Bomber kills 22 in attack on President

ALGIERS A bomber killed 22 people and wounded 107 in an assassination attempt against President Bouteflika in northeast Algeria, according to state radio. The explosion killed and wounded people in a crowd awaiting a visit by the President in the centre of Batna.

The attacker, who has not been identified, was discovered by the crowd and triggered the blast before the presidential party arrived. It is not known if he died. The President has promised to stay in the region and attend the funerals of the victims.

The bombing comes after three other attacks this year that killed at least 43 people, for which an al-Qaeda offshoot has claimed responsibility. ( AFP)

Deadly engagement

BUJUMBURA Sixteen people died when a grenade exploded during an engagement party in eastern Burundi. An army spokesman said that the fiancée’s brother was carrying the grenade, but it was not known if he set it off deliberately. ( AFP)

House dissolved

WARSAW Poland’s parliament has dissolved itself, triggering an early election that the Government has sought in an effort to end long-running political turbulence. The constitution requires an election to be held by October 21. (AP)

Migrants drown

MADRID Spanish rescuers found the bodies of ten North African immigrants who drowned after leaping from their capsizing boat a few yards from shore at Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. Four others were rescued. ( AP)

Smuggled ‘slaves’

NEWARK Two men and a woman were charged with smuggling 20 girls and young women from Togo and forcing them to work in New Jersey hair-braiding salons without pay. An investigator said: “This is a case of modern-day slavery.” (AP)

Blow to monarchy

KATHMANDU Nepal’s biggest political party dealt a blow to the embattled monarchy by saying it wanted the kingdom to be a republic. The news came as the unpopular Crown Prince Paras, 36, was in hospital after having a heart attack. (AFP)

Radiation alert

PARIS Five cancer patients have died from excess radiation doses given to more than 700 people since 1989. France’s Health Minister told 4,500 former patients of a hospital in eastern Epinal to contact authorities for advice. (Reuters)

Police in rape trial

PARIS Seven former riot police went on trial charged with gang-raping prostitutes over two years. According to prosecutors, the officers promised the women, many of them illegal immigrants, they would turn a blind eye in return for sexual favours. (AFP)

No entry

MOSCOW A trendy housing complex has banned Russian cars because they are noisy and polluting. The website for the Golden Keys complex, Moscow, says: “Don’t park such vehicles in the street, put them in the underground parking.” (AFP)

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