The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Triple blasts in Thailand kill 11, injure over 100 Yala, March 31 Three bomb attacks minutes apart killed 10 persons and wounded more than 100 today in the main town in Thailand’s insurgency-hit far south. The blasts hit the centre of Yala town around midday as families were out shopping, in the most deadly attack in five years in the Muslim-majority south of mainly Buddhist Thailand. Several shop houses near the blast sites were set on fire and many parked cars and motorcycles were damaged by the powerful explosions. “There were three bombs that exploded, the first is a car bomb and the second and third bombs were hidden in motorcycles,” said Colonel Pramote Promin, spokesman for the southern army region. Bomb squad officers were seen inspecting the mangled car wreckage at the site of the car bomb as firefighters doused blazes nearby. Rescue workers helped bloodied victims and searched for other wounded people as smoke filled the street. Ten people were in critical condition with severe burns, the public health ministry said. A Yala city policeman added: “The bombs went off about 10 minutes apart.” A nurse in the emergency unit of Yala provincial hospital told AFP nine dead and 112 wounded had been admitted, but police later said the death toll had risen to 10. One policeman was wounded in a separate motorcycle bomb attack in Mae Lan district of neighbouring Pattani province, the police said. — AFP
	Enough oil in market to nail Iran: Obama Washington, March 31 US President Barack Obama has vowed to go ahead with tough sanctions on Iran, saying there was enough oil in the world market to allow countries like China and India to significantly reduce their dependence on Iranian imports. “I will closely monitor this situation to assure that the market can continue to accommodate a reduction in purchases of petroleum and petroleum products from Iran,” Obama said in his presidential determination. “I determine...that there is a sufficient supply of petroleum and petroleum products from countries other than Iran to permit a significant reduction in the volume of petroleum and petroleum products purchased from Iran by or through foreign financial institutions,” Obama said. Such a determination, as mandated by a Congressional legislation, is primarily aimed at slashing Iran’s oil revenue so as to force it to abandon its nuclear ambition. Twelve countries — including India, China, Turkey and South Korea — have time till the end of June to show that they have significantly reduced their dependence on Iranian oil. The US has already exempted 11 countries from these sanctions and more countries could be exempted soon. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, said that there currently appears to be sufficient supply of non-Iranian oil to permit foreign countries to significantly reduce their import of Iranian oil. A senior Administration official later told reporters in a conference call that the President signed the determination today after evaluating all the relevant facts and data, and determined that he would go forward with those sanctions of oil-related transactions. “I’d also note we’ve been in a steady and consistent dialogue with all of our international partners on this issue over the course of the last several months as a part of our concerted effort to implement these sanctions in a responsible way that effectively targets the Iranian government while mitigating other effects.” — PTI
	Pak beauty queen flees US after duping dozens Islamabad, March 31 A former Pakistani beauty queen has been accused of duping scores of Californians in an elaborate loan scam before fleeing the US. Saman Hasnain, who won the 2008 Mrs Pakistan World beauty pageant, and her husband Jawad, have been accused of duping South Bay, California, homeowners into giving them money for a loan-modification scam which they operated from 2008 until October 2010. Saman is being described by the American media as a “scam artist” who cheated homeowners after impressing them with her physical appearance, including her “almond-shaped eyes, flawless skin and full beautiful lips”. The money ripped off from clients was used to buy plastic surgery for Saman, and pay for a Mercedes and the mortgage on their $2.2 million home. The couple charged homeowners at least $4,500 and often more to renegotiate their mortgages with banks. Korina Diaz, a Gilroy waitress who lost her ranch after paying the couple $11,500 to lower her mortgage payments, told Mercury News: “She was really pretty. She wore a skirt suit, high heels, nylons — like a real good-looking professional lady.” Diaz and her husband were so impressed by what the Hasnains were promising them, they invited 30 friends over to the house to listen to the couple talk about their loan-modification scheme. Many of them signed up and lost thousands of dollars as well as their homes. Diaz, her husband and their three children now live in a tiny apartment after a Florida bank took their home due to missed mortgage payments. Prosecutor Victor Chen told the media that it was Saman’s striking appearance that led residents to trust her with their money. After the scam came to light, the Santa Clara County deputy district attorney charged them with ripping off 17 people, a number which doesn’t even come close to the real number of victims, Chen told the media. “The biggest crooks in this county aren’t holding people up with a gun…It’s the ones ripping people off with a pen or a computer and stealing their life’s savings. So many good people’s lives were ruined by these defendants,” Chen said. He believes the couple defrauded around 80 to 100 families. But before they could be apprehended, the couple fled the US with their two young sons to Lahore. American officials said there was little they could do now as Pakistan has no extradition arrangement with the US. — PTI
	Mali rebels attack northern town in coup aftermath Bamako, March 31 Rebels today attacked Mali’s strategic northern city of Gao, a day after they took the provincial capital of Kidal, witnesses and an official said. The move deepens the crisis in the landlocked nation at the feet of the Sahara in western Africa after a coup earlier this month. The two towns are major prizes for the Tuareg rebels, who launched an insurgency in January that was fuelled by the flow of arms from the fall of neighbouring Libya, where many of the rebels had been on the payroll of ex-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Gao is around 1,200 kilometres from the capital of Bamako, where junior officers overthrew the elected government and claimed power 10 days ago. — AP
	Fourteen killed in fresh wave of Karachi violence Karachi, March 31 At least 14 persons have been killed in a fresh wave of ethnic violence in Pakistan's commercial capital, while armed gunmen opened fire on a busy commuter bridge in an area which is considered to be a stronghold of the Pushtuns, prompting police to launch a crackdown. After more people were killed in different parts of the city in targeted killings the MQM called for a day of mourning today. As expected the city wore a deserted look due to the mourning day with all shops, petrol pumps, educational institutions, banks shut down as heavy contingents of police and rangers patrolled the city. — PTI
	Plot to attack Pakistan Parliament foiled: Malik Islamabad, March 31 Pakistani authorities foiled a plot to attack Parliament during President Asif Ali Zardari’s address to a joint sitting of the two houses and arrested several terrorists and an employee of the Foreign Ministry, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said today. The terrorists had planned to attack Parliament when Zardari was addressing a joint session of the National Assembly and Senate on March 17, Malik said. Several terrorists arrested in connection with the plot belonged to Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan tribal region, he said. A Foreign Ministry employee was arrested for extending assistance to the terrorists, Malik told reporters after chairing a meeting that reviewed the security situation across the country. Malik did not give other details about the terrorist plot, including the number of terrorists who had been arrested or the identity of the Foreign Ministry employee. He also did not name any militant group. He said he had directed the Islamabad police chief to further beef up security for the city and to take steps to ensure the safety of citizens. In response to a question, Malik said a “foreign hand” was involved in the current unrest in the commercial hub of Karachi with an aim to destabilise the country. He did not give details. Over a dozen people have been killed since yesterday in political violence in Karachi that was triggered by the murder of a Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader earlier this week. — PTI