10 METRO Tuesday, October 20, 2009 D METROWorld Iran: The commander in chief of the states Revolutionary Guard has vowed to retaliate against the US and Britain after accusing them of backing the perpetrators of a suicide bombing that killed six of its commanders. The Sunni Muslim insurgent group Jundullah claimed responsibility for the bombing in Sistan-Baluchestan province, which killed 42 people in all. However, Mohammad Ali Jafari said security officials had presented documents indicating direct ties between Jundullah and US, British and Pakistani intelligence organisations, saying there will have to be retaliatory measures to punish them. The bombing threatened nuclear talks under way in Vienna. pakIstan: Troops fought militants on three fronts and fighter jets bombed insurgent positions near the Afghan border yesterday as Pakistan pressed ahead with an assault on the countrys main Taliban and al-Qaeda stronghold. The army and the Pakistani Taliban have each claimed early victories in the lawless South Waziristan region, used as a base by Islamic extremists. As the offensive entered its third day, with 78 militants and nine soldiers reported dead, US Central Command chief David Petraeus met Pakistans prime minister and army chief, while US senator John Kerry also met the two Pakistanis to try to ease tensions over a controversial US aid bill. COLOMBIa: Guerrillas killed two local politicians and briefly kidnapped three people as they attended a meeting. Suspected Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) gunmen shot Fernando Morales and Maria Fanny Torres, both members of the opposition Liberal Party, in Sumapaz municipality, in a rare Farc attack near the capital, Bogota. They also kidnapped three others, who were later released. Attacks have eased since President Alvaro Uribe (pictured) sent troops to retake areas once controlled by guerillas. sOUtH aFrICa: A dozy suspected burglar was arrested after falling asleep in the house he allegedly broke into. Police believe the thief broke into the home in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape and started gathering items to steal before deciding to have a snooze in the owners bed. When the resident returned he found the house in total disarray, discovered the 32-year- old suspect fast asleep on his bed and, without waking him, called police. pHILIppInes: Emergency teams were deployed across flooded and landslide-hit areas in northern regions of Luzon island yesterday as a powerful typhoon moved closer, weeks after two storms killed more than 850 people. Lupit (pictured), a category-four typhoon with centre winds of 175kmh and gusts of up to 210kmh, was expected to hit land on Thursday. Two typhoons, Ketsana and Parma, dumped record rain that submerged 80 per cent of the capital region and farmlands in the northern provinces, displacing hundreds of thousands of people. CHIna: Residents from ten villages close to the countrys biggest lead smelter base will be moved after more than 1,000 children were found to have excessive amounts of the metal in their blood. The mayor of Jiyuan, Zhao Suping, said 15,000 residents in Henan province would be relocated at a cost of about 1billion yuan (100.7million). The smelter operator, Yuguang Gold and Lead, said its plants bore some responsibility. A child exposed to heavy concentrations of lead can develop anaemia, muscle weakness and brain damage. The plant has been the scene of angry protests by parents in recent months, putting pressure on officials to deal with the problem. aFrICa: A $5million (3.35million) prize for former African leaders who show good governance will not be awarded this year. Mo Ibrahim (pictured), the Sudanese entrepreneur who set up the award denied the decision was a snub to leaders. The award goes to a democratically elected former leader of a sub-Saharan country who left office in the past three years. This year about 11 leaders were considered by the committee, which includes former Irish President Mary Robinson. The prize is 3.35million over ten years and then $200,000 (134,000) a year for life. Workers are trapped under a giant shopping trolley outside the EU headquarters in Brussels yesterday. The International Organization for Migration is asking shoppers to find out where the food and goods they buy come from to avoid supporting a modern form of slave labour Picture: Reuters off their trolley Unborn dies in shooting spree GUNMEN opened fire on a crowd celebrating the reopening of a newly renovated neighbourhood bar and grocery, killing at least seven, plus a womans unborn baby, and injuring 20. Dozens of people had crammed into the tiny La Tombola bar near San Juan, Puerto Rico, and were waiting for the band to resume playing when the assailants attacked. Among those seriously wounded were a nine-year-old girl and a pregnant woman, who lost her eight- month-old foetus. Police said the scope of the killing points to a feud between drug traffickers. At least two armed men began shooting as they entered, and several people inside returned fire, leaving the bars newly renovated interior pocked with five different types of bullets, including those from an AK-47 assault rifle. The shooting spilled outside before the gunmen fled in a car. Dispute: President Hamid Karzai Karzai votes stripped by UN-backed auditorsBy MaTT WIllIaMsA RUN-OFF in the disputed Afghanistan presi- dential race appears more likely after President Hamid Karzai was yesterday stripped of hundreds of thousands of votes by UN-backed electoral fraud investigators. With the revised figures, Mr Karzai is thought to fall short of the 50 per cent needed to avoid facing a fresh ballot against rival Abdullah Abdullah. But it was unclear if the countrys own election commission would accept the international ob- servers verdict and call a fresh round of voting. Meanwhile, White House officials indicated the current confusion could delay a decision over a possible troop surge in the region. President Barack Obama is unwilling to deploy additional soldiers possibly numbering 40,000 until he is convinced a credible and effective central govern- ment has been formed in the war-torn country. Initial results from the August election indicated Mr Karzai had held off the challenge from Mr Ab- dullah, the countrys former foreign minister. But critics claimed ballot box-stuffing and in- timidation swelled the incumbent presidents tally to above the 50 per cent mark. Mr Abdullahs campaign spokesman Fazel San- charaki welcomed the ruling, saying it showed that Mr Karzais share of the vote was 48 per cent below that needed to claim victory. But there were doubts that Afghanistans Inde- pendent Election Commission (IEC), which will make the final decision on the ballot, would accept the report. Mr Sancharaki said if the IEC refused to accept the findings, it would be another illegal action. However, Mr Karzais campaign spokesman Wa- heed Omar said: I dont think we can make any judgment based on the figures announced. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html