INDIA: A massive blaze gutted nearly 500 thatched huts in the New Delhi yesterday, but officials said there were no casualties.

Twenty-six fire engines doused the flames that raged for nearly two hours in the south of the city.

It forced thousands of poor people to flee their huts in the slum settlement.

The cause of the fire was being investigated.

PERU: Indigenous protesters have occupied the country’s biggest oilfield in the Amazon jungle near Ecuador to demand the cleanup of decades of contamination from spilled crude.

Argentina-based operator PlusPetrol said the protest forced it to cut back production by more than half.

The protest began on Monday in the field near the Corrientes river where the government last year declared an environmental state of emergency.

NORWAY: The government said yesterday that it won’t officially meet the Dalai Lama when he visits the country next month.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Astrid Versto confirmed that the government had decided against any officials meeting the self-styled Tibetan spiritual leader, who was exiled after leading a failed CIA-backed coup against China, when he visits May 7-9.

China severed diplomatic and economic ties with the country after the Oslo-based Nobel Committee awarded the annual Peace Prize to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo in 2010.

IRAQ: A series of bombs exploded at a Shi’ite group campaign rally in Baghdad yesterday, killing at least five people.

Around 10,000 were at a rally for Shi’ite militant group Asaib Ahl al-Haq at an industrial stadium in eastern Baghdad at the time of the blasts.

Police and medical officials said the blasts killed at least five people and wounded 15. 

Followers of Asaib Ahl al-Haq carried out deadly attacks against US troops before their withdrawal from Iraq in 2011.

BRAZIL: Police fired tear gas yesterday to disperse dozens of angry mourners attending the Rio funeral of dancer Douglas Rafael da Silva Pereira who friends and family say was the victim of police brutality.

After vowing to return home peacefully folloing the funeral, about 20-30 people blocked traffic, prompting police to fire tear gas to move them on.

CHINA: The government has changed its environment law for the first time in 25 years, instituting public oversight of companies and allowing unlimited fines against persistent polluters.

The National People’s Congress passed laws on Thursday requiring local governments to track violators and major polluters to monitor their emissions and to disclose this data to the public.

The amended law also allows nongovernmental organisations which have been dealing with environmental issues for five years to sue heavy polluters.

SOUTH SUDAN: A UN aid convoy was attacked with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenandes, wounding four people, the UN mission said yesterday. 

Thursday’s attack took place on the Nile River as the barges were traveling to the city of Malakal.

The mission said it couldn’t identify the assailants and the military and rebel leaders both denied responsibility. 

CAMBODIA: Almost two dozen factory workers and rights activists went on trial yesterday in connection with labour protests earlier this year that rocked Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government.

Several hundred police blocked the street in front of the court yesterday where the 23 defendants faced charges of instigating violence and damage to property.

About 300 supporters gathered nearby to call for charges to be dropped.

Police broke up the January protests calling for a higher minimum wage, leaving at least four people dead.