Mid Day International News

16 die as Pakistan naval base siege ends
Taliban strikes Pak base; destroys 2 planes, kills 7 personnel
Afghan Taliban deny Mullah Omar is dead
Malaysia grieves as landslide kills 16
Wills-Kate receive rare aphrodisiac on honeymoon
US 'would repeat Bin laden raid'
Microwave baby killer gets life
Putin, Medvedev turn superheroes
'What a nice a**!'
Iceland shuts down air space as volcano blows
Terrorist attack on Pakistan Navy facility

16 die as Pakistan naval base siege ends

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Pakistani security forces Monday ended a 15-hour siege here of a key naval base that terrorists stormed overnight, sparking fierce battles that left 16 people dead, officials said.

The dead included 12 security personnel and four of the attackers who exploded themselves at PNS Mehran naval base in one of the worst and most aduacious of terror attacks in Pakistan in recent times.

Four terrorists were arrested, media reports said. The attack targeted P-3C Orion aircraft, two of which were destroyed.

The terrorists reportedly took hostage a number of people, including Chinese military personnel. Their fate was not immediately known.

A large number of terrorists, their number estimated between 10 and 25, stormed the base Sunday night, Xinhua reported citing local media reports. They were armed with automatic weapons, rocket launchers and grenades.

The mayhem began in no time as the armed men scattered in the complex with one aim: kill and destroy.

Over 20 bomb explosions quickly shook the otherwise heavily-guarded naval facility Sunday night.

Four equally powerful blasts were also heard at the nearby air force base. Television footage showed thick smoke billowing from the area.

Fierce gunfights raged through the night as reinforcements of security forces rushed to the base.

The Pakistani Taliban, which is opposed to Islamabad's pro-US policies, reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack, Xinhua said.

At one point, the terrorist retreated into a building within the base holding hostages as human shield to fight back the navy commandos, Rangers and security personnel.

Pakistani commandos supported by helicopters battled the terrorists.

Four militants who had camouflaged themselves in dark outfits were arrested, Geo News reported.

After 15 hours of intermittent fighting, the security forces managed to regain control of the complex, BBC reported.

A police official said 12 security personnel were killed.

The terror attack comes within three weeks of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's killing May 2 in Abbottabad by US commandos. The Taliban had vowed retaliation.

Earlier reports said four foreigners were killed. They were believed to be US engineers working at the air force base.

But a spokesperson from the US consulate denied the report.

It was the third militant attack on the navy in Karachi in a month.

At least five people were killed and 18 injured in a bombing of a Pakistan Navy bus here April 28, two days after twin blasts blew up two naval buses killing four people.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the attack.

On May 13, Pakistani Taliban suicide bombers blew themselves up near a paramilitary training centre in Charsadda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing over 80 newly-trained personnel.

Last week, a Saudi consulate official was gunned down in Karachi.

Taliban strikes Pak base; destroys 2 planes, kills 7 personnel

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Nearly 12 hours after storming Pakistan navy's key airbase in the heart of the port city of Karachi, heavily-armed Taliban militants were still holding onto parts of the base after destroying two US-made surveillance aircraft and killing seven security personnel.

Pakistan army's elite Special Service Group (SSG) and naval commandos backed by helicopters were hunting down a group of 15-20 militants who attacked the naval premises last night in the worst assault on a military base since the Army Headquarters was besieged in October 2009 in Rawalpindi.

Security forces were engaged in a deadly gun battle with armed militants since last night after the militants sneaked into the PNS Mehran, the naval air station within Faisal airbase, from three residential points adjacent to the air base.

Fifteen loud explosions were heard from the base, the headquarters of Pakistan's naval air arm, following the attack and intermittent firing was reported till this morning.

Pakistan Navy spokesperson Commodore Irfan-ul-Haq said seven people had been killed in the gun battle including six naval officers and a shooter of the para-military rangers.

"Six naval officers lost their lives in the battle with the militants while one officer of the rangers was also killed," Haq said and added that so far 14 security personnel had been wounded in the gunbattle.

The security forces also killed four militants and have captured four alive, a senior security official said. Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who was dispatched to Karachi by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to monitor the situation, said the terrorists entered the airbase from three directions.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has stepped up attacks on security installations since the May 2 death of Osama bin Laden, has claimed responsibility for the assault.

"We had already warned after Osama's martyrdom that we will carry out even bigger attacks," Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told foreign agencies from an undisclosed location in northwest Pakistan.

He said the attackers sent into PNS Mehran naval base had enough supplies to survive a three-day siege.

"They have destroyed two P-3c Orion aircraft," another Navy spokesman Commander Salman Ali said.

Defence and political analysts termed the attack by the militants as a big security lapse by the Naval forces that needed to be investigated thoroughly.

Sources said that some Chinese engineers were also working at the naval base where the attack took place but they were evacuated safely.

"The air station was basically used as an operational and surveillance centre with a runaway and hangers by the Naval aircrafts and also had a training centre," provincial government official Ahmed Chinoy said.

Afghan Taliban deny Mullah Omar is dead

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Afghanistan's Taliban today dismissed as "pure propaganda" claims that their leader Mullah Omar was dead after an Afghan intelligence source said he had been killed in Pakistan.

"This is pure propaganda. This is not possible at all," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location.

He added that Omar was currently inside Afghanistan "leading the mujahideen".

The comments came after one Afghan intelligence source said Omar had been killed by Pakistan's ISI agency, while another claimed he had been missing for 11 days.

The first source, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said that Omar had been killed on Friday, citing information received from sources within the Haqqani insurgent group, whose leaders are based in Pakistan.

"Based on ISI instruction through (former ISI chief) General Hamid Gul, Mullah Mohammad Omar was told to move from Quetta city of Pakistan to northern Waziristan," the source said. "As Mullah Omar was being transported from Quetta to North Waziristan by the ISI, he was secretly killed by the ISI."

However, a second Afghan intelligence source who also spoke anonymously said that Omar had been missing for 11 days following a meeting with Gul.

"It has been 11 days since his close circle, the people around him, have no clue of his whereabouts. The Taliban leadership are all concerned and worried for the sudden disappearence of Mullah Omar," the source said.

Afghanistan and Pakistan regularly trade accusations over Taliban insurgencies plaguing both their countries.

There is deep distrust between Afghan intelligence and the ISI, which helped create the Taliban in the 1990s.

Malaysia grieves as landslide kills 16

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A close-knit village on the outskirts of the Malaysian capital was grieving yesterday for the deaths of 16 people, mostly children, after an orphanage was hit by a devastating landslide. As the search for bodies ended, a local lawmaker said the orphanage, situated at the foot of the hill from where the mudslip thundered down, had been built without official permission.

Last respects: Muslim families mourn for the boys who lost their lives
in the landslide. Pic/AFP

Following heavy rain on Saturday, rocks, sand and mud swept through a tent where the orphans and some of their carers had been practising a drum performance, witnesses said. A policeman at the scene said 16 bodies had been recovered, including a 34-year-old carer. The ages of the others killed ranged from eight to 19 years old, while 10 people remain in hospital. "The search and rescue operation is over. We have completed our mission," said an officer at the scene. The town of Hulu Langat was in a state of grief, with hundreds of people paying their respects to the boys.

Wills-Kate receive rare aphrodisiac on honeymoon

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Wills and Kate flew home from their Indian Ocean honeymoon on Saturday night... after being presented with the world's most erotic fruit. The couple were given the Coco de Mer coconut during a special ceremony as they ended their luxury 10-day stay on Friday.

Love Gift: Foreign Minister Jean-Paul Adam presented Wills-Kate the
Coco de Mer, known to be the world's most erotic fruit.

They were granted a special licence to bring the world's rarest fruit home from the Seychelles. The "love nut" - which bears a striking resemblance to a pair of female buttocks - only grows in the Vall �e de Mai nature reserve on Praslin Island. It is regarded in the Seychelles as a powerful aphrodisiac and revered as a fertility symbol. The fruit was given to the couple by Foreign Minister Jean-Paul Adam on behalf of Seychelles President James Michel at a ceremony on Mah �, the main island.

Before Wills and Kate left, they told the staff they had had the "time of our lives". Looking tanned and relaxed, they personally thanked the coastguards hired to protect them. Wills told island staff, "I've had the best diving I've ever experienced while I've been here. It has been amazing. We have had a truly magical time." A Clarence House representative also confirmed the news.

US 'would repeat Bin laden raid'

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US President Barack Obama says he would order a similar attack if they discover another leading terrorist figure hiding in Pakistan

US President Barack Obama has indicated he would be prepared to launch a fresh American raid into Pakistani territory if they discovered another leading terrorist figure hiding there. In a BBC interview ahead of this week's state visit to London, Obama described the killing by US Navy Seals of al-Qaeda mastermind Osama Bin Laden in his compound in Abbottabad earlier this month as a 'powerful moment' for America.

Ready to fight back: US President Obama greets CIA Director Leon
Panetta as he prepares to deliver remarks at the CIA headquarters in Langley.
pic/AFP

The President insisted he wanted to establish a more 'cooperative relationship' with the government in Islamabad after the outrage in Pakistan over the US action, which was carried out without notifying the authorities there. But asked what he would do if the Americans found another "very high value target" in the country he indicated he would act again.

"I've always been clear to the Pakistanis " and I'm not the first administration to say this " that our job is to secure the United States," he told BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show. "We are very respectful of the sovereignty of Pakistan. But we cannot allow someone who is planning to kill our people or our allies' people " we can't allow those kind of active plans to come to fruition without us taking some action."

He added, "Our hope, and our expectation, is that we can achieve that in a way that is fully respectful of Pakistan's sovereignty. But I had made no secret " I had said this when I was running for the presidency " that if I had a clear shot at bin Laden that we'd take it." Obama acknowledged that the raid on bin Laden's compound had been a "calculated risk", which could have ended very differently."There's no doubt that that was as long a 40 minutes as I care to experience during my presidency," he said.

On the Queen
Obama also spoke warmly of the relationship he and and his wife Michelle, had established with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, who they met when they attended the G8 summit in London in 2009. "They are extraordinarily gracious people. They could not have been kinder to us," he said. He disclosed that when Michelle Obama returned to Buckingham Palace with their two daughters, they had been given the chance to ride through the grounds in one of the carriages. "She (the Queen) could not have been more charming and gracious to the girls," he said. "I think what the Queen symbolises not just to Great Britain, but to the entire Commonwealth and obviously the entire world, is the best of England. And we're very proud of her."

Widows Battle
The three widows of Osama are turning on each other in custody, with two older Saudi women blaming a much younger Yemeni wife for leading American intelligence to their hideout. "The wives dispute over who tried to protect their husband. The older wives say they were the ones who rushed to shield him," said an official.

Microwave baby killer gets life

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A woman who killed her month-old daughter in a microwave was spared the death penalty and sentenced to life without parole. A jury convicted China Arnold of aggravated murder two weeks ago and recommended her punishment. Prosecutors said Arnold put Paris Talley in a microwave and turned it on after a fight with her boyfriend.

The defence argued someone else was probably responsible for the death. Medical experts said the baby died after her temperature reached 42 degrees. It was Arnold's third trial over her daughter's death, in 2005. Her first ended in a mistrial. She was found guilty in the second but the conviction was reversed on appeal.

Killer mom
In November 2010, a baby girl was killed in a washing machine when she was put in with a pile of laundry by her junkie mum. The horror was discovered by an aunt who opened the top-loader.

Putin, Medvedev turn superheroes

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Russia's Vladimir Putin saves the day as a martial arts superhero in a comic strip spreading on the Russian Internet, where he teams up with bearskin-wearing sidekick Dmitry Medvedev. The comic strip, apparently the first in a series about Super Putin, Man Like Any Other is set in Moscow "one year before the end of the world."

Russia will choose its next president in 2012 and observers have their eyes peeled for any indication of whether current President Medvedev or Prime Minister Putin will seek the six-year-term as head of the country. Although one of the strip's creators said it was drawn by pro bono artists, some Internet users hinted that it may be a part of a behind-the-scenes campaign or was even commissioned by the Kremlin.

With a plot line resembling the film Speed, the strip shows a kimono-wearing Putin -- described as a man "with a Nordic character" -- save a busload of people from a bomb blast. The strip pokes fun at Putin's judo hobby and Medvedev's penchant for technological gadgets. The strip's writer Sergei Kalenik said it took two weeks to create and was not a paid project. "We wanted to stir Russia's depressing political scene and create some dialogue," he said.

'What a nice a**!'

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That's what former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn told a stewardess moments before police hauled him off his flight

Disgraced former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn attempted to lure two attractive hotel employees to his $3,000-a-night (Rs 1.35 lakh) hotel suite and later put the moves on an Air France flight attendant following his alleged sexual assault on a maid, it has been learned. "What a nice a**", he barked to the attendant, using the lewd French expression "Quel beau cul!" as she prepared the business-class cabin for takeoff last Saturday.

Suite talker: Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been charged with sexually
assaulting a chambermaid at the Sofitel hotel in New York

Where he also allegedly propositioned two more members of staff.
Pics/AFP

His catcall came just moments before Port Authority detectives hauled him off the plane, the French magazine Le Point reported. The final act of lust capped a whirlwind weekend of attempted womanising for the former front-runner of the 2012 French presidential election. The Frenchman first tried his seduction skills on a VIP receptionist who escorted him to his suite at the Sofitel hotel on Friday evening, officials sources said.

When he got to his room, the 62-year-old asked the attractive worker to join him for a glass of champagne after her shift -- an invite she described as "inappropriate," and which she rejected on the spot, the sources said. Strauss-Kahn tried his game the following day on the desk receptionist who had first checked him in, described by a source as an "attractive woman who caught his eye."

He asked her to join him in his suite, where he had a complimentary bottle of Dom Perignon champagne. The woman said that, at first, he was "borderline flirting" and she declined the sordid invite, according to the sources. The revelations emerged after investigators interviewed every Sofitel employee and pored over more than 48 hours of video footage, including recordings of Strauss-Kahn bolting the hotel Saturday afternoon without checking out.

Prosecutors say that after emerging from the suite's bathroom naked, he threw himself upon the unsuspecting 32-year-old maid, who had entered his room to clean. Strauss-Kahn allegedly chased her down the hallway and into his bedroom, grabbed her breasts, attempted to pull down her pantyhose, and forced her to perform fellatio before she tore free from his grasp and ran to tell her colleagues, who called the cops.

Police investigating the alleged rape attempt had already told employees to ask him where he was, and tell him they would deliver the cellphone. Strauss-Kahn was indicted on seven counts, including attempted rape, criminal sexual assault and unlawful imprisonment.

Loyal wife
Anne Sinclair has been standing by this man since 1991 when the two were married. In a statement she issued, she said she did not "believe for a single second the accusations of sexual assault by my husband."

New IMF Chief?
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde's candidacy to head the IMF gained momentum yesterday with a close ally of President Nicolas Sarkozy saying she already had several countries' backing.

Iceland shuts down air space as volcano blows

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A new volcanic eruption in Iceland shut down the country's airspace yesterday, a year after the eruption of nearby Eyjafjoell caused aviation chaos across Europe. Experts and aviation authorities said however that the impact of the Grimsvotn eruption should not be as far-reaching. Grimsvotn, Iceland's most active volcano located at the heart of its biggest glacier Vatnajoekull, began erupting late on Saturday, sending a plume of smoke and ash as high as 20km into the sky. Ash soon covered nearby villages and farms and had by yesterday morning reached the capital, nearly 400km to the west.

Tharr she blows: A cloud of smoke and ash is seen over the Grimsvoetn
volcano on Iceland yesterday. Pic/AFP Ash from the volcano could reach
northern Scotland by Tuesday and parts of Britain, France and Spain by
Thursday or Friday.

"It's just black outside, and you can hardly tell it is supposed to be bright daylight," Bjorgvin Hardarsson, said a farmer at Hunbakkar Farm in the nearby village of Kirkjubaejarklaustur. Yesterday morning, Iceland's airport administration Isavia, announced that the country's main airport Keflavik was shutting and that basically all of the country's airspace was closing due to the ash cloud.

The airspace closure "affects pretty much all of Iceland right now, at least for the next hours. ... Flights to and from Iceland are shutting down," said Isavia spokeswoman Hjordis Gudmundsdottir. The Eyjafjoell eruption caused the planet's biggest airspace shutdown since World War II, lasting almost a month, amid fears the volcanic ash could wreak havoc on aircraft engines.

However, no other European country has decided to close their airspace, although aviation authorities in Britain and Scandinavia, among the hardest hit last year, said they were keeping a close eye on developments. The European air safety organisation said no impact was expected on European airspace outside Iceland or on transatlantic flights for at least 24 hours.

Did you know?
Grimsvotn has erupted nine times between 1922 and 2004

Terrorist attack on Pakistan Navy facility

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PNS Mehran, a heavily guarded facility of the Pakistan Navy in the port city of Karachi, was attacked by terrorists late Sunday night, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said.

PNS Mehran is the country's first Naval Air Station, situated 10 km from the Quaid-e-Azam International Airport.

Earlier four blasts took place near the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) base in the city, Geo News reported.

Ambulances were rushed to the PAF Base Faisal, named after late king Faisal of Saudi Arabia.

It is the site of PAF's Southern Air Command and the PAF Air War College.