18 killed in suicide blast at UN building in Nigeria

ABUJA: A suicide bomb blast rocked the UN compound in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Friday, killing at least 18 people, blowing out much of the building and marking a sharp escalation in a wave of attacks.

The bomb went off after a suspect forced his way through two security gates and rammed the car into the building. The first two floors were blown out and rescue workers scrambled to help those left inside.

A man claiming to be a spokesman for the Nigerian sect known as Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to AFP and threatened further violence. The veracity of his claims could not be confirmed.

“Through the wisdom of Allah, we have launched the attack with absolute precision,” the man who identified himself as Abu Darda said in the call. “The attack was carefully scripted and executed. We have said it several times that the UN is one of our prime targets.”

Boko Haram has been blamed for scores of bombings in recent months in Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil producer.

Such attacks, however, have not targeted international organisations, and Friday’s bomb marked a new level of audaciousness.

“So far, we have 18 dead,” Mike Zuokumor, police commissioner for the Federal Capital Territory told journalists.

At least 60 wounded were being treated at the national hospital, a radio report said. AGENCIES

Magazine Inspired Terror Suspects in UK

LONDON: Nine terror suspects arrested in England found inspiration and bomb-making tips in an online English-language magazine.

The magazine is published by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. In contrast to most terrorist Web sites, which are published in heavily theological Arabic, the magazine Inspire is published in easily accessible English.

A first issue in July included the article “Making a bomb in the kitchen of your mom,” was followed by a second issue in October.

British police said this week that between Oct. 1 and Dec. 20, the day the suspects were arrested in raids, the nine men had researched and discussed carrying out reconnaissance on potential targets. The U.S. State Department said the U.S. Embassy in London was among the targets.

Pak Navy successfully test-fires 3 missiles

Pakistan Navy has successfully test-fired three surface-to-air missiles at Sonmiani coast, ISPR said in a statement released on Monday.

The surface-to-air missiles successfully hit the targets.

The missile tests have boosted defence capability of Pakistan Navy, a spokesman said.

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir also witnessed the missile tests. The new missiles will further boost the navy’s ability to defend the coastal belt and creeks, Admiral Bashir said.

NATO pins hopes on Afghan security forces

WASHINGTON: The training of Afghan soldiers is designed to pave the way for the exit of NATO-led troops in 2014 but the effort faces difficulties over the quality of security forces and a high attrition rate, a Pentagon report said.

The United States and its allies see building up the Afghan army and police as pivotal to the war effort, and serious setbacks could jeopardize plans to hand over security to the Afghans.

Afghan security forces’ “growth and development are among Afghanistan’s most promising areas of progress, though numerous challenges persist,” said the Pentagon update on the war delivered to Congress.

The number of soldiers and police has grown by a third since November 2009. The Afghan army, with 134,000 troops, and the police, with a force of 116,000, met their recruitment goals three months ahead of schedule, hitting the targets in July

Terrorists failed to achieve their target: Qaim

Staff Report

KARACHI: The number of deaths from yesterday’s suicide bombing on CID building in Karachi rose to 16 while another 168 people are injured.

Three dead bodies were found in the rubble of the gutted building on Friday.

The deadly attack is being described as the worst terrorist strike in the history of the country’s commercial capital.

Sindh’s Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah visited the devastated CID building along with Home Minister Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza.

The Chief Minister said that terrorists had failed to achieve their targets.

“The attackers wanted to rescue their detained accomplices, who were not present inside the targeted building,” he said.

To a question, he denied that security lapse had led to the worst terror attack. Trend Pk

Greece: blasts outside Swiss, Russian embassies

Greek police have said that they have detonated a suspicious package outside the Bulgarian embassy in Athens after blasts outside Parliament and at the Swiss Embassy. No injuries or damage were reported from Tuesday’s three small explosions. Police say far-left domestic groups are suspected.
On Monday, four mail bomb failed to reach their targets – French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the embassies of Mexico, the Netherlands and Belgium. Two Greek men were arrested on suspicion of plotting the attacks.
The bombs were found after one of the devices exploded at a delivery service in central Athens, lightly wounding a worker at the delivery company.

FBI got tip about American in Mumbai attacks: report

WASHINGTON: The FBI received a tip three years before the 2008 Mumbai attacks that an American man who helped scout the targets was tied to the Pakistani group behind the plot, the Washington Post reported on Friday.

The man, David Headley, pleaded guilty in March to a dozen U.S. terrorism charges related to the Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed, and to a plot to attack a Danish newspaper that had published blasphemous cartoons in 2005.

He admitted to scouting the targets for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and agreed to help investigators and give testimony against others in exchange for a promise that he would not be extradited to India, Pakistan or Denmark.

The Washington Post reported that the FBI received a tip in 2005 about Headley’s involvement from his wife after the two were in a domestic dispute that resulted in his arrest.

Headley’s wife

Call centre staffer dies in car as a crane falls

 

New Delhi ,Feb. 28: A 30-year-old call centre employee died after a crane toppled and fell on three cars in west Delhi in the early hours of Sunday morning at a site where Delhi Jal Board work was going on.
The police confirmed that the accident took place at around 3 am near the Rajouri Garden flyover. The victim has been identified as Abhinav Puri, who was returning to his Tilak Nagar residence from a Gurgaon-based call centre.

The police said a crane toppled near the Rajouri Garden flyover and some part of it fell directly on Puri’s Alto car as well as two other vehicles. Puri was crushed under its weight as he was trapped inside. His vehicle was between two other cars. Puri had returned to India two years ago after studying in Australia. A local resident who was passing through called the police and the fire brigade.
Gas cutters were used to retrieve Puri from the mangled car and was he rushed to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. His body has been sent for post-mortem.
Construction work was going on near the flyover and the JCB crane belonged to the contractor employed by the DJB for excavation work in the area. Police officials said that it appeared till now that the crane had toppled because of excess weight.
A case of causing death due to negligence (Section 304A IPC) and an act endangering the life or personal safety of others (Section 336 IPC) has been registered. The crane operator had managed to flee from the spot.
Age Correspondent
***
Toll in Chile earthquake rises to 400
Mario Naranjo
CONCEPCION, Chile

Feb. 28: The death toll from a powerful earthquake in Chile rose to more than 400 people, an official at the National Emergency Office said on Sunday.
Chilean rescuers used shovels and sledgehammers on Sunday to find survivors of the mammoth earthquake that unleashed a Pacific tsunami and triggered looting by desperate and hungry residents.
The police used teargas and water cannons to disperse a crowd of looters.
    —Reuters

 

Spectacular IAF drill on how to hit terror camps

 

Pokhran, Rajasthan ,Feb. 28: The Indian Air Force put up a spectacular performance of bombing mock enemy targets, including mock terrorist camps, at the Vayu Shakti exercise in the deserts of Pokhran both before dusk and in the moonlight on Sunday. Defence minister A.K. Antony said the exercise was not aimed at Pakistan as such, but reiterated India’s main concern that Pakistan was yet to dismantle the terror camps operating on its soil.
He also noted that this had been conveyed to Pakistan foreign secretary Salman Bashir during last week’s talks in New Delhi, saying that India had not expected any “miracle” from these talks.

In response to another question, on whether he was unhappy over the modest increase in this year’s defence budget allocations, Mr Antony said the finance minister had a very difficult task to perform this year and that he had performed his duties well.
Mr Antony also declared that the armed forces would protect every inch of Indian territory. When asked whether Saudi Arabia could play the role of an interlocutor between India and Pakistan, Mr Antony replied that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was currently in Saudi Arabia and that it was not proper for a Cabinet minister to say anything on the matter.
On Sunday, frontline fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force, including Sukhois, MiG-29s, Mirage 2000s and Jaguars, fired rockets and dropped bombs on targets that included mock enemy aircraft hangars and enemy convoys. The impressive demonstration was witnessed by President Pratibha Patil, who is supreme commander of the defence forces, besides Mr Antony, minister of state for defence M.M. Pallam Raju and the three service chiefs. A total of 107 IAF aircraft participated in the exercise.
While a large number of foreign military attaches based in New Delhi attended the exercise, the representatives of Pakistan and China were not invited.
The exercise that lit up the skies over Pokhran was held in three stages. The first was held in daylight in the evening, the second stage at dusk and the third held in moonlight. The bombing targets were a fair distance away from the grandstand on which the dignitaries were seated. The audience witnessed sonic booms as aircraft flew at supersonic speeds, dropped heavy bombs (including those of 1,000 kg) and fired infrared missiles at the targets. Even the MiG-27 aircraft, one of which had crashed recently, took part in the magnificent demonstration of air power. The IAF Garud special forces, along with aircraft like the AN 32 and the large IL-76 as well as attack helicopters also participated. Images of the aircraft firing missiles and bombs were relayed on three screens by unmanned aerial vehicles in the skies.
One commentator remarked: “The flypast was so splendid that even the wind stopped to stare.”
Sridhar Kumaraswami

 

India Follows China, US In Setting Carbon Targets

TrendPK.com India Follows China, US In Setting Carbon Targets:India has come under intense pressure to issue targets ahead of the UN December 7-18 talks in Copenhagen after the United States and China announced their plans on reducing emissions. But India’s modest targets may fail to impress rich countries as, like China, these

TrendPK.com India Follows China, US In Setting Carbon Targets:India has come under intense pressure to issue targets ahead of the UN December 7-18 talks in Copenhagen after the United States and China announced their plans on reducing emissions.
But India’s modest targets may fail to impress rich countries as, like China, these [...]

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