KHARTOUM, July 4:  A battle between rival Sudanese clans near an oil-drilling site killed 150 people and wounded 100 more, state-linked media has reported.
The fighting in West Kordofan state between two sub-groups of the Misseriya tribe “continued all day because of a land dispute near the oil field,” said Mohammed Omer Al-Ansari, a tribal leader.
He was quoted by the Sudanese Media Centre, which is close to the security apparatus.
The report did not say on which day the battle occurred, but it comes about one month after the same groups, the Zurug and Awlad Amran clans of the Misseriya, clashed in that area.
A tribal source said in early June that at least 41 people died when the two sides fought with Kalashnikov assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.
The combat broke out as each group claimed ownership of a plot of land where drilling for oil is under way, a witness to the earlier fighting said. (AGENCIES)

QUETTA, July 4:  More than 800 bodies have been found in different parts of the troubled Balochistan province of southwestern Pakistan in the last three and half years, a media report said.
According to a report in ‘Dawn’ newspaper, the bodies were found mainly in Quetta, Khuzdar and Makran belt.
The report quoting sources in the Balochistan Home and Tribal Affairs Department said that 466 victims were identified as ethnic Baloch, 123 as Pashtuns, and 107 from other ethnicities and 107 bodies remained unidentified.
The report which is sure to stir up civil and human rights activists said that of the 466 Baloch killed in the province, most were political workers while the remaining were killed in incidents of targeted killings, tribal disputes, domestic violence etc.
“This is an alarming situation,” veteran Baloch nationalist leader, Hayee Baloch said.
He insisted that Baloch political workers were still being picked up from various parts of the province to suppress their voice.
The mineral rich province has been hit hard by insurgency by separatists and militants in the last few years while sectarian violence has also claimed many lives mostly of ethnic Hazara Shia muslims.
According to a rough estimate thousands have been killed in bomb attacks, targeted killings and other violence in different parts of the province.
The recovery of mutilated bodies had started in 2009 and since than dead bodies have been recovered at regular intervals from different parts of the province, the report said.
Baloch said the ruling governments had failed to deal with the grievances of the Baloch people.
According to details most of the recovered dead bodies were buried by the Edhi trust foundation and apparently the administration has also tried to ensure the recovery of such bodies is not publicised much.
The report said that militants had also intensified their attacks against vital national installations in the province with gas installations hit 65 times and carried over 100 bomb attacks.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has already expressed concerned voice over the increasing number of dead bodies being found in the province.
Shamsul Mulk Mandokhail, an activist of HRCP Balochistan Chapter said the government needed to probe into these deaths.
In Balochistan, both state and non-state actors are being accused of severe human rights violations. (PTI)

WASHINGTON, July 4:  US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have stressed that Russia should take immediate steps to de-escalate the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the White House has said.
Obama and Merkel had a telephonic conversation to consult about the situation in eastern Ukraine.
“The leaders expressed their support for diplomatic efforts to pursue a sustainable ceasefire that would be respected by the separatists and fully supported by Russia,” the White House said yesterday.
“They stressed that Russia must take immediate steps to de-escalate the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The President and the Chancellor agreed that the United States and Europe should take further coordinated measures to impose costs on Russia if it does not take steps toward de-escalation in short order.
“The President and Chancellor also discussed the ongoing P5+1 negotiations with Iran and the need for Iran to take advantage of this opportunity to demonstrate that their nuclear program is peaceful,” the telephonic conversation between two leaders said.
Earlier in the day Vice President Joe Biden spoke with the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to discuss the latest situation in eastern Ukraine and diplomatic efforts to pursue a sustainable ceasefire that would be respected by the separatists and fully supported by Russia and would allow for the implementation of the peace plan laid out in Poroshenko’s inaugural address.
“The Vice President underscored that the United States remained focused on Russia’s actions, not its words.
The Vice President noted the United States is prepared to impose further costs on Russia if it fails to withdraw its ongoing support for the separatists, including the provision of heavy weapons and materiel across the border,” the White House said. (PTI)

TEGUCIGALPA, July 4:  A cave-in at an unlicensed gold mine in Honduras has trapped at least 11 miners, officials said.
The workers are stuck at a depth of 80 metres (260 feet) in the southern town of El Corpus, said Oscar Triminio, a spokesman for the fire brigade in the Honduran capital.
Rescuers cannot use machinery to try to get to the miners because the earth at the mine is unstable. So crews are working with their hands, he said.
Earlier this year one person died and another was injured at a cave-in at the same mine, Triminio said. (AGENCIES)