Train Explosion in Assam Kills Three

At least three people were killed and 30 others wounded – six of them seriously -- by a powerful explosion, which according to police officials, rang through a carriage of an inter-city passenger train parked at the Diphu railway station some 300 km east of Guwahati, the capital of the north eastern state of Assam, on Tuesday.

Having set off from Guwahati, the train was headed for Tinsukhia, when the blast occurred in the Karbi Anglong district.

"The train was parked at the Diphu railway station when a powerful explosion went off inside one of the crowded coaches," a railway official said by telephone requesting not to be named.

One person died on the spot and two succummbed to their injuries at a local hospital, say media reports attributing the information to an unnamed police official.

The condition of at least six of the wounded is stated to be critical.

"The explosion ripped apart the carriage with people tossed in the air after the blast," Vishal Kumar, a witness who was at the railway station waiting to board another train to Guwahati, was quoted as saying over the telephone by PTI.

No militant group has claimed responsibility for the explosion.

"We are yet to ascertain who could be behind the explosion," the police official said.

The outlawed Karbi Longri National Liberation Front (KLNLF), a rebel group fighting for an independent homeland for the majority Karbi tribe in the area, is one of the powerful outfits in the region where the explosion took place.

The KLNLF Tuesday launched an economic blockade in the region to pressurise the government to hold peace talks.

"We are looking into the KLNLF's role for the train attack," the police spokesman said.

The bombing comes close on the heels of deadly serial explosions that rocked Assam on Oct 30, killing 95 people and injuring over 300.

Hillary Clinton is Top US Diplomat

Ending weeks of speculation, Barack Obama nominated Hillary Clinton to be a "tough" secretary of state and persuaded Defense Secretary Robert Gates to stay on but gave him a new mission -- ending the war in Iraq. Vowing to pull-out of Iraq in 16 months, Obama signaled trouble times ahead for the sub-continent.

Announcing his national security team in Chicago, the US president-elect said the decision to enlist Clinton, a former foe, came not in a "light bulb moment" but after a gradual realization there was "no more effective advocate" for US diplomacy.

"She's an American of tremendous stature who will have my complete confidence, who knows many of the world's leaders, who will command respect in every capital," Obama said.

In her new job, the former first lady said she would ignite new momentum in US diplomacy.

"The American people have demanded not just a new direction at home, but a new effort to renew America's standing in the world as a force for positive change," she said.

Obama stuck to his vow to remove US troops from Iraq within 16 months -- a policy Gates has previously expressed doubts about -- but only after consulting his defense secretary and US generals about conditions on the ground.

"I will be giving Secretary Gates and our military a new mission as soon as I take office, responsibly ending the war in Iraq through a successful transition to Iraqi control," said Obama, who takes over the Oval office on January 20.

"As Bob (Gates) said not too long ago, Afghanistan is where the war on terror began, and it is where it must end."

The decision to ask Gates to stay on was meant to send a clear sign of continuity with America locked in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Gates said that with US troops fighting abroad, he had no choice but to stay on.

Obama said the United States would retain the world's strongest military and would chase down terrorists.

"In this uncertain world, the time has come for a new beginning, a new dawn of American leadership to overcome the challenges of the 21st century," Obama said, days after the Mumbai terror attacks sparked a fresh international crisis.

He also sent a clear signal to US foes that his well known opposition to the Iraq war would not mean he would hesitate to commit military force if US interests were threatened.

"To ensure prosperity here at home and peace abroad, we all share the belief we have to maintain the strongest military on the planet," Obama said.

Obama also named former NATO commander and marine general James Jones to be his national security advisor

The new team will take up the reins in January and will have to get US troops home from Iraq, address Iran's nuclear ambitions, and contain deteriorating conditions in the Afghan war.

(Agencies)

No Military Action against Pakistan: Pranab

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said, India was not considering military action against Pakistan in the wake of the terror attack on Mumbai. The remarks come amid escalating tensions in the region and New Delhi’s suspicion over the involvement of Pak-based elements in the strike that killed 170.

Pranab further said that India was awaiting a response from Islamabad on the Most Wanted Criminals’ list handed over to Pakistani High Commissioner to India, Shahid Malik last evening.

Malik was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs on Monday and served a demarche which sought strong action” from Islamabad against those behind last week’s attack in Mumbai.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Pranab said that the list was revised before being handed over to the diplomat. Similar lists have been handed over to Islamabad in the past also, but have failed to elicit action from Islamabad.

Malik was told that Pak-based elements were responsible for the Mumbai attacks. He was also told that Islamabad’s actions needed to match the sentiments expressed by its leadership that says it seeks a qualitatively new relationship with India, said MEA spokesperson Vishnu Prakash.

Pakistan was also asked to hand over with immediate effect India’s two most wanted criminals, underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar.

Pranab also appreciated the US response to terror strikes in Mumbai and the solidarity expressed by its leaders, including President Bush and President-elect Barack Obama.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in New Delhi on Wednesday. Rice on Monday asked Islamabad to lend all cooperation to India in the ongoing investigations into the Mumbai terror attack.

Though initially expected to wrap up her visit to India with a stop-over at Islamabad, a state department statement on Tuesday said the travel plans were still being worked on, but added that Islamabad did not figure on the Rice itinerary as of now.

(UPDATE)

In an exclusive interview to NDTV later in the day, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has not ruled out the option of military strikes against terror camps in Pakistan.

Mukherjee said that every country has the right to protect its territorial integrity and take appropriate action when necessary. He also said that it has become difficult to continue the peace process with Pakistan in this atmosphere.

Naval Chief Admits “Gaps” in Coastal Security

The permeability of the Indian coast-line is out in the open, as the country’s top naval officer on Tuesday attributed the Mumbai terror attacks to a “systematic failure” of security and intelligence services, the terror attacks in Mumbai, the worst on Indian soil killed 183 and wounded hundreds of others.

Various security agencies in the country are debating on whether the attacks could have been foiled by using the information provided to them by intelligence agencies.

"There is perhaps a (gap) that exists and we will work to sort this out. There is a systemic failure which needs to be taken stock of," navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta said at a press conference.

Intelligence sources earlier told the NDTV news channel that they had issued a series of warnings of a possible attack on Mumbai by sea in the months leading up to last week's strike.

The latest, warning that the "sea wing" of Pakistani-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba was planning to attack, was issued just eight days ago, claimed NDTV.

Mehta promised an adequate response to the militant attacks, while adding the navy had not received any "actionable" information which could have prevented the attack, reported PTI.

Fishermen, who are sometimes seen as the eyes and ears of the coast guard, said the government had ignored their warnings four months ago about militants using sea routes to land RDX explosives in Mumbai with help from the city's underworld.

The attack, on the commercial capital, has angered citizens at the repeated intelligence lapses and a slow reaction by security forces to the attacks against Mumbai's two best-known luxury hotels and other landmarks in the city of 18 million.

Mehta called for better coordination among intelligence and security agencies, and said the government was aware of the public outcry and debate that followed the Mumbai attacks, PTI reported.

Karachi Ethnic Violence Kills 40

At least 40 people have been killed in rioting that started late Saturday in the port city of Pakistan, reported the Online news agency on Tuesday, the provincial government of Sindh reissued shoot-at-sight order following escalation of ethnic riot in Pakistan’s biggest city, Karachi.

Five bodies were recovered by the police late Monday in the Raees Amrohvi colony of the city, media reports said, adding that unidentified miscreants set a number of houses on fire in the locality.

Sounds of sporadic gunfire were heard late in the night in the colony and the adjacent areas, reports said.

Residents of Orangi, the worst-affected area, staged protests against the killings and demanded more police contingents in their area.

The violence is a result of political tensions between Urdu-speaking Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Pashtuns from the North West Frontier Province who have settled in Karachi for employment opportunities.

The Pashtuns are tribals hailing from Pakistan’s restive north-western frontier bordering Afghanistan while the Urdu speaking Mohajirs migrated to Pakistan from India around 1947 or later.

Leading political representatives of both the Pashtuns and the MQM are partners in the country’s ruling coalition.

Karat Regrets Kerala CM’s Remarks

Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat on Tuesday described as "regrettable" Kerala chief minister VS Achuthanandan's derogatory remarks directed at the family of commando Sandeep Unnikrishnan, who was killed by terrorists in Mumbai.

"Certain remarks made by Achuthanandan are regrettable," Karat said in a brief statement issued while campaigning for elections in Rajasthan.

"I have spoken to him (chief minister) over telephone from Rajasthan. He has assured that he had no other intention but to go to the home of Unnikrishnan, who was brutally killed by terrorists, to pay homage and to offer his condolences."

Achuthanandan’s remarks came at a time when several unions affiliated to CPI(M) were holding demonstrations and vigils to express solidarity with those that laid down their lives in the line of duty, while combating terrorists that attacked Mumbai on November 26.

After the slain commando's father virtually chased away the chief minister, Achuthanandan said publicly that even a dog would not go to the dead man's house if he had not been a "martyr".

Achuthanandan's remarks have caused wide-spread outrage across the country, leading to Karat's intervention.

Coast Guard Intercept Suspicious Pak Trawler

Amid escalating tensions with Pakistan over the terror attack in Mumbai, the Indian coast guard on Tuesday intercepted a Pak trawler, Al Rafeequi, some seven nautical miles off the Gujarat coast in the vicinity of Sir Creek, a narrow strip of water dividing the two countries.

The interception came days after a vessel carried terrorists from Pakistan landed on the Mumbai coast. The occupants of the earlier vessel perpetrated the biggest ever terror strike on Indian soil killing 187 and injuring nearly 300 others.

Al Rafiqui was intercepted by the Coast Guard at around 1330 hours near Korai Creek in the vicinity of the disputed Sir Creek. The trawler was carrying 7 Pakistani nationals aged between 14 and 25.

The vessel came in for suspicion as it followed route taken by the terrorists that launched an audacious attack on India’s financial capital Mumbai, lat week.

It was difficult to believe it to be a fishing ship as Korai creek is not a fishing zone and is more frequently used as a transit point by Coast Guards and the BSF.

All the inmates of the trawler have been taken by the Coast Guards to Jakhau for interrogation.

(ZeeTV inputs)

Thai Court Dissolves Ruling Party

Culminating what rebel People Alliance for Democracy (PAD) leaders had dubbed the ‘final battle” on Tuesday, a Constitutional Court ruling in Thailand ordered the dissolution of the ruling party and banned Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from politics for the next five years.

The court ruling follows months of opposition protests, including a week-old siege of Bangkok international airport and sparked angry counter-protests by Prime Minister Wongsawat's supporters outside the court.

The court was hearing into vote-rigging charges leveled against the People Power Party's coalition headed by Wongsawat.

At the Suvarnabhumi international airport, jubilant PAD activists celebrated the landmark ruling but vowed to maintain a blockade of the airport until they were convinced that the ruling coalition would not simply return under another name.

Passenger flights remained grounded, but cargo, military and emergency flights resumed Tuesday afternoon at the airport, said media reports quoting airport officials.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Wongsawat loyalists, who earlier termed the vote-rigging case a “concealed coup,” staged angry counter-protests outside the court following the decision.

The blockade at the Suvarnabhumi international effectuated by anti-governmment protesters started on November 25, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and caught in the midst of the country’s deteriorating political climate.

"We wish we hadn't come here at all," Keri Gannam, a visitor from the United States, who was honeymooning in Thailand was quoted by CNN as saying. "It's just stressful. It's taken away everything... I'm supposed to have job interviews. I missed them."

"Money isn't flowing in for us," added her husband, Andy. "And we came here to take a couple of relaxing weeks -- something both of us had earned. And it's turned out being a disaster, basically."
In a humanitarian mood after the judgment PAD activists allowed convoy of buses, carrying Muslim pilgrims stranded at Suvarnabhumi since last Tuesday, to leave for a naval base. From there they can make their trip to Saudi Arabia for the Haj.

Also on Tuesday, A blast has killed at least one Thai anti-government protester and wounded 22 others at Bangkok's Don Mueang domestic airport, emergency officials have said.

A report on the BBC website said a grenade had been fired at the domestic hub, which is occupied by the People's Alliance for Democracy.

(UPDATE)

Thai anti-government protesters have agreed to end their occupation of Bangkok's airports, allowing thousands of stranded tourists to leave.

Passenger flights from the main international airport could resume as soon as 4 December, say correspondents.

Protests had shut down Thailand's two main airports for more than a week.

Jewish Settlers Riot in Hebron

Jewish settlers in the West Bank city of Hebron rioted for several hours. Reports say several Palestinians were injured. Violence broke out on Tuesday after rumours spread that Israeli forces were about to evict the settlers from a disputed building in the mainly Palestinian city.

Settlers and their supporters threw stones at Palestinians and Israeli police, damaging homes and cars. Similar incidents were reported in several other parts of the West Bank.

HEBRON FACTS
Divided into H1 and H2 under 1997 agreement115,000 Palestinians live in H1 under Palestinian security controlH2 is under Israeli security control and is home to several hundred settlers and 35,000 PalestiniansTomb of Patriarchs and traditional Palestinian town centre is in H2

The eviction was ordered by the Israeli supreme court in November.

The settlers have been involved in several clashes since the eviction order was issued, and have desecrated a mosque and a Muslim graveyard.

In northern West Bank, near Nablus, dozens of settlers clashed with Palestinians and border police, and blocked roads in a show of support for the settlers in the centre of Hebron. There were several arrests.

Several hundred hard-line religious settlers live in the centre of Hebron under heavy military guard amid some 150,000 Palestinians.

Hebron is holy to both Jews and Muslims as the site of the cave that Abraham bought as a burial site for his wife Sarah.

The settlers say that they bought the house in a legal transaction from its Palestinian owner for nearly US $1m. He says he pulled out of the deal.

The Israeli high court is yet to rule on who owns the disputed building, but says it must be vacated while the decision is made.

All settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are considered illegal under international law though Israel disputes this.

(Agencies)

Nanny’s Righteous Act Finds Acclaim in Israel

Sandra Samuel, 44, the Indian nanny who rescued Jewish toddler Moshe Holtzberg from the clutches of terrorists during last week’s terror strike in Mumbai, may be presented with a top Israeli honour usually conferred upon saviours of Jews from Holocaust. Samuel and Moshe reached Jerusalem aboard a special aircraft on Monday.

Moshe is the orphaned son of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka, who were killed after being held captive by terrorists at the Nariman House in Mumbai.

Samuel, lauded a hero by the Chabad movement and Moshe's family for saving the child, could be conferred the "Righteous Gentile" award that could facilitate her stay in Israel, media reports said.

The special honour is usually reserved for those who risked their lives to save Jews from the Holocaust. Samuel, 44, had worked at the Chabad centre for about five years and started caring for Moshe who had become "extremely connected to him".

As terrorists stormed the Chabad centre last week, Samuel locked herself in a room with another staff member.

The following morning, she heard Moshe calling her name and went to look for him. She found Moshe, his pants covered in blood, crying beside his motionless parents.

The Indian nanny told reporters that she grabbed the child and ran outside. Terrorists continued the siege of Nariman House for the next two days, killing several hostages before being gunned down by Indian Army commandos.