Floods push death toll to 175 in S. Asia: Monsoon rains sent

Floods push death toll to 175 in S. Asia: Monsoon rains sent swollen rivers surging through their banks Wednesday, flooding thousands of villages in Bangladesh, Nepal and India and triggering deadly mudslides. More than 2 million were displaced in Bangladesh, and the death toll for the region rose to 175. -- AP

Arroyo appoints new foreign secretary: Opposition Sen. Blas Ople was named Philippine foreign secretary on Wednesday by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, giving her administration another boost in the upper house of Congress that only days ago was evenly split. To become foreign secretary, Ople must give up his Senate seat, further thinning the opposition ranks in that chamber. He replaces Vice President Teofisto Guingona, who gave up the second job July 12 in a dispute with Arroyo over a U.S. counterterrorism exercise. --AP

European Patent Office bars human cloning in patent: The European Patent Office said on Wednesday it had added restrictions to a controversial patent granted in 1999 so that it could not be used to clone humans, a ruling limiting biotech research in Europe. The Munich-based office said it had revised the patent it granted to Edinburgh University, Scotland, in December 1999 on altering animal cells after objections from 14 parties. --Reuters

Sri Lanka prime minister meets Bush: Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday met President George W. Bush at the White House, with the battle against terrorism topping the agenda of the highest-level talks between the two sides since 1984. The United States has provided staunch support for the Norwegian-mediated peace process between the government in Colombo and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) aimed at ending a brutal 20-year insurgency. -- AFP

Iran detains 80 after protest turns to riot: Iranian police are detaining 80 demonstrators in the northeastern province of Khorasan after a legal protest against its reorganization was marred by rioting, a Tehran daily said on Wednesday. A total of 100 people were arrested after Monday's demonstration in the town of Quchan, but 20 of them were later released without charge. -- AFP