Plane hits house in US, 4 killed

Gearhart (Oregon), Aug. 5: A small plane crashed into a seaside house in heavy fog, killing two people aboard and two children in the vacation home it struck, authorities have said.

A third child was unaccounted for after the crash, which apparently occurred soon after the plane took off in northwest Oregon, on the US West Coast on Monday.

The single-engine plane clipped a tree and then plowed into the house, followed by explosions.

—AP

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Bakhtawar Bhutto to join politics

By OUR PAKISTAN CORRESPONDENT

Islamabad

Aug. 5: Ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Asif Ali Zardari has decided to bring his daughter Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari in active politics, the party sources said.

"Bakhtawar will be given an important assignment in the party’s women wing. She will start her political career from this platform and then she can go on like her mother (former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto)," a party leader said.

Mr Zardari has held consultations with the women workers of the party in this regard.

"After consultations with senior women leaders, he decided to assign important responsibilities to Bakhtawar," the PPP leader added.

"Mr Zardari will make announcement about Bakhtawar’s participation in the politics soon," he said.

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5 Indians held for overstay in Indonesia

Jayapura, Aug. 5: The Immigration office in Jayapura, the capital of Papuan province, detained five Indian nationals for overstaying in Indonesia.

Local immigration chief Maman Budiman said that the five Indian nationals were captured by the police while they were in Semeru Hotel of Sentani, here on Monday. Based on the result of investigation, the visa of the five Indians expired 30 days ago. But they forgot to have it extended at the Indian embassy. —Antara

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Mugabe asked to stay away from Games

Sydney, Aug. 5: Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe will not attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics because he was told by China’s Communist Party to stay away, the Sydney Morning Herald daily reported on Tuesday.

Citing sources, the paper said "high-powered lobbying from political leaders who will be attending the ceremony prompted the highest levels of the Chinese government to convince him not to attend". Mr Mugabe came to Hong Kong and was then told he would not be welcome. —DPA

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Hotel puts man on hold for 6 hours

Melbourne, Aug. 5: When Kym Illman received a call for a hotel to confirm his restaurant reservations the last thing he expected was to be put on hold for six long hours! The Grand Hyatt Hotel Singapore had returned Mr Illman’s call to confirm restaurant reservations and placed the Perth-based businessman on hold while investigating a query about room reservations.

"Ten minutes of classical on hold music later, I began to wonder if she’d forgotten me," couriermail.com.au quoted Mr Illman.

—ANI