Translate

Search This Blog

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Does Obama deserve the Nobel Peace Prize? YOUR VIEWS


Landslides kill 186 in Philippines


Flooding and landslides from tropical depression Parma have killed 186 people in the Philippines, authorities said Saturday. Another 93 people have been injured, according to Nalia Tabliago of the Philippines National Disaster Coordinating Council. Rescuers are searching for 40 people reported missing, Tabliago said. Tropical depression Parma, known locally as Pepeng, dumped as much as 36 inches of rain in some parts of the nation of islands last week, compounding misery in areas already flooded by an earlier storm, typhoon Ketsana On Friday, landslides blocked traffic along the Marchos Highway, Naguilian Road, Kennon Road and Ambuklao Road, cutting access to Baguio City, Benguet Province and Mountain Province, according to the Office of Civil Defense in Cordillera.

‘US not to walk away from Afghanistan and Pakistan’


Standing firm on its long-term commitment for the Af-Pak region, the Obama Administration has said the US will not walk away from Afghanistan and Pakistan because this is not in its national interest. ‘We are talking about how to best carry out that commitment, how we can best serve our interests and those in the region. But I have heard no one say that we are prepared to walk away from Afghanistan or Pakistan or the region, expressly because it is in our interest,’ Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs PJ Crowley told reporters. ‘I have heard no US government official, from the president down to your modest spokesman, say that there’s anything but a long-term commitment to the region and a long-term commitment to Afghanistan and Pakistan,’ Crowley asserted in response to a question. Given the fact that the former Soviet Union left Afghanistan in 1988, leaders from Pakistan and Afghanistan of late have expressed their apprehension that the US may do the same when its objectives in the region to defeat the al Qaeda and the Taliban are achieved. ‘Now, how will we do that best going forward? That is the purpose of these series of meetings and this broad review,’ he said.’ As we have said continually, we’re looking at the situation on the ground, said Crowley.

'Hostages freed' in Pakistan raid


Security forces have stormed the Pakistani army headquarters in Rawalpindi, freeing 25 hostages held there by suspected Taliban fighters, according to the military.The army operation got under way in the early hours of Sunday morning. Reports said that three hostages and four fighters were killed in the assault. "Twenty-five hostages have been freed. Three hostages and four terrorists were killed in the rescue operation," Major-General Athar Abbas, the Pakistani military spokesman, said. He said that 20 of the hostages had been kept in a room, guarded by one of the fighters who was wearing a suicide vest.

Turkey-Armenia ink historic accord


Turkey and Armenia have signed a historic accord, agreeing to resume diplomatic ties and re-open borders after a century of hostility. Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, and Edward Nalbandian, his Armenian counterpart  signed the Swiss-mediated deal in Zurich on Saturday, after last-minute disagreements delayed the ceremony for three hours. "It was pulled back from the brink,' a senior US official said. Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, helped smooth over the disagreement that arose after Turkey objected to an Armenian statement. The accord is the culmination of more than a year of Swiss-mediated talks. Besides Clinton, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, and Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minster, were among those present at the ceremony.

Gunmen take hostages in assault on army HQ


Up to 15 people have been taken hostage by several gunmen after the Pakistani army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi came under attack, officials have said. "There is a hostage situation unfolding,". The hostage-takers have reportedly demanded money and the release of several Taliban leaders in exchange for the people being held. Earlier reports suggested that the attack on Saturday, which left six soldiers and four assailants dead, had been repelled by the troops. But officials later said some gunmen are still holding several people hostage in a building adjacent to the army headquarters.