Briefly world

At least 23 people were killed when a suicide bomber struck during a protest organised by the Jamaat-e-Islami in Peshawar on Monday...

Suicide bomber kills 23 in Peshawar market

Peshawar: At least 23 people were killed when a suicide bomber struck during a protest organised by the Jamaat-e-Islami in Peshawar on Monday,hours after a blast outside a police-run school killed a young boy. The bomber detonated his explosive jacket in the Kissa Khwani Bazar at a short distance from a meeting organised by the Jamaat-e-Islami,witnesses said. The blast occurred at 6.30 pm. Deputy Superintendent of Police Gulfat Hussain and senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader Haji Dost Muhammad were among the dead.

Zardari signs 18th Amendment Bill,curbing presidential powers

Islamabad: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday signed into law a landmark constitutional amendment Bill that will strip him of his sweeping powers,saying it would help prevent the emergence of dictatorships in Pakistan. Zardari signed the historic 18th Constitutional Amendment Bill,which was passed by both houses of Parliament by a two-thirds majority last week,at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif. It is my hope that the doors of dictatorship have been closed forever, he said.

China rescues 3,quake toll climbs to 2,000

Jiegu: Rescuers pulled three people alive from the rubble on Monday,five days after an earthquake in a Tibetan region of western China. China Central Television said a four-year-old girl and an elderly woman had been trapped since Wednesday under a bed in a collapsed house in a village 20 km from Jiegu,until rescuers dug them out on Monday. Relatives kept Wujian Cuomao,68,and Cairen Baji alive by sending them food and water through gaps in the rubble,CCTV said. The toll from the quake in Qinghai province climbed to 1,944,Xinhua News Agency said on Monday.

Bakiyev leaves Kazakhstan,no clue where he is headed

Bishkek: The deposed President of Kyrgyzstan on Monday left Kazakhstan,ending four days of refuge in the country after he was driven from power in a violent uprising,a Kazakh official said. Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Ilyas Omarov said he didnt know where Bakiyev was headed. Hes left Kazakhstan there are no details on his planned destination, Omarov said by telephone from the Kazakh capital,Astana. Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko said on Sunday that Bakiyev would be welcome in his country. Another possible destination is the United Arab Emirates,where Bakiyev owns property.

NRI jailed for biting ear of girlfriends husband

Singapore: A man of Indian origin man was on Monday sentenced by a Singapore court to seven years in corrective training and eight strokes of the cane for biting off the ear of his girlfriends husband. Anpazhakan Raghavan 42 and his girlfriend Magesh Eyamalai 28 were drunk on November 13. Raghavan was berated by the womans husband Ramachandran Sitarencan. A fight broke out between the two men with Raghavan biting and ripping off part of Sitarencans left ear. The court also ruled that Raghavan would not be eligible for early release.