■ Japan
Students killed in collision
Three teenagers were killed and 22 injured yesterday morning when a driver ran a red light and sent his vehicle and another car plowing into a group of high school students in northern Japan, police said. Police in Tagajo city arrested Hikaru Sato, a 26-year-old company employee, on charges of involuntary manslaughter. Breathalyzer tests showed he had been drinking, a Miyagi prefectural police official said on condition of anonymity. Sato, who was driving a sport utility vehicle, ran the light and crashed into another car that was waiting to make a turn. Both vehicles slammed into the students, who were crossing the street at the time.
■ South Korea
North's ships in historic stop
North Korean cargo ships were scheduled to dock in South Korea yesterday for the first time in 21 years to pick up fertilizer for the impoverished country, officials said. The visit comes after South Korea last week agreed to give 180,000 tonnes of fertilizer to the North -- a deal that coincided with an agreement by the rivals to hold Cabinet-level talks next month. Three ships were set to arrive yesterday at separate ports in South Korea, officials said on condition of anonymity. North Korean cargo ships last came to South Korea in 1984, to deliver aid to the South after massive flooding from a typhoon.
■ India
Bird census to be conducted
The government will launch a census of its vultures, a group of ornithologists said yesterday, as the birds are vanishing rapidly due to a mystery virus and shrinking nesting sites. The population of vultures, nature's scavenger and rodent controller, has fallen from tens of thousands just a decade ago to a few thousands also because of a veterinary drug found in cattle carcasses that the birds feed on, experts say. "The vulture population in India has declined over 80 percent over the last few years. We have decided to conduct a census in select sanctuaries and reserve forests in view of that," said V.S. Vijayan, director of the Madras-based Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History.
■ Australia
Deported woman to return
A woman wrongly deported to the Philippines is likely to return to Australia this week for the first time in four years, her lawyer said yesterday. Philippines-born Vivian Alvarez was deported in 2001 by government officials who mistakenly classified her as an illegal immigrant. Following recent media coverage of her case, it emerged she had been living since 2001 in a convent hospice in Olongapo city north of Manila. The Australian government has offered to assist the woman, who also used the surnames Solon and Young, return home. Her lawyer yesterday said discussions during his recent visit to Manila had focused on her return to Australia, where her two children live.
■ Bangladesh
Tornado injures 50 people
A fierce tornado tore through eastern part of the country yesterday, leaving at least 50 villagers injured, destroying more than 600 homes and uprooting electric poles, an official said. The tornado struck at least 10 villages at Kosba in Brahmanbaria district, 80km east of the capital, Dhaka, the area's chief administrator Habibur Rahman told reporters. About 1,500 people were left homeless after the tornado struck early yesterday, Rahman said.
■ France
`Non' edges ahead in polls
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