■ PakistanMourners torch vehicles
Angry youths torched two minibuses in Karachi yesterday as minority Shi'ite Muslims mourned the killing of 14 people in a suicide bomb attack on a mosque, police said. At least 10 vehicles were also gutted overnight as violence erupted soon after Friday's bombing. Protesters hurled rocks at public and private vehicles, police officer Imran Khan said. They then "seized a minibus and set it on fire," he said. Police and hospital officials said more than 90 people were injured in Friday's blast, including the suspected suicide bomber. Community leader Syed Zafar Hasan Naqvi said the violence was spontaneous outbursts by youths: "If the authorities do not bring the culprits to book, we could not hold them from resorting to agitation."
■ Nepal
Protesters vow to continue
Nepal's opposition vowed yesterday to continue daily street protests to press King Gyanendra to set up a government of national unity after the resignation of the royalist prime minister. Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa quit Friday, and Gyanendra said he was ready for talks with the opposition, promising to appoint a replacement with a "clean image," according to the palace. But that did not satisfy the opposition, which has been up in arms since Gyanendra fired an elected government in 2002, replaced it with a royalist administration and postponed elections. "The prime minister should be chosen, not by the king, but by the parliament and the political parties," said Ram Sharan Mahat, a member of the Nepali Congress party. The protests have drawn thousands of people every day for the last five weeks.
■ Vietnam
Wartime shell kills 2 boys
Two schoolboys were killed and eight classmates were injured, some seriously, after a Vietnam War-era shell exploded while they were playing with it in a school courtyard, state media said yesterday. Vo Van Lai, 13, died immediately from Friday's blast in Gia Lai, while Ngo Duy Khanh died in a hospital from shrapnel injuries. Eight other pupils of the secondary school were hospitalized and two remain in a critical condition, the Tuoi Tre newspaper said, adding that Khanh had brought the shell to school.
■ Singapore
Boy Scouts to aid tourism
Singapore will soon have 10,000 new tourism ambassadors -- all Boy Scouts. Starting next month, the first group of 500 scouts will receive three days of training on the city-state's special features, the Scout Association and Association of Singapore Attractions said yesterday. After 10 months of training, the scouts will take visitors to spots linked with Singapore's history and culture and tour major attractions. After tapping youth, the organization plans to use families and expatriates to promote tourist attractions.
■ China
Blaine's fast bested?
A Chinese herbalist claims to have outdone by five days a 44-day fast carried out last year by US magician David Blaine, who achieved the feat suspended above the River Thames in a glass box. Chen Jianmin, 50, began the fast on March 20, consuming only water, and emerged on Friday at least 15kg lighter, local media reported. The Beijing News said Chen's fast had drawn an 87,000 visitors to the area around Luzhou in southwestern Sichuan province, bringing in nearly seven billion yuan (US$830,000).
■ PeruUnrest could explode
A classified police report has warned that simmering social unrest near Lake Titicaca could explode as rival groups of Aymara Indians try to wrestle power from provincial mayors. The report came as 300 riot police in the region were placed "on a state of alert" to protect bridges, gas stations and public offices, a police official in the regional capital of Puno said. Among the hottest spots is Ilave, 910km southeast of Lima, where a mob lynched Mayor Cirilo Robles, an Aymara, late last month. Police later arrested Deputy Mayor Alberto Sandoval, also an Aymara, and others on suspicion of inciting the mob.
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