World news: Suspected cholera outbreak kills 135 across central Haiti

A SUSPECTED outbreak of cholera has killed at least 135 people in central Haiti.

The director-general of the health department, Dr Gabriel Thimote, said he was awaiting laboratory test results to confirm cholera was the cause. The victims suffered diarrhoea, acute fever and vomiting.

More than 1500 people were infected, officials said.

The outbreak is centred in the Artibonite and Central Plateau regions, north of the capital Port-au-Prince.

Cholera is an intestinal infection caused by a bacteria transmitted through contaminated water or food. It causes diarrhoea and vomiting leading to severe dehydration, and can kill quickly if left untreated. It is easily treated through rehydration and antibiotics, however.

Health minister Alex Larsen also said he believed it was cholera.

Dr Thimote said the worst-affected areas were Douin, Marchand Dessalines and areas around Saint-Marc and that hospitals were "overwhelmed".

At one point, hundreds of people lay in the car park of St Nicholas hospital in Saint-Marc, with intravenous drips in their arms to treat dehydration, until it began to rain and they were rushed inside.

President, 82, seeks re-election

Egypt's 82-year-old president Hosni Mubarak is set to seek another six-year term of office despite recent health troubles and speculation he's grooming his son for power. With nearly 30 years in office, he is already Egypt's longest serving ruler in nearly two centuries.

China activist sent to prison

A CHINESE labour activist who followed the teachings of revolutionary leader Mao Zedong has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Zhao Dongmin was found guilty of disrupting public order for trying to set up a corruption watchdog group to monitor state-owned enterprises.

US aids fight on extremists

US SECRETARY of State Hillary Clinton was today unveiling a new multi-billion-dollar military aid package for Pakistan to step up the fight against extremists there and in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The five-year package comes as a roadside bomb today killed six soldiers in a Pakistani tribal region where the military had declared victory over Islamist insurgents.

The blast hit a vehicle carrying the Frontier Corps paramilitary troops in the Orakzai tribal region.

Police launched an investigation after discovering that a Southern California woman drove around for months with a homeless woman's mummified body in her passenger seat.

The driver told police she let the homeless woman sleep in her car and one morning found she had died inside.

Taiwan: Helicopters were today dispatched to rescue 400 tourists trapped on a coastal highway by massive rockslides unleashed by the torrential rains of Typhoon Megi.

The storm has dumped a record 42 inches of rain in north-east Taiwan.

Japan: Two mass graves that may hold the remains of thousands of Japanese soldiers have been found on the island of Iwo Jima, one of the bloodiest battle sites of the Second World War.