BOMB ATTACK ON SHIITE PARADE KILLS THREE IN PAKISTAN
PESHAWAR: A bomb attack on a Shiite Muslim procession killed three people and wounded more than 50 in northwest Pakistan on Sunday as Shiites marked their holiest day Ashura, police said.

The bomb exploded in the city of Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where a blast on Saturday killed eight people near a Shiite Muslim procession. Pakistan has deployed tens of thousands of police and paramilitary forces to try to avert sectarian clashes or attacks on Ashura processions, when Shiites whip themselves to mourn the seventh-century killing of the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson Imam Hussein.

RECORD NUMBERS FLOCK TO TAKE CHINESE GOVERNMENT TEST
BEIJING: Hundreds of thousands packed out schools and universities across China on Sunday to take the national civil service exam, with record numbers registering in search of a stable government job. More than 1.5 million people registered to take the exam, the Beijing Times reported, a record and over 30 times the number sitting the exam a decade ago. This year test-takers are vying for about 20,000 government vacancies, state television said. The rapid expansion in recent years has been boosted by the perception that government jobs offer added stability and status, test-takers said.

THAI PM FACES NO CONFIDENCE MOTION
BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Sunday faced a no-confidence debate launched by her opponents in parliament, a day after political protests turned violent in Bangkok. Yingluck, who is accused by her rivals of being a puppet for her fugitive brother ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, told reporters she was “confident” her government could defend itself. The debate, which is due to be followed by a no-confidence vote on Wednesday, kicked off a day after riot police clashed with anti-government protesters in Bangkok. AFP