Twenty-six killed after bus carrying female students overturns in Iran - Irish Independent

Twenty-six people were killed when a bus carrying female students overturned in south-western Iran, state radio reported yesterday.

Senior police official Colonel Mohammad Reza Mehmandar said that the driver lost control of the vehicle because of high speed in rainy weather. Nineteen other people were brought to hospital for treatment.

Girl shot by Taliban 'responding well'

A 15-year-old schoolgirl who was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman in Pakistan is continuing to respond well to treatment, the hospital caring for her said yesterday.

Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital said Malala Yousafzai "is stable, comfortable and responding well".

Doctors at the hospital have said the bullet, which struck the teenager just above her left eye, had grazed the edge of her brain.

Israeli troops divert Gaza-bound ship

ISRAELI troops yesterday commandeered a Gaza-bound ship that tried to break through Israel's blockade of the Hamas-ruled seaside strip, the military said. European lawmakers and other pro-Palestinian activists aboard did not resist, and the Finnish-flagged vessel was diverted to an Israeli port.

The trip by the ship, Estelle, marked the latest challenge to the air, land and sea embargo of Gaza that Israel imposed after the Islamic militant Hamas group seized the territory in 2007. Israeli officials say they need the blockade to prevent weapons smuggling.

Baghdad bombs and shootings kill 17

BACK-TO-BACK bomb blasts in a crowded Baghdad market near a revered Shiite shrine and a string of shootings targeting government officials killed at least 17 people yesterday.

The bombings, which happened within a minute of each other, appeared to be aimed at Iraq's Shiites, a frequent target of Sunni insurgents. The blasts struck about 500 metres from a shrine where two revered imams are buried. The attacks came as shoppers were buying clothes in anticipation of Eid al-Adha, which starts in a week.

Gaddafi's ex-spokesman is captured

THE Libyan government last night announced the capture of Muammar Gaddafi's ex-spokesman as the North African nation marked the anniversary of the dictator's death.

The statement by the prime minister's office said Moussa Ibrahim, the international face of the regime in its final months, was captured as he was fleeing Bani Walid.

Officer and cook poison colleagues

An Afghan police officer and cook poisoned their colleagues in an assault co-ordinated with rebel fighters which left six dead, officials said yesterday.

It was the latest in a string of attacks from inside the Afghan army and police force that are threatening to undermine both the partnership with international troops and the morale of Afghan forces.

Police hospitalised after rescue bid

SIX British police officers were treated in hospital after diving into a river in Bristol in a bid to rescue five occupants of a car that had crashed into the water.

One woman inside the car died in the incident, and a man and woman have been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

Oldest computer finally rebooted

The world's oldest computer has been rebooted by two engineers who have spent nine years bringing it back to life.

Roger Holmes and Rod Brown have returned the ICT1301 computer -- known as a Flossie -- which was originally bought in 1962, back to full working order.

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