Briefly World

Gunmen kill Balochistan minister

ISLAMABAD: A minister in Pakistan8217;s Balochistan province was assassinated by unidentified gunmen in the southwestern city of Quetta on Sunday,police said. Education Minister Shafiq Ahmed Khan,who belonged to the Pakistan People8217;s Party,was on his way home after attending a function when gunmen opened fire. The Baloch United Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the killing. Reports said Khan was driving his own car and did not have any security guards at the time of the attack. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemed the assassination of the provincial minister and ordered an inquiry into the incident.

NASA to go for crucial rocket test

WASHINGTON: NASA is set to blastoff a prototype rocket on Tuesday that carries hopes of returning humans to the Moon,and for the first time to Mars,despite deep uncertainty about the programs future. The space agency said everything is in order for Tuesdays two-minute,30-second test of the Ares I-X rocket. It is the culmination of three years work on Constellation,a human space flight program conceived by former president George W. Bush in the wake of the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster that killed all seven crew onboard.