Suicide bombers attack US base in Afghanistan

Suicide bombers tried unsuccessfully to storm a US military base near Afghanistan-Pakistan border in a daring attack on a major American installation, officials said Tuesday. Six insurgents detonated their vests after being surrounded.

The attack came a day after a suicide bomb outside the same base killed 10 civilians and wounded 13 others. The fighting was still going on early Tuesday, said US coalition spokesman 1st Lt Nathan Perry. There have been no American deaths, he said.

The militants failed to gain entry to Camp Salerno in Khost city after launching waves of attacks just before midnight on Monday, said Arsallah Jamal, the governor of Khost. The base is just a few miles from Pakistan's border.

Gen Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman, said Afghan soldiers, aided by US troops, chased and surrounded a group of insurgents, and that six militants blew themselves up when cornered. Seven other militants died in those explosions and a rolling gun battle, he said.

"(The Afghan National Army) is saying that anytime we get close to them, they detonate themselves," Jamal said.

At least 13 insurgents and two Afghan civilians died in the attack, officials said. Five Afghan soldiers were wounded in the fighting, Azimi said.

The Taliban appeared to confirm the account. Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said 15 militants had been dispatched for the attack on Salerno. Seven blew themselves up and eight returned to a Taliban safehouse, he said.

Jamal said the bodies of at least two dead militants were outside the checkpoint leading to the base's airport, both of whom had on vests packed with explosives, Jamal said. It wasn't clear if those militants were among the dead in Azimi's count.

Militants have long targeted US bases with suicide bombers, but coordinated attacks on such a major base are rare.

The attack comes a day after the top US General in the region, Maj Gen Jeffrey J Schloesser, issued a rare public warning that militants planned to attack civilian, military and government targets during the celebration of Independence Day on Monday.

More than 3,400 people � mostly militants � have been killed in insurgency-related violence this year, according to an Associated Press count based on figures from Western and Afghan officials.

Mush`s fate hangs in balance as Pak coalition meets to decide successor

After quitting as the President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf now faces an uncertain future.

The former Army Chief announced his exit in a televised address on Monday to avoid the threat of impeachment charges by the ruling PPP-PML(N) coalition government, nine years after he grabbed power in a bloodless military coup.

Speculation swirled that Musharraf's decision came after a deal brokered by Pakistan's powerful military and the United States to avoid criminal charges, but it remained unclear where he would spend his retirement.

Where�s Mush headed?

Musharraf is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia soon with his family to perform a pilgrimage to Mecca, following which he will decide whether to live outside Pakistan.

Reports said today that Musharraf will remain in the country for some time before travelling to Saudi Arabia. He does not want to give the impression that he is fleeing the country to avoid charges that were levelled against him by the coalition.

After announcing his resignation during a televised address yesterday, Musharraf left the Presidency in the heart of Islamabad and went to his camp office in the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi, where he is expected to stay for a few days.

Following his trip to Saudi Arabia for Umra, a pilgrimage to Mecca that can be performed at any time of the year, Musharraf will spend some time outside Pakistan. This could include a trip to the US to see members of his close family, a source said.

Musharraf's younger brother Naved, a doctor, lives in Chicago, while his son Bilal has a residence in Boston.

A senior coalition official said that Musharraf might also head to London or Turkey, but his aides insisted he would return after his religious duties in the Gulf Kingdom.

Reports have suggested that Musharraf resigned following an agreement with the ruling coalition, which would provide him security and not try him after declaring any of his actions as unconstitutional.

The US, Britain, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani are guarantors to the agreement.

Musharraf initially wanted to stay in Pakistan and demanded protection from the government but changed his mind after his close aides convinced him that he might never be safe in the country.

New software allows blind people surf the Internet from any PC

Richard Ladner, a professor of computer science at the University of Washington (UW), revealed that the software – dubbed WebAnywhere – can read aloud Web text on any computer with speakers or headphones. “This is for situations where someone who’s blind can’t use their own computer, but still wants access to the Internet: At a cyber caf, a school, at a friend’s house, etc,” said Ladner. Doctoral student Jeffrey Bigham developed WebAnywhere under Ladner’s supervision. Unlike current screen-reading software, WebAnywhere is the first accessibility tool to be hosted on the Web – meaning it doesn’t have to be downloaded onto a computer.It processes the text on an external server located in UW, and then sends the audio file to play in the user’s Web browser.“You don’t have to install new software.

So even if you go to a heavily locked-down computer, say at a library, you can still use it,” Bigham said.While testing, the researchers asked a few visually impaired people to use it to do three things – check email, look up a bus time table and search for a restaurant’s phone number. People using WebAnywhere – which, so far, works only in English – were able to successfully complete all three tasks, using a variety of machines and Internet connections.

Farm worker receives double arm transplant

Cool News:

Surgeons have performed the world’s first double arm transplant.

The 16-hour operation was carried out last Friday on a farm worker who lost both arms in an accident.

The 54-year-old man was given the arms of a teenage boy who is believed to have died in a road crash.

Plastic surgeon Professor Edgar Biemer and his colleague Christof Hoehnke led a surgical team of 30 to perform the operation at a clinic in Munich.

The patient, who lost his arms in a threshing machine six years ago, is said to be recovering well from the surgery. Doctors said he regained consciousness on Sunday and smiled at his wife.

Naina Devi temple stampede: 129 bodies idenitifed

Anandpur Sahib, August 4: As many as 129 out of 150 people killed in the stampede at Naina Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur district have beenidentified and the bodies handed over to their relatives, officials said on Monday.

"Identity of 129 deceased have been known and their bodies were handed over to their relatives. Efforts are on to identify the remaining 17 bodies," Ropar Deputy Commissioner B Purshartha said.

At least 146 devotees, including 30 children and 38 women, were killed and more than 50 injured yesterday in a stampede at the temple shrine triggered by rumours of a landslide.

"The Punjab Government is providing all kind of assistance to the relatives of victims for transportation of bodies from Bhai Jaitta civil hospital here," he said.

As many as 104 dead were from Punjab. While 58 from Patiala, ten belonged to Sangrur and nine Bathinda. Six dead were from Barnala, eight from Mansa, two each from Ropar and Ferozepur, one each from Muktsar and Ludhiana.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who visited the hospital and the site of the incident, assured that the state government in coordination with the Himachal Pradesh will improve the infrastructure at the shrine to ensure "maximum safety" of the pilgrims.

The Himachal Pradesh Government has ordered a commissioner-level inquiry into the incident.

Both the Punjab and Himachal Pradesh Government had already announced an ex-gratia of Rs one lakh each to the dead and free treatment for the injured.

This was the second such incident at the hill shrine as in 1981, as many as 53 pilgrims lost their lives after a similar stampede.

Sex and the city forbidden, but let the Games begin

Vikas Katoch, Aug 4: Whatever happened to the Mongolian prostitutes? Where have all the "money boys" gone?

Looking for a high-class hooker in the lobby of a five-star hotel? It could be a tough assignment.

Anyone hoping for some readily available sex-for-sale in Beijing during the Olympics may be in for a shock. China is clearly keen to portray a squeaky clean image at the Summer Games and picture postcard Beijing is a top priority.

Prostitution is illegal in China. Banished after the Communist revolution in 1949, it returned with a vengeance in the 1980s when the country embarked upon economic reforms and started opening to the outside world.

For prostitutes and pole dancers alike, pickings now are slim. They cannot wait for the Olympics to end.

Climbing down from her pole in a sparsely populated bar in Beijing's Sanlitun area, 22-year-old Yang Shuo sighed.

"Business is OK but it could be better," she said. "It's the Olympics, you know. Police are cracking down on places like this."

Looking out on a tacky bar filled with a handful of customers, she said: "I am looking forward to the Olympics finishing."

For the oldest profession in the world, drumming up clients at the Olympics is hard work.

"Business is terrible," confessed one prostitute as she strode up to a passing westerner in a downtown Beijing street offering "Sex, Sex, Sex".

"We have been thrown out of the hotels," said the woman in her mid-30s, wearing a low-strung orange top. "We have to do our business on the streets and cut our prices."

CLOSED FOR RENOVATION

She normally charges 600 yuan ($90) for three hours. The special Olympic price is now down to 500 yuan.

Another student found dead in Asaram Bapu's school

A five-year-old boy was found dead Thursday in the bathroom of a residential school of spiritual leader Asaram Bapu in Chhindwara town of Madhya Pradesh, the police said. This is the second death of a student in the school in the past three days.

According to police, Vedant Kumar was found unconscious in the bathroom of the 'gurukul' in Parasia road locality in Chhindwara town, 275 km from here.

On Tuesday evening, another five-year-old, Ramkrishna Mohan Yadav, was found dead in similar conditions in the gurukul.

A large number of people, many of them anxious parents, gathered outside the school but were not allowed by the authorities to meet the students. There are 371 students studying in the school.

"We will arrange the meeting of children with their parents and guardians as soon as the situation normalises. We are worried that clashes may occur in the town as has been the case in Ahmedabad, where two children died in mysterious circumstances," Deputy Inspector General of Police K. Beaphay told IANS.

Two students Deepesh Vaghela, 10, and his cousin Abhishek Vaghela, 11, of a gurukul run by Aasaram Bapu's ashram went missing July 4 in Ahmedabad. Their bodies were found from the nearby Sabarmati riverbed July 6. Allegations of shoddy police probe led to widespread protests and clashes in the city.

"Apparently both the deaths appear to be accidental and no injury marks have been found on the body of either child. We are, however, inquiring into the matter," the official said.

More bombs found in Surat

Seven more bombs were found in this south Gujarat city Tuesday by the afternoon, taking the number of unexploded bombs found here in the past three days to 12. The first lot had been found Sunday, a day after serial blasts in Ahemdabad killed at least 50 people and injured 200.

Four bombs were found on Sunday and one late Monday evening. More unexploded bombs could pop up before the day ends, said a police constable.

Most of the bombs found here Tuesday were in the Varacha area. The first was found in the morning behind the Labeshwar police post when a provision store owner was opening his shop at about 9 a.m. As he was pushing his shutters up a packet fell down. He immediately called the police. Police inspector V.B. Patel reached the spot with the bomb disposal and dog squads.

A little while later another bomb was found near Baroda bridge in Santoshnagar area close to a garment shop, Mahavir Fashion. The bomb was placed inside an electric meter box. It was defused. Both bombs were found within an hour and defused.

On Tuesday afternoon, another bomb was found on the branches of a peepul tree close to the Matawadi police post in the Varacha area and defused. Even as the cops were heaving a sigh of relief, they had to rush to Varacha's mini diamond market where four more bombs four. All four were defused.

The bomb found late Monday night was also in the Labeshwar area. All the bombs found in the neighbourhood were planted withing a kilometre of one another.

None of the bombs found in Surat so far has exploded, leading to all sorts of theories here on whether the city was being used as a staging post and a cache by the terrorists on their way to Ahmedabad.

PM praises people of Gujarat for their resilience

Ahmedabad, July 28: Commending the people of Gujarat for the resilience shown by them in the wake of terror attacks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said such attempts to destroy social fabric and demoralise people will not succeed. Singh, who met Chief Minister Narendra Modi, visited hospitals and enquired about the welfare of victims of Saturday's serial blasts in the city that left 49 dead and several injured. The Prime Minister, who was accompanied by Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Home Minister Shivraj Patil, said he had come to express "our solidarity with the people of Gujarat in their hour of crisis". "I commend the people of Gujarat for the resilience they have shown. These terrorist acts are aimed at destroying our social fabric, undermining communal harmony and demoralising our people," he said. Singh also announced enhancement of ex-gratia payment from Rs one lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh each to next of kin of those killed in the terror attacks.

Police Prepared Three Sketches

Aug 02: Investigators probing last week's serial bomb blasts in the city have prepared sketches of three suspects as Gujarat remains on high-alert, a senior police official said on Saturday.

"We have prepared three sketches of suspects based on description given by an eye-witness who saw them planting the bombs in different parts of the city," Joint Commissioner of Police Ashish Bhatia said.

"We have decided to not make those sketches public at this stage as it will hamper the probe," he added.

Police is conducting regular combing operations and security has been tightened in vital locations of the state.

On the forensic report of bombs, Bhatia said, "It seems that the material for bombs came from outside the state.

But it is likely that they were assembled here. Since, items like batteries and watches are found locally, we believe that the assembly could have been done here."

Victims admitted at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital have described the series of events leading to bomb blast to police officials, said Bhatia.

Bomb blasts rock Indian state

Gujarat has been shaken by months of violence

A series of bomb blasts have rocked the commercial capital of the Indian state of Gujarat.

About a dozen people were injured in three explosions in the city of Ahmedabad, police and hospital sources said.

Police said bombs went off in a market area and on buses during morning rush hour.

No-one has admitted planting the devices.

Gujarat, in western India, has been hit by Hindu-Muslim violence since February this year, when a train carrying Hindu activists from the disputed holy site at Ayodhya was attacked by a Muslim mob.

Consecutive blasts

Police said the first of Wednesday's bombs exploded in the market area of Gurukul, a mainly Hindu neighbourhood, followed by a second blast five minutes later at a bus terminal in the mixed Hindu-Muslim district of Geetamandir.

More than 1,000 people have died in Hindu-Muslim fighting

Shortly afterwards a third device went off on a bus in the Hindu-Muslim neighbourhood of Vasana.

Police said Wednesday's bombs were not of a sophisticated type.

"It appears that the bombs... are crudely made bombs and intended to create a panic," a police spokesman told Reuters news agency.

Sectarian violence

Nearly 1,000 people, mainly Muslims, have died in riots, which have destroyed large parts of Ahmedabad.

Human rights groups say at least 2,500 people have been killed, including women and children targeted in revenge attacks.

The violence has also led many people to flee their homes.

Security forces in the state are on high alert following the recent fighting.

Earlier this month, the Indian Government deployed an extra 1,000 specially-trained riot police to Gujarat to help the local police force contend with the trouble.

Last week, soldiers who had been sent to Gujarat were redeployed to the Indian-Pakistan border amid rising tension between the two countries.