Palu (Indonesia) December 31
Eight persons were killed and dozens injured when a bomb tore through a Christian market stall selling pork in Indonesia’s religiously divided province of Central Sulawesi early today, the police said.

The latest blast to rock the restive area came as security forces across the archipelago nation were on high alert for potential Islamic extremist attacks during the New Year period.

Mostly Christian shoppers had thronged the stall to buy pork, which is forbidden for Muslims, for New Year’s Eve celebrations later tonight, the police said.

Workers from the four hospitals where victims were ferried gave individual tolls that tallied to eight, with the latest victim being a 13-year-old boy who died after massive blood loss. The number of injured in the blast was 48, the police had said earlier.

Security minister Adisucipto, quoted by the state Antara news agency after a cabinet meeting in West Java, said the attack was “related to terror networks which have so far been active in Indonesia.

“There are groups that aim to create instability. We are trying with maximum effort, along with the national police chief and intelligence chief, to immediately solve this case,” he said.

The police said it was too early to say who was behind the attack but it followed repeated warnings that members of the al-Qaida-linked militant group, Jemaah Islamiyah, were plotting strikes here over the holidays. — AFP

Sydney, December 31
A pulsing heart of red lights shone out from Sydney’s Harbor Bridge as tens of thousands of people gathered to watch fireworks marking the start of the new year, while revellers throughout the world partied, visited places of worship and gathered with families to welcome 2006.

Celebrations across the world were taking place amid tight security as cities such as Sydney and Paris feared repeats of recent riots, while in much of Asia the threat of terrorist attacks hung large. In Indonesia, a bomb killed eight and wounded 45 others in a province long plagued by separatism.

The message of love in Sydney, however, went hand-in-hand with a huge police presence in the ciy aimed at preventing a repeat of two nights of racial violence that erupted on December 11 in the city’s southern beachside suburbs.

The generally jubilant celebrations were in sharp contrast with last year, when the devastation by the tsunami led many countries and individuals to cancel festivities.

“It’s a bit hard to celebrate when you see people so dejectd and hurt, like what people saw on TV,” said Ann Ward from the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, who brought her family to watch the fireworks display. “This year is much better.”

For the millions left homeless by this year’s South Asian quake, however, the New Year was expected to begin with heavy snow and rain, meteorological officials said. —AP

London, December 31
Conservative leader David Cameron today cited the words of Mahatma Gandhi by declaring that the Conservatives must “be the change: they want to see in the world.

In his New Year message, he said, “As Gandhi said, “We must be the change we want to see in the world” and I want every single member and supporter of the Party to remember that personal commitment is the most powerful way to bring about change.”

He said “As the world is changing, so must we. Our main objective in the coming year, as a modern, compassionate Conservative Party, is to apply all our energies to tackling big, long-term challenges faced by Britain and the world. I want us to usher in a new type of politics which is constructive, thoughtful and open-minded.”

In his message, British Prime Minister Tony Blair responded to the threat posed by Mr Cameron by telling voters that Britain remained a prosperous and successful country under Labour. The Prime Minister, who also signalled his determination to press ahead with difficult public service reforms on schools, pensions and local health services. — UNI

Gaza City, December 31
A British aid worker and her parents were whisked out of the Gaza Strip by British diplomats early today, hours after being released by Palestinian gunmen who abducted the family two days earlier.

Kate Burton, 25, a worker with the Al-Mezan human rights group in Gaza, was seized at gunpoint on Wednesday with her parents, Hugh and Helen, in the southern town of Rafah. The parents had come to Gaza on vacation to visit their daughter, officials said.

The kidnapping was the latest in a string of abductions of foreigners in recent months that have underlined the inability of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to impose order in the coastal strip since Israel’s withdrawal in September.

The growing unrest threatens to weaken Abbas ahead of parliamentary elections next month.

After a frantic two-day search for the hostages, Palestinian security forces managed to win their release late last night, said Palestinian mediator Kamal Sharafi.

A Palestinian security car early today dropped Hugh Burton off in front of an upscale hotel, where British diplomats quickly put him into a vehicle and sped away toward Israel.

Burton did not speak to reporters. The mother and daughter were being taken to Israel separately.

A previously unknown group calling itself Mujahedeen Brigades Jerusalem Branch claimed responsibility for the kidnappings and threatened to abduct more foreigners if Israel did not end its “no-go” zone in the northern Gaza Strip.

British diplomats said there had been no contact with the kidnappers and denied a deal had been struck. — AP

Islamabad, December 31
Notwithstanding Pakistan’s strong reaction, Opposition leader in the Balochistan Assembly Kachkol Ali has appreciated India for expressing concern over the spiralling violence in the province and heavy military action against tribesmen.

Mr Ali urged the World Bank, the ADB and other international financial institutions not to lend money to Pakistan as the government “misused these loans and purchased weapons that were being used against the residents of Balochistan”. — PTI