INDIA-STAMPEDE: Police in India say 68 people have been killed in a stampede at a Hindu religious festival in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh.The stampede was triggered today (Sunday) when a railing collapsed under the weight of pilgrims at the hilltop Naina Devi Temple (in Bilaspur district). Authorities say at least 30 of the victims were children. More than 40 other people were injured. They have been taken to hospitals in nearby towns for treatment.
SOMALIA EXPLOSIONS: Witnesses in Somalia's capital say a roadside bomb explosion has killed at least
20 people, mostly women. Today's (Sunday's) early morning blast
ripped through a group of female street cleaners.Witnesses counted 15
bodies at the scene, while five other people died after being taken to
Mogadishu's Medina Hospital. More than 40 others were injured.No one has
claimed responsibility for the
blast.
IRAQ: Iraqi police say a car bomb in northern Baghdad has killed 12 people.At least 22 others were wounded in today's (Sunday's) attack, which took place near a passport office in the capital's northern Adhamiya district. In other violence in Iraq's capital, nine people, including six civilians, were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol. The bombings came hours before Iraq's parliament is scheduled to hold a special session to try to resolve a dispute about power-sharing proposals for the northern region of Kirkuk.
UN-BURMA: The United Nations' new human rights envoy for Burma is due to arrive in Rangoon today (Sunday) on his first mission to the military-run nation.U.N. investigator Tomas Ojea Quintana will be in Burma until Thursday at the invitation of the military government.Quintana, who assumed his post in May, has requested to meet with Burmese officials and representatives of opposition groups. He also is scheduled to visit areas devastated by Cyclone Nargis in early May.
CAMBODIA-THAILAND: Cambodian officials say Thai soldiers have occupied a second temple site on their border, escalating a dispute that has been simmering since July 15th.The officials said today (Sunday) the Thai troops were recently deployed at the Ta Moan Thom Temple in a northwestern border region of Cambodia.Hundreds of troops from both countries have been deployed near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple since mid-July, after Cambodian authorities arrested three Thai activists. The activists were detained for illegally entering Cambodia to reach the temple.
