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