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TRIPOLI: The Libyan capital was rocked by a series of explosions, thought to be the result of Nato airstrikes, early on Saturday, a
Reuters witness said.
Four blasts rocked the hotel were international media were based and a fifth was heard slightly further off.
MUMBAI: The probe into the synchronized blasts which rocked south and central Mumbai on Wednesday may hit a stumbling block as heavy rains lashed the area, triggering fears that crucial evidence may be lost before being collected by the forensic experts.
Forensic experts of Maharashtra and from Central Forensic Laboratory Delhi have reached here and were working to loca
te the vital clues of these blasts when the downpour started.
“It may not have much effect but some evidence may be washed away,” a police officer said.
Anti-Terror Squad of Mumbai police armed with sophisticated gadgets and sniffer dogs swamped the area and sleuths were trying to ensure that no damage be done to forensic evidence including blood and explosive samples.
July 12 (Reuters) – Coordinated explosions in the Ugandan capital Kampala late on Sunday that targeted fans watching the World Cup final killed at least 64 people, police said on Monday.
“Sixty four are confirmed dead. Fifteen people at the Ethiopian Village and 49 at Lugogo Rugby Club. Seventy one people are injured,” said police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba. (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Richard Lough)
July 9 (Reuters) – Up to 45 people were killed in a suicide attack outside the office of a senior government official in Pakistan’s northwest on Friday, the official said.
“There were two blasts. The first one was small but the second was a big one. Up to 45 people have been killed,” Rasool Khan, assistant political agent of Mohmand tribal region, told Reuters. (Reporting by Izaz Mohmand; Writing by Zeeshan Haider; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Ron Popeski) (For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: here)
June 20 (Reuters) – Twin car bombs exploded in a car park of a private bank in central Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least six people and wounding 42, sources in the police and the Iraqi Interior Ministry said.
The building housing the bank was heavily damaged in the blasts and two of the dead were police officers guarding a nearby Interior Ministry office that issues Iraqi ID cards, the ministry sources said. (Writing by Michael Christie; Editing by Matthew Jones)
(Reuters) – Following are security developments in Afghanistan reported at 0800 GMT on Sunday.
BADGHIS – More than 30 Afghan civilians were wounded during a clash between a group of pro-government militia and Taliban insurgents in northwestern Badghis province on Sunday. Three insurgents and a militia member were killed in the encounter, said Sharafuddin Majedi, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
HELMAND – Three Afghan civilians were killed and more than 20 wounded on Sunday in two separate blasts in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of southern Helmand, a provincial official said.
NANGARHAR – A rocket hit a residential area, killing two chidren and wounding four in eastern Nangarhar province overnight, the interior ministry said on Sunday.
HELMAND – A roadside bomb killed two civilians in Helmand on Saturday, the interior ministry said. (Compiled by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by David Fox) (sayed.salahuddin@thomsonreuters.com; Kabul newsroom: +93 799 335 285)) (If you have a query or comment about this story, send an e-mail to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)
June 13 (Reuters) – A blast at a Kenyan prayer meeting including church leaders and politicians campaigning against a proposed new constitution injured at least 24 people, local media reported on Sunday.
The Kenya Television Network (KTN) reported that there were two blasts at the Uhuru Park.
“We have so many people injured and we have reports that one person may have lost his life…,” Agriculture Minister William Ruto, who was at the prayer meeting, told KTN. Police officials were not immediately available to comment.
Kenyans are due to vote on the new constitution in a referendum on Aug. 4.
BAGHDAD, June 13 (Reuters) – Four bombs exploded on Sunday at an entrance of the Iraqi central bank, killing at least two people and wounding six, a day before Iraq’s new parliament was due to hold its first session, police said.
Police said it was not clear yet if the attacks involved suicide bombers or car bombs. The blasts were timed to occur as employees of the Central Bank of Iraq were leaving work.
While violence in Iraq has fallen sharply since the height of bloodshed in 2006/07, tensions have simmered since an inconclusive March 7 election that produced no outright winner.
A cross-sectarian alliance heavily backed by the once dominant Sunni minority won the most seats, but the country’s main Shi’ite factions have agreed to form the largest unified bloc in parliament, potentially giving them the muscle to claim the right to form a government.
Parliament meets on Monday, more than three months after the election, for its first session, but it is likely to still take weeks if not months for a deal on a government and a choice of prime minister.
The political vacuum coincides with a U.S. plan to end combat operations in August ahead of a full U.S. troop withdrawal by the end of 2011.
Suspected Sunni Islamist insurgents have sought to exploit the political uncertainty and to try to reignite broad sectarian warfare through bomb attacks and assassinations. The number of civilians killed in violence each month has climbed slowly but steadily since the March vote. (Writing by Michael Christie; Editing by Diana Abdallah)
(Reuters) – When choosing a vuvuzela at the World Cup you put your money where your mouth is.
World | Sports
The ubiquitous plastic trumpet, embraced as an emblem of the World Cup by South Africans and visitors alike, sells for between 20 rand ($2.6) for a simple Chinese import to 60 rand for a more contoured instrument, produced in South Africa.
“Our vuvuzelas have the purest sound and they are the easiest to blow. A two-year-old could play it,” said Cape Town-based Neil van Schalkwyk, who developed the vuvuzela seven years ago and whose sales have grown from 500 a month to 50,000.
“Our vuvuzelas also have a much more comfortable mouth-piece. I think at the end of the World Cup we’ll see a lot of people with cut, sore lips,” he added.
Watching the horn sold everywhere from street corners to airport duty free shops and listening to the cacophony of vuvuzela blasts ringing out through the city, Van Schalkwyk, a plastics expert and mold maker, says he feels very proud.
With a background in toolmaking, the 37-year-old football fan watched people taking home-made tin horns to games in the 1990s and decided to try producing his own in plastic.
Van Schalkwyk initially named his horn the boogie-blaster, but fans dubbed it the vuvuzela — which means ‘pump’ or ‘lift up’ — and the fad was born.
Today the vuvuzela industry is worth 50 million rand ($6.45 million) in South Africa and Europe, he estimates. He declined to say how much he had made from his invention.
“The vuvuzela is a symbol of the way we can celebrate and how we would like the rest of the world to enjoy their celebrations as well.”
The fact it has been much copied does not irk him, he says.
“We were never under the illusion we’d have a monopoly on the product and we couldn’t patent the design. When we started out we were told a horn is a horn and it has been around for centuries!”
Horns have always played a part in South African culture, from the earliest kudu horns, traditionally used to announce a ceremony or a major event.
The latest version of the horn is made from three pieces of injection-molded plastic, and the mouthpiece has been modified to reduce the noise level by 20 decibels, a concession to those who have complained about the din generated by vuvuzelas.
“They have become so popular, it has surpassed my wildest expectations,” said Van Schalkwyk. (Additional reporting by Tony Pyle and Shafiek Tassei)
(Editing by Jon Bramley)
Gunmen attacked two mosques belonging to a religious minority group in Lahore in Pakistan’s northeast on Friday, government and police officials said.
There was no immediate information on casualties.
Gunmen opened fire shortly after Friday prayers weapons and threw what were believed to be grenades at two Ahmadi mosques in two residential neighbourhoods in Pakistan’s cultural capital.
(Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore and Kamran Haider in Islamabad; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Paul Tait)
(For more coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, click http://www.reuters.com/places/afghanistan-pakistan)
France’s Aravane Rezai followed up her Madrid title with a crushing 6-1 6-1 demolition of Canadian qualifier Heidi El Tabakh in the first round of the French Open on Sunday.
Wearing an eye-catching black and gold space-age dress on centre court, the 15th-seeded Rezai cracked winner after winner to blast past her helpless opponent in just 48 minutes.
Rezai, who beat Justine Henin, Jelena Jankovic and Venus Williams en route to winning the Madrid Open last weekend, wrapped up a straightforward victory with an ace.
She will next face either Russian Anna Chakvetadze or Angelique Kerber of Germany.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; editing by Miles Evans; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
New York, May 13 (ANI): “Twilight” heartthrob Robert Pattinson and his co-star Kristen Stewart had a massive blow-up as they reshot a scene for “Eclipse,” the third installment of the “Twilight” series, it has emerged.
The actress accused him of hanging out late at a racy London burlesque bar, says a source.
A witness told Page Six, “Kristen asked for a reshoot because she didn”t like her wig in the scene. Robert turned up later on the set.
“When Robert arrived, he and Kristen started fighting. She accused him of taking a later flight from London because he had been hanging out too late at a burlesque bar.
“She accused him right in front of the director and the crew.
“He didn”t take it well. They were both so angry, the crew had to take a break for an hour for things to simmer down.”
The lovebirds, however, quickly made up. (ANI)
Aurangabad, May 10 (ANI): Using revolutionary technological innovations, a team of geoscientists in the drought-prone Marathwada region of Maharashtra has claimed to have resolved the acute water crisis prevailing in the region.
Nearly 73 villages in Aurangabad district, which were facing a severe scarcity of water, have benefited from the unconventional techniques developed by a team of geoscientists from the Groundwater Survey and Development Agency (GSDA).
According to E E Shah of the regional GSDA office, the innovative experiment has opened up sources of water by blasting decade old wells.
“In view of harnessing groundwater supply in the region, unconventional measures have been adopted nearly 20 years ago. One of them is bore-well blasting,” said Shah.
It was first tried out in Kachnapur village where the wells had dried up and residents had to travel for miles to get water.
When the geoscientists from GSDA surveyed the region, they found that even though the well was dry, there was water below the surface of the ”dried” well.
To resolve this, they dug up 17 borewells in the vicinity of the ”driedup wells” and blasted them up after filling it with explosives.
Water filled up the well, and solved the predicament of the villagers.
Highlighting this tapping of water from ground sources, Shah added, “The borewells around the wells were filled with explosives and blasts were carried out. The groundwater came out almost immediately because it got channelled towards the well.”
Later, this innovative technique conceptualised by GDSA was tried out successfully in Pendphal village of Vaijapur Block.
Residents claim that the level of water in the well now is the same as it is when rainfall is good.
The GDSA scientists put massive pressure on the bore-wells near the village well, and made liquefied cement to flow in them. This considerably restricted the flow of groundwater and thereby the wastage, and groundwater began to collect within the well.
This technique, known as fracture seal cementation, has also eased the problems in areas where water is scarce. (ANI)
Islamabad, May 8 (ANI): Taking on the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government, cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan has criticised the country’s leadership for taking dictation from the United States.
Addressing a public rally in Pabbi, Imran said the Gilani government has failed completely in addressing the issues facing the country.
“The rulers are taking dictation from the US and are unable to pursue people-friendly policies,” Imran said.
“The present government has surpassed the former ruler General Pervez Musharraf in appeasing the US,” he added.
Commenting on the failed Times Square bombing plot, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chief said it was an attempt by the US to malign Pakistan’s image.
“Faisal Shahzad has nothing to do with Pakistan as he is a US citizen and got education there. The US was using the failed bombing plot by Faisal to malign Pakistan,” The News quoted Imran, as saying. (ANI)
Pune, May 3 (ANI): A massive fire engulfed the Ambedkar Nagar slum of Pune on Sunday.
The slum, consisting over 5,000 huts, was immediately evacuated after the fire broke out at around 11.50 p.m.
Nearly 500 huts were totally gutted.
The enormous blaze was brought under control by 15 fire engines after nearly three hours.
Maharashtra”s Minister of State for Home Affairs, Ramesh Bagwe, confirmed that the fire broke out after some LPG cylinders in the huts exploded.
“The fire which erupted after the blasts of LPG cylinders spread quickly because of the wind. Till now we have reports of one injured,” said Bagwe.
Slum-dwellers have been relocated to the nearby schools belonging to Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). (ANI)
New York, April 28(ANI): Lindsay Lohan has refused to believe that a hacker used her father Michael’s Twitter account to allege she”s HIV-positive.
The actress believes that her dad must have himself posted the message.
“He”s a grown man and has done the exact same things on TV/interviews, [so] why wouldn”t he lie on Twitter, and everywhere else!” the New York Post quoted her, as stating on Twitter.
She added: “He just wants money — and he”s using me, my name, my status, my mother, brothers and sister for the cash to pay for [another] wedding.”
Meanwhile, Michael said: “There is an imposter on Twitter . . . My attorney, Lisa Bloom, will be contacting the authorities to find out who is responsible for this criminal act of ID theft/impersonation.” (ANI)
Thai riot police pulled back from a barricade erected by “red shirt” protesters in Bangkok’s Silom business district and the protesters also retreated to their camp behind it, a Reuters photographer said on Friday.
Earlier on Friday, tension in the area had risen as hundreds of riot police moved right up to the barrier, demanding it be dismantled. Protesters had climbed onto the barricade, made up mostly of tyres, and poured what appeared to be fuel over it, the photographer said.
A series of grenade blasts in that area killed three people late on Thursday. The government said the grenades were fired from the red shirt protest area. Leaders of the red shirts, who are demanding fresh elections, denied they were responsible.
(Reporting by Vivek Prakash; Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Hundreds of Thai riot police moved on Friday in front of a barricade erected by anti-government protesters in Bangkok’s Silom business district, a day after grenade attacks in the area killed three people.
Thai television said police asked the “red shirts” to dismantle the barrier. They made no move to do so, and TV pictures showed protesters pouring what a reporter said was fuel onto the barricade, which is made up largely of tyres.
The government said the grenades on Thursday, which also wounded 75 people, were fired from the red shirt protest area. Leaders of the red shirts, who have been demonstrating in Bangkok for six weeks seeking new elections, denied they were to blame.
The grenade blasts came 12 days after clashes between troops and protesters killed 25 people and wounded more than 800 in the country’s worst street violence in 18 years.
The protesters, supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have also been occupying an upmarket shopping area for three weeks.
Any attempt to disperse them risks heavy casualties and the prospect of clashes spilling into high-end residential areas.
However, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said there would be no crackdown Thursday night because women and children were in the area.
Adding to the volatile mix, a new “multi-coloured” group is planning a demonstration of 50,000 people in Bangkok’s old quarter on Friday to demand the “red shirts” end their rally.
Demonstrations by this group have increased the tension in the Silom business district this week.
“There are now two conflicting groups and this kind of confrontation could create havoc and turmoil,” said Somjai Phagaphasvivat, politics and economics professor at Thammasat University.
Under growing pressure to restore order, the army warned the red shirts on Thursday their “days are numbered”.
Leaders of the red shirted supporters of twice-elected and now fugitive Thaksin say they will only leave when the military-backed government announces an early election.
They say the British-born, Oxford-educated Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva came to power illegitimately, heading a coalition the military cobbled together after courts dissolved a pro-Thaksin party that led the previous coalition government.
(Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Hundreds of riot police moved in front of a barricade erected by “red shirt” protesters in Bangkok’s Silom business district early on Friday and told them to dismantle it, television said.
Television pictures then showed some protesters pouring what a TV reporter said was fuel onto the barricade, which is made up largely of tyres, with sharpened bamboo poles inserted.
A series of grenade blasts in that area killed at least three people late on Thursday. The government said the grenades were fired from the red shirt protest area. Leaders of the red shirts, who are demanding a new election, denied they were responsible.
(Reporting by Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat; Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Wellington, April 19 (ANI): An under-16 Wellington side, which was scheduled to play three ODIs in Bangalore, is reconsidering its travel plans following Saturday”s explosions in Bangalore.
Two bombs exploded earlier outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, injuring at least 17 people, just as an Indian Premier League match between the Bangalore Royal Challengers and the Mumbai Indians was about to begin. Two more bombs were detected a day later.
Gavin Larsen, former Black Cap and Cricket Wellington CEO, told NZ Herald News that though the trip was “a chance of life-time”, he would consult the International Cricket Council”s security specialist, New Zealand Cricket Player Association head
Heath Mills, and an independent security specialist before taking a final call in the next 48 hours.
He said parents have entrusted Cricket Wellington to make the decision and added: “The bottom line is we would not compromise the safety of the touring party”. Recalling his days in Sri Lanka in 1992, when a bomb went off near the player”s hotel, he said: “The episode was incredibly unnerving”. (ANI)
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