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Thursday, April 16, 2009
Indians vote in marathon election
Soyouz brings Russian millionaire back to Earth
Chelsea reach semis after thriller
Flower appointed to England job
Federer and Nadal advance into third round
FIA rule Brawn car is legal
Ahmadinejad pledges new nuclear offer
Angry crowd chases off women's rights protesters
Millions of Indians due to vote
INDIAN ELECTION AT A GLANCE Eligible voters: 714 million Polling centres: 828,804 Voting days: 16, 23, 30 April; 7, 13 May Vote counting: 16 May Leading candidates: Manmohan Singh (Congress), LK Advani (BJP), Mayawati |
Government revokes ex-PM Thaksin's passport
Gaddafi outlines African vision
Darfur rebels sentenced to death over Khartoum attack
Guantanamo abuse row deepens
Swat Taliban refuse to lay down arms
ISLAMABAD Pakistani Taliban will not lay down their arms in a northwestern valley as part of a deal that included the introduction of sharia law but will take their 'struggle' to new areas, a militant spokesman said on Wednesday.President Asif Ali Zardari, under pressure from conservatives, signed a regulation on Monday imposing sharia law in the Swat valley to end Taliban violence.The strategy of appeasement has alarmed US officials, while critics say the government has demonstrated a lack of capacity and will to fight the Taliban and al Qaeda.Details of the deal have not been made public but government officials backing the pact have said part of it was that militants would give up their arms.But a Pakistani Taliban spokesman in the scenic valley, a one-time tourist destination 125 km northwest of Islamabad, said they would be keeping their guns.'Sharia doesn't permit us to lay down arms,' Muslim Khan said by telephone. 'If a government, either in Pakistan or Afghanistan, continues anti-Muslim policies, it's out of the question that Taliban lay down their arms.'Some Taliban fighters last week moved out of Swat and into Buner district, only 100 km from Islamabad, and Khan said his men would push into new areas.'When we achieve our goal at one place, there are other areas where we need to struggle for it,' he said.Earlier on Wednesday, the Tehrik-i-Nifaz-Shariat-i-Muhammdi, which Sufi Mohammad heads, announced a public rally in Mingora on April 19.
Mumbai terror attacks trial suspended
French warship captures pirates
Air France-KLM to cut up to 3,000 jobs by 2011
Pakistan bomber hits checkpoint
At least 12 people have been killed by a suicide bomber who attacked a police checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan.The assailant drove a car loaded with explosives into the Hari Chand checkpoint in the Charsadda district on Wednesday, police said.Nine policemen and three civilians were killed in the blast which severed power cables in the area and left a crater about three metres wide."They tried to stop him but he blew himself up," Riaz Mohammad, a senior police officer, said. An investigation team, forensic experts and bomb disposal officers were being sent to the scene.Asif Ali Zardari, the president, and Yusuf Raza Gilani, the prime minister, condemned the attack."The president said that the perpetrators of such a heinous crime would be brought to justice," a statement from Zardari's office said.