Gaza militants fire rockets at Israel; 2 Palestinians killed
Jerusalem, April 4
Gaza militants fired rockets at Israel early today, defying warnings that Israel will not tolerate renewed attacks on the country's south. In the West Bank, the authorities discovered the body of a second Palestinian protester killed in clashes a day earlier. 

Seoul, April 4
North Korea appears to have moved a medium-range missile capable of hitting targets in South Korea and Japan to its east coast, the South's Yonhap news agency reported today.

The movement was detected by both South Korean and US intelligence, Yonhap said, citing military and government sources.

"It appeared that the object was a Musudan mid-range missile," it quoted a South Korean official as saying.

"We are closely monitoring whether the North moved it with a view to launch or just as a show of force against the US," the official added. Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper also carried a similar report.

The Musudan missile was first unveiled at a military parade in October 2010 and is believed to have an intended range of around 3,000 km. However, it is not known to have been tested.

Yonhap cited intelligence sources as saying the North might launch the missile on April 15, the birth anniversary of founding leader Kim Il-Sung.

The South Korean Defence Ministry declined to confirm the report, but stressed that it kept a "24-hour watch" for any potential North Korean missile launches. — AFP

Karachi, April 4
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari today launched the Pakistan Peoples Party's election campaign in a low-key manner, invoking the legacy of the Bhutto family while calling on people to back the party in the May 11 general election.

Addressing a gathering of hundreds of PPP leaders and workers in the Bhutto family's traditional stronghold of Naudero in Sindh province at about 1.30 pm, Bilawal listed the achievements of his grandfather Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and mother Benazir Bhutto as he made an emotional appeal to voters.

"Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's grandson and Benazir Bhutto's son is calling on you today. This is a movement of peace and it will rest only after ushering in peace and security in Pakistan," 24-year-old Bilawal said in the speech that was aired live on state-run television.

Describing the PPP's election symbol of the arrow as a "symbol of democracy", he urged people to vote for the party.

In an effort to address reports of his differences with President Asif Ali Zardari's sister Faryal Talpur, Bilawal asked PPP supporters to vote for his aunt as she was safeguarding "his seat" in Parliament.

Bilawal also asked the people to pledge that they would make the PPP victorious in polls and exhorted party workers to back former premiers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf during the election campaign. — PTI

Jerusalem, April 4
Gaza militants fired rockets at Israel early today, defying warnings that Israel will not tolerate renewed attacks on the country's south. In the West Bank, the authorities discovered the body of a second Palestinian protester killed in clashes a day earlier.

The events are likely to further raise tensions in the region, already heightened this week by the death of a Palestinian prisoner from cancer in an Israeli jail. Late yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel will defend itself against attacks from Gaza.

"If the quiet is violated, we will respond strongly," Netanyahu said during a meeting with visiting Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide. "The security of Israel's citizens is my chief concern and we will know how to defend the security of our people."

Several rockets were fired from Gaza early today but only one exploded in Israel, causing no injuries, the military said. It said the other projectiles exploded prematurely inside Gaza.

Israel retaliated for the first time this week. Hours before Netanyahu's warning, Israel's new Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon also said he will not allow rocket attacks to become routine again. Israel holds Gaza's Islamic militant Hamas rulers responsible for all attacks from the strip. — AP

Massive flooding killed 54 persons in and around Buenos Aires, with most of the victims found after a second day of record rainfall hit the area

At least 46 persons died as flood waters hit the nearby city of La Plata, following rains that swept through the streets, submerging cars as people cowered on rooftops

The "tsunami of rain" has forced thousands of people to be evacuated and caused significant damage to homes and infrastructure.

Hebron, April 4 
Clashes rocked the West Bank today as thousands attended the funerals of a prisoner and two teenagers shot dead by Israeli troops and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said the killings jeopardised US efforts to rekindle peace talks.

Israeli soldiers fired rubber bullets in the southern city of Hebron after furious crowds lined the streets to pay their respects to 63-year-old Maisara Abu Hamdiyeh, whose body was carried in a cortege to a local mosque for burial.

Hamdiyeh, who had served 10 years of a life term for attempted murder, died of throat cancer on Tuesday in hospital, sparking tension on the Palestinian street and its leadership accusing Israel of medical negligence.

As news of his death spread, protests that erupted in several places quickly turned into clashes with the Israeli army, notably in Hebron, Abu Hamdiyeh's home town.

Near the northern village of Anabta close to Tulkarem, the clashes turned deadly, with two teenagers shot dead overnight by troops, Israeli and Palestinian sources said.

Palestinian security officials said Amer Nasser (17) was killed by a bullet to the head and Naji Balbisi (19), whose body was discovered at dawn, was shot in the chest.

The Israeli military said troops had opened fire at "rioters who hurled petrol bombs" at a military post. — AFP

Beijing, April 4 
Two more persons died today in China due to the H7N9 bird flu, taking the death toll from the new strain of avian influenza to five in the country even as officials traced the new deadly virus to pigeons in Shanghai.

Also, the total number of cases of the virulent disease in the country rose to 14 with fresh cases coming to light.

Another person died in Shanghai today from H7N9 bird flu, bringing the death toll from the lesser-known strain to five around the country, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Another victim, a 48-year-old man, died of the flu in east China's Shanghai Municipality today, the third in the municipality and the fourth in the country, the report said.

The man, surnamed Chu and a native of Rugao in Jiangsu Province, was a poultry transporter and developed symptoms of coughing on March 28. He and died three hours after being admitted to a clinic. He was confirmed to have been infected with the H7N9 virus today. 

After gene sequence analysis, a laboratory concluded that the strain of the H7N9 virus found on pigeons was highly congenetic with those found on persons infected with H7N9 virus. The government has ordered beefed-up monitoring of H7N9 bird flu virus in more areas. — PTI