PERSIAN GULF

ABUSED PRISONERS IN IRAQI JAIL INCLUDED ALL MUSLIM SECTS

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraq’s deputy interior minister, Major General Hussein Kamal, said yesterday the 173 malnourished prisoners found by American forces included all Iraqi sects, including Shiites, Kurds, and Turkomen, playing down allegations of a campaign by Shiite-led security forces to suppress Sunni Arabs ahead of next month’s election.

– Associated Press

EAST ASIA

CHINA ADMITS THAT TWO PEOPLE DIED IN LATEST BIRD FLU OUTBREAK

China confirmed its first three human cases of bird flu yesterday. Two of the victims, a 12-year-old girl from Hunan and a 24-year-old female poultry worker from Anhui, have died. The third case was the girl’s younger brother, 9, who has recovered, the spokesman for the World Health Organization in Beijing, Roy Wadia, said.

– The Daily Telegraph

SOUTHEAST ASIA

FAMILY MASSACRED BY ISLAMISTS

BANGKOK, Thailand – A family of nine, including four children, were massacred yesterday in Thailand. Officials said about 30 Islamist militants surrounded a house in Bo-Ngo, firing bullets and grenades inside before shooting the victims with handguns. The governor of Narathiwat province, Pracha Tearat, said the head of the family targeted, Luteng Arwarebueza, was a former rebel who quit the insurgency.

– The Daily Telegraph