The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Suicide attack on base in Pakistan's biggest city kills one
- Wintry storm hits U.S. Northeast, slowing Sandy recovery
- Strong earthquake off Guatemala kills at least 48
| Suicide attack on base in Pakistan's biggest city kills one Posted: 07 Nov 2012 09:02 PM PST KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed at least one person when he rammed his vehicle into the gates of a military base in Pakistan's largest city on Thursday, police said, the latest in a series of audacious attacks on security forces. Thirteen people were wounded in the explosion but the attacker was unable to penetrate into the headquarters of the Rangers paramilitary base in the port city of Karachi. "It is a heavy blast near the Rangers office, with some casualties," said senior police official Javed Odho. He told Pakistani television the bomber had used more than 100 kg of explosives in the attack. Karachi is Pakistan's financial hub and is home to 18 million people. The bombing is the latest in a series of attacks on military bases in Pakistan, including a 16-hour assault on Pakistan's navy base in Karachi in 2011 that killed at least 10 people and an attack on the army headquarters in Rawalpindi in 2009. Some of the assaults have prompted speculation the attackers had sympathizers inside the military who gave them information about the bases. Nuclear-armed Pakistan, an uneasy U.S. ally, is fighting its own homegrown Taliban as well as other insurgents who cross its porous border with neighbouring Afghanistan. Karachi is home to a number of sectarian groups and fighters allied to the Taliban insurgency and is also faced with an epidemic of violent crime. (Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Randy Fabi and Paul Tait) Copyright © 2012 Reuters | ||
| Wintry storm hits U.S. Northeast, slowing Sandy recovery Posted: 07 Nov 2012 09:02 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - An unseasonably early-winter storm brought snow, rain and dangerous winds to the U.S. Northeast, plunging many residents of the most populous region of the country back into darkness just as they were recovering from Superstorm Sandy.
The storm iced roads and hit transit systems, setting the stage for a difficult Thursday morning commute and bringing fresh misery to those whose lives had been disrupted by the massive storm that smashed ashore on October 29 with historic flooding. Sandy's death toll in the United States and Canada reached 121 after New York authorities on Wednesday reported another death linked to the storm, in the hard-hit coastal neighbourhood of Rockaway that bore the brunt of a storm surge. More than 60,000 homes and businesses in a band stretching from the Carolinas to New York lost power, joining the more than 640,000 customers that remained in the dark after one of the biggest and costliest storms ever to hit the United States. Freezing temperatures were a fresh worry for residents left without power. New York distributed space heaters and blankets to residents without heat or power and opened shelters to those in need of a warm place to sleep. After enduring a week without electricity or running water in her Mendham, New Jersey, home, Kimberly Gavagan said she and her family are now staying with friends that have power. "The idea of getting several inches of snow on top of this is unbearable," Gavagan said. "We are going to be shovelling snow and going into a cold house." The low-pressure weather system coming from the south brought wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour (97 kph) and dropped what was expect to be 3 inches to 5 inches (8-13 cm) of snow on New York City, with up to twice that much hitting northern suburbs, the National Weather Service said. But local utilities warned that winds and heavy, wet snow, which threatened to down trees and power lines, had hindered their efforts to restore power. "I could see us actually moving backwards, and people who had regained power losing power again," warned New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. U.S. President Barack Obama spoke with the governors of New York and New Jersey by telephone on Wednesday, with the discussions focused on fuel shortages in the storm-hit region and what to do about the thousands whose homes were destroyed, according to a White House official. EVACUATIONS AND DISRUPTIONS New York and New Jersey evacuated the most vulnerable coastal areas ahead of the storm, which was forecast to bring a high tide about 2 feet (60 cm) above normal by early Thursday. New York City officials urged residents whose homes have been flooded by Sandy to relocate to the homes of friends or family members or to go to city shelters. But some in the region were unwilling or unable to leave their homes. That included Christine Jones, a 73-year-old resident of coastal Far Rockaway in the borough of Queens who said that she and many of her neighbours planned to stay in their cold, dark apartments. "They're scared they're going to be robbed," said Jones, whose evacuation options were limited since her 1999 Buick was flooded by Sandy's storm surge. "The teen-age boys ... they try to break in. Commuter bus and train services had been disrupted by the storm, with the Long Island Rail Road briefly shutting down all operations to the city's eastern suburbs on Wednesday night. All of the region's major airports experienced cancelled flights and delays on Wednesday due to the storm, and gasoline remained in short supply, though four companies told the United States they intended to take advantage of a rare waiver allowing them to use foreign-flagged ships to transport oil products to the storm-hit region. Across the region, residents waited for a return of power and warmth. Diane Reinhardt, a 64-year-old retired teacher, said she had travelled from her home in Brooklyn to the south shore of Long Island to check on her 93-year-old mother, whose home has been without power since Sandy hit more than a week ago. "They're just at wit's end," Reinhardt said of her mother and brother. "They feel like they're never going to get power back and it's never going to get warm again." (Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert in Washington; Writing by Scott Malone; editing by Philip Barbara)
Copyright © 2012 Reuters | ||
| Strong earthquake off Guatemala kills at least 48 Posted: 07 Nov 2012 08:04 PM PST SAN MARCOS, Guatemala (Reuters) - A strong earthquake off the coast of Guatemala killed at least 48 people and trapped others under rubble on Wednesday, crushing homes and cars, destroying roads and forcing evacuations as far away as Mexico City.
Most of the dead were buried under debris in San Marcos state, a mountainous region near the Mexican border. Landslides triggered by the 7.4-magnitude quake blocked highways and complicated rescue efforts. It was the strongest earthquake to hit the Central American nation since 1976, when a 7.5-magnitude quake killed more than 20,000 people. President Otto Perez, who confirmed the death toll after returning to the capital Guatemala City from a lightning trip to San Marcos, said that as many as 23 people were unaccounted for, while 153 people were being housed in emergency shelters. "It's very sad to meet people here who are waiting to find their families who are still buried," Perez said in San Marcos. "It's really a tragedy and we will do all we can to help the families that are suffering." Rescue workers in bright yellow helmets worked through the night pulling bodies from the rubble-strewn streets of San Pedro Sacatepequez, San Marcos, as dazed locals looked on, taking stock of the damage. "Thank God we're alive," said resident Arnulfo Portillo. "To be honest, there's quite a few families who have been hit badly, but we're a tight-knight community and we'll come out on top." In San Cristobal Cucho, also in San Marcos, all but one of an 11-member family died, buried under rubble, volunteer fireman Ovidio Fuentes told local radio. Only the 17-year-old son survived. Local Red Cross chief Carlos Enrique Alvarado said 75 homes were destroyed in the city of San Marcos alone and authorities said damage to the prison forced them to transfer 101 inmates to another jail. Perez, who announced three days of mourning, said Spain and Venezuela had offered help. Authorities distributed 16,000 emergency rations and mobilized more than 2,000 soldiers to help with the rescue effort. The energy ministry said 73,000 people were left without electricity. In Guatemala City, 100 miles (161 km) from the quake's epicentre, the streets filled with office workers forced to evacuate buildings, although most soon returned to work. "It was really big. I felt quite nauseous," said Vanessa Castillo, 32, a secretary who was evacuated from her 10th floor office in the capital. Building janitor Jorge Gamboa said: "I was in the bathroom. When I came out the office was empty and I thought, what's happening? They didn't even say goodbye." The epicentre was 26 miles (42 km) below the surface, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake was felt in El Salvador and more than 760 miles (1,223 km) away in Mexico City, where some people also fled offices and homes. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a small tsunami was registered on Guatemala's coast, although there were no reports that it caused any damage. Copyright © 2012 Reuters |
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