BSF retaliates to rocket attack from Pakistan, villagers protest (Fourth Lead)
AMRITSAR - Three rockets fired in quick succession from Pakistan exploded near a village in India’s Amritsar district, triggering retaliatory gunfire by Indian border guards, officials said Saturday as angry villagers from the region held protests.
Officials: 7 killed in attacks, battles in Russia’s North Caucasus, suicide bombing injures 3
GROZNY, Russia — Russian authorities say seven people have been killed in attacks and gunbattles in the North Caucasus region, most of them alleged militants.
2 US troops among 50 killed in spate of Afghan violence; 20 civilians killed by roadside bombs
KABUL — Nearly 50 Afghan civilians, security forces and militants were killed in a spate of attacks around the war-torn country, including an overnight military raid targeting insurgents in the increasingly violent north, officials said Saturday. A roadside bomb killed two U.S. troops in the east.
Somalia shelling kills 15, most at home for disabled former army officers
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Mortars slammed into Somalia’s capital, killing three civilians and at least 12 men at a home for disabled veterans, an official said Saturday. Nearly a dozen other former soldiers were wounded in the attack.
One soldier, eight militants killed in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD - At least one soldier and eight militants were killed in clashes in Pakistan’s northwestern region, the army said Saturday.
Pakistan says troops kill 22 militants in Khyber tribal region
ISLAMABAD — Hundreds of tribal police in the northwestern Khyber region have quit their jobs because of militant threats, even as Pakistani forces reported killing 22 insurgents in an ongoing military operation there, officials said Saturday.
48 civilians, security forces, insurgents killed in rash of attacks in war-torn Afghanistan
KABUL — Some 48 Afghan civilians, security forces and militants were killed in a spate of attacks around the war-torn country, including an overnight military raid targeting insurgents in the increasingly violent north, officials said Saturday.
12 police injured in clashes in German city of Hamburg following far-right rally
HAMBURG — Police say 12 officers have been injured in clashes with left-wing demonstrators in the German city of Hamburg following a far-right rally.
Iran wants talks, but won’t concede on nuclear drive
TEHRAN - Tehran Saturday said it was ready to resume diplomatic talks with the West on the basis of its latest proposals regarding global issues, but vowed to make no concessions in the nuclear dispute.
Cuba says ‘Commander of the Revolution’ Juan Almeida Bosque dead of heart attack at 82
HAVANA — Juan Almeida Bosque, a comrade-in-arms of Fidel Castro since the start of his guerrilla struggle more than a half-century ago, has died of a heart attack. The 82-year-old was one of several Cuban vice presidents and had been among only three surviving rebel leaders who still bore the honorary title “Commander of the Revolution.”
Bombs kill 3 near tomb of revered Shiite cleric in central Baghdad
BAGHDAD — Two bombs exploded moments apart near the tomb of a revered Shiite religious figure in central Baghdad on Saturday, killing three people and wounding 22, police and hospital officials said.
Russia disappointed by Iran proposals
MOSCOW - Russia expressed disappointment with the latest proposals by Iran in the row over Tehran’s nuclear programme, according to media reports Saturday.
Russian security forces kill four militants
MAKHACHKALA - Four militants were killed Saturday in a counter-terrorist operation on the outskirts of Makhachkala, the capital of Russias North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, a police spokesman said.
Somalia shelling kills 15, most at a home ex-army officers who lost limbs
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Mortars slammed into a home for disabled veterans in Somalia’s capital, killing at least 12 disabled men and wounding nearly a dozen, officials said Saturday.
Violence kills 2 people in Iraq’s capital and violence-plagued northern city of Mosul
BAGHDAD — Iraqi police officials say two people were killed in incidents involving bombs in the capital and the violence-plagued northern city of Mosul.
State police chiefs to discuss security threats
NEW DELHI - Measures to tackle terror and Maoist threats, strengthening internal security and filling the gaping vacancies in the state police forces will be topmost on the agenda at the three-day annual conference of state police chiefs beginning here Monday.
45 civilians, security forces, insurgents killed in rash of attacks in war-torn Afghanistan
KABUL — Forty-five Afghan civilians, security forces and militants were killed in a spate of attacks around the war-torn country, including an overnight military raid targeting insurgents in the increasingly violent north, officials said Saturday.
Report: British special forces are giving counter-terrorism training to Libyan infantry
LONDON — Some of Britain’s most elite soldiers have been training Libyan forces in counterterrorism and surveillance for the past six months, a U.K. newspaper said Saturday.
BSF fires into Pakistan after rocket attack (Third Lead)
AMRITSAR - Three rockets fired in quick succession from Pakistan exploded near a village in India’s Amritsar district, triggering retaliatory gunfire by Indian border guards, officials said Saturday.
SKorea not opposed to dialogue between US and NKorea on resuming disarmament talks
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea would not oppose the United States holding direct talks with North Korea to persuade the communist regime to rejoin stalled international nuclear disarmament negotiations, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday.
Afghan scribe’s body abandoned to avoid more casualties: NATO
KABUL - NATO said Saturday its forces had to leave behind the dead body of an Afghan journalist to avoid “more casualties” after its airborne operation freed a Western journalist.
Space shuttle Discovery detours to California, astronauts prepare for homecoming in Houston
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — After diverting to California, astronauts from space shuttle Discovery prepared to reunite with their families and NASA managers in Texas on Saturday.
Questions and answers about the US role and future in the Afghanistan war
WASHINGTON — Eight years past the terror attacks that led to the war in Afghanistan, the connection between that country and al-Qaida has dimmed in memory, terror leader Osama bin Laden remains at large and the fighting grinds on.
Pakistan, India investigate overnight rocket blasts on Indian side of frontier
ISLAMABAD — India said that three rockets were fired into the country from Pakistan overnight, but Pakistani officials said Saturday they were launched from India. No one was injured in the blasts.
Despite prolonged quiet, Lebanese and Israelis fear renewed fighting
BEIRUT — Despite one of the quietest periods in decades along the Israel-Lebanon frontier, people on both sides of the border seem to fear that another eruption of violence is only a matter of time.
AP Interview: Russian envoy to Afghanistan advises NATO: more troops will hurt war on Taliban
KABUL — Russia’s ambassador to Afghanistan has some advice for top NATO commanders fighting the Taliban based on the Soviet Union’s bitter experience battling Islamist insurgents here in the 1980s: Don’t bring more troops.
107 MM army-type rockets fired into India: BSF (Second Lead)
AMRITSAR - Even as the Pakistani authorities Saturday denied that any rockets were fired from its side into Indian territory, paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) officials here said they were fully equipped to retaliate against any provocation from the neighbouring country.
Emergency officials: Suicide bomb blast in Chechnya injures 3 police
GROZNY, Russia — An emergency official says a suicide bomber has wounded three police officers in the capital of Russia’s war-scarred Chechnya province.
Pakistan denies border firing
LAHORE/AMRITSAR - Tension prevailed at the Pakistan-India border after loud explosions were heard on the Indian side near the Attari-Wagah check post. However, Pakistan denied Saturday that its forces were responsible for the blasts.
1 person killed in amid clashes between police, protesters on anniversary of Chile’s 1973 coup
SANTIAGO, Chile — Police and hooded protesters clashed Friday in Chile’s capital on the anniversary of the 1973 military coup that toppled elected President Salvador Allende. State television reported one death amid the disturbances.
