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| March 11, 2008 | Tuesday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 2, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
US drops China from list of top human rights abusers WASHINGTON, March 11, (AFP) - The US dropped China from its list of the world's worst human rights violators, but added Syria, Uzbekistan and Sudan to the alleged offenders in an annual report released Tuesday. The State Department's 2007 Human Rights Report showed China, which has raised hopes it will improve human rights by hosting the 2008 Olympics, had parted company with countries like North Korea, Myanmar and Iran. No reason was given for removing China -- which has been a key partner in talks with Washington to denuclearize North Korea -- from the list but the new report said China's “overall human rights record remained poor” in 2007. (Posted @ 23:10 PST)
UN chief slams Pakistan truck bombings UNITED NATIONS, March 11, (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday strongly condemned “indiscriminate acts of terrorism” in Pakistan, referring to the suicide bombings that killed 26 people in Lahore. “The secretary general strongly condemns these indiscriminate acts of terrorism,” his press office said in a statement. (Posted @ 22:54 PST)
Asma Jahangir meets India Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray Mumbai, March 11 (PPI): Visiting Chairperson of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Asma Jahangir Tuesday said Indian Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray had declared he did not provoke anyone, but only reacted when he was provoked. After a meeting with Thackeray, Asma said, “It was a meeting to understand, what manifesto of his party was and his views about religion. Thackeray said he did not provoke anyone but only reacted when he was provoked.” (Posted @ 22:36 PST)
Eight die, 16 injured in Punjab road mishap ABDUL HAKIM, Punjab, March 11 (PPI): Eight devotees going to a shrine died and 16 others were injured in a bus-truck collision at 14 Pul Jhang on Tuesday morning. A bus taking devotees to Sakhi Sarwar shrine collided with a trailer while overtaking it. Eight persons died while another 16 were injured, some of them seriously. (Posted @ 21:12 PST)
Pakistan buries cricket fan killed in India ISLAMABAD, March 11 (Reuters): A Pakistani man who lost his passport in India while there to watch cricket in 2005 was buried on Tuesday a day after his body was sent home from India where he had been imprisoned as a spy, his brother said. Khalid Mahmood died in an Indian prison on Feb. 12 but his family in Pakistan was only informed of his death on March 4, the family said. March 4 was the same day Pakistani authorities released an Indian spy, Kashmir Singh, who spent 35 years on death row in Pakistan on spying charges but was released after President Musharraf accepted his mercy plea. “He had gone to India to watch a match in early 2005 where he lost his passport and ended up in an Indian jail on spying charges,” Mahmood's brother told Reuters. He said Indian authorities had not said how his brother died. But said his brother's body bore signs of torture. A Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman said India never informed Pakistan about Mahmood's arrest until he died. (Posted @ 21:08 PST)
Pakistani border guards seize weapons, munitions near Afghan border CHAMAN, March 11 (AP): Pakistani border guards seized weapons and ammunition from a car that crossed over from a militant-infested region of Afghanistan. The guards seized 13 rocket shells, four rifles, two pistols and more than 100 machine gun rounds from a car Tuesday near the Pakistani town of Chaman, said an official. No one was arrested while two men in the car fled. (Posted @ 21:06 PST)
Disasters killed 20,000 in 2007: study ZURICH, March 11 (AFP): Natural and man-made disasters killed 20,000 people in 2007 and cost the world economy more than $70 billion, reinsurer Swiss Re said Tuesday. The world was hit by 142 natural catastrophes and 192 man-made disasters in 2007, the company said in a report, with most deaths in Bangladesh, India, China and Pakistan as a result of heavy flooding and cyclones, the report said. The statistics “confirm a trend towards an increase in the number and cost of natural catastrophes and man-made disasters,” Swiss Re said. Industrial fires, explosions and aviation and spacecraft losses topped the list of man-made disasters, which in total claimed 6,900 lives in 2007. (Posted @ 21:04 PST)
Afghan extremist-linked unrest kills 21 KABUL, March 11 (AFP): Afghan security forces operations killed 19 Taliban militants in separate incidents, officials said Tuesday, while a soldier and a policeman died in extremist ambushes. Ten rebels were killed Monday when police carried out a sweep of Taliban areas in the southcentral province of Uruzgan, police said. Militants meanwhile ambushed a police convoy on patrol in the southwestern province of Farah late Monday, initiating a firefight which killed a police commander and five Taliban militants, another provincial police chief said. (Posted @ 21:02 PST)
Turkish court raises new obstacle to headscarf ANKARA, March 11 (Reuters): A top Turkish court raised a fresh obstacle on Tuesday to government efforts to lift a ban on female students wearing the headscarf at university. The Danistay, or top administrative court, ruled that YOK, the body that supervises Turkish higher education, overstepped its authority by saying universities could let women students wearing the headscarf onto campuses after parliament voted last month in favour of constitutional amendments easing the ban. Secularists say the ban remains intact while the Constitutional Court weighs an appeal from Turkey's main opposition party, the CHP, to reject the amendments. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's ruling centre-right AK Party says the headscarf is a matter of individual religious freedom. (Posted @ 21:00 PST)
Hundreds flee, several dead in Kenya army offensive CHEPTAIS, March 11 (Reuters): Hundreds of Kenyans fled the remote Mount Elgon region on Tuesday and several people have been killed as army helicopters attacked a small rebel militia for the second day, witnesses and a legislator said. A Reuters witness saw at least 300 people escaping the area, as hundreds of heavily-armed soldiers poured into the forest to flush out the little-known Sabaot Land Defence Force (SLDF). (Posted @ 20:58 PST)
Nearly 9 million Ethiopians to need food aid in '08 ADDIS ABABA, March 11 (Reuters): Nearly nine million people in Ethiopia's pastoral regions will need food aid this year despite a projected bumper harvest for 2007/08, a U.S.-funded research group said Tuesday. “About eight million chronically food insecure people and an additional 952,503 acutely food insecure people in Ethiopia will require food or cash assistance in 2008,” said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net) in a report. (Posted @ 20:32 PST)
Palestine 'open for business,' says Blair RAMALLAH, West Bank, March 11 (AFP): International Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair on Tuesday urged investors to attend a West Bank conference in May, saying Palestine is “open for business.” The conference is an “opportunity for us to show that Palestine is actually open for business,” Blair said at a press conference with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. “The world is invited,” said Fayyad. “From the depths of all this misery, we Palestinians are determined to authorise and to build a state despite all obstacles,” he added. The May 21-23 conference in the West Bank town of Bethlehem is aimed at drawing investment to the Palestinian territories. (Posted @ 19:54 PST)
African troops arrive in Comoros FOMBONI, Comoros, March 11 (AFP): Tanzanian and Senegalese troops have started arriving in Moroni to assist Comoran federal troops preparing to recapture the rebel island of Anjouan, officials told AFP Tuesday. Army Chief Mohamed Amiri Salimou told AFP. “As soon as all the African troops have gathered, they will be transported to Moheli,” the smallest of the Comoros' three islands, where federal troops are currently preparing for a possible assault against the rebels. (Posted @ 19:44 PST)
Gunmen kill three people at Lahore railway station LAHORE, March 11: A local TV channel reported that at least three people were killed at Lahore railway station when armed men fired at a train on Platform Number 4. The railway station is usually crowded as it is a busy hub. There was panic among the people as the gunmen opened fire. The gunmen then disappeared in the melee. (Posted @ 19:34 PST)
Twenty-seven Chinese miners missing in two accidents BEIJING, March 11 (Reuters): At least 27 miners are missing in two colliery accidents which had initially been covered up by mine owners in northeast China, the official Xinhua news agency said Tuesday. Fourteen miners were missing after the Jianbao coal mine in Jixi city, Heilongjiang province, caved in on Feb. 28, but the mine manager told provincial authorities that only two miners were trapped underground, Xinhua said.The Jixi city government and the provincial work safety bureau launched an investigation after receiving tip-offs several days after the accident. (Posted @ 19:16 PST)
Iraq suicide bomber kills at least eight BAGHDAD, March 11 (AFP): At least eight people were killed as a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car against a checkpoint manned by Iraqi soldiers and a local group fighting Al-Qaeda in a town north of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said. (Posted @ 18:50 PST)
Ex-US President Bush arrives in South Korea; media speculate possible trip to N.Korea SEOUL, March 11 (AP): Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush arrived in South Korea for a three-day visit Tuesday, an official said, amid media speculation he may go to North Korea to try to break an impasse over Pyongyang's nuclear programs. Bush arrived on South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju, a foreign ministry official said, but declined to give more details. (Posted @ 18:45 PST)
Myanmar rejects Bangladesh request for gas DHAKA, March 11 (AFP): Myanmar has rejected a Bangladesh request to sell it gas to help the country meet its growing energy crisis, saying India and China are its top priorities, a senior Dhaka official said Tuesday. Bangladesh's foreign secretary made the request during a visit to Myanmar last month, the deputy energy minister said. “They said they would sell their gas to India and China but cannot export gas to Bangladesh at the moment. Myanmar would consider selling gas to Bangladesh only after new discoveries are made,” he said. (Posted @ 18:44 PST)
Bangladesh to tour Pakistan after Australia pull out KARACHI, March 11 (AFP): Bangladesh said Tuesday they would tour Pakistan next month after world champions Australia postponed a cricket series there over security fears. “We have accepted Pakistan's proposal to play five one-day matches and a Twenty20 match in Pakistan in April,” Bangladesh Cricket Board official Gazi Ashaf Hossain Lipu confirmed in Dhaka. “We will meet soon to fix the dates and venues of the matches.” (First Posted @ 14:45 PST Updated @ 18:20 PST)
Roadside bomb kills at least 16 in southern Iraq BAGHDAD, March 11 (AP): A roadside bomb hit a bus in southern Iraq on Tuesday killing at least 16 civilians on board, police said. The bus was traveling from Basra to Nasiriyah, according to a Nasiriyah policeman. At least 22 others were wounded in the attack that took place about 80 kilometers south of Nasiriyah, which is 320 kilometers southeast of Baghdad. (Posted @ 18:04 PST)
40 rebels, 5 soldiers killed in Sri Lanka fighting: military COLOMBO, March 11 (AP): Troops launched a pre-dawn attack Tuesday in northern Sri Lanka, killing four Tamil rebels as fighting killed another 36 rebels and five soldiers, the military said. In the battle in Mannar early Tuesday, troops forced a confrontation that killed four rebels. A battle on Monday killed 26 insurgents and one soldier, the military said. Other battles killed four soldiers and 10 rebels, the military said. The Tamil Tigers spokesman did not answer calls seeking comment. (Posted @ 17:45 PST)
Nepal's monarchists launch drive to save king KATHMANDU, March 11 (AFP): Pro-monarchists in Nepal launched an election manifesto Tuesday ahead of April 10 polls vowing to save the embattled monarchy from abolition by holding a referendum. “Parliamentary democracy with constitutional monarchy is the only reliable alternative for Nepal,” said Kamal Thapa, chairman of the Rastriya Prajantantra Party-Nepal (RPP-Nepal) at the launch of its manifesto. (Posted @ 17:35 PST)
War-era bomb kills two Vietnamese: state media HANOI, March 11 (AFP): Two Vietnamese men were killed when a bomb left over from the war exploded while they were digging up a garden in a construction site, state media reported Tuesday. “The two victims were torn into pieces,”a local resident told AFP, adding that the house under construction was totally demolished by the blast. Military officials confirmed the accident occurred when a bomb from the Vietnam war exploded. According to the Public Security Ministry, explosives left over from the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975, have killed more than 38,000 Vietnamese and injured 100,000 others. (Posted @ 17:05 PST)
India conducts night raids to contain bird flu NEW DELHI, March 11 (Reuters): Authorities in India's east battling to contain a fresh outbreak of bird flu said they were raiding farms at night to catch chickens and ducks and counter unwilling villagers who have refused to hand over poultry. Only a month after authorities in West Bengal declared that bird flu was under control, a fresh outbreak was reported from the state's Murshidabad district. where 900 backyard poultry died over the last two weeks. Experts fear the H5N1 strain could mutate into a form easily transmitted from person to person, leading to a pandemic that could kill millions worldwide. (Posted @ 16:50 PST)
Oil prices reach record high $109.20 LONDON, March 11 (AFP): Oil prices struck a record high of 109.20 dollars per barrel on Tuesday after the dollar hit a fresh all-time low against the euro, traders said. The euro reached a record high of 1.5495 in European trading. A weaker US currency increases demand for dollar-denominated oil as it becomes cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies. (First Posted @ 14:35 PST, Updated @ 16:50 PST)
Georgia could lose rebel regions: Russia NATO envoy MOSCOW, March 11 (Reuters): Georgia's Moscow-backed breakaway regions will start the process of “real secession” if NATO gives Georgia a signal it can join the alliance, Russia's ambassador to NATO said on Tuesday. “As soon as Georgia gets some kind of prospect from Washington of NATO membership, the next day the process of real secession of these two territories (Abkhazia and South Ossetia) from Georgia will begin,” Dmitry Rogozin told Reuters. (Posted @ 16:05 PST)
Four people killed in 50-vehicle accident in UAE DUBAI, March 11 (AP): At least four people were killed and dozens more injured in a massive traffic accident on Tuesday on a highway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, police said. The accident involved more than 50 vehicles, said Abu Dhabi officials. Police said thick fog caused the accident, which took place during rush hour on the highway between the Emirates' two main cities. Authorities cordoned off the accident site, backing up traffic for miles, the officials added. (Posted @ 15:50 PST)
Afghan city on strike over crime HERAT, March 11 (AFP): Scores of shopkeepers shut their businesses in Afghanistan's western city of Herat Tuesday to join hundreds of health and factory workers in a strike to demand better protection from crime. A team appointed by President Hamid Karzai meanwhile arrived in the busy commercial centre near the border with Iran to investigate criminal incidents, including kidnappings for ransom and murder that have aroused public anger. Police kill 4 suspected criminals: Police backed by NATO-led troops killed four suspected criminals in western Afghanistan after a spate of kidnappings and robberies. The forces clashed with suspects in Guzara area of Herat province on Tuesday, said a regional police spokesman. The operation also netted 15 other people suspected of involvement in criminal activities, he said. (Posted @ 15:35 PST)
Mozambique cyclone toll rises to 16 MAPUTO, March 11 (AFP): A cyclone that has battered the coastal areas of northern and central Mozambique has killed at least 16 people and hundreds more have been injured, rescue services said Tuesday. The deputy director of the national disaster management institute (INGC) told AFP six people were killed by Cyclone Jokwe between Saturday and Sunday in coastal districts of Zambezia province. State radio, quoting the Nampula governor said 10 people had died in his northern province. More than 10,000 houses were destroyed by the cyclone in Zambezia province which hit Mozambique last Saturday. (Posted @ 15:25 PST)
Musharraf convenes Pakistan parliament on March 17 ISLAMABAD, March 11 (Reuters): Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has called for the National Assembly returned by a parliamentary election last month to convene on March 17, state-run television reported on Tuesday. “President Pervez Musharraf has convened the national and provincial assemblies on Monday, March 17,” Pakistan Television reported. (First Posted @ 13:40 PST, Updated @ 14:55 PST)
Cricket: Bangladesh lined up for one-day series in Pakistan KARACHI, March 11 (Reuters): Bangladesh have agreed in principle to play a one-day series in Pakistan next month after Australia postponed their test tour on Tuesday because of security concerns. Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf told a news conference Bangladesh were set to play next month. “The series will be some time in April,” he said, referring to the Bangladesh tour, adding the venues and dates would be worked out in the next few days. (Posted @ 14:45 PST)
Musharraf says NA to convene on March 17 ISLAMABAD, March 11 (Reuters): President Pervez Musharraf has said the National Assembly is to convene on March 17, the state TV reported. (Posted @ 14:39 PST)
Oil back above 108 dollars SINGAPORE, March 11 (AFP): Oil prices were back up above 108 dollars a barrel in Asian trade Tuesday as underlying momentum remained strong because of the weak greenback and supply concerns, dealers said. In late afternoon trade, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for April delivery gained 12 cents to 108.02 dollars a barrel from its record finish of 107.90 dollars in US trading hours Monday. The contract had surged to a new trading high of 108.21 dollars in New York Monday as investors bet on oil prices to continue marching north on expectations the greenback would remain weak. (Posted @ 14:35 PST)
PML-N says Lahore bombings result of Musharraf's policies ISLAMABAD, March 11 (AP): Ahsan Iqbal, spokesman Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) condemned the attacks and blamed military operations ordered by President Musharraf for destabilising regions near the border with Afghanistan. “He has carried out indiscriminate operations in the tribal areas that have opened up new fault lines in Pakistani society,” he said. He reiterated his party's demand that Musharraf resign. “Unless he resigns there will always be a cause for all these groups to carry on these activities,” he said. Pakistan needed to find political and economic solutions to combat militancy and that dialogue was needed with different groups to bring peace. Carrying out military operations “only to appease foreign powers must stop,” Iqbal told Dawn News television. (Posted @ 14:35 PST)
Cricket: No official status for India's IPL, says ICC NEW DELHI, March 11 (AFP) - Runs and wickets at the Indian Premier League's Twenty20 competition will not gain official recognition, cricket's world governing body thenternational Cricket Council (ICC) sid Tuesday as it regards the multi-million-dollar IPL, promoted by the Indian board and featuring top stars from around the world, as a domestic Indian competition, a spokesman said. “The IPL is not international cricket, it is a domestic tournament,” ICC spokesman James Fitzgerald told AFP when asked if players' performances will gain official recognition. (Posted @ 13:30 PST)
Israel agrees not to hit Gaza if attacks halted JERUSALEM, March 11 (AFP) - Israel has agreed not to launch new strikes on the Gaza Strip if Palestinian militants in the Hamas-run territory stop firing rockets, a senior defence official told AFP on Tuesday. The conditional deal was reached with Egypt, which is acting as mediator in efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire. (Posted @ 12:50 PST)
Endeavour blasts into space carrying Japanese lab to space station CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida, March 11 (AFP) - Space shuttle Endeavour soared into space Tuesday, carrying Japan's first space lab to the International Space Station to join US, Russian and European facilities there. (Posted @ 12:00 PST)
Cricket: Australia hopes postponed Pakistan tour to proceed 'in near future’ MELBOURNE, March 11 (AFP) - Australian cricket chiefs on Tuesday said they had postponed a tour to Pakistan but hoped it could proceed “in the near future”. “We wish no loss to Pakistan Cricket Board and look forward to undertaking this tour in the near future,” Cricket Australia chairman Creagh O'Connor said in a statement. “We are very sorry that the tour could not take place at this time,” he said. “This was a difficult decision based on independent review of the circumstances prevailing in Pakistan at the moment.” CA and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in the statement that officials from both countries would meet in Dubai next weekend to discuss possible dates for the deferred tour. CA chief executive James Sutherland told reporters in Melbourne that there were “a couple of windows” in 2009 and 2010 when the tour may be able to proceed in Pakistan. PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf expressed disappointment at the decision. “We are obviously very disappointed at this decision,” he said in the statement. “I guess there is not much we could do and sincerely hope that the tour of Australia to Pakistan can materialise at the earliest opportunity.” (Posted @ 12:00 PST)
At least 20 killed in two blasts in Lahore LAHORE, Pakistan, March 11 (Agencies) - Two bombs exploded in the city of Lahore, capital of Punjab province, Tuesday morning, killing at least 20 people and injuring up to 100 others, police and officials said. One of the bombs went off at about 9.25 a.m. outside the city-centre Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), badly damaging the four-storey building and nearby buildings on the busy Mall Road. Reports said 16 persons were killed. “We're trying to evacuate the wounded trapped under the debris,” FIA chief Tariq Pervez told Reuters from Islamabad. Chaudhry Manzoor, the director of the agency, which focuses on illegal immigration, said 14 employees had been killed. A second bomb went off in the mainly residential neighbourhood of Model Town, about 10 km from the site of the first blast, killing two children, besides the two suicide bombers, said a city administrator, Mian Ejaz. Police said the second attack was caused by a suicide car bomb. The car had two people inside and blew up after it was stopped at the gate of an advertising agency office. Last week a twin-suicide bombing killed five people in an attack on a navy college in the city. According to private TV channels the blast at the FIA building took place in the parking lot and caused extensive damage to parked vehicles besides the adjoining buildings. On the other hand, the Model Town blast was caused when the explosive laden vehicle was dashed against the boundary wall of the bungalow housing the advertising agency. The two children killed were brothers. Emergency has been declared in Lahore hospitals which have so far received up to 100 injured, the TV channels reported. (First Posted @ 09:50 PST, Updated @ 11:55 PST)
Two Muslims shot dead in Thai south NARATHIWAT, Thailand, March 11 (AFP) - Suspected separatist militants shot dead two Muslim officials in separate attacks on Tuesday in Thailand's restive south, police said.A 47-year-old deputy village chief was gunned down in a drive-by shooting while riding a motorcycle in Pattani, one of three Muslim-majority southern provinces hit by insurgency, they said. In nearby Narathiwat, militants also ambushed a pick-up truck early Tuesday and shot dead a 51-year-old deputy village chief, police said. (Posted @ 11:30 PST)
Cricket: Australia cancel tour to Pakistan KARACHI, March 11 (AFP) - Australia have cancelled their cricket tour to Pakistan over security fears, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said Tuesday. “I can confirm they have conveyed to us that they have cancelled the tour. We are disappointed and we are issuing a policy statement soon,” PCB chief operating officer Shafqat Nagmi told AFP. The tour was due to begin on March 29. (Posted @ 11:25 PST)
At least 15 killed in two blasts in Lahore LAHORE, Pakistan, March 11 (Reuters) - Two bombs in the city of Lahore, capital of Punjab province, on Tuesday killed at least 15 people, police and a city administrator said. One bomb went off outside the city-centre Federal Investigation Agency offices, killing 13 people and badly damaging the multi-storey office, police said. A second bomb went off in the residential neighbourhood of Model Town, about 10 km from the site of the first explosion, killing two children, said a city administrator, Mian Ejaz. Last week, another bomb blast at the prestigious naval war college in Lahore had killed five persons and injured several others (First Posted @ 09:50 PST, Updated @ 11:10 PST)
Three US soldiers, translator killed in Iraq bomb attack BAGHDAD, March 11 (AFP) - Three US soldiers and their translator were killed in a bomb attack on Monday in the restive Iraqi province of Diyala, the military said Tuesday adding that another soldier was wounded. The attack took place the day when five more US soldiers were killed in a suicide attack in Baghdad. (Posted @ 11:05 PST)
12 killed in blast in Pakistan's FIA office in Lahore LAHORE, Pakistan, March 11 (AFP) - At least 12 people were killed and several injured in a blast at the office of Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Lahore, capital of Punjab province, on Tuesday at about 9.30 a,.m., Lahore police chief Malik Mohammad Iqbal told AFP. He could not immediately confirm the nature of the blast. Television channels showed footage of a partially collapsed four-storey building and piles of blackened wreckage. It was not clear if the footage was of the FIA building or of nearby structures. Police cordoned off the area while emergency workers carrying stretchers scrambled over the rubble. According to the Associated Press of Pakistan news agency another blast was reported in the Model Colony area of the city but the details or confirmation of the blast were awaited. Tuesday’s blasts in Lahore come one week after two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the prestigious naval war college in Lahore, killing at least five people and injuring 19. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)
McCain heads to Israel, Europe WASHINGTON, March 11 (APP/AFP) - Fresh from sealing the Republican White House nomination, Senator John McCain will burnish his foreign policy credentials with a trip next week to Israel and Europe, his office said Monday. Joined by two close Senate colleagues, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, McCain will visit Jerusalem on March 18, London the next two days, and Paris on March 21, according to a statement. So, while Democratic contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton continue to fight it out, the Vietnam war hero is free to hone his message that only he has the national security experience to lead the nation in troubled times. On Friday McCain likened himself to Britain's wartime prime minister Winston Churchill, in a new broadcast laying out a hawkish foreign policy of “no surrender” to US foes including Islamic extremists. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
Another bomb blast rocks Lahore APP news agency adds: A number of persons are feared dead in the bomb blast near Regal Chowk close to The FIA office buiding which is behind the Lahore High Court on the Mall, Tuesday morning around 9.30 a.m., Reports of another blast in Model Town area have also been received but details are awaited. (Posted @ 10:45 PST)
9 Mexican school children killed as SUV falls into canal MEXICO CITY, March 11 (AP) - A sports utility vehicle fell into a canal in central Mexico on Monday, killing nine children, a city official said. The seven girls and two boys, ages 3 to 8, were heading to their teacher's house for lunch Monday when the SUV they were traveling in fell into a canal outside the town of Cardenas in Guanajuato state. The 19-year-old teacher driving the vehicle suffered only minor injuries. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Explosion hits police office in Lahore LAHORE, Pakistan, March 11 (AP) - An explosion devastated an office of the federal police in Lahore, capital of Punjab province, on Tuesday, injuring several people, police and state television said. City police official Mohammed Khalid said the blast hit the office of the Federal Investigation Agency in downtown Lahore. He said it was not immediately clear what caused the explosion. State-run Pakistan Television says several people were taken to hospital with wounds sustained in the blast. Private TV footage showed the badly damaged facade of a large, multiple-story concrete building, with rubble scattered across an intersection. Flames shot up from part of the wreckage and several cars were damaged. An ambulance wove through a crowd of hundreds of bystanders _ some with torn clothes, others with minor wounds _ stumbling away from the blast scene. (First Posted @ 09:50 PST, Updated @ 10:25 PST)
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts Madonna, Cohen NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - Madonna spoke of being possessed by magic as she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday along with Leonard Cohen, rocker John Mellencamp, British pop band The Dave Clark Five and instrumental group The Ventures. “I felt like I had been possessed by some magic and luckily for me I have been miraculously and continuously possessed by some kind of magic,” Madonna said at the annual Hall of Fame ceremony in New York. “I have gone on to do so many things in my life, from writing children's books, to designing clothes, to directing a film. But for me it always does, and it always will, come back to the music, so thank you,” she said. (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
Blast in Lahore; no word on casualties LAHORE, Pakistan, March 11 (Reuters) - An explosion was heard in the Pakistani city of Lahore on Tuesday but the cause was not immediately known, police said. “A blast occured. We're verifying where it happened,” said senior city police officer Sohail Ahmed. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
UN reports sharp rise in Afghanistan attacks UNITED NATIONS, March 11 (Reuters) - Militant attacks in Afghanistan increased dramatically last year, with civilians accounting for nearly a fifth of people killed, the U.N. secretary-general said in a new report to the Security Council Monday. It said there were an average of 566 “insurgent and terrorist” incidents per month last year compared with 425 per month in 2006. “Of the over 8,000 conflict-related fatalities in 2007, over 1,500 were civilians,” the report dated March 6 said. It said there had been a shift in tactics in 2007, with militants focusing on small-scale “asymmetric” attacks on the Afghan army and, in some cases, civilians. Militants' tactics included “improvised explosive devices, suicide attacks, assassinations and abductions.” There were 160 suicide attacks last year, along with 68 thwarted attacks, compared with 123 suicide attacks and 17 failed ones in 2006. Over 40 convoys delivering food aid for the U.N. World Food Program were attacked and looted in 2007, the report said. “In over 130 attacks against humanitarian programmes, 40 humanitarian workers were killed and 89 abducted, of whom seven were later killed by their captors,” it added. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
US sends first envoy to fight Muslim misperceptions WASHINGTON, March 11 (AFP) - The United States is seeking to dispel Muslim misperceptions about it by sending its first envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday. Sada Cumber, a Pakistani-born businessman from Texas, was named by President George W. Bush last week as special envoy to the 57-member OIC to promote understanding and dialogue with Muslim countries.“This is the first time that a US president has made such an appointment to the OIC,” Rice told ambassadors of OIC countries during a ceremony at the State Department in Washington, DC. “This appointment is one part of a much larger effort that our government has undertaken to increase our engagement with the Muslim community worldwide,” she said. Cumber will travel to the OIC summit opening Thursday in Dakar, Senegal. “So, he's already on the job,” she said. Cumber said he would work hard to “facilitate dialogue” and “build bridges” but admitted he did not expect “his job to be an easy one” because he will represent US interests on controversial subjects like Iraq. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)
Former rebels sweep polls in eastern Sri Lanka BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka, March 11 (AFP) - The pro-government Tamil People's Liberation Party (TMVP) won a majority in almost all the local councils that went to the polls in Sri Lanka's volatile east, officials results showed Tuesday. The TMVP secured 72 out of the 101 seats in Monday's vote to elect officials to run local administrations in Batticaloa district, the elections department said. The TMVP, which enjoys support of the ruling People's Alliance of President Mahinda Rajapakse, took complete control of eight out of nine councils. The government plans to use the poll as a curtain raiser for a larger provincial council election later this year to allow Tamils, who are a national minority but are in the majority in Batticaloa, to have greater autonomy. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
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