A roundup of today's other world news in brief
Bank robbers drug guards in Iraqi heist
BAGHDAD– Thieves stole more than six billion Iraqi dinars (€4.5 million) from a bank near the Iraqi city of Najaf yesterday after a police officer drugged fellow bank guards, according to police and government officials.
The robbery took place at dawn at the state-run Al-Rafidain bank in the town of al-Mishkhab, about 20 miles south of Najaf.
A policeman who was guarding the bank offered cups of tea laced with sleeping medication to four guards at the bank, knocking them out for the night, according to local police and a bank official. – (AP)
Volcano erupts in Ecuador
QUITO– Ecuadorean villagers fled their homes after the Andean nation's "Throat of Fire" volcano erupted yesterday, spewing columns of ash that forced officials to reroute some flights, authorities said.
In the second volcanic eruption in Latin America yesterday, loud explosions shook the ground and rattled windows near the volcano known as Tungurahua, 130 km (81 miles) southeast of Quito, officials said. – (Reuters)
Afghan death toll for US hits 1,000
WASHINGTON– US military deaths in Afghanistan reached 1,000 yesterday, with more casualties expected in a summer offensive against the Taliban.
The grim milestone was reached in a roadside bombing just before the Memorial Day weekend, when America honours the dead in all its wars. Already the new focus on the once-forgotten Afghan war has come at a heavy price. More than 430 of the US dead have been killed since president Barack Obama took office in January 2009. – (AP)