2 Israeli missiles hit near Damascus
The Israeli air force fired two missiles at dawn on Wednesday that hit near Damascus, without causing any casualties, Syrian state television said.
“The air force of the Israeli enemy today launched two missiles from Lebanese air space,” it said, adding that they hit the Sabbura area west of Damascus.
Kashmir rights activist released
AP, Srinagar
Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir have released a prominent human rights activist from prison after a court in the disputed region ruled that his detention under a controversial security law was illegal.
Police freed Khurram Parvez on Wednesday after the court ordered his release five days earlier.
Three miners dead, as tremor hits Poland
Reuters, Warsaw
Rescuers were searching on Wednesday for five missing miners after an earth tremor caused rockfalls deep underground in a copper mine in southwestern Poland, killing three, the mine’s operator KGHM said.
The tremor hit the Rudna copper mine at 2009 GMT on Tuesday, KGHM said, causing extensive damage.
Tornadoes rip through US cities
Reuters, Alabama
At least three people were killed and four children in a daycare center were injured as tornadoes tore through the U.S. south overnight and into Wednesday morning, forecasters said.
Three people were killed in Rosalie in northeast Alabama where at least one tornado was reported by a weather spotter, the National Weather Service reported on its website.
Thousands displaced for China’s telescope
AFP, Pingtang
Humanity’s best bet at detecting aliens is a giant silver Chinese dish the size of 30 football fields-one that simultaneously showcases Beijing’s abilities to deploy cutting-edge technologies and ignore objectors’ rights as it seeks global prominence.
The Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in the country’s southwest, which began operations in September and cost 1.2 billion yuan ($180 million) to build, is the world’s largest radio telescope.
UN to vote on tighter N Korea sanctions
AFP, United Nations
The United Nations is readying tighter sanctions on North Korea that would limit its coal exports to China, in response to Pyongyang’s fifth and biggest nuclear test, US diplomats said Monday.
The resolution, spearheaded by the United States and negotiated with Beijing for three months, should go to a Security Council vote early Wednesday, according to diplomats who expect it will pass.
China concerned by Japan-South Korea pact
Reuters, Beijing
China’s Defence Ministry on Wednesday expressed serious concern about South Korea and Japan signing a military intelligence pact to share sensitive information on the threat posed by North Korea’s missile and nuclear activities.
