■ PAKISTAN
Derailment death toll drops
Railway authorities yesterday lowered the death toll from a massive train derailment to 35, even after two people died of their wounds overnight. State-run Pakistan Railways had previously said at least 45 people were killed in the crash on Wednesday, when an express train came shooting off the rails and tumbled down an embankment. The military had put the death toll at 50. "The final death toll is 35," railways operations director Junaid Qureshi said, explaining the higher preliminary toll had been an estimate. He said around 250 people had been injured, most with minor wounds, and that 35 people were still in hospital -- 10 in critical condition.
■ CAMBODIA
Protest over envoy's remarks
The government has formally complained to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon about his envoy's scathing appraisal of the nation's courts, Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday. Yash Ghai, the UN human rights envoy to Cambodia, ended a 10-day visit last week without obtaining a single meeting with any government officials. Before leaving, Ghai said that the nation's judiciary has failed to provide justice, leaving the population in fear of going to court and threatening the rule of law. "Anyone who supports his report is the vilest person," said Hun Sen, who has vowed never to meet with Ghai.
■ PHILIPPINES
Arroyo frees mutineers
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the early release of 53 military officers involved in a failed mutiny against her four years ago, the armed forces chief said yesterday. The officers were among nearly 300 soldiers who seized a luxury apartment building in the heart of Manila's financial district in one of the country's many failed coup bids. Last month, one of the leaders of the 2003 mutiny took over a luxury hotel in the capital for around six hours in another unsuccessful bid to unseat Arroyo. The head of the military said Arroyo wanted the men, who had pleaded guilty to some offences to get a lighter sentence, to spend Christmas at home. They were scheduled for release on Jan. 27.
■ SRI LANKA
Clashes kill 24 rebels
Fresh clashes across the country's north have left at least 24 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels dead, the defense ministry said yesterday. "At least 24 terrorists were killed during the last 24 hours [ending yesterday morning] in clashes along Mannar, Vavuniya and Jaffna defenses," the ministry said, placing government losses at eight soldiers injured. There was no immediate reaction from the Tamil Tigers who are fighting for autonomy. According to the defense ministry figures, at least 351 rebels have been killed since the start of the month compared to just a tiny number of its troops.
■ AUSTRALIA
Churchill descendent jailed
A great-grandson of British prime minister Winston Churchill was sentenced to three years in jail yesterday for his role in a multimillion dollar drug scheme. Nicholas Jake Barton, 34, pleaded guilty to the charges last month. He was arrested in June last year at his Sydney apartment following a three-month undercover police investigation. Police found about 250,000 ecstasy tablets and drug-making supplies during the raids. Barton's sentence was backdated to the time of his arrest and he will be eligible for parole in February.
■ UNITED STATES
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