Baghdad police attack kills 28

BAGHDAD, March 8: A suicide bomber has killed 28 people at a police recruitment centre in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, police say, reports BBC.
At least 57 other people were wounded in the attack, which was reported to have been carried out by a bomber who drove his motorcycle into a crowd.
The victims were queuing outside the academy when the bomber struck.
The level of violence in Iraq has dipped significantly since 2007, but it remains a feature of daily life for many Iraqis.
At least 12 people died two days ago when a car bomb exploded at a cattle market in Babil province.
The BBC’s Mike Serge-ant says that although there has been a substantial decline in the violence in Iraq, it does not appear such attacks are ending altogether.
There are still almost daily violent incidents in Baghdad.
Police recruitment centres have been a popular target for insurgents.
The attack happened at about 1000 (0700 GMT) in “the middle of a crowd outside the [police] academy on Palestine Street”, a police official told AFP news agency.
Reports suggest the bomber detonated a belt of explosives as he drove into a line of people waiting at the back entrance to the academy. Some of the dead were policemen, while others were police recruits and civilians.
The reported death toll quickly rose, making this the deadliest suicide strike reported in Iraq for nearly a month.
The academy has been targeted before. In 2005 two female suicide bom-bers attacked the same building, killing 40 people.
Iraq has massively ex-panded its police and military forces over recent years as the government of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki seeks to ensure local forces can provide security.
US President Barack Obama says the US “combat mission” in Iraq will end by Aug 2010, with two-thirds of American troops scheduled to leave by that point.

Musharraf urges India and Pakistan to solve Kashmir dispute

NEW DELHI, March 8: Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has urged Indian and Pakistani governments to grasp what he called “the fleeting opportunity” to solve their dispute over Kashmir, which he said is a main cause for the rise of militant groups in Pakistan, according to local media on Sunday, reports Xinhua.
“We must overcome the burden of history and move forward.
The path of peace is the right course to adapt for India, Pakistan, the region and the world,” Musharraf said Saturday at the India Today Conclave entitled “Challenge of Change” organised by the Indian magazine “India Today” here.
India and Pakistan “have to resolve Kashmir” which “remains a key dispute” between the two countries, Musharraf said, adding that there is “an emotional involvement of Pakistan people with people of Kashmir.”
“Therefore, this has given rise to dozens of freelance Mujahideen groups and increasing militancy in Pakistan society,” he said.
The former Pakistani president said the task to control these groups is very difficult and to solve the India-Pakistan dispute over Kashmir is “the only permanent solution.

India to prevent future Gandhi auctions

NEW DELHI, March 8: India is preparing legislation to prevent more of Mahatma Gandhi’s belongings being auctioned off abroad, after a recent sale sparked outrage, the Press Trust of India reported on Sunday, reports AFP.
A senior official at the ministry of culture told the news agency that the government planned to obtain injunctions in advance in European and US courts against possible auctions of Gandhi’s possessions.
“We want to pre-empt any auction of Gandhi items in the future by making it known that selling or buying these heritage articles is illegal,” the official was quoted as saying.
“No one has the right to do this.”
India opposed an auction in New York last week of the independence leader’s glasses, leather sandals and pocket watch, saying they were all a part of the nation’s heritage.

Taliban militants kill 8 Pak police

PESHAWAR, March 8: Taliban militants on Sunday shot dead eight police officers in a restive tribal region bordering Afghanistan, officials said, reports AFP.
The officers were captured by militants after a clash with security forces in the Mohmand tribal region on Saturday in which 12 Taliban were killed, a senior government official said.
“We have recovered eight bodies so far from different places,” the official told AFP by telephone on condition of anonymity.
A security official said the bodies of four tribal police officers were dumped on a road in Mohmand. Pakistan’s rugged tribal belt has become a stronghold for hundreds of extremists who fled Afghanistan after the US-led invasion toppled the hardline Taliban regime in late 2001.

Over 100 Lankan rebels killed

COLOMBO, March 8: More than 100 Tamil Tiger rebels have been killed in two days of fighting in Sri Lanka as they tried to break a military stranglehold, the defence ministry said on Sunday, reports AFP.
They died after the army beat back a series of counter-attacks by the Tiger rebels against advancing government forces in the district of Mullaittivu in the northeast.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who were in control of large swathes of the north and east of Sri Lanka less than two years ago, have now been cornered into a small patch of jungle.
“As the Mullaittivu battle reached its last phase, the LTTE terrorists made several desperate attempts in vain to infiltrate the military forward defences,” the defence ministry statement said.
“Over 100 terrorists were killed and as many injured since Friday.”
The government accused the Tigers of deploying heavy mortars and artillery guns inside a designated security zone where large numbers of civilians have gathered to shelter from the conflict.
Concern over the danger to non-combatants has mounted as government troops fight to wipe out the remnant rebels, with the International Committee of the Red Cross saying hundreds of civilians have been killed in crossfire.
After the troops pushed the Tigers into a narrow strip of jungle, military leaders have said they hope to crush the guerrillas by next month—a victory that would end 37 years of armed conflict on the island.
Sri Lanka’s top defence official, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, said recently that the offensive against the Tigers had slowed in a bid to ensure the safety of civilians whom he said were being used by the rebels as human shields.
Rajapakse, President Mahinda Rajapakse’s younger brother, says the military has stopped using long-range weapons and air attacks against remaining Tiger rebels, who are known to mingle with civilians.

Japan govt under fire over donations probe

TOKYO, March 8: The Japanese government came under fire Sunday after a former police chief suggested the ruling party would escape a probe over a donations scandal that has already shaken the opposition, reports AFP.
The right-hand man of opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa was arrested Tuesday on charges of receiving illegal donations from a construction company.
Ozawa and his Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) were seen as poised to win the country’s next general elections, which must be held before September.
The donations scandal has widened to include the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), after several key figures, including an influential former premier, said they had taken money linked to the same construction firm.
However, news reports have said an anonymous senior government official suggested that the prosecutors’ investigation would not involve LDP politicians.
Chief cabinet secretary Takeo Kawamura on Sunday told Japanese reporters that the “senior government official” was former chief of the National Police Agency and now deputy chief cabinet secretary Iwao Uruma.

Despite upbeat mood, tough US-Russia talks ahead: Experts

MOSCOW, March 8: Despite a warming in ties since Barack Obama’s inauguration, the US and Russia face difficult talks on a landmark Cold War-era nuclear arms treaty that expires in December, experts say, reports AFP.
Washington and Moscow will place the “highest priority” on reaching a deal on the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday after a friendly meeting with Russia’s foreign minister.
Talks on START made little progress during the presidency of George W Bush, raising worries about the demise of the 1991 treaty, which limits the strategic atomic arsenals of both sides to 1,600 missiles and 6,000 warheads.
Obama’s arrival has given fresh momentum towards an agreement but the two sides have much work and little time.
START expires on Dec 5 and the Obama administration is still assembling its Russia team while juggling other pressing issues such as Iran, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the economic crisis.
The treaty, a lengthy document that details complex verification procedures, contains a provision that would allow it simply to be extended for five years by mutual consent.
Russia has resisted that option, though, insisting in recent years it wants to negotiate a new, updated and legally- binding treaty with a broader scope.
“The talks will be very, very difficult,” said Sergei Koshelev, the deputy head of the Russian foreign ministry’s security and disarmament department.

Thousands greet Bashir in Darfur

EL FASHER, March 8: Thousands are greeting Sudan’s president during his first trip to Darfur after an international court issued an arrest warrant against him, reports AP.
President Omar al-Bashir arrived in the North Darfur capital of El Fasher on Sunday. Thousands including many riding camels and horses cheered al-Bashir as he drove from El Fasher’s airport to an open field where a rally is planned.
Many of the greeters held up pictures of al-Bashir. Others held posters of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court with an X drawn over his face.
The Netherlands-based ICC issued the arrest warrant for war crimes in Darfur against al-Bashir last week. In response, Sudan expelled 13 aid groups from Darfur, where 300,000 people have been killed.

WORLD NOTES