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Suicide bomber kills 14 on bus in Russia
Won’t request for clemency if convicted of treason: Musharraf
8 terrorists shot dead in China
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Oppn leaders arrested in B’desh; protest continues
Flood displaces over 18,000 in Indonesia
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Suicide bomber kills 14 on bus in Russia
Moscow, December 30 President Vladimir Putin, under pressure to show that Russia can assure the security of tens of thousands of guests when the Winter Games open on February 7, ordered stepped up security across the country. The twin suicide attacks on Volgograd, which until this year had no record of recent unrest, have stunned Russia and troubled the authorities as people prepare for mass New Year celebrations. At least 17 people died in yesterday's attack blamed on a suspected female suicide bomber. The force of the blast destroyed the number 15A trolleybus, which was packed with early morning commuters and was turned into a tangle of wreckage with only its roof and front remaining. Health ministry spokesman Oleg Salagai told Russian state television that 14 people were killed in the trolleybus bombing and 30 wounded. Russian investigators have opened a criminal probe into a suspected act of terror as well as the illegal carrying of weapons, the Investigative Committee said. "The explosives were detonated by a male suicide bomber, fragments of whose body have been found and taken for genetic analysis to establish his identity," said spokesman Vladimir Markin. He said some four kilograms of TNT equivalent had been used in the blast. — AFP Threat looms over Winter Olympics The fresh attack has heightened fears about security at the Winter Olympic Games, which opens on February 7, in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi. Putin has ordered stepping up of security across Russia and new measures to national anti-terror committee. Russia is preparing to impose a security cordon around Sochi from January 7.
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Won’t request for clemency if convicted of treason: Musharraf
Former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf has ruled out any request for clemency if he is convicted of treason by the special court constituted for the landmark trial. "I will not request pardon (if convicted)… I will not opt for any solution which creates an impression that I acted out of fear," he said in an interview with Express News on Sunday.
Musharraf expressed regret that recently retired army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani did not support him in the face of treason charges. "He [Kayani] was kept in the loop in pretty much all consultations - from those pertaining to internal matters to the Middle East - and he should have submitted an affidavit during proceedings of the Iftikhar Chaudhry case," he said. "This is something he should be asked to explain." Speaking to reporters outside his farmhouse earlier in the day, Musharraf denounced the treason charges against him as a "vendetta" and claimed he had the backing of the army in the case. “I would say the whole army is upset. I have led the army from the front," he said. "I have no doubt with the feedback that I received that the whole army is with me.” He said he had no objection to defending himself before a 'fair tribunal or court' but admitted he was not optimistic about the special panel convened to hear his case. Explosive found near ex-Prez farmhouse Islamabad: Five packets of explosive material were found on Monday near former military ruler General (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s Chak Shahzad farmhouse in Islamabad. According to the police, explosives were recovered from the green belt on Park Road. |
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8 terrorists shot dead in China
Beijing, December 30 "Eight terrorists were shot dead and another one captured by police during a terrorist attack in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region," the state-run Xinhua news agency quoted local authorities as saying. The nine terrorists attacked a police station wielding knives in Shache County in the Kashgar region. They also threw explosives and set police cars on fire. Eight were shot dead at the scene. Another was caught by police, officials of the Communist Party Kashgar prefectural party committee said. The case is under further investigation, the report said. Xinjiang, home to 9 million Uyghurs, has witnessed sporadic clashes. — PTI The problem area
* Nine terrorists attacked a police station in the Kashgar region. They also threw explosives and set police cars on fire. *
Xinjiang, home to some
9 million Uyghurs, has witnessed sporadic clashes. Uyghur activists point to ethnic tensions and tight Chinese control as
triggers for violence. |
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Oppn leaders arrested in B’desh; protest continues
Dhaka, December 30 BNP vice-chairman Selima Rahman, MP Rasheda Begum Heera and ex-MP Newaz Halima were detained from in front of the former prime minister Khaleda Zia's residence here which was virtually sieged by riot police. The three reached Zia's home on foot and asked the police to allow them to go inside, local media reported. Moments later, the police escorted them and took them to a police station. Meanwhile, the police said in a predawn raid today they have arrested three suspected opposition activists from a house here and seized more than 200 homemade bombs which were believed to be manufactured there to be used during protests. Several senior BNP leaders have been detained in the past two weeks and many others visibly went underground. Today's arrests came as a security blanket was thrown over Dhaka with troops guarding key points to secure them from the BNP-led opposition movement that threatens to continue until the January 5 elections are called off. Violent clashes erupted this morning at the Supreme Court complex in central Dhaka with pro-and anti-government lawyers exchanging brickbats, a day after the area turned to be battlefield pitting riot police and ruling Awami League activists against lawyers supporting BNP and its ally fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami. — PTI
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Flood displaces over 18,000 in Indonesia
Jakarta, December 30 More than 4,500 houses and 500 shops in the coastal town of Tebing Tinggi on Sumatra island have been inundated since Saturday, when the Padang and Bahilang rivers swelled after days of torrential rain, said National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. "The floodwater inside people's homes reached one metre (3.3 feet)," Nugroho said, adding more flooding was expected. Some 17,648 people have taken shelter in tents provided by the government as well as neighbours' homes, Nugroho said, adding there were no casualties. Indonesia is hit each year with deadly floods during the wet season, which lasts around six months. Environmentalists blame logging and a failure to reforest denuded land in the world's fourth-most populous country for exacerbating the flooding. — AFP
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Iran, world powers resume nuclear talks
Dubai-based Indian doc to lead surgery team to India
Pak sharia court gets first female judge in 33 yrs Security forces kill 40 rebels in DR Congo Shots fired at German envoy’s house in Athens Singapore riot: Indian to seek judicial review on bail Thai police stage rare protest, demand right to fight back Indian-origin boy among UK’s top 1% brightest Myanmar pardons political offenders |
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Bangladesh's main opposition BNP's three top women leaders were arrested on the second day of the 'democracy march' today, as clashes erupted inside the Supreme Court premises between pro- and anti-government lawyers here.
BNP vice-chairman Selima Rahman, MP Rasheda Begum Heera and ex-MP Newaz Halima were detained from in front of the former prime minister Khaleda Zia's residence here which was virtually sieged by riot police.
"I have no regrets… I came back to Pakistan to face cases against me and because people wanted change," he said. In the same breath, however, the former dictator said he did not expect to be charged with high treason. "Yes, you can say it was my misjudgment… I did not expect Article 6 would be thrown at me."
‘Japanese PM not welcomed by Chinese people’