"Afghanistan: Deadly attack in Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan"

Insurgents have carried out a gun and bomb attack in the south Afghan town of Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan province, leaving at least 22 dead, officials say.
They said the violence included three suicide bombings followed by fighting in a market, adding that all eight attackers had now been killed.

The dead include Ahmed Omed Khpulwak, a local BBC reporter.

The Taliban say they carried out the attack, which comes amid renewed violence in Afghanistan.

Nato says it is providing air support to Afghan forces in Tarin Kowt.
 
TV station stormed

Afghan intelligence officials said at least one bomb exploded near the governor's office and one near the offices of a security firm owned by a local militia commander. It is not clear where the third bomb was detonated.

Most of the fighting took place near these offices, which are close to the main market and a building which houses a local radio and TV station.

The BBC's Bilal Sarwary says the market was attacked from four sides, but the siege was broken by elite forces.

Residents said heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles were used by both sides.

Health officials said 22 people had been killed including three women and 40 injured, most of them civilians.

Among the dead is Ahmed Omed Khpulwak, a reporter for the BBC Pashto radio service as well as the Pajhwok news agency.

He was one of several people killed when the TV and radio station was attacked.

BBC Global News director Peter Horrocks said: "The BBC and the whole world are grateful to journalists like Ahmed Omed who courageously put their lives on the line to report from dangerous places."

Two soldiers were among the dead but no senior government officials have been harmed, officials said.

'Doomsday'

Eyewitness Mohammad Dadu, a butcher at the market, told the BBC: ''I didn't have time to close my shop. I saw two dead bodies and four injured people with blood on their clothes.

"It feels like doomsday. Everyday people came to the market to shop. But today people are here collecting the dead and injured bodies of their relatives. There is blood, smoke from explosives and everyone has fled the area."

Afghan militants have stepped up their attacks as Nato troops begin the handover of security to local forces in parts of the country.

On Wednesday the mayor of the volatile city of Kandahar was killed in a suicide attack.

Two weeks ago, President Hamid Karzai's influential half-brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, was killed in the same city.

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"Afghanistan: Gun battle rages in Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan"

Insurgents have launched a gun and bomb attack in the central Afghan town of Tarin Kowt in Uruzgan province, leaving at least 17 people dead, officials say.

They say the violence began with two suicide bombings outside official buildings, followed by fighting between gunmen and security forces in a market.

The Taliban say they carried out the attack, which comes amid renewed violence in Afghanistan.

Nato says it is providing air support to Afghan forces.
 

TV station stormed

Residents said heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles were being used by both sides.

"So far 17 bodies and 37 wounded have been brought to the hospitals," provincial health director Khan Agha Miakhail told AFP news agency.

He added that a journalist was among the dead. Reports say the militants stormed the local radio and TV station.

Afghan intelligence officials told the BBC that the attack started when bombs exploded near the governor's office and the offices of a security firm owned by a local militia commander.

Eyewitness Mohammad Dadu, a butcher at the market, told the BBC: ''I didn't have time to close my shop. I saw two dead bodies and four injured people with blood on their clothes."

Afghan militants have stepped up their attacks as Nato troops begin the handover of security to local forces in parts of the country.

On Wednesday the mayor of the volatile city of Kandahar was killed in a suicide attack.

Two weeks ago, President Hamid Karzai's influential half-brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, was killed in the same city.

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"Afghan children injured by UK Apache helicopter attack"

Five Afghan children were injured in a strike carried out by a British Apache attack helicopter, the Ministry of Defence has said.

They were working in a field in the Nahr-e-Saraj area of Helmand Province on Saturday as UK forces targeted an insurgent riding a motorcycle nearby.

They were taken to Camp Bastion, the main British base in Helmand, for treatment.

Their injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

The Nato-led military coalition in Afghanistan, known as the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), has prioritised the reduction of civilian casualties.

An MoD spokeswoman said: "Any incident involving civilian casualties is a matter of deep regret and we take every possible measure to avoid such incidents.

"A shooting incident review is now under way and UK officials in Afghanistan are keeping the provincial governor abreast of the results of the investigation."
Civilian deaths

The Apache is understood to have fired at the insurgent with its machine gun.

Isaf said in a statement: "Isaf is currently assessing this event, and more details will be released as they become available. Coalition forces take every allegation of civilian casualties seriously."

According to a recent United Nations report, the first six months of 2011 were the deadliest for civilians in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001.

The country saw 1,462 civilian deaths in January to June, a 15% increase on the same period last year. Most of the deaths were caused by roadside bombs and anti-government forces such as the Taliban.

While the total number of people killed by pro-government action fell by 9%, more people died in Nato air strikes, leaving 79 Afghans dead in the period in question.

More than half of those deaths have been attributed to the use of Apache ground attack helicopters.

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"Pakistan city of Karachi hit by factional 'bloodbath''

At least 27 people have been killed in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi in violence since Saturday, police and hospital sources say.

Most violence was reported from the eastern and central parts of the city, police say.

Hundreds of people have been killed in ethnic violence in this sprawling metropolis in recent months.

Much of it has involved activists of the city's dominant parties such as the MQM, the ANP and PPP.

The attacks are part of a cycle of violence which has claimed the lives of 200 people since 1 July, police officials say. Three of the deaths were on Monday.

The latest round of violence started when members of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) resisted attempts by a breakaway faction to come out of hiding - after a decade under cover - and enter areas of the city.

The MQM is mainly a party of Muslim Urdu-speaking people whose families moved to Sindh province at the time of the partition of India in 1947.

The MQM(H) broke away from the MQM in 1991, and since then the two have had a history of mutual violence and armed hostilities.

'Armed terrorists'

The top leaders of MQM(H) were jailed in 2002-03 on various charges, and the bulk of its activists went into hiding, fearing persecution by members of the MQM who were then in power.

The MQM is still a part of the ruling coalition both at the centre and in Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital.

The failure of the prosecution to obtain a conviction against Afaq Ahmad, the top leader of the MQM(H), prompted his party activists to return to their areas of the city.

Witnesses told BBC Urdu service that violence had erupted in the eastern district of Malir on Saturday when some MQM(H) activists tried to enter the area. The activists were among those who had been in hiding for nearly 10 years after their leaders were jailed on various charges.

A spokeswoman of MQM(H), Rida Fatima, told the media on Sunday that at least four party activists had been killed when they returned to their homes on Saturday.

She said that the houses of three MQM(H) activists were also burnt down.

Body count

Meanwhile, the London-based chief of MQM, Altaf Hussain, in a statement on Sunday blamed "armed terrorists" and "criminal elements" for causing a "bloodbath" in some areas.

Police and paramilitary rangers have been put on 24-hour patrol duty in some tense areas of Karachi, where weapons were recovered and arrests made, police official Naim Baroka told the media.

Meanwhile the administration has banned pillion riding on motorbikes to reduce the number of drive-by shootings.

The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hosain in Karachi says that there is a tit-for-tat element to the violence, which is why the body count continues to mount.

Most of the victims killed so far are political activists.

Our correspondent says that the violence has descended into street battles between armed groups in some areas.

This is especially so in Malir but also in other neighbourhoods hit by drive-by shootings of political workers.

The authorities have now deployed additional security patrols in addition to snap checkpoints on all major roads.

Political leaders have appealed for calm, with the the central government announcing on Monday that it was working on a new strategy to bring peace.

Our correspondent says that similar efforts in the past have failed to end the killings.

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"Pakistan still not prepared for floods, says Oxfam"

Pakistan is still not sufficiently prepared to cope with flooding and other natural disasters, a year after the worst floods in its history, aid agency Oxfam has said.

More than 1,750 people are thought to have been killed and 20 million people affected by last year's floods.

An Oxfam report expresses concern about the pace of reconstruction.

It says more than 800,000 families are still without permanent shelter as another monsoon season approaches.

The aid agency also says many people who missed the chance to plant or harvest crops are struggling to sustain themselves, with little work available and rising food prices.

"Villagers in areas that we work fear new flooding. Many are planting fewer crops than usual as they are worried that their harvests will be destroyed in fresh floods," Neva Khan, head of Oxfam in Pakistan, said.

"In some areas, where fresh flooding has already begun, families have started to dismantle their houses and move to higher ground as they are scared of losing everything again."

The Oxfam report says there is a widespread lack of adequate shelter, malnutrition rates are high and many who are still displaced do not have the means to return home, or anywhere to return to.

"Pakistan is a disaster prone country and has been flooded 67 times since 1947. Climate change will only increase the threat of floods," Ms Khan said.

"But while floods and earthquakes are inevitable, widespread devastation is not. For years, not enough has been done to protect ordinary Pakistani men, women and children from disasters before they strike."
 

Disaster

Oxfam acknowledges that the floods would have challenged any government and that as a result of the aid operations thousands of lives were saved.

But the aid agency says that there are still huge humanitarian needs on the ground and serious lessons to be learnt from how the response was dealt with.

Oxfam says that much of the country is still not covered by early warning systems and many flood defences that were destroyed in last year's disaster not yet properly repaired.

It says that more flood resistant housing, and effective early warning systems - especially at the village level - are urgently needed.

The agency also called for more funding for local authorities and organisations that play a frontline role in preparing for and responding to emergencies.

"Pakistan needs to act now. Investing in measures today that reduce the impact of disasters is essential to save lives and safeguard development gains in the future," Ms Khan said.

"It will ensure schools built with aid funds are not washed away and that farmers can keep the crops they have toiled over."

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"India raises interest rates in a bid to slow inflation"

India's central bank has raised interest rates by more-than-expected as it continues to fight rising prices.
The Reserve Bank of India raised its main rate to 8% from 7.5%, the eleventh increase since March 2010.

Inflation has been accelerating and a key measure of price growth hit 9.44% in June, pushed up by higher food and fuel costs.

The central bank has said that slowing prices gain is a top priority.

"Actual inflation so far has been even higher than expected," the Reserve Bank of India said in the statement announcing its latest interest rate move.

"The recent increase in domestic administered fuel prices and the minimum support price for certain food items will also keep inflation under pressure," the bank added.
Growth vs inflation

The central bank's decision comes at a time when concerns are being raised about the sustainability of the global economic recovery.

A slowdown in developed economies, coupled with the debt crisis in various nations, has seen a decrease in demand from these economies.

Data released earlier this month showed that India's factory output grew by a weaker-than-expected 5.6% in May, as manufacturing activity slowed.

Analysts said given the current economic situation, the central bank's decision to raise interest rates by more than been expected has taken them by surprise.

"A surprisingly hawkish move, considering the external risks and slowing growth," said Vishnu Varathan of Capital Economics.

While the central bank acknowledged that "there are signs that growth is beginning to moderate, particularly in respect of some interest rate sensitive sectors", it said there was no evidence of a broad-based slowdown in the economy.

"Considering the overall growth-inflation scenario, we determined that it is necessary to persevere with the anti-inflationary stance," the bank said.

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"End in sight for Cairn India deal"

An end is in sight in the long-running dispute over a major oil deal in which Cairn Energy has faced delay by the Indian government.
The Edinburgh-based oil explorer is taking the issue to shareholders of its Indian offshoot.

Cairn is expected to accept a sharp cut in the value of its oil fields in Rajasthan.

The company has been trying to sell a controlling stake in Cairn India for almost a year.

But the sale to metals company Vedanta has been stalled by the Indian government.

Last month, cabinet ministers in Delhi decided to change the terms under which Cairn Energy was encouraged to explore for oil in the Rajasthani desert.

Having found oil, that change is calculated by Cairn to reduce its value by £176m ($289m)

Cairn India, the spin-off company which is now 52% owned by Cairn Energy in Scotland, has warned the Indian government that a lack of co-operation in developing the vast Mangala field in Rajasthan is harming the national interest, by forcing higher energy imports.

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), majority owned by the Indian government, has been pushing to reduce its liability to pay all the royalties on oil production, as previously agreed.

The Indian government has ruled those royalties should now be deducted before calculating Cairn India's profits.

While the dispute has continued, the flow from Mangala has been limited to 125,000 barrels per day, when it could be increased to 240,000 barrels.

Cairn India is now to ballot shareholders.

And as Cairn Energy and Vedanta together control 80% of the company, approval of the changed terms is expected.

Rahul Dhir, chief executive of Cairn India, said: "The Rajasthan fields have significant growth potential and an increase in production from this world class asset will enhance the energy security of our nation.

"The optimal development of this resource will only be possible with the active support of our joint venture partner, ONGC and the Government of India".

The quarterly update on Cairn India reflects the Mangala oil field coming on stream, with revenue since the quarter to June 2010 up by 342% to £506m ($830m), with profit after tax up 869% to £384 ($610m).

Cairn India is also increasing its drilling activity in Sri Lankan waters.

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"Afghan Nato forces 'kill 35 Pakistan Taliban militants'"

At least 35 Taliban militants from Pakistan have been killed and several wounded by Nato-led forces inside Afghanistan, officials say.

The militants are said to have crossed over into the Afghan province of Paktia to target coalition forces when they came under attack last week.

Sources in Pakistan's Waziristan tribal region told the BBC that many of those wounded had now been brought back.

Some are said to be receiving medical treatment in the town of Miranshah.

Pakistan has been under severe pressure from the US in recent months to prevent militants based in its tribal regions from crossing into Afghanistan to fight Nato troops based there.

Earlier this month Washington said that it was cutting $800m (£500m) in military aid to Islamabad because of "difficulties" in its relationship with Pakistan.
 

Dangerous faction

Efforts are said to be under way to bring back the bodies of those killed in the latest fighting for burials.

Reports suggest many of the dead and wounded belonged to two leading militant leaders in Waziristan - Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Mullah Nazir.

The BBC's Shahzeb Jillani says that both are known for actively targeting Nato-led forces. He says the deaths appear to be a significant blow to cross-border militants feeding the insurgency inside Afghanistan.

The coalition itself has confirmed the raid, saying it believes the fighters were moved into Afghanistan by the Haqqani group, long regarded by the US as an especially dangerous militant faction based in Waziristan.

There have been previous cases of Pakistani Taliban being killed by Nato, but few incidents are reported.

Correspondents say that the Pakistani army faces a dilemma when pursuing militants in the border areas.

On the one hand it is under pressure from the US and Afghanistan to stop the incursions, but on the other hand it has to be careful to respect Afghan territorial integrity.

Last month Islamabad rejected claims made by Kabul that it had fired more than 450 rockets into Afghan territory over a period of three weeks.

A spokesman told the BBC that a "few accidental rounds" may have landed in Afghanistan as the army battled Taliban militants entrenched in the area.

In recent weeks, Islamabad has also complained of a number of cross-border militant attacks in Pakistan's north-west and has lodged official protests with Kabul over the incursions.

In one incident on 16 June more than 200 militants were said to have stormed a Pakistani village near the Afghan border.

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"India and Pakistan pledge 'new spirit of cooperation'"

The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan have called for a new spirit of cooperation between their countries.

SM Krishna and Hina Rabbani Khar are holding talks in Delhi, the first such meeting between the two nuclear rivals in a year.

The meeting comes five months after the South Asian neighbours resumed bilateral discussions.

Talks were suspended after the 2008 Mumbai (Bombay) attacks which India blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

But earlier this year, leaders vowed to resume their dialogue.

Correspondents say the talks are unlikely to throw up any major policy statements, but they will be another step in improving relations between the neighbours.

Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna said before the meeting that his country wanted to see a "a stable, smooth and prosperous Pakistan".

Ms Khar, Pakistan's newly appointed and first ever female foreign minister, said ties between the two countries "should not be held hostage to the past".

But soon after her arrival in India on Tuesday, she met with Kashmiri separatist leaders, a move that would not have gone down well with her hosts, says the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi.

The two sides are expected to discuss the contentious issue of disputed Kashmir.

The Himalayan region is claimed by both India and Pakistan in its entirety, but has been divided since 1948. It has been the cause of three wars between the countries.

India will also press Pakistan to take action against militant groups based on its soil, especially those perceived to be behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Since February, Indian and Pakistani officials have met to discuss a range of issues in an attempt to find ways to build trust and promote peace.

Last month, the foreign secretaries of the two countries held two days of talks where they agreed to discuss new nuclear confidence-building measures.

India has said it is "ready to discuss all issues with an open mind", and will push for justice for victims of the Mumbai attacks.

There remains a huge amount of mistrust between the nations but, analysts say, for now it seems both governments appear committed to improving relations.

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"India Maoists kills four in Chhattisgarh"

Maoist rebels in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh have blown up a bridge, killing four people and wounding five others, police said.
The victims were in a car following the convoy of a senior local politician in the Gariyabandh area.

The convoy escaped the blast. The police said the rebels fired on two other vehicles on the bridge.

Maoist rebels say they are fighting for the rights of indigenous tribal people and the rural poor.

They are active in several eastern and central states. In one of the most deadly attacks in Chhattisgarh last year, they killed 74 policemen in Dantewada district.

Wednesday's attack happened when the Congress party chief of the state, Nandkumar Patel, was returning from a party function.

The explosion hit the bridge after Mr Patel's convoy had travelled on it, but damaged vehicles following it, killing two people and wounding one.

Police officer RK Vij told the state-run Doordarshan News that the rebels then fired on two vehicles, killing two people and injuring four others.

A government offensive against the rebels - widely referred to as Operation Green Hunt - began in late 2009.

It involves 50,000 troops and is taking place across five states - West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and Chhattisgarh.

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"David Petraeus hands over Afghanistan command"

Gen David Petraeus, US commander of Nato troops in Afghanistan, has handed responsibility for the military campaign there to his successor, Gen John Allen.

Gen Petraeus, who is returning to the US to run the CIA, oversaw last year's surge of US troops to Afghanistan.

The transition comes hours after a close aide to Afghan President Hamid Karzai died in an attack in Kabul.

Earlier on Sunday, Nato handed control of Bamiyan province to local forces.

It is the first of seven areas to be passed to Afghan security forces under a plan announced by President Karzai in March.

The handover from Nato to Afghan forces is seen as a critical step in a transition of power before foreign troops end combat operations in 2014.
Shoot-out in Kabul

At the change of command ceremony in the Afghan capital, Kabul, David Petraeus, expressed his "profound and lasting" gratitude to Afghan and Isaf troops for their service.
Continue reading the main story

He also addressed the people of Afghanistan saying: "You have shown enemies of Afghanistan that you are willing and able to resist a campaign of violence and intimidation."

His successor reinforced his commitment to support the security transition to Afghan forces.

"'There will be tough days ahead and I have no illusions about the challenges we will face together," Gen John Allen told those assembled at the ceremony.

The US military's top officer, Adm Mike Mullen, was also present at the ceremony. Gen Petraeus, who has served with the US Army for 37 years, is credited with turning around the war in Iraq after former President George W Bush tasked him with managing a surge of troops there in 2007.

He took charge in Afghanistan last year and managed the deployment of more than 30,000 US troops to fight the Taliban. US troops are set to begin the first phase of their withdrawal in the coming months.

But the killing of a key presidential aide to President Karzai in the Afghan capital highlights the challenges that lie ahead, says the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Kabul. Less than a week earlier, Mr Karzai's half-brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, was assassinated in Kandahar.

The aide, Jan Mohammad Khan, was killed in an attack on his home in Kabul.

Lawmaker Hasham Watanwal also died in the attack, said police, as gunmen stormed the house in the western Karti Char district of the city.

A shoot-out with security forces in the area continued for some time afterwards, police said. One report said the attackers had been wearing suicide vests.
Continue reading the main story

The question many are asking, according to our correspondent in Kabul, is that if key figures such as Ahmed Wali Karzai and Jan Mohammed Khan can be killed in their own homes, how can ordinary Afghans be protected against insurgents?

Though a close ally of the president, Mr Khan - a former governor of Uruzgan province - was also a controversial figure.

Correspondents say that despite rising casualty numbers, security has improved in a number of areas of the country following a surge of extra American troops and tens of thousands of new Afghan police and soldiers.

However the quality of Afghan police and soldiers is patchy and correspondents warn of fears that they will be unable to withstand a renewed summer offensive from the Taliban.

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"Mumbai blasts: Probe into 'suspect' death"

Police in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) have launched an investigation into the death of a man who was called in for questioning about deadly blasts in the city last week.

 Fayaz Usmani died in hospital early on Sunday, hours after he complained of feeling unwell during his questioning.

His family suspects foul play, but police deny allegations of torture, saying he died of a heart attack.

Wednesday's three explosions killed 19 people and injured dozens.

The attacks were the deadliest in India since 2008, when gunmen killed 165 people in a three-day raid in Mumbai.

No group has said it planted the bombs but suspicion among some officials and analysts has fallen on the Indian Mujahideen, a group which has claimed to have carried out similar attacks in the past.

On Saturday afternoon, Mr Usmani was picked up by police for questioning about the blasts.

The police said that within 20 minutes he was complaining of stomach ache and vomited.

Mr Usmani was taken to a local hospital, where examinations revealed that he had suffered from brain haemorrhage. He died early on Sunday.

"Mr Usmani was suffering from hypertension. The allegations of torture by police are absolutely untrue," Nisar Tamboli, a police spokesman, told the Associated Press news agency.

The chief of the hospital where Mr Usmani was admitted said that Mr Usmani had suffered from a heart attack and "no marks of injury were found on his body".

Mr Usmani was the elder brother of a suspect of blasts in the western city of Ahmedabad in 2008, who is now in prison.

His relatives said Mr Usmani did not suffer from any health problems.

His son, Azeem Usmani, told The Hindu newspaper: "He looked fine when he left home. It has happened because of the police."

Separately, investigators are reported to have prepared a sketch of a suspect they want to question over last week's blasts.

Investigators who are going through the security camera footage and forensic evidence from the three sites are hoping to get a breakthrough, media reports say.

The three blasts hit hit Zaveri Bazaar, an area with many jewellery shops, Opera House business district in the south of the city and Dadar district in the city centre.

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