At least 10 people have been killed after a bomb rocked a railroad station in south-western Pakistan, Press TV reports. Several people have been reported injured after the incident, which occurred on Wednesday in the city of Sibi in Baluchistan province. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Madoff's brother to plead guilty
Peter Madoff, the brother of Ponzi scheme king Bernard Madoff and the former chief compliance officer at the private investment arm of his business, will plead guilty on Friday to conspiracy and falsifying records, AP reports. He admits his role in the multibillion-dollar fraud that destroyed the savings of thousands of investors. Madoff agrees to serve a 10-year prison term and has also agreed to the forfeiture of US$143 billion, including all of his real estate and personal property.
Top US commander meets Pakistani counterpart to try renewing co-operation
The US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, has met with Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, to urge Islamabad to crack down on militants operating across the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. In Wednesday’s meeting they also reportedly focused on re-opening key military supply lines which were closed to NATO convoys in November after an air strike by the military alliance killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. No progress has been made on the issue since then. Ahead of the meeting, another US drone attack killed four suspected militants in the country.
US authorities seize cargo ship suspected of carrying stowaways
New Jersey authorities have stormed a cargo ship suspected of carrying Pakistani stowaways, said the US Coast Guard. Agents said they heard what sounded like people in a container buried beneath others in the ship's hold, Coast Guard spokesman Charles Rowe told journalists. Ambulances are on the scene as Customs agents investigate. The ship had previously made stops in India and Egypt to pick up freight.
First obesity drug approved in America since 1989
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug to treat obesity in 13 years. It is called lorcaserin and is produced by Arena Pharmaceuticals and is being marketed as Belviq (lorcaserin hydrochloride). The drug acts on a receptor in the brain to help people eat less and feel fuller, according to the FDA statement. "It's about time that they approved a new drug," Dr. Judith Stern, a professor of nutrition at the University of California at Davis told ABC News. "Obesity drugs should be on the fast track."
Thousands evacuated from Colorado Springs as wildfires spread
Forest fires continue to ravage the area surrounding Colorado Springs, destroying homes and forcing authorities to evacuate 32,000 residents. The Waldo Canyon fire has spread quickly since it began on Saturday, helped by turbulent winds. So far, there have been no reports of casualties or injuries in the fire which has consumed 6,200 acres and is just five per cent contained. Record high temperatures, extremely low humidity and wind gusts of up to 60 miles an hour have fueled blazes across the American West.
Bolivian police end mutiny after accord with government
Bolivia's police ended a violent mutiny and went back to work on Wednesday after reaching a deal on pay and disciplinary rules. The agreement raises the minimum wage for roughly 32,000 police officers to about $300 a month and scraps tough new disciplinary rules until an alternative scheme can be approved, Reuters said. Dozens of police officers were hurt and several police stations were destroyed in the five-day rebellion.
20 killed in north Mali militant clashes
At least 20 people were reportedly killed in a gun battle between local Tuareg separatists and Al-Qaeda linked islamists in the northern Mali town of Gao on Wednesday. The clashes happened in different locations around the town, Reuters said, citing witnesses. Islamist groups helped the separatist Tuareg-led group MNLA seize two-thirds of the north of Mali in April.
Alleged Mumbai plotter ‘confirms’ Pakistan involvement
Indian authorities have said that a man arrested on suspicion of helping plot the 2008 Mumbai attacks had “confirmed” that Pakistan was involved. “That confirms our suspicion that it was an organized effort which had some kind of state support,” Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said, as cited by Reuters. Sayeed Zabiuddin Ansari was arrested on June 21 and accused of helping coordinate the attack by 10 gunmen of Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group. He was reportedly at a “control room” in Karachi, Pakistan, during the attacks. Islamabad denies backing militant groups.
Turkey has no intention of attacking Syria - Erdogan
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday his country has no intention of attacking Syria over its downing of a Turkish fighter jet. “As Turkey, the Turkish nation, we have no intention of attacking Syria”, he was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency. He said Ankara has no hostility attitude toward any country. Erdogan added Turkey was taking measures to be able to stop any threats, but stressed these were only defensive measures.
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