NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

NEWS BRIEFS.....TAIWAN/ A rare tornado churned through Sindian District of New Taipei City yesterday, the Central Weather Bureau in Taiwan said. The tornado lasted about 2 minutes and hurled objects in its path into the air in downtown Xindian, including some trees. A van was lifted from the ground and smashed a motorcycle when it fell. No casualties were reported.....SPAIN/ The earthquake-stricken Spanish town of Lorca has held a funeral Mass for victims of Wednesday's disaster. Officials now say that 9 people were killed when a magnitude-5.1 quake struck the town, just 2 hours after one measuring 4.4. The Mayor of Lorca said 80% of buildings, in the town of 93,000, suffered some damage.....PAKISTAN/ Twin bomb attacks on a paramilitary force academy in north-west Pakistan have killed 80 people today. At least 120 people were wounded in the blasts at the training centre for the Frontier Constabulary in Shabqadar, Charsadda district. The Pakistani Taliban said they carried out the attack to avenge the death of Osama Bin Laden.....WASHINGTON DC/ In what is being hailed as a breakthrough in HIV prevention, a new study has shown that giving antiretroviral drugs to HIV-positive people can reduce transmission of the virus to partners by 96%, US researchers said Thursday. The results, announced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, represent the 2st large clinical trial to confirm those suggestions, and they showed that the drugs are unexpectedly effective.....LOUISIANA/ US engineers are preparing to flood up to 3 million acres in southern Louisiana in a bid to protect large cities along the Mississippi River. The Army Corps of Engineers said it could open a floodway to divert water from the river this weekend. Opening the Morganza Floodway would ease pressure on levees protecting the cities of Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The Mississippi River has risen to levels not seen in decades this year.