Taliban bomb kills seven soldiers
Islamabad: Hitting back at the Pakistan Army,Taliban militants on Saturday set off a roadside bomb killing seven soldiers as the military stepped-up its offensive in South Waziristan. The militants struck at a paramilitary convoy of frontier corps as it was passing through Khyber region killing seven soldiers and wounding 11,the highest casualties suffered by the security forces in over a month. The roadside bomb attack came as Pakistani air force jets pounded three hideouts of Tehrik-i-Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud in the Orakzai tribal area killing at least eight militants and wounding several others.
Typhoon lashes Philippines,7 killed
Manila: The fourth typhoon to whip the Philippines in a month lashed the capital and nearby provinces on Saturday,leaving fresh floods and new misery before blowing out of the country.
At least seven people were killed and several were missing. Typhoon Mirinae,with winds of 150 kph and gusts of up to 185 kph,slammed into Quezon province northeast of Manila around on Friday night. It swept westward out to sea south of the capital and weakened into a tropical storm on Saturday.
Moussavi hints at new opposition rally
TEHRAN: Iranian opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi appeared to urge his supporters on Saturday to take part in rallies on November 4 marking the 30th anniversary of the student seizure of the US embassy in Tehran. In a statement posted on his http://www.kaleme.com website,Moussavi said he would press ahead with his efforts for political change in Iran following its disputed election in June,which he says was rigged in favour of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Pirates say British couple taken to land
Mogadishu: Somali pirates have moved a British couple kidnapped from their yacht to a village in Somalia,as the bandits argued over whether to demand ransom or a prisoner exchange,a pirate said on Saturday. They were taken to a village outside Harardhere and they are fine so far, Abdi Yare said by phone. The British Foreign Office confirmed on Friday that the pirates demanded 7million for the release of Paul and Rachel Chandler,who are aged 59 and 55.