Pakistan’s anti-terrorism court has made a spectacular move on Saturday, as it issued an arrest warrant against Pervez Musharraf in connection with Benazir Bhutto’s assassination case. According to the court, it states, Musharraf knew Taliban was planning to assassinate the woman leader, but he did not react over it, nor did he attempt to save her.

This revelation by the Pakistan Anti-terrorism court has shocked the entire country along with its foreign allies. Musharraf failed to provide enough security to save Bhutto on her assassination day, as a result she was killed. The former leader of Pakistan is now residing London as an exile and has clearly denied these allegations.

In the month of December 2007, Bhutto was assassinated by being shot and then a suicide attack took place near her motorcade . The court further stated, the assassination would have never be a success if Musharraf had not taken the Taliban threat on a lenient basis. This also makes the former President equally liable in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

20 soldiers have been reported to be killed in a suicide bomb attack which was carried out by a teenager at an Army facility in Pakistan. As per the witnesses, the suicide bomber was dressed as a school boy and hence the level doubt over the attacker was quite low. The attack took place in the city of Mardan, in the North West region of the country.

According to the reports, the army personnel were fresh recruits and they were undergoing their morning exercise, when the alleged suicide bomber detonated himself. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has given his condolences to the dead and has openly condemned this attack.

The Police have said, the teenager was wearing a school uniform of the Aziz Bhatti College. This attack has reminded the officials of the same sort of attack that had taken place during the year 2006 and had killed 20 soldiers. The attack at the Punjab Regiment was quite eerie, and this regiment is quite famous all over the country.

The major gas pipeline in Egypt has been attacked after it was known an explosion has it extensively. The pipeline has passed through El-Arish region in Egypt and it goes further to supply natural gas to Aquaba and Amman in Jordan. A TV report suggest the attack was a terrorist operation, a move to make the situation in the region more unstable.

As per reports, there were explosives placed next to the gas pipeline supply station, and when it blew and it provided considerable damage to the piping system. Residents who have been residing in the nearby areas had reported the sound of a large explosion and they had seen flames rising from the pipeline system.

Reporters from Al Jazeera state they are still not sure as of now who is behind the explosion for no group has taken the responsibility of the attack. Investigators on the other hand have said they are suspecting the attack on the pipeline could be the work of some bedouin tribes who have been living in the Sinai area.

The Australian outback has received fresh rains over the onset of Yasi, as the meteorological department has ousted the chances of strong winds and heavy rain to lash the Alice Springs region. The storm system is now on the verge to wither away, and it is reported it is moving towards Uluru, where it is predicted to bring in some substantial rain.

Yasi has moved way to much into the Australian mainland but will still have steam left in it for another two more days. This cyclone has indeed created history when it struck Australia as it moved almost 700 kms into the mainland after making landfall.

The Todd River was predicted to break its banks and overflow after Yasi arrived over the area, but after looking at the movement of the storm system it is sure Yasi will die out very soon. The cyclone had begun threatening the region with a category five strength but as it made landfall it began to lose steam and it threat level eventually reduced.

Cyclone Yasi is still having steam in its storm system, and it was indeed moving with great speed even though it had entered 600 kms into Australia. As per the records, this was the most massive and destructive cyclone to have ever struck Queensland, especially since the European settlement on the continent.

The top speed of Yasi winds were clocked at 290km/h, and it has always been seen, cyclones or hurricanes have always turned into rain depressions when they make landfall, but in Yasi’s case it does not seem so. The storm system had to turned into a category 1 when it passed through some small towns of Queensland, and the people were quite panicked after they were rattled with cyclonic winds for almost eight hours.

Yasi was a category five cyclone with speeds touching 300km/h, and poured rain at Mt Isa, and this will be the first cyclone to ever arrive at Mt Isa for it 700 kms inland from the coast. But by the time Yasi reached Isa, it began to shower normal tropical rain over Queensland.

Cyclone Yasi is the largest storm in the south Pacific this year, and it is slowly moving towards Queensland, Australia. Queensland authorities have started to evacuate the areas near the coast and regions from where Yasi is forecast to pass. The storm has successfully made landfall and has dumped 500mm of rain in the region, with wind speeds recorded at 300kmph.

Mining in the region too has been disrupted and in addition to this crops have been destroyed completely as Yasi moved over the region. Trees and other structures have been destroyed, plus 180,000 homes are witnessing power cuts. As per the authorities, the cyclone destruction was severe but not massive or catastrophic.

Two people have been reported to be missing in the region, but there are still no reports of deaths or injuries. The country will see a rise in the price of sugar and bananas, as they are grown on a major basis in Queensland. The region has been consistently rattled with floods and now with the current cyclone Yasi.

The Middle East has become one of the most unstable regions in the world, since a couple of months, and this time Yemen too is facing the same sort of retaliation from the people. The country is on the verge to escalate the anti-government protests, but there was a ray of hope for the people as President Ali Abdullah Saleh vowed that he will step down in the year 2013.

The President quoted “No extension, no inheritance, no resetting the clock, I present these concessions in the interests of the country. The interests of the country comes before our personal interests.” Saleh has played safe here, before the country heads towards any type of retaliation against the government.

It has been seen in the Middle East, that most of the leaders of the Arab countries hold to there position for life, then they provide their post to their successors, this is the sole reason the people want a change in the region. But there are doubts over his statement, as Saleh has remained in power for most than 30 years. For in the year 2005 he had vowed he will not come back to power, but he suddenly changed his mind and regained his position. The only result one can see in the power will take place in the year 2013.

A volcano has erupted in Japan, as a result tonnes of rock and ash debris were sent into the air. According to the volcanologist, this is the largest eruption to have taken place since it became active last week. Rocks, ash and small boulders were falling falling from the sky in a 5 mile radius of the eruption zone, and this has panicked many people in the region.

The authorities say, the volcano which erupted was Shinmoedake, and this is the first time the mountain has come to life in almost 52 years. Many flights from the nearby city of Miyazaki have been cancelled due to the eruption, Miyazaki is located 590 miles away from the eruption zone.

The government has reported there was credible destruction of crops and other plant life. Shinmoedake falls on the Pacific ring of fire and is 1400 meters high. Japan has a number of volcanoes in its surrounding region and as a result of which there is a constant threat of eruption taking place in these volcanic areas.

Bird flu has made its way to Japan once again, and this time it has spread further into the country, threatening more birds. This the fifth reported outbreak of Bird Flu since November and it has griped a particular poultry farm in Aichi. The authorities have acted quickly and culled more than 150,000 birds in the region.

The epidemic has caused widespread devastation of bird flock, and the authorities are taking maximum measures to avoid a massive outbreak. In 47 prefectures around Japan, this is the fifth reported outbreak and the officials have already culled 600,000 chickens around the nation.

After Aichi, Bird flu has also creped into Kagoshima and Miyazaki, where there are number of cases reported. The government is taking a number of preventive measures to tackle this outbreak, which mainly includes culling of birds. Last year in Miyazaki, there was a report of foot and mouth disease outbreak within the animals, as a result 300,000 birds were culled .

Source: AFP

Reports show that at least six people have been killed in yet another attack in holy city of Karbala, Iraq. The explosion has taken place on the outskirts of the city, and has injured at least 10. The pilgrims were Shiite Muslims, and they were on their way for a pilgrimage, when the attack took place at a car park, where the bus filled with the pilgrims arrived.

In yet another bomb blast that has taken place in the capital, two road side bombs went off, resulting to the death of two officials. It can be seen from here that these attacks were planned, as it has resulted in death and several casualties. Officials state the attack in Karbala took place in the al-Ibrahimi area, which is 12 miles away from the City Center.

Karbala is a very important city for Shiite Muslims as they come here for an annual festival to mark the death anniversary of their religious teacher Imam Hussein. Last week a similar attack had taken place on the pilgrims which killed 56 people and injured 180 near the city.

Source: BBC