| PML-N offices in several cities of Sindh torched Posted: <p> </p><p>According to details, some unidentified persons set ablaze two Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) offices on Khai Road and Gull Centre in Hyderabad. The fire completely destroyed record and furniture of the offices.</p><p> </p><p>The fire brigade reached the sites and brought the blaze under control. Heavy contingent of police and Rangers also reached the areas after the incident.</p><p> </p><p>The PML-N workers in the two localities staged protest and demanded arrest of the culprits involved in the incidents.</p><p> </p><p>According to local PML-N leaders, some unidentified persons have also sent shrouds to the houses of their workers.</p><p> </p><p>In another incident, PML-N office in Lehri locality of Jacobabad was also torched by some unidentified persons. The fire destroyed furniture and pictures of the PML-N leaders.</p><p> </p><p>Meanwhile, some unidentified persons resorted to firing in front of PML-N office in Sukkur, however, police foiled the attempt of miscreants to set on fire the office. Portraits of PML-N leaders were also set on fire in Kandhkot and Khairpur.</p><p> </p><p>The Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasaan has taken notice of the incidents and ordered immediate inquiry. He also issued suspension orders of SHOs of Hyderabad, Jacobabad and Kandhkot.<br /> </p> 
 |
| Rockets pound Israel as air raids kill seven in Gaza Posted: <p> </p><p>Israeli air raids killed seven Islamic Jihad militants in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, prompting a massive barrage of retaliatory rocket fire, officials said.</p><p> </p><p>Adham Abu Selmiya, spokesman for Gaza s emergency services, said five members of the Al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad s armed wing, were killed and three critically wounded in a first Israeli attack.</p><p> </p><p>As tit-for-tat fighting continued into the night, Israeli aircraft struck two more targets in Gaza, witnesses and Palestinian officials said, killing two militants and wounding two allegedly preparing to fire a missile.</p><p> </p><p>A strike east of Gaza City caused no casualties. Israeli police said they were rasing their national alert level to its second-highest.</p><p> </p><p>The Israeli military could not immediately confirm the latest reported strikes but said of the earlier raid that the air force fired on a "group of terrorists preparing to fire long-range rockets" and that the attack had "prevented the attempted firing."</p><p> </p><p>It said the men had also been responsible for firing a Grad rocket into Israel on Wednesday that hit near the city of Ashdod, 35 kilometres (22 miles) from the Gaza border. </p><p> </p><p>The Al-Quds Brigades confirmed that five members, including a commander named as Ahmed al-Sheikh Khalil, were killed in the first strike, on a training camp near the southern city of Rafah.</p><p> </p><p>The second fatal raid was also in Rafah, witnesses said. </p><p> </p><p>The strikes were the bloodiest since a tacit ceasefire was agreed between Gaza Palestinian militants and Israel in late August.<br /> </p> 
 |
| Some 80 killed in rebel attack in oil-rich South Sudan state Posted: <p> </p><p>Around 80 people, including 60 rebels, were killed on Saturday when government forces in the oil-rich South Sudanese Unity state repelled an attack by rebel militia, officials said.</p><p> </p><p>"There was a militia attack at 5 or 6 o clock in the morning (0200-0300 GMT) in Mayom county," said Unity Information Minister Gideon Gatpan Thoar.</p><p> </p><p>Thoar said rebels, most of them fighting under the banner of the South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA), attacked Mayom town and that the majority of the civilian casualties were residents gunned down while "running for shelter."</p><p> </p><p>"We are counting the bodies now but over 60 militias were killed and many more wounded," said Thoar, adding that 15 civilians were killed in the attack.</p><p> </p><p>Among the dead was the notorious rebel fighter Colonel Ruadheal Gatwech, he said, adding that SPLA government forces also captured one soldier in Mayom town and three more in the east of the county.</p><p> </p><p>"The situation is under control ... The rebels are still being chased away," Thoar told AFP seven hours after the attack.</p><p> </p><p>Officials could not give a precise figure on how many rebels attacked Mayom, but said that they were in the "hundreds" and had come from South Kordofan, a state on Sudan s new border where conflict between government forces and rebels has flared since June.<br /> </p> 
 |
| Higgins wins Irish presidency with 57 pct of votes Posted: <p> </p><p>Michael D. Higgins, a veteran left-wing politician, poet and human rights activist, was declared the winner Saturday of Ireland s presidential election with nearly 57 percent of votes, and pledged to lift the spirits of a struggling nation.</p><p> </p><p>Higgins said he wanted to help revive the public s faith in politicians at a time when Ireland faces record debts, a property market collapse, 15 percent unemployment and a fourth staight year of severe spending cuts.</p><p> </p><p>The diminutive Higgins, 70, beamed with pride as he received congratulations inside Dublin Castle from government leaders and most rival candidates. He announced he would resign immediately as president and member of the Labour Party, the junior member of Ireland s coalition government, because his new role as ceremonial head of state meant he must be "a president for all the people."</p><p> </p><p>Higgins received more than 1 million votes of the nearly 1.8 million cast in Thursday s election. Referring to the 43 percent of registered voters who didn t cast a ballot, he said, "I want to be a president, too, for those who didn t vote, whose trust in public institutions I will encourage and work to recover. ... I dedicate my abilities to the service and welfare of the people of Ireland."</p><p> </p><p>Once Higgins is inaugurated as president Nov. 11, he becomes Ireland s senior ambassador, tasked with building confidence at home and goodwill abroad.<br /> </p> 
 |
| 30 feared dead in Indian bridge collapse: Police Posted: <p> </p><p>About 70 people were on the bridge trying to catch a type of insect called the "Ghandi puk", eaten by local tribes in the remote state of Arunachal Pradesh, when the bridge gave way, senior police officer K. Aya told AFP by telephone.</p><p> </p><p>Authorities have rescued 28 people and recovered three bodies from the Kameng river nearly 370 miles (600 kilometres) from Guwahati, the capital of Assam state.</p><p> </p><p>"We fear that 30 people, including many women and children, have lost their lives," Aya said.</p><p> </p><p>"They were all trying to catch the insects and suddenly the bridge collapsed."<br /> </p> 
 |
| UN urges end to Syria killings after another 50 die Posted: <p> </p><p>UN chief Ban Ki-moon Saturday urged Syria "immediately" to end attacks on civilians, a day after dozens of people were killed in a fierce crackdown on dissent and 17 troops died in clashes with suspected army deserters.</p><p> </p><p>Ban s appeal follows condemnation by the Arab League of the deaths of 36 people on Friday activists said were killed by security forces during mass protests calling for the imposition of a Libya-style no-fly zone on Syria.</p><p> </p><p>A rights watchdog meanwhile said another four civilians were killed on Saturday and that fighting flared again between troops and suspected defectors after clashes overnight killed 17 soldiers.</p><p> </p><p>Ban "appeals for military operations against civilians to stop at once," said his spokesman Martin Nesirky.</p><p> </p><p>"The violence is unacceptable and must stop immediately," he added. "The calls of the Syrian people for change must be answered with far-reaching reforms, not repression and violence."</p><p> </p><p>Friday s violence, the worst in months, prompted fresh condemnation from the foreign ministers of the 22-strong Arab League, which has been trying to broker an end to the unrest that has rocked Syria since anti-regime protests erupted in March.</p><p> </p><p>"The Arab ministerial committee expressed its rejection of the continued killings of civilians in Syria and expressed its hope that the Syrian government will take the necessary measures to protect them," they said in a statement.<br /> </p> 
 |
| Iraq violence kills five Posted: <p> </p><p>Attacks across Iraq killed five people, including two brothers shot at a family jewellery store, security officials said on Saturday.</p><p> </p><p>In the deadliest incident, gunmen broke into a jewellery store in the town of Al-Hafriyah, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) southeast of the capital, and killed two teenage brothers who were opening it before their father s arrival.</p><p> </p><p>"The gunmen used silenced weapons, they robbed the store and escaped without anyone seeing them," a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.</p><p> </p><p>A witness in the town told AFP that one of the youths was killed in the store, while the other died of his wounds on his way to the hospital.</p><p> </p><p>In the town of Deli Abbas, northeast of Baghdad in restive Diyala province, an alcohol store owner was gunned down in front of his home, an official in the Baquba operations command said.</p><p> </p><p>A woman in her 30s was killed by gunmen in a market in the centre of the main northern city of Mosul, a police first lieutenant said. It was unclear why the woman was targeted.</p><p> </p><p>Meanwhile, a civil servant in the ministry of science and technology was killed by a magnetic "sticky bomb" attached to his car in the Al-Ilam neighbourhood in Baghdad s southwest, an interior ministry official said.</p><p> </p><p>Bomb and gun attacks in Mosul in north Iraq, Baghdad, and Fallujah, just west of the capital, also left five people wounded, including two soldiers and a young child, security officials said.</p><p> </p><p>The violence comes with barely two months to go before all US troops must withdraw from the country, under the terms of a bilateral security pact.<br /><br /> </p> 
 |
| Kenya to stay in Somalia until 'threat' is gone Posted: <p> </p><p>Kenya vowed to keep troops in Somalia as long as needed to prevent attacks on its soil by the Islamist group Shebab and called for reinforcements in an increasingly regionalised conflict.</p><p> </p><p>"When the Kenyan government and the people of this country feel they are safe enough we shall pull back," the country s military chief General Julius Karangi told journalists Saturday, refusing to put a timeline on the operation. </p><p> </p><p>Kenya sent an undisclosed number of troops into southern Somalia two weeks ago to fight Islamist rebels it blames for a spate of kidnappings.</p><p> </p><p>Karangi made clear however that Kenya s operation was limited, launched in response to what he described as a Shebab aggression despite the militia s denial of any involvement in the recent abduction of several foreigners. </p><p> </p><p>"We acted as a country on the spur of the moment," he said. "At no point did we plan to enter Somalia and annex territory there."</p><p> </p><p>Officials present at the briefing dismissed earlier reports by other Kenyan officials that the government was ready to negotiate with the Shebab.<br /> </p> 
 |
| Tsonga, Del Potro to battle for Vienna title Posted: <p> </p><p>Year-end ATP finals candidates Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Juan Martin Del Potro will square off in Sunday s Austrian Open title match with each hoping to improve his standing and qualify for November s season wrap-up in London.</p><p> </p><p>Top seed Tsonga is one victory away from a perfect debut at the Stadthalle in the Austrian capital after beating German qualifier Daniel Brands 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) in a semi-final lasting 82 minutes.</p><p> </p><p>Number two Del Potro hammered 18 aces as he won a battle of serve with South African Kevin Anderson 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.</p><p> </p><p>Tsonga stands provisional eighth in the race for the November 20-27 ATP World Tour Finals in London and can only improve that position if he wins the trophy. </p><p> </p><p>Del Potro, poised to leapfrog 11th-placed Frenchman Gilles Simon, is also poised on the brink of possible qualification with this weekend and two more weeks of regular season ATP play remaining.</p><p> </p><p>Tsonga admitted he had it tougher than might be expected against the number 182 Brands, a 24-year-old competing in only his second ATP career final after Munich in 2009.</p><p> </p><p>The German saved two set points in the first and took the second set into a tiebreaker.</p><p> </p><p>Tsonga, who has been bothered by slow starts in his matches this week, was relieved to go through. </p><p> </p><p>Del Potro will be playing his first final since winning Estoril on clay six months ago.</p><p> </p><p>Del Potro s 18-ace count was almost matched by Anderson, who struck 17 in a tight match lasting nearly two and a quarter hours.</p><p> </p><p>The winner broke three times while losing serve twice as he posted his second win of the season over Anderson, after a victory in the Delray quarter-finals in February on the way to that title.<br /> </p> 
 |
| Kvitova, Azarenka in WTA Championships final Posted: <p> </p><p>Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova will play Victoria Azarenka in the WTA Championships final on Sunday with the No. 2 ranking on the line as well as a check for more than $1.5 million.</p><p> </p><p>Kvitova, a Czech lefthander with booming serves, rallied to defeat US Open winner Samantha Stosur of Australia 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals Saturday, and Azarenka defeated Vera Zvonareva of Russia 6-2, 6-3. No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki was knocked out in the round-robin phase.</p><p> </p><p>Kvitova beat Azarenka in the semifinals on her way to winning her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon this year and the pair will meet again, with the winner moving to a career-high second in the rankings.</p><p> </p><p>Kvitova is counting on a mental edge after beating Azarenka in both the matches they played this year.<br /> </p> 
 |
| Tipsarevic into St Petersburg Open final Posted: <p> </p><p>Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia advanced to his second final in as many weeks, beating Alex Bogomolov Jr. 6-2, 6-1 at the St. Petersburg Open on Saturday.</p><p> </p><p>The second-seeded Tipsarevic won eight straight games to close out the first set and take a 5-0 lead in the second. Last Sunday, he won his second career title at the Kremlin Cup. His first title came in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in September.</p><p> </p><p>"Even though by the scoreline the match looked pretty easy ... on the court it really didn t feel easy," Tipsarevic said. "I feel I was playing better from the base line, but the main difference today was that I was serving much better then him. I was winning one or two free points off my serve in every game, and he had to fight for every single point because he had no winners from the first shot."</p><p> </p><p>It was the second semifinal this season for Bogomolov, a Russian-born American who also made the final four in Los Angeles in June.</p><p> </p><p>"I made a lot of mistakes, he made few," Bogomolov said.<br /><br /> </p> 
 |
| Man City stays clear of United, Chelsea loses 5-3 Posted: <p> </p><p>Manchester City stayed five points ahead of Manchester United at the top of the Premier League on Saturday, while Chelsea lost ground on the leaders with a 5-3 defeat against visiting Arsenal.</p><p> </p><p>City overcame a second-half red card for Vincent Kompany to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 and defending champion United won 1-0 at Everton, but the most notable result was at Stamford Bridge, where Robin van Persie scored a hat trick for the visiting Gunners.</p><p> </p><p>Andre Santos and Theo Walcott got Arsenal s other goals as their club recorded its best win at Chelsea since 1934.</p><p> </p><p>Victory took Arsenal to 16 points, just three fewer than third-place Chelsea.</p><p> </p><p>Also Saturday, Liverpool won 2-0 at West Bromwich Albion, Blackburn drew 3-3 with Norwich, Aston Villa drew 2-2 at Sunderland, Swansea beat Bolton 3-1 and Fulham won 2-0 at Wigan.<br /> </p> 
 |
| Messi scores hat trick in 5-0 Barcelona win Posted: <p> </p><p>Lionel Messi ended a three-game goalless run with his 13th career hat trick as Barcelona beat Mallorca 5-0 on Saturday to provisionally move top of the table.</p><p> </p><p>Messi s short goal drought of three matches had raised eyebrows in Spain, but the Argentina forward left no doubts over his form by taking his season goal tally to 19 goals inside half an hour. Isaac Cuenca and Daniel Alves added second-half goals at the Camp Nou.</p><p> </p><p>Barcelona jumped to 24 points from 10 games, one better than Levante and two over Real Madrid, which can close Saturday s play as leader by beating Real Sociedad. Levante plays at Osasuna on Sunday.</p><p> </p><p>Villarreal ended an eight-game winless run with a 2-0 victory against Rayo Vallecano and Valencia beat Getafe 3-1.<br /> </p> 
 |
| Ibrahimovic brace helps Milan beat Roma 3-2 Posted: <p> </p><p>Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a brace to lead AC Milan to a 3-2 win at Roma Saturday, which saw the Serie A champion move provisionally to the top of the table.</p><p> </p><p>Napoli, which was level on points with Milan before kick-off, missed its chance to go top as it lost 2-1 at Catania.</p><p> </p><p>Alessandro Nesta scored Milan s second, shortly after Nicolas Burdisso s equalizer, to help Massimiliano Allegri s side move a point clear of Juventus, which plays Inter Milan later.</p><p> </p><p>Bojan Krkic gave Roma brief hope when he scored three minutes from time.</p><p> </p><p>Napoli got off to the perfect start when Ezequiel Lavezzi fired his team ahead with less than a minute on the clock, but Giovanni Marchese and Gonzalo Bergessio scored for Catania.</p><p> </p><p>Napoli also had Mario Santana sent off in the first half.<br /> </p> 
 |
| Golf: In-form Garcia takes lead in Andalucia Posted: <p> </p><p>Fresh from his victory at home in last week s Castello Masters, Sergio Garcia surged into a two-shot lead at the Andalucia Masters with a four-under-par 67 in Saturday s third round.</p><p> </p><p>The Spaniard, who won the Castello by 11 strokes last Sunday, put himself in an ideal position to win here at an event where he has finished runner-up three times.</p><p> </p><p>Garcia, who ended a three-year title drought last weekend, needs to win again on Sunday to qualify for next week s World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.</p><p> </p><p>With a six-under-par total of 207, he is two shots clear of compatriot Miguel Angel Jimenez (68), who had two eagles, and Swede Christian Nilsson, who equalled the best score of the week with a 65.</p><p> </p><p>Scotland s Richie Ramsey, the overnight leader, is three back after closing with two bogeys for a 73 after a day that saw defending title-holder Graeme McDowell toil with an 81.</p><p> </p><p>Garcia s round included a bogey six at the 17th, when he had to take off his shoes and socks and roll up his trousers to play his second, which landed in rocks beside a lake.</p><p> </p><p>He reflected: "It obviously was risky, but I liked my chances of getting up and down better from there than the drop zone.</p><p> </p><p>"After I three-putted the fifth I came straight back with a birdie, so to have that bouncebackability is always nice.</p><p> </p><p>"I don t want to get ahead of myself. Hopefully I can come out and have the same feelings and mentality and my best will be good enough."<br /> </p> 
 |
