Iraq

Al-Qaida claims prison raids

Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for simultaneous raids on two Iraqi prisons and said more than 500 inmates had been set free, in a statement posted on militant forums on Tuesday. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which was formed earlier this year through a merger between al-Qaida's affiliates in Syria and Iraq, said it had carried out the attacks.

India

28 dead in road accidents

Two road accidents have killed at least 28 people in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, police said on Tuesday. A bus plunged off a bridge into a lake in Hassan district on Tuesday, killing at least 10 people, said state Inspector General of Police Ramachandra Rao. Eighteen people were killed late on Monday when a minivan and a bus collided near the town of Bijapur 520 km from Bangalore, a police officer said.

Myanmar

Govt frees 70 prisoners

Myanmar has agreed to release around 70 political prisoners, an official said on Tuesday, after President Thein Sein vowed to free all dissidents by the end of the year. Last week Thein Sein said there would be "no prisoners of conscience in Myanmar" during a speech in London.

Thailand

19 dead after bus collision

Nineteen people died and 23 were injured on Tuesday when a double-decker coach collided with a truck in central Thailand and burst into flames, authorities said. Police in the central province of Saraburi said a 4-year-old boy was among the dead.

The Netherlands

Extradition of suspect blocked

A Dutch court on Tuesday blocked the extradition of a Dutch-Pakistani al-Qaida suspect to the United States, saying there were unanswered questions about the US role in his alleged torture in Pakistan. The man, identified as Sabir K., is accused in the US of planning to commit acts of terror including a suicide attack on a US military base in Afghanistan's Kunar province in 2010.

China

Experts receive Russian award

Zhang Baichun, a professor at Beijing Normal University, and Xing Guangcheng, an expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, were awarded Russia's Medal of Pushkin in Beijing on Tuesday. Russian Ambassador to China Andrei Denisov expressed thanks to the Russian studies specialists for their contribution to Russian language and China-Russia cultural exchanges.

Reuters-AFP-China Daily

(China Daily 07/24/2013 page12)