SanLuisObispo.com: World

Caller claims responsibility for Pakistan bombing

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:25 PST

By By RIAZ KHAN -- A purported Taliban commander has claimed responsibility for a market bombing in northwestern Pakistan that killed an anti-Taliban mayor and 11 others.

The man, who gave only one name, Omar, said in a telephone call from an undisclosed location that the group's local fighters carried out the Sunday attack.

The man, whose identify could not be confirmed, said the mayor was targeted in the attack near Peshawar because he had set up a militia and was helping fight the militants.

British soldier killed in southern Afghanistan

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:35 PST

Britain's Defense Ministry says a British soldier has been killed in southern Afghanistan.

The ministry said Sunday that the soldier from the 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, was killed in an explosion Saturday near Sangin in central Helmand province.

Britain is the largest contributor to NATO forces in Afghanistan after the United States with about 9,000 troops in the country and 500 more committed by the government last month.

China sends panda expert to Taiwan to aid breeding

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:00 PST

Nothing like a little time apart to rekindle the affections that could lead to a baby panda.

So says a panda expert sent by China to Taiwan to advise on how to encourage mating by the pair given by Beijing last December to mark the two sides' growing friendship.

After inspecting the pandas at the Taipei Zoo on Sunday, Chinese panda expert Zhang Hemin suggested a separation of a month or two might boost the feeling of attraction needed to reproduce.

Chinese premier pledges funds, aid to Africa

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:45 PST

By By TAREK EL-TABLAWY -- China's premier on Sunday pledged $10 billion in low interest loans to African nations over the next three years and said Beijing would cancel the government debts of some of the poorest of those countries, as the Asian powerhouse looked to deflect criticism that its investments in the continent were motivated purely by greed.

At a two-day China-Africa summit that began on Sunday, Wen Jiabao also said China would build 100 new clean energy projects for Africa over the same period as part of an effort to help the continent deal with climate change issues.

"We will help Africa build up financing capacity," Wen said at the start of the two-day Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit. "We will provide $10 billion in concessional loans to African countries."

Homeland chief warns against anti-Muslim backlash

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:45 PST

U.S. Homeland Security officials are working with groups around United States to head off any possible anti-Muslim backlash following the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas, the agency's chief said Sunday.

The comments by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also appeared part of efforts to reassure the Arab world that U.S. authorities were taking measures to quell anti-Islam sentiments after last week's rampage by an American-born Muslim serving as U.S. Army psychiatrist.

"This was a terrible tragedy for all involved," Napolitano told reporters in the United Arab Emirates' capital Abu Dhabi. "Obviously, we object to - and do not believe - that anti-Muslim sentiment should emanate from this."

Pope Benedict honors Paul VI in Italian birthplace

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:25 PST

Pope Benedict XVI made a one-day pilgrimage Sunday to northern Italy to pay tribute to Paul VI, his predecessor who made him a cardinal.

Thousands held umbrellas or pulled jackets tightly about them as a chilly rain fell during Benedict's Mass in Paul VI Square outside the cathedral in Brescia, 90 kilometers (55 miles) east of Milan.

A canopy sheltered Benedict from the downpour as he hailed Paul VI's achievements as a reforming pope.

Germany celebrates memory of Berlin Wall falling

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:20 PST

By By MATT MOORE -- Twenty years ago Monday, they danced atop the Berlin Wall, feet thudding on the cold concrete, arms raised in victory, hands clasped in friendship and giddy hope.

On that cold night, years of separation and anxiety melted into the unbelievable reality of freedom and a future without border guards, secret police, informers and rigid communist control.

This weekend, Germans celebrate with concerts boasting Beethoven and Bon Jovi; a memorial service for the 136 people killed trying to cross over from 1961 to 1989; candle lightings and 1,000 towering plastic foam dominoes to be placed along the wall's route and tipped over.

Queen leads Britain's Remembrance day ceremony

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:45 PST

Queen Elizabeth II has led Britain's annual ceremony for the country's war dead, joining thousands of troops, veterans and civilians in a traditional two-minute silence.

Remembrance Sunday comes as Britain debates its role in Afghanistan and its death toll there rises. The Defense Ministry said Sunday a British soldier had been killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan.

As Big Ben chimed 11 a.m., the silence began, broken by a single artillery blast and the sound of the Royal Marine buglers playing the "Last Post."

Dalai Lama visits town near Tibet, angering China

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:50 PST

By By MUNEEZA NAQVI -- The Dalai Lama brushed off Chinese protests and traveled Sunday to a remote Himalayan town near the Tibetan border to lead five days of prayers and teaching sessions for Buddhist pilgrims.

Thousands of poor villagers braved freezing temperatures and icy winds for a rare chance to glimpse the Tibetan spiritual leader.

Monks clanged cymbals and sounded traditional Tibetan horns to greet the Dalai Lama as he arrived at the Tawang monastery from a nearby helipad.

Timeline of events leading to communism's collapse

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:50 PST

Key dates in the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe in 1989:

- June 4: Poland holds first partially free elections in four decades; Solidarity-led opposition wins all but one freely contested seat in parliament.

- August: Tens of thousands of East Germans swamp West German diplomatic missions in East Berlin, Czechoslovakia and Hungary seeking asylum.

Berlin guard: Opening wall `terrible' but right

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:50 PST

By By DOROTHEE THIESING -- Harald Jaeger was a loyal East German border guard - respected and trusted to command a crossing point to the west on Berlin's Bornholmer Strasse.

So when his checkpoint was swarmed on the evening of Nov. 9, 1989, as East Germany announced the border was being opened after 28 years, Jaeger felt ashamed as he let the thousands pass through.

"It was terrible because I realized that the party and the government had let me down and that my own colleagues did not stand behind me," he told Associated Press Television News in comments translated from German. "And particularly, my ideology completely fell apart back then."

Police: Suicide bomb in Pakistan market kills 12

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:01 PST

By By RIAZ KHAN -- A suicide bomber apparently targeting an anti-Taliban mayor struck a crowded market Sunday in northwest Pakistan, killing the mayor and 11 other people and injuring dozens, police said.

The morning attack took place in the town of Adazai, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of the main northwest city of Peshawar. The market was crowded with shoppers and goats being sold to celebrate the upcoming Muslim festival of Eid.

The mayor, Abdul Malik, who was initially reported to have survived, died in the attack, said Sahibzada Anis, the top official in Peshawar.

Fuel convoy hit in eastern Afghanistan

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:40 PST

By By DEB RIECHMANN -- An Afghan police official says at least two private security guards have been wounded and two fuel tankers set on fire in eastern Afghanistan when militants attacked a supply convoy for NATO forces.

Provincial police spokesman Ghafor Khan says the two were injured in a battle Sunday near Jalalabad between the enemy combatants and private guards providing security for the convoy. He says other tankers were damaged along the highway, a main supply route between Pakistan and the Afghan capital of Kabul.

Russia's Medvedev: Sanctions against Iran possible

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:50 PST

By By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV -- Russia could back sanctions against Iran if it fails to take a constructive stance in international talks over its nuclear program, President Dmitry Medvedev said in remarks released Saturday.

The statement echoed earlier comments by Medvedev, but contrasted sharply with the words of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has warned that the threat of sanctions could thwart talks with Iran.

Medvedev said in an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel magazine that it would be better to avoid sanctions, but they can't be excluded if there is no progress in the talks. His comments were released by the Kremlin.

UN: About 200 staff to be pulled from Afghanistan

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:20 PST

The U.N. says hundreds of its staffers will be temporarily pulled out of Afghanistan in the wake of an Oct. 28 attack that killed five of its workers, but it's still determining exactly how many.

U.N. spokesman Adrian Edwards in Kabul emphasizes the world body is not "withdrawing, not pulling out" from Afghanistan and will continue its work.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters at the U.N. on Friday that about 200 staffers will be relocated to other U.N. offices in the region. But Edwards said Saturday the U.N. is still poring over the personnel lists of every U.N. agency and every office and has yet to calculate the exact number leaving.

Uncle: Fort Hood suspect loved US

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:25 PST

The Palestinian uncle of Fort Hood shooting suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan says his nephew loved America and wanted to serve his country.

Hasan allegedy shot 13 people and wounded 30 others at the Fort Hood military base in Texas on Thursday.

Rafik Hamad, 64, said Saturday that he last saw his newphew two years ago. He said Hasan was shaken by difficult cases he was treating as an army psychiatrist but wanted to serve his country because of the opportunities he was given as an American.