in Indonesia’s West Papua province in retaliation for the death of a local man, officials said on Monday. A total of 292 crocodiles were killed by hundreds of villagers on Saturday following the funeral of a 48-year-old man who was killed by crocodiles after entering the area around the breeding pond, said Basar Manullang, the head of the local Natural Resources and Conservation Agency. The man was believed to have entered the sanctuary in the Klamalu neighborhood of Sorong district to cut grass for his cattle. “Since killing the crocodiles is illegal, we are coordinating with the police for the investigation,” Manullang said. AP

Emirati prince flees to Qatar, criticises Abu Dhabi

LONDON : An Emirati prince is seeking asylum in Qatar after fleeing the UAE saying he feared for his life because of a dispute with the rulers of oil-rich Abu Dhabi, the New York Times reported on Sunday. Sheikh Rashid bin Hamad al-sharqi, 31, is the second son of the emir of Fujairah, one of the seven monarchies making up the United Arab Emirates.

Migrants disembark in Italy after EU offer ends standoff

ROME : Hundreds of migrants finally disembarked in Italy from two ships on Monday after other European Union countries agreed to accept more than half of them, ending a diplomatic standoff. The remaining migrants aboard the Italian ship Monte Sperone and the British naval vessel Protector, which had picked up 450 asylum seekers from an overcrowded boat that left Libya on Friday, shuffled ashore at the Sicilian port of Pozzallo. REUTERS

Death toll in Pak election rally bombing rises to 149

ISLAMABAD : The death toll from a suicide attack on an election rally in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province on Friday spiked to 149, officials said, putting it among the deadliest attacks in the country’s history. As campaigning steps up for general elections on July 25, bombings across Pakistan have stoked fears of more violence in the country of 208 million, where political rallies can draw tens of thousands of people. REUTERS

18 killed in Pakistan as truck rams into parked bus

KARACHI: At least 18 people returning from a wedding function were killed when a speeding trailer truck rammed into a parked bus in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province early on Monday, police and rescue officials said. Another 30 people suffered injuries and have been hospitalised, they said. The accident took place in Hala area of Hyderabad district.