India 'test-fires supersonic missile'

NEW DELHI • India has test-fired an indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile off the coast of the eastern state of Odisha, Xinhua news agency reported, citing sources.

"The test-firing of the Advanced Air Defence Missile from a test range on Abdul Kalam Island was to ensure its capability of destroying any incoming ballistic missile mid-air," the sources were quoted as saying of yesterday's exercise.

The 7.5m-long guided missile is fitted with a navigation system, a high-tech computer and an electro-mechanical activator, the sources added, according to Xinhua.

The test-firing was part of India's efforts to develop a full-fledged, multi-layer ballistic missile defence system.

Police kill 2 protesters in Nepal's Charter crisis

KATHMANDU • Police shot and killed two protesters after fresh clashes erupted in Nepal's southern plains as a crisis over a new Constitution deepens.

The clashes broke out late on Saturday in the district of Saptari as protesters armed with batons and home-made tools tried to block a highway in defiance of police orders, district police chief Bhim Dhakal said yesterday.

Demonstrators from the Madhesi ethnic minority, mainly from the southern plains, have been blockading the main Birgunj border crossing to India, protesting against the new Constitution that they say leaves them politically marginalised.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

11 injured in Philippine grenade attack

MANILA • At least 11 people were injured when a grenade exploded in the southern Philippine province of Sultan Kudarat, Xinhua news agency reported, citing local police.

An unidentified suspect hurled a grenade near a petrol station along a highway in Isulan town on Saturday night, the Police Regional Office said yesterday, according to the report.

The authorities have launched an investigation to determine the motive and those behind the attack, Xinhua said.