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Militants storm govt complex in Peshawar, kill five
Pakistan army soldiers rush to the scene of the bombing in Peshawar on Monday. — AP/PTI
Shias adamant, refuse to bury victims of Quetta blast
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Chavez back in Venezuela after cancer surgery
A file photo of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez with his daughters in Havana. — Reuters
Violence grips Bangladesh; 3 killed in clashes
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Militants storm govt complex in Peshawar, kill five
Islamabad, February 18 Both attackers blew themselves up after exchanging fire with security forces in Khyber House, the office of the political administrator of the Khyber tribal region. The attackers were wearing uniforms of the Levies militia, witnesses told the media. A meeting of leaders of political parties was underway at Khyber House at the time of the attack. Iqbal Khan, a leader of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, told the media that one suicide attacker blew himself up outside the hall where the meeting was being held. One attacker shot dead
a guard at the gate and entered the complex. He exchanged fire with security forces for almost 20
minutes and blew himself up after he was injured. Another detonated his explosives near the
office of political agent Mutahir Zeb Khan, who escaped unhurt. Four security personnel and a civilian were killed in the attack, officials said. Eight injured persons, including assistant political agent Mumtaz Khalid Kundi and four Levies personnel, were taken to nearby hospitals. Officials said Kundi and two Levies personnel were in a serious condition. Khyber House is located within the high-security cantonment in Peshawar. Army soldiers and policemen surrounded the complex shortly after the attack began. All gates were shut and nearby roads were blocked. Footage on television showed smoke rising into the sky over the complex after an explosion.
— PTI
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Shias adamant, refuse to bury victims of Quetta blast
Islamabad, February 18 Hundreds of Shias have joined a protest with the bodies of some of the 85 persons killed in Saturday's attack at Hazara Town in Quetta, the capital of the restive Balochistan province. The banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) claimed responsibility for the bombing. A bomb containing hundreds of kilogrammes of explosives ripped through a crowded market in Hazara Town on Saturday. Many women and children were among the dead. About 200 persons were injured by the blast, which flattened several buildings. Leaders of the Shia Hazara community, which has been repeatedly targeted by sectarian groups like the LeJ, gave the government a 48-hour ultimatum to launch an army operation against terrorists. They accused elements of the security establishment of sheltering the militants. Quetta police chief Wazir Khan Nasir said officials were engaged in negotiations with the Shia leaders to convince them to bury their dead. However, Shia leader Qayyum Changezi said the protesters would not bury the dead "until a targeted operation is launched" against terrorists. Syed Muhammad Hadi, a spokesman for an alliance of Shia groups, said the community wanted security in Quetta to be handed over to the army and targeted operations against terrorists and their supporters. The paramilitary Frontier Corps is responsible for security in Balochistan but Shias say it is unable to protect them. — PTI Bomb blast in Karachi A powerful bomb went off at a spot in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi where Shia groups had staged a protest on Monday though there were no casualties, police officials said. The blast occurred under a fly-over at Sharah-e-Faisal in Karachi after 9.15 pm (local time), witnesses said.
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Chavez back in Venezuela after cancer surgery
Caracas, February 18 "We have arrived again to the Venezuelan motherland," Chavez wrote. "Thank you, God. Thank you, my beloved people. We will continue my treatment here." From the airport, he was taken to Carlos Avarela Military Hospital in Caracas where he will continue his medical treatment, said his son-in-law and Science and Technology Minister Jorge Arreaza. The 58-year-old Chavez, who has been in power for more than 14 years, was first diagnosed with cancer in 2011. After surgery and treatment, he declared himself free of the disease and went on to win another term in elections last October. But he suffered a relapse and after the latest surgery on December 11 in Havana, he was still too sick to come back to Venezuela for his scheduled inauguration on January 10. The inauguration has been postponed indefinitely and Vice-President Nicolas Maduro has essentially been running Venezuela in Chavez's absence. There was no immediate word whether Chavez will now take his oath of office to end political uncertainly, in which his illness has plunged Venezuela.
— AFP
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Violence grips Bangladesh; 3 killed in clashes
Dhaka, February 18 Witnesses said JI activists visibly took a hit and run strategy in Dhaka and several other cities amid a clarion call by rival protesters at Shahbagh Square to defy the strike. One pedestrian was killed when a minibus overturned as it was chased by JI activists, who also damaged four buses in the capital. The transport operators defied the JI's strike call expressing solidarity with demands for trial of "crimes against humanity" during the 1971 war against Pakistan. Another death was reported from central Comilla district where JI activists clashed with the police. Witnesses said one person died with bullet injuries after JI protesters went on rampage on the street prompting the police intervention.
— PTI
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Ecuador’s Prez Correa breezes to second re-election Floods, landslides kill 17 in Indonesia Scientists discover meteor fragments Pieces of porous black rock, reportedly fragments of the meteor that plunged over Russia’s Ural Mountains, as scientists work with them at the Urals Federal University’s lab in Yekaterinburg. — AFP
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Two suicide attackers disguised as security personnel stormed a government complex in the restive Peshawar city of north-west Pakistan today, killing five persons and injuring eight others.
Caracas, February 18
