1 000s march in Cape Town to demand legalisation of cannabis

Cape Town - Thousands of South Africans took to the streets of Cape Town on Saturday demanding a relaxation of drugs laws to allow medicinal and recreational use of cannabis.

Around 3 000 protesters took part in the march, some smoking cannabis, also known as marijuana and others carrying placards or cannabis plants growing in portable containers.

"We were marching for the legalisation and regulation of cannabis in South Africa," lead organiser Johannes Berkhout told AFP.

"There is more than enough evidence around the world about the medicinal benefits of cannabis," he said, adding that legalisation would create a "safer and much more controllable" use of the drug.

Use of cannabis and medicinal marijuana is gaining popularity in some parts of the world to ease suffering from cancer, glaucoma, HIV and AIDS, and other serious conditions.

But opponents fear crime connected to drug abuse and users graduating to harder drugs

A South African opposition lawmaker Mario Oriani-Ambrosini in 2014 submitted draft legislation calling for the legalisation of marijuana but died soon after.

Virgin Galactic spacecraft crash kills pilot

The craft was flying a manned test when it experienced what the company described as "a serious anomaly".

It was undergoing its first powered test flight since January over the Mojave Desert, north of Los Angeles.

Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson said he was "shocked and saddened" by the "tragic loss".

In a blog post, he said everyone involved in the project was "deeply saddened".

"All our thoughts are with the families of everyone affected by this tragic event," he wrote.

He said that he was flying to California immediately, describing it as "one of the most difficult trips I have ever had to make".

"Space is hard - but worth it. We will persevere and move forward together," he added.

Both pilots were employed by Scaled Composites, the company that designed the craft. One was pronounced dead at the scene while the other was transported to a local hospital in an unknown condition.

Television images shot from a helicopter showed wreckage bearing the Virgin logo. Officials have said the debris is strewn over a large area.

In a statement, Virgin Galactic said the "vehicle suffered a serious anomaly resulting in the loss of SpaceShipTwo".

The aircraft that the spacecraft was launched from, known as White Knight 2, landed safely, Virgin Galactic said.

It was the second accident this week involving a commercial space company in the US.

On Tuesday, an unmanned supply rocket called Antares exploded shortly after its launch from Virginia. It was carrying cargo to the International Space Station.

Ken Brown, a photographer who witnessed the SpaceShipTwo crash, said the craft had exploded after it was released from the plane that carried it to a high altitude.

Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board will begin their work on Saturday morning to investigate the cause of the accident, which will probably take several days.

"We are going to be supporting the investigation as we figure out what happened today," said George Whitesides, chief executive of Virgin Galactic.

"The future rests in many ways on hard days like this but we believe we owe it to the folks who were flying these vehicles as well as the folks working so hard on this to understand this and move forward."

Pakistan MQM leader Altaf Hussain arrested in London

Police in London have arrested the leader of Pakistan's powerful MQM party, Altaf Hussain, on suspicion of money-laundering.
Officers are searching a residential address in north-west London where they say a 60-year-old man was detained.
Mr Hussain has lived in the UK since 1991, saying his life would be at risk if he returned to Pakistan.
His party, which controls Karachi, has urged supporters to stay calm. Police are on alert amid reports of violence.
The British and Pakistan authorities have in the past expressed concerns that any arrest of Altaf Hussain could lead to violent protests in Karachi.
Shootings have been reported from some parts of Pakistan's largest city, which BBC correspondents say is tense.
Traffic jams were reported in Karachi and other cities in Sindh province as businesses closed and people headed home fearing violence.
One man in the city, who gave his name as Tahir, told the BBC that MQM supporters were firing in the streets and setting fire to any shop which remained open.
Another, Nabil, said there had been "turmoil" and "massive confusion" about whether Altaf Hussain had been arrested or not.
Who is Altaf Hussain?
Born in Karachi in 1953 to a middle-class family; studied pharmacy at university.
Formed MQM party in 1984 to represent Mohajirs - descendants of Urdu-speaking Muslims who migrated from India to Pakistan.
Requested political asylum in UK in 1992, later gained British citizenship; continues to run MQM from north London.
Karachi has been wracked by violence - much of it politically motivated.
Security is being tightened around the British mission in the city, which has been closed temporarily, and other buildings.
A Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) spokesman in London, Nadeem Nusrat, confirmed the arrest and urged its supporters to "maintain peace at all cost".
"The police arrived with a search warrant and wanted to question Mr Hussain regarding allegations of money laundering," he said in a statement.
Mr Hussain had been "very unwell" for the past few days and was getting ready to go to hospital when the police arrived, the statement added.

Live updates: Altaf Hussain arrested in London on charges of money laundering

LONDON: Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain was arrested in London on the charges of money laundering, sources in MQM said on Tuesday.
The London Police had been investigating Hussain in this case for over several months now.
In a TV interview, Altaf had revealed that all his bank accounts in Britain had been frozen by the authorities. The MQM chief had admitted that the British authorities had conducted raids at his house and at his office.

2:40pm
MQM sources in Karachi say they are unable to contact the members of London office.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2:37pm
British High Commission has confirmed the arrest. A special unit of the Scotland Yard arrested him from his house.
Exams have been postponed in various schools. Intermediate Board papers have also been cancelled.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2:27pm
Scotland Yard has not revealed the identity of the man arrested, Express News reported. According to the their press release, a 60-year-old man has been arrested on charges of money-laundering.
Karachi University examinations have been cancelled for the day.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2:22pm
Naeem Khanzada, reporting from Nine-Zero, says party members are gathering at the party headquarters for the emergency meeting.
MQM London Secretariat members say they will announce future course of action once the situation is clearer.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2:15pm
Spokesperson for London Metropolitan Police told The Express Tribune that a 60-year-old man was arrested from North West London on suspicion of money laundering. He further said that they do not disclose identities till the person is charged.
MQM Rabita Committee will be addressing a press conference at 3pm.
Two MQM leaders have denied the arrest of their party chief.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2:12pm
According to MQM leader Khawaja Izharul Hassan, the Rabita Committee has called for an emergency meeting and party members have started to gather at Nine Zero
Security has been put on high alert throughout Sindh.
Shops and businesses have started to shut down in Karachi and other cities of Sindh.
The British High Commission in Karachi has been temporarily shut down.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2:00pm
MQM Rabita Committee member Aminul Haq says they will issue a statement regarding this and will inform everyone about the situation.
Karachi Stock Exchange dropped by 780 points as soon as the news of Hussain arrest broke out. The market is now recovering.
1:46pm
Javed Chaudhry, while speaking to Express News today, said London Police were investigating Hussain for three cases of money laundering, hate speech and Imran Farooq murder.
Background
In June last year, as part of their investigation into the Imran Farooq murder case, Scotland Yard had raided Altaf Hussain’s house in London. The search operation had continued for over 55 hours.
Later in July 2013, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police in London had told The Express Tribune that a significant amount of money was seized in the raid from the house of the MQM chief. However, the spokesperson did not disclose whether the politician is being questioned over it.
Another spokesperson had said that if a money laundering case is established, then it would be treated as a financial case, separate from the murder case of Dr Imran Farooq.
Farooq, 50, was a former leader of MQM and had lived in London in self-imposed exile from 1999. He was on his way back from work when he was attacked outside his home in Edgware, north London, in September 2010. A post-mortem gave the cause of death as multiple stab wounds and blunt trauma to the head. A kitchen knife and a house brick used in the attack were recovered at the scene.

Pakistan MQM leader 'held in London'

Police in London arrest Pakistani MQM leader Altaf Hussain on money-laundering charges,

Altaf Hussain arrested in London on charges of money laundering

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain was arrested on Tuesday in London on charges of money laundering.
Hussain was being investigated for money laundering worth at least 400,000 pounds as well as for incitement to violence and MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq’s murder.
The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE-100 index) fell 780 points immediately after the news came and commercial centres across Sindh's provincial capital started to shut down.
MQM leader Farogh Naseem however said that Hussain had not been arrested and Scotland Yard only needed him for a statement in relation to a case.
Last week, senior MQM leader Farooq Sattar had disclosed at a public meeting that Hussain’s bank accounts in London were being frozen and had asked party workers and supporters to continue their ‘peaceful struggle’ against the British government.
Hussain, who has been living in London for over two decades and is now a British citizen, did not address that meeting held to condemn money-laundering investigations against him by UK authorities.

Attempt to hijack Turkish plane to Sochi foiled

ANKARA: A Ukrainian man tried to hijack a Turkey-bound flight to Sochi, Russia, as the Winter Olympics were kicking off Friday, but the pilot tricked him and landed in Istanbul instead, where he was stealthily detained after a four-hour stand-off on a plane full of passengers, an official said.

The hijacking drama came as the Winter Olympics opened in the Russian resort city, with thousands of athletes from around the world pouring into the tightly secured stadium amid warnings the games could be a terrorism target.

A Turkish F-16 fighter was scrambled as soon as the pilot on the Pegasus Airlines flight from Kharkiv, Ukraine, with 110 passengers aboard signaled there was a hijacking attempt, according to NTV television. It escorted the plane safely to its original destination at Sabiha Gokcen airport in Istanbul.

Officials credited the pilot and crew for convincing the 45-year-old-man, who claimed he had a bomb, that they were following his wishes.

"Through a very successful implementation by our pilot and crew, the plane was landed in Istanbul instead of Sochi," Istanbul governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu told reporters at the airport. "He thought it was going to Sochi but after a while he realized that (the plane) was in Istanbul."

He said the suspected hijacker was arrested after a stand-off during which a negotiator convinced him to first allow women and children to be evacuated and later agreed to let all other passengers off the plane as well.

"Our security units sneaked through various entrances during the evacuation of the passengers and with a quick and effective intervention the hijacker was subdued," Mutlu said. No bomb was found, he said.

The man's motive was unclear, but Mutlu said he had "requests concerning his own country" and wanted to relay a "message concerning sporting activities in Sochi." Mutlu said there was no immediate indication that the man was a member of any terror organization and Mutlu did not give his name.

"We were receiving through various channels information that there could be initiatives to sabotage the spirit of peace arising in Sochi, but we are saddened that such an event took place in our city," Mutlu said.

The governor said the man was being held at Istanbul police headquarters. The man was slightly injured during the struggle when he was detained, but no weapons were used, he said. The private Dogan news agency said later that the man was taken to a hospital for his injuries.

The Interfax news agency cited the Ukrainian Security Service, the country's main security agency, as saying the passenger was in a state of severe alcohol intoxication. Mutlu said the man was not drunk, but said he may have taken substances to help him remain alert. He did not elaborate.

Habib Soluk, the Turkish Transport Ministry undersecretary, told NTV earlier that the man rose from his seat, shouted that there was bomb on board and tried to enter the locked cockpit. The pilot signaled that there was a hijack attempt and the airport was placed on high alert.

Air traffic at Sabiha Gokcen was halted throughout the incident but had returned to normal after the man's arrest.

The plane landed at about 6 p.m. Turkish time, just as the opening ceremony for the Olympics was about to begin. The executive creative director of the Olympics opening ceremony told reporters afterward he heard of the threat but didn't alter the show's plans in any way.

"We had so much adrenaline in our veins that we could not grasp much," Konstantin Ernst said through an interpreter.

With about 100,000 police, security agents and army troops flooding Sochi, Russia has pledged to ensure "the safest Olympics in history." But terror fears fueled by recent suicide bombings have left athletes, spectators and officials worldwide jittery about potential threats.

"It would be wrong to make any comment before all the facts are known but any security questions are of course a matter for the authorities," International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said.

Security experts warn that Islamic militants in the Caucasus, who have threatened to derail the Winter Games that run from Feb. 7-23, could achieve their goal by choosing soft targets away from the Olympic sites or even outside Sochi.

Olympic organizers introduced blanket screening of all visitors, requiring them to share passport details to get a Winter Games spectator pass. Officials also cut access to vehicles lacking Sochi registration or a special pass, and guards were searching all train commuters. (AP)

Video: Norway, oslo bomb, Bomb blast, shooting at youth camp horrify Norway

OSLO, Norway - Police said seven people were confirmed dead following a bomb explosion in front of the Prime Minister's office in Oslo.

Interim Police Chief Sveinung Sponheim said broadcaster NRK that investigators suspect the bombing was linked to a shooting in the youth camp of the Labor Party late Friday by a gunman in police uniform.

A square in Oslo, where the Nobel Prize is awarded, was covered with twisted metal, broken glass and materials expelled from surrounding buildings, which house government offices and the headquarters of some of the major newspapers of Norway. Most of the windows of the 20 floor of skyscrapers where Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and his work of administration have been broken.
Stoltenberg worked at home Friday and was not injured, according to Senior Oivind Ostang.

The death toll was expected to rise, police spokesman Thor Langli said there were dead bodies left in the buildings, but he does not know how.

NRK public broadcaster showed the video of a blackened car lying on its side amid the debris. An AP reporter who was in the office of the Norwegian news agency NTB the building shook from the explosion and all employees were evacuated. In the street he saw a person with a bleeding leg directed away from the area.

Oslo police said the explosion was caused by "one or more" bombs, but declined to speculate on who was behind the attack. They then sealed off the nearby offices of two TV broadcaster after the discovery of a suspicious package.

In Utoya, an island outside Oslo, a gunman wearing a police uniform opened fire at a youth camp of the Labour Party, the firing of several young, the party spokesman Per Gunnar Dahl told The Associated Press.

"There was an incident where a man wearing a police uniform opened fire youth on the island. This created a panic situation where people have started swimming to the island" to escape, he said. Dahl has unconfirmed reports said five people were affected.

It was not immediately clear whether the two attacks were linked.

The explosion occurred at 3:30 p.m. (1330 GMT), as Ole Pedersen Tommy stood at a bus stop 100 meters (yards) away.

"I saw three or four people injured conducted in the building a few minutes later," Pedersen told AP.

The attacks come from Norway faced with a homegrown terrorist plot linked to al Qaeda. Two suspects are in jail awaiting charges.

Last week, a Norwegian public prosecutor filed charges against terrorism a religious home for threatening Iraqi politicians Norwegian death if deported from the Scandinavian country. The indictment focused on statements that Mullah Krekar - founder of the Kurdish Islamist group Ansar al-Islam - made various new media, including U.S. network NBC.

Terrorism was also a concern in neighboring countries of Denmark since an uproar over the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad six years ago. Danish authorities say they have foiled several terrorist plots linked to the 2005 cartoons that have sparked protests in Muslim countries. Last month, a Danish court of appeals on Wednesday sentenced a man to Somalia to 10 years in prison for breaking into the home of the cartoonist.

Killer waterfalls claim tourists in Yosemite and Kauai

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A string of recently dead near waterfalls in the popular Yosemite National Park in California and the Hawaiian island of Kauai has reopened the debate on the safety of visitors in potentially dangerous - and how the personal responsibility of visitors should take.

The search and rescue continued today along the Merced River below Yosemite Vernal Fall 317 feet after witnesses reported seeing one or more hikers slip into the water and on the edge Tuesday . The Rangers have temporarily closed the Mist Trail, the popular hiking trail that provides access in the fall, reports the Associated Press.

Record snowfall has created unusually spectacular waterfalls in Yosemite this year, but the turbulent waters have taken a toll: At least eight people died in the park this year, spokeswoman Kari Cobb told the AP. Visitors have been traumatized in May, when a hiker slipped and fell into the Merced River, his body hung on a rock and rescuers could not reach it for hours. Two men died after being swept from a bridge near the Hetch Hetchy reservoir in June, and a man who disappeared while hiking near Yosemite Falls, with his group the church is still missing.

Can You Eat Paleo and Lose Weight Like a Caveman?

Remove the sandwich and not far from the whole wheat bread, low fat mayonnaise and fat free cheese is in the process to kill you. Pick up the turkey (he set aside for later) and mix those who are bold, that cause diarrhea "healthy" potato chips right into the trash.

This can of soda? It's poison. Shake it up and throw it to your doctor. Rinse, lather and repeat until you stop feeling like crap and start to feel alive.

Paleo live is actually pretty easy to understand and implement. Eating meat. Eat vegetables and fruits. Drink water. Skip processed foods, including dairy products and (especially) the grains. Watch in amazement as the weight melted off, leave your desires, and you quickly become healthy. Yes, it's really that simple.

Before you laugh at the idea of ​​cutting grains and dairy products forever, consider some statistics on the Americans and the diseases related to diet.

Obesity in America
Nearly two out of three Americans are overweight or obese.
One in eight deaths in America is caused by a disease directly related to overweight and obesity.
Obesity and overweight leads directly to diabetes and complications that come with underlying diabetes: heart disease, high blood pressure, blindness, kidney failure, nerve / brain damage.
25.8 million children and adults in the United States 8.3% of the population have diabetes.
79000000 Americans have pre-diabetes, which all face health complications that diabetics.
How much does diabetes in America? $ 174 billion, and only for cases diagnosed.

Want more information on diabetes, including type 2 diabetes? Click here for the CDC fact sheet.

OK, so there is clearly a problem. You do not have to be a scientist to see that people in America are fat. Really, really fat. And while sexy comes in many shapes and sizes, there is no death. Obesity leads to death. It's not rocket surgery.

So it's really not a debate on this issue. Obesity is the problem. So that has implications for society (lack of access to nutritious food for the poor, government intervention in markets promotes bad eating habits, etc.), it still runs down to a series of decisions at personal and family.

NLF launches task force to combat Hepatitis B

The theme of the campaign is designed to tell the stories of real life of the effect of hepatitis B and C have on the lives of 500 million people living with the disease worldwide. The theme of the campaign focuses on the physical and emotional impact of viral hepatitis, but also aims to empower people living with the disease through the sharing of inspiring stories, he said. National Liver Foundation launched the campaign theme to generate a better understanding and help fight diseases that kill over a million people each year. Shah said: "Hepatitis B is a disease of the blood that is more contagious than HIV. We are confident that with the formation of the new task force, NLF will be able to accomplish its mission and communicate with target audiences more effectively. "PTI LV

New Amazing Spider-Man Trailer Leaked—and Yanked

Like a version of the leak new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man with Andrew Garfield began to swing his way around the Internet, Sony Pictures Entertainment, the studio behind the highly anticipated film, quickly cast a web over sequence and removed.

Remember, as the above image was captured before the pull-down clearly shows, the sneak peek was not exactly the highest quality, but still ...

PLUS: The excitement Holy Batman! Start of the new dark knight trailer rises

Anything is better than nothing, right?! So what did you miss?

Well, the blur clip (via mobile phone a few shaky sequences of a theater dark) showed a scene that says we'll probably be getting a little more about the parents of our hero as the previous Tobey Maguire, star of the films we gave.

He then introduced the other main characters in the life of Peter Parker, as Aunt May (Sally Field), Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen), love interest Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) and Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans ), although there is no insight into his alter ego the lizard.

And last but certainly not least, the sight of Spidey doing his thing as he jumps on the roof and climb up some walls.

But do not worry, fanboys. A clear, clean, studio approved version of the trailer would be unveiled before some clues of the new release this weekend Captain America: The First Avenger. Ah, three days and counting.

Murdoch’s ‘Most Humble Day’ as He Defends News Corp.

Rupert Murdoch, has defended the reputation of News Corp. (NWSA) 's on the phone-hacking scandal to his tabloid News of the World before the British legislators on what they said was "the day the humblest of my life. "

"The New World is less than 1 percent of our society," the 80-year Murdoch, flanked by his son James, told the Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Committee today. He said he may have "lost vue''le paper because it was" so small in the overall framework of society.''

The appearance of the News Corp. President before the committee, he refused to do so until forced by a subpoena, is a sign of how the alleged phone-piracy operations have damaged News Corp UK. In two weeks, the company has closed a newspaper profitable, out of an offer to buy the rest of British Sky Broadcasting Group plc (BSY), and lost two senior executives.

As Labour MP Tom Watson, Rupert Murdoch, questioned at the beginning of the hearing, James Murdoch has tried to intervene. Many answers were short and Rupert Murdoch came after long pauses. "No," he replied, when asked if he had been informed of a £ 1 million (1.6 million) Telephone-piracy regulations.

'The Most Humble Day of My Life': Murdoch Grilled in U.K. Hacking Scandal

Rupert Murdoch sparred Tuesday with a committee of MPs on the phone-hacking scandal that has rocked his world empire, under the shock of hard questions before you calm down and pushing his interrogators with flashes of his legendary tenacity. The elder Murdoch banged his hands on the table and said that the day was the most humble of his life, becoming upset when the committee members peppered him with questions and turning to his son James for some answers.

He recovered later in a tense question and answer session with legislators, pushing with firm denials of wrongdoing. Murdoch, 80, said he was "shocked, appalled and ashamed" to hacking the phone a schoolgirl murdered by her now-shuttered tabloid News of the World. He said he had seen no evidence that the victims of those 11 September 2001 against terrorism and their families were targeted by any of his papers.
(See pictures of the legendary career of Rupert Murdoch.)

Murdoch said he was not responsible for the scandal of piracy, and his company was not guilty of willful blindness. He repeatedly struck away from questions about operations at the New World by saying he was not really in touch with the tabloid or did not know what was happening there.

Murdoch also told the committee he did not believe that the FBI had found evidence of pirating September 11 victims in an investigation recently launched. He said he lost sight of the New World because it is a small part of his company and spoke to the newspaper publisher only about once a month to talk more with the editor of the Sunday Times in Britain and the Wall Street Journal United States

James Murdoch apologized for the scandal, saying British lawmakers that "these actions are not up to the standards of our society aspires."

The young Murdoch said the company acted as quickly and as transparently as possible. Rupert Murdoch, acknowledged, however, he had not investigated after Murdoch 'former chief British newspaper, Rebekah Brooks, told parliament that year the New World had paid police for information.

When asked by lawmakers why there was no investigation, he said: "I did not know him." He said that the New World "is less than 1 percent" of his News Corp., which employs 53 000 people. Murdoch also said he was unaware that his company had paid large sums - £ 700,000 (1.1 million) in one case - to settle litigation by victims of phone hacking.

No warnings, clues in deadly triple Mumbai blasts

BOMBAY (Reuters) - Indian intelligence agencies had received no warning before the three bombings that killed 18 people in Mumbai, the largest attack since Pakistan-based militants rampaged through the financial center in 2008, a high official said Thursday.

But suspicion fell on the Indian Mujahideen, a shadow home grown militant group known for bombing campaigns from city to city, using small explosive devices planted in restaurants, at bus stops and on busy streets.

"There was no information about an attack by militants in Mumbai. This is not a failure of intelligence agencies," Interior Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram at a news conference.

"Know that the authors have attacked and have worked very very illegal. Maybe it's a very small group, maybe they do not communicate with each other. "

He said it was too early to point the finger at one particular group, but said that the "coordinated terrorist attack" could be in retaliation for a number of plots recently arrested by the police or arrests, including the Mujahedeen Indians.

The Indian Mujahideen has been accused of having links with Pakistani militant groups fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir.

The attacks were the biggest militant attack in Bombay since the 2008 attacks killed 166 people, has raised tensions with its neighbor and nuclear rival Pakistan, and left a city on the edge.

The explosions come from India and Pakistan seek to normalize relations. Pakistani leaders have been quick to condemn the attacks, as was President Barack Obama. Top U.S. diplomat, Hillary Clinton, is due in India for talks planned next week.

There was no immediate indication of a Pakistani group was involved. But any suggestion to assign blame in Islamabad would only complicate a tense relationship with India - with whom he has a long-standing dispute over Kashmir - and even sort out the relationship with the United States.

"We live in the city's most troubled in the world. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the epicenter of terrorism, "said Chidambaram, adding that Pakistan had not provided support in India to go after those behind the attacks in Bombay in 2008.

Karzai brother service hit by Kandahar suicide bomber

A suicide bomber attacked a mosque in Kandahar during a memorial service for murdered half-brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, officials said.

Four people were killed, including the high official of the provincial council.

Ahmad Wali Karzai, a controversial but essential in the battle of NATO against the Taliban, was killed by his bodyguard.

President Karzai flew into Kandahar for the funeral of his brother, on Wednesday, but did not attend services Thursday.

No group has so far admitted carrying out the attack mosque.
The chaos and panic

"It was a suicide. It was inside the mosque, "a member of the provincial council in Kandahar said.

"The service was the end when it happened," the official added.

A witness told the BBC that "someone was trying to get inside the mosque" before the explosion.

The attacker suspect was arrested at the entrance of the mosque, where he detonated his vest.

Bilal Sarvary the BBC in the province of Kandahar reports that senior officials from the Ministry of Defence were inside the mosque.

Elite police units arrived in the region, our correspondent, adding that there are currently scenes of chaos and panic in the region.

India News: Bombay: Explosions shake India's financial hub

Twenty-one people were killed and 113 injured, said the chief minister of Maharashtra state, Prithviraj Chavan.

He called the explosions during the busy evening in Mumbai during peak hours, "a coordinated attack by terrorists."

An explosion was reported in the Zaveri Bazaar, one in the business district of the Opera House and third in the Dadar district in the city center.

Police sources were reported as saying the explosions were caused by roadside bombs.

The attacks were the deadliest in Mumbai since November 2008, when gunmen launched on October 1st three days coordinated raid in which 166 people were killed.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the attacks and appealed to the people of Mumbai "to remain calm and show a united face."

President Barack Obama has strongly condemned the "outrageous" attacks and offered "to support India's efforts to bring the perpetrators of these terrible crimes to justice

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New! Click the words above to view alternate translations. Dismiss

Syria: Assad supporters attack US and French embassies

The U.S. State Department has accused Syria of failing to protect the embassy and demanded compensation for the damage. No one was injured in the incident.

At the French embassy, ​​the guards fired into the air after the personnel were injured in a similar attack, officials say.

The incidents come after the U.S. and French ambassadors visited the restive city of Hama Central last week.

The separate visits - the two governments said were intended to express solidarity with the anti-government protesters - has drawn sharp criticism from Damascus.

Pro-government demonstrators took part in demonstrations outside the embassy for two days.

The French Foreign Ministry said three of its employees was injured when protesters attacked the French embassy on Monday.

Security guards fired warning shots "to prevent multiple intrusions into the enclosure," ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said.

The attack, he added, was in violation of international law. "It is not with illegal methods such as the Syrian authorities divert attention from the fundamental problem, which is to stop the repression of the Syrian population," Mr Valero said.

Supporters of Syrian President Assad attack US embassy

Supporters of President Bashar al-Assad attacked the compound of the U.S. embassy in Damascus, diplomats said.

Previously, security guards at the French Embassy was shot in the air to push back a crowd of loyalists Assad.

The protests come days after the U.S. and French ambassadors have visited the center of Hama, where a huge anti-government rally was held on Friday.

They also coincide with a conference on dialogue organized by the government including many opposition leaders boycotted.

The meeting is to discuss possible political reforms, which the government hopes to end the uprising four months.

New Australian law to make Muslims lift veils

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Muslim women have to remove the veils and show their faces to the police upon request or risk a prison sentence under the proposed new laws in the state's most populous Australia have drawn criticism as culturally insensitive.

Vigorous debate that the proposal has triggered clashes reflects cultural and spreads through the growing influx of Muslim immigrants and discomfort as the visible symbols of Islam are the cause of predominantly white Christian in Australia since 1973 when the government relaxed its immigration policy.

Under the proposed legislation by the Government of New South Wales, including Sydney, a woman who defies the police refusing to remove her veil her face could be sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of 5,500 Australian dollars (5900 $).

The bill - to be passed by State Parliament in August - has been condemned by civil libertarians and many Muslims as an overreaction to a traffic offense case involving a Muslim woman driver in a "niqab", or a veil that reveals only the eyes.

The government says the law would require drivers and remove any suspicious headgear for the police to identify them.

Critics say the document hints of anti-Muslim bias, given the few women wear burqa in Australia. In a population of 23 million, only about 400 000 Australians are Muslims. Community advocates estimate that less than 2000 women wear the veil their faces, and it is likely that even a small percentage of readers.

"It does not seem to be very tough, and it does not seem to be a need," said Australian Council for Civil Liberties spokesman David Bernie. "This shows a certain cultural insensitivity."

The controversy over the veil is similar to the debate in other Western countries about whether Muslim women should be allowed to wear clothes that hide their faces in public. France and Belgium have banned veils covering their faces in public. Typical arguments are that there is a need to prevent women from being forced to wear the veil by their families or the public safety requires that people be identified.

Bernie noted that if a thief disguised in a veil and sunglasses robbed a convenience store in Sydney last year, there was no crime trends involving Australian clothing for Muslim women.

"It's a religious issue here," said Mouna Unnjinal, a mother of five who was taken to Sydney in a niqab for 18 years and has never been booked for a traffic offense.