Five killed in Lebanon bus blast

TRIPOLI: A powerful blast rocked a bus at the entrance of the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli early Monday leaving at least five soldiers and civilians dead and 17 others injured.

A car packed with 200 kilograms of explosives blew up in a southern neighborhood near the junction to the city's international airport, shattering car and apartment windows, Syrian TV reported.

The charred booby-trapped car was seen sitting in the street near a primary school as firefighters stood near a wide crater believed to be caused by the blast.

"We know that several people have been killed and injured by the blast," the official said.

Post-storm floods claim 41 lives in Vietnam

HANOI: Floods triggered by Typhoon Hagupit have now claimed at least 41 lives in northern Vietnam, as rescuers continued to search for five people reported missing, disaster officials said Monday.

Hagupit made landfall in Vietnam on Wednesday, triggering severe flooding and landslides in eight mountainous provinces, said the national flood and storm control committee.

More than 60 people have been injured, several thousand homes have been inundated with floodwaters and thousands of hectares of crops have been destroyed.

Vietnam flood toll up to 32: officials

HANOI: The death toll from floods in northern Vietnam triggered by Typhoon Hagupit has increased to at least 32, with five others still reported missing, disaster officials said Sunday.

Hagupit made landfall in Vietnam on Wednesday, triggering severe flooding and landslides in eight mountainous provinces, said the national flood and storm control committee.

Deaths were reported in five provinces, the committee said on its website. Several thousand homes have suffered flood damage.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Saturday asked relevant authorities to mobilise all resources to rescue those stranded by floodwaters and closely monitor the country's river dyke system, as water levels remain high.

US sends anti-missile radar to Israel: report

JERUSALEM: Israeli officials say the U.S. has provided Israel with an advanced radar system that will give early warning in case of an Iranian missile attack.

The officials say the new radar was flown into Israel last week along with some 120 American crewmen and has been set up at the Nevatim air base in the Negev desert.

The system can pick up a ballistic missile shortly after launch.

That will cut the response time of Israel's Arrow system, designed to intercept incoming missiles.

Nijad gives thumbs down during Bush speech

UNITED NATIONS: Iran's leader flashed a thumbs-down Tuesday as President Bush denounced Tehran as a sponsor of global terrorism in his farewell address to the U.N.

Then Bush got less than 10 seconds of polite applause at the end of a speech in which he urged world leaders to take "an unequivocal moral stand" against suicide bombings, hostage taking and other terror tactics.

"I can assure you that my administration and our Congress are working together to quickly pass legislation approving this strategy," Bush told the General Assembly. "And I'm confident we will act in the urgent time frame required."

Bush scrapped a planned political trip to Florida on Wednesday to return directly to Washington.

Zardari discuss trade ties with Brazil, S Korea

NEW YORK: President Asif Ali Zardari discussed expanding Pakistan's trade and economic relations with Brazil and South Korea as he met separately with leaders of the two countries on sidelines of United Nations General Assembly session.

The newly elected Pakistani leader's meetings with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lulla De Silva and South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung'Soo focused mainly on augmenting economic cooperation, officials said.

Threat to U.S. greatest from Pakistan area: Gates

WASHINGTON: U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday the greatest threat of terrorism against the United States comes from the remote tribal region of western Pakistan.

"If you asked me today, after the success we've had against al Qaeda in Iraq, where the greatest threat to the homeland lies, I would tell you it's in western Pakistan," Gates told a congressional panel.

U.S. officials say al Qaeda and Taliban fighters use Pakistan's tribal region as a safe haven to launch attacks inside Afghanistan and plot against the United States. U.S. officials say they believe al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is hiding in that area.

Two US marines killed in Marriott blast: Pentagon

WASHINGTON: The US Department of Defence at Pentagon has confirmed the deaths of its two marines in Marriott blast in Islamabad.

The Pentagon said that its two marines succumbed to injuries in the blast.

The soldiers were deployed in US embassy in Islamabad.

Pentagon said names of the US marines could not be revealed prior to informing families of the victims.

World leaders condemn attack on Marriott

NEW YORK: Governments and international organizations around the world have condemned the suicide bombing of a hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, that has killed at least 51 people and left hundreds injured.

There has been no confirmed claim of responsibility, but US intelligence said that the blast, which ruptured a gas pipeline and triggered a blaze that engulfed the hotel, bore the "hallmarks" of an al-Qaeda attack.

INDIA:Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday condemned the suicide bombing at the Marriott Hotel in the Pakistani capital.

OIC:The Saudi-based Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) on Sunday slammed the deadly bombing as an attack by the enemies of peace and contrary to Islam.

UNITED NATIONS:At the UN, Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, condemned the "heinous terrorist attack on the Marriott hotel in Islamabad," his spokesperson said in a statement.

EUROPEAN UNION:The European Union expressed its support for Pakistan.

16 die in Thailand floods

BANGKOK: Severe flooding across Thailand has left at least 16 people dead and more than half a million people struggling to cope with damaged property and disease, officials and news reports said Sunday.

Floods caused by heavy rain have deluged 21 of Thailand's 76 provinces in the north, east and centre of the kingdom, affecting 693,550 people, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said in a statement.

Nearly 1,900 houses, 659 roads and 75,500 acres of farmland have been destroyed in the floods, which began earlier this month, they said. The cost of the damage is estimated at 28.55 million baht (840,000 dollars).

The department said that two people remained missing. It did not say how the 16 people were killed, but local media reports said most had been swept away in flood waters.

China club fire kills at least 43

BEIJING: A fire at a club in south China's Guangdong Province left at least 43 people dead and 51 others injured, police said.

The inferno broke out at about 11 p.m. at a club in Longgang District in Shenzhen City. The injured have been hospitalized. The fire has been extinguished.

The Party chief of the province has ordered an immediate investigation into the cause of the accident.

UN chief deplores terrorist attack in Islamabad

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned Saturday's "heinous" terrorist attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, which killed and injured a large number of people.

"He expresses his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of this appalling attack, as well as to the Government and people of Pakistan," Ban's spokesperson said in a statement.

"No cause can justify the indiscriminate targeting of civilians," the statement added.

Bush expresses solidarity with Pakistan

WASHINGTON: President George W Bush strongly condemned the deadly bombing on a hotel in Islamabad Saturday, pledging the United States's cooperation for Pakistan in confronting the violent extremism.

"I strongly condemn the terrorist bombing in Islamabad that targeted and killed many innocents, including at least one American.

I extend condolences to the families of all those killed in this brutal attack,” Bush said in a statement released by the White House.

This bombing, the latest in a series of terrorist attacks, is part of a continuing assault on the people of Pakistan, he added.

"This attack is a reminder of the ongoing threat faced by Pakistan, the United States, and all those who stand against violent extremism".

Chavez to visit Cuba ahead of China, Russia

CARACAS: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will visit Cuba this weekend before leaving on a trip to China and Russia.

Chavez says he has been invited by his close friend Fidel Castro and his brother Raul.

The Venezuelan leader said during a speech Friday that "the Cuban people are passing through very difficult times" following a battering from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.”

The island's government says the two storms have caused US$5 billion in damages.

Pakistan not capable to combat terrorism: US

WASHINGTON: Pakistan is not yet equipped to combat the militant threat emanating from the remote area bordering Afghanistan, a senior Bush administration official has said amid stepped-up US strikes in that area.U.S.

President George W. Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, would not discuss American counterterrorism efforts in that area, including a reported U.S. commando raid, but said Washington was trying to help Pakistan's government address the threat.

"This is a problem that's been created in sovereign Pakistani territory and the problem is going to be solved when Pakistan has an ability to exercise control over that territory," Hadley told reporters.

Bush says government role essential to ease crisis

WASHINGTON: President Bush said Friday that extensive federal intervention in financial markets was both warranted and essential to halt the worst financial crisis in decades and that the risk "of not acting would be far higher."

"America's economy is facing unprecedented challenges. We're responding with unprecedented measures," Bush declared, standing in the White House Rose Garden with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"This is a pivotal moment for America's economy," Bush said. He said that a financial contagion that began with low-quality home mortgages had "spread throughout our financial system."

Thousands hold anti-India protests in Kashmir

SRINAGAR: Thousands of Muslims in Indian Kashmir held fresh demonstrations against Indian rule Friday, ending a week of calm in the insurgency-hit region, police and residents said.

A separatist committee spearheading recent anti-India demonstrations had called on people in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley to observe a strike after midday Friday and "hold peaceful demonstrations against India's rule.

"Thousands of Muslims in summer capital Srinagar took to the streets after attending weekly Friday prayers, chanting "we want freedom" and "Go India, go."

US military in contact with new Pak leaders: Gates

LONDON: US defence secretary Robert Gates has said American military chiefs were in close contact with the new Pakistani leadership and the "most productive path" in dealing with al-Qaeda, Taliban and other insurgents was in cooperation with that country, says a report in British media.

Gates was in the British capital for the NATO Defence Ministers meeting. The media said the US is seeking $20bn from its allies to help stabilise Afghanistan as it plans to send thousands more of its own troops to confront the growing insurgency in the country.

India warns state over anti-Christian attacks

NEW DELHI: India's government has warned Hindu nationalist authorities in a southern state to halt attacks against churches, the federal Home Ministry said Friday.

In an official order, the government told Karnataka state leaders to "bring the situation under control," a ministry spokesman said.

More than a dozen churches in Karnataka were attacked over the weekend, following similar clashes in the eastern state of Orissa which left nearly 20 dead.

Venezuela expels Human Rights Watch officials

CARACAS: Venezuela expelled two Human Rights Watch representatives late Thursday, hours after the US-based group released a report accusing President Hugo Chavez of weakening democracy and the rule of law.

The foreign ministry ordered the expulsion of Jose Miguel Vivanco, the group's director of the Americas, and his deputy Daniel Wilkinson, co-editor and co-author of a 230-page report entitled "A Decade Under Chavez: Political Intolerance and Lost Opportunities for Advancing Human Rights in Venezuela."