QUOTE OF THE DAY “We need only caskets, certainly not ambulances.” Pietro Bartolo,
chief of health services on the Italian island of Lampedusa, near the site where a boat full of African migrants caught fire, flipped over and sank, killing dozens Article, this page
Suicide bomber kills 15 in Pakistan
PARACHINAR, Pakistan - A Taliban suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into the compound of a rival militant commander in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing 15 people, a government official said.
The commander, Nabi Hanfi, was not present at the time of the attack, said Wajid Khan, a local government administrator. Hanfi has been battling the Pakistani Taliban in the Orakzai tribal area where the bombing occurred.
Gunmen first fired shots at Hanfi’s compound in Balandkhel village, and then the suicide bomber detonated his vehicle, Khan said. The blast also wounded six people, he said.
Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid claimed responsibility for the attack, saying five militants targeted Hanfi because he had formed a group to fight them.
A local tribal leader, Malik Nek Marjaan, said the Pakistani government has been supporting Hanfi’s group in its battle against the Taliban. The government has backed anti-Taliban militias throughout the northwest.
Palestinians reclaim settlement land
BURKA, West Bank - Palestinian farmers Thursday reclaimed lands they had lost decades earlier to an Israeli settlement, celebrating a rare legal victory their lawyer said illustrates that Israel’s settlement enterprise is reversible.
In the 1970s, Israel seized several hundred acres from residents of the West Bank village of Burka to build the Israeli settlement of Homesh. The settlement, along with three others in the West Bank, was razed in 2005, in connection with Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip at the time.
However, Palestinians were not allowed to return to their lands after the 2005 demolition of Homesh because the military did not rescind the land seizure order and prevented access to the area, attorney Michael Sfard saud.
After more than two years of court petitions, the military agreed several months ago to rescind the seizure order and last week lifted access restrictions.
Since capturing the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in 1967, Israel built and expanded dozens of settlements that are now home to more than half a million Israelis. Palestinians hope to establish a state in those territories.
Russia evacuates embassy staff in Libya
MOSCOW - Russia on Thursday evacuated all of its diplomats and their families from Libya, the day after a mob attack on the Russian Embassy, and issued a warning to its citizens against visiting the country.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said none of the embassy staff was hurt in Wednesday’s attack, which was in response to the death of a Libyan air force officer, who was purportedly killed by a Russian woman.
An armed mob broke into the embassy compound in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, climbing over walls, breaking down a metal gate and shooting in the air. One of the attackers was killed by the gunfire, and four more were wounded, Libyan officials said.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in Thursday’s statement that Moscow decided to evacuate the embassy after Libya’s Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdelaziz visited its grounds and told the Russian ambassador that Libya was unable to protect the personnel.
Afghan ex-warlords join forces for vote
KABUL, Afghanistan - Two former Afghan warlords announced Thursday that they will share a ticket - one for president, the other for vice president - in next year’s elections, a vote that will help shape the country’s future after the departure of foreign combat troops.
Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayyaf, an influential lawmaker and religious scholar, registered his candidacy for the presidency for the April 5 election.
Another former warlord, former energy and water minister Ismail Khan, will run as Sayyaf’s first vice president, and a little-known member of Afghanistan’s upper house, Abdul Wahab Irfan, as second vice president.
“We will move to unite Afghanistan. If the nation is together and has the same voice, problems can be solved,” Sayyaf said.
Registration expires Sunday, and four presidential candidates and their respective vice presidents have signed up.
The most prominent is former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, who was the runner-up to President Hamid Karzai in the 2009 elections and dropped out just ahead of a runoff vote after allegations of fraud in the first round.
Front Section, Pages 7 on 10/04/2013