Rescue workers in India's flood-ravaged areas are continuing the search for survivors today (Friday) following record monsoon rains that caused hundreds of deaths. In urban regions of western Maharashtra state, where flooding and mudslides were the heaviest, workers cleared clogged drains with the help of cranes and heavy machinery. Officials say rescuers scouring flooded neighborhoods and villages in the state found dozens of new bodies today, raising the death toll to nearly 700.
Officials in India say a blast on a packed train that killed at least 12 people and left dozens wounded was apparently caused by a bomb. The explosion occurred Thursday near the town of Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh state. The train was traveling from the eastern city of Patna to New Delhi at the time of the explosion.
The expected withdrawal from Georgia of tanks and other Russian military equipment did not begin as planned today (Friday). Russian military officials blame the delay on a problem with travel documents for some of their troops.
Thailand's foreign minister says the pressure is not off Burma to restore democracy just because it surrendered its chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon told reporters in the Lao capital of Vientiane today (Friday) that ASEAN nations had "opened a door" in talks with Burma's ruling generals that the nations would continue to use to push for democratic reforms.
The six nations at this week's talks in Beijing on North Korea's nuclear program have agreed to extend their meetings into Saturday, after four days with no solid breakthroughs. U.S. and North Korean officials also met separately today (Friday) -- their fourth round of bilateral talks in the midst of the multinational discussions. No details of the talks (between U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan) were released.
Australia will provide 57 million dollars over five years to remove ordnance in some of the world's most heavily mined countries, including Laos and Afghanistan. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said on the sidelines of a regional security meeting in the Lao capital of Vientiane today (Friday) that the bulk of the money would go to Laos and Cambodia.
Australia will provide 57 million dollars over five years to remove ordnance in some of the world's most heavily mined countries, including Laos and Afghanistan.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said on the sidelines of a regional security meeting in the Lao capital of Vientiane today (Friday) that the bulk of the money would go to Laos and Cambodia.
Laos has been known as the most heavily bombed country in the world since it was hit by two million tons of bombs during the Indochina conflict, and many of them are still unexploded where they fell.
Australia says its mine-clearing grants also will go to Afghanistan and Iraq. The 57-million dollars Mr. Downer pledged today is in addition to about 76 million dollars Australia has spent on mine-clearing efforts over the past 10 years.
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