■ Iraq
Experts study mass grave
Kuwaiti and US experts are investigating whether a mass grave found near the southern Iraq town of Samawa contains the remains of Kuwaiti prisoners of war missing since Iraq's 1990 to 1991 occupation of its neighbor, US defense officials said on Friday. A defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the grave site was discovered this week in the vicinity of the town 270km south of Baghdad, about midway between the Iraqi capital and the border with Kuwait. Members of a Kuwaiti POW task force and US-led forces were working at the mass grave site, US Central Command said.
■ United States
Tornado strikes again
A large tornado struck near Oklahoma City on Friday night, a day after another twister tore through a separate area south of the city, destroying 300 homes and injuring more than 130 people. The tornado on Friday hit northeast of downtown Oklahoma City, tossing cars asunder on highways and snapping power poles like twigs. With power out to most of the areas in the tornado's path, the full extent of the damage will not be known until after dawn breaks, police said. The tornado damaged about 40 hangars at commuter air link Wiley Post Airport, north of the city.
■ The Philippines
Bomb explodes in market
A bomb blast on Saturday at a crowded market in a southern Philippine city killed at least 12 people, officials said. About a dozen others were seriously injured and brought to a hospital in Koronadal city, said police chief Superintendent Danilo Posadas. Two hours later, another bomb was found near the market and taken away by a police bomb squad to be defused. Posadas said an initial investigation indicated the bomb that exploded around 3:30pm was fashioned from an 81 mm mortar. Police suspect the person who planted the bomb died at the scene.``Terrorists did it,'' Posadas said, without elaborating.
■ United States
KFC bows to pressure
One of the world's largest food firms has bowed to pressure from animal rights activists over the treatment of its animals. KFC, formerly Kentucky Fried Chicken, has agreed to changes in the conditions of its chickens after campaigners threatened to picket its president's home and run a campaign suggesting KFC stood for Kentucky Fried Cruelty. The concession means the firm's chickens will get more living space and "distractions" and perches, and their slaughter will be more humane. The campaigners, of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals hailed the change.
Agencies
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