Pessimism pervades as G20 leaders show sharp split

A physically powerful sense of cynicism shrouded the start of a financial top of rich and emerging economy Thursday, with President Barack Obama and man world leaders arriving in Seoul stridently divided over money and trade policies.

The Group of 20 summits, held for the first time in Asia, has become the showpiece of international efforts to revitalize the global economy and prevent future monetary meltdowns.

Breakdown in Seoul could have severe penalty. The risk is that countries would try to keep their currencies artificially low to give their exporters a gung ho edge in global markets. That could lead to a unhelpful trade war. Countries strength throws up barriers to imports a repeat of policies that worsen the Great Depression.

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6 More Dead In Bangkok Protest Zone

BANGKOK (AP) - Witnesses say at least 6 more bodies from the Bangkok unrest are lying in a Buddhist temple in the protest zone.

They say the temple, Wat Pathum Vanaram, was supposed to be a sanctuary for protesters from the street violence but troops have yet to secure the surrounding area.

100s of people fled there after the army launched a crackdown to end a 2-month standoff in the Thai capital.

Mark MacKinnon, a Canadian journalist who was at the temple, said the situation remained dangerous with bullets flying overhead until a cease-fire was negotiated late Wednesday night.

Medical volunteer Anan Thongniem said the dead included 2 protesters, 2 protest 'guard' and 2 medics. The deaths would bring Wednesday's death toll to at least 12.

Afghan passenger plane crashes with 44 on board

KABUL Afghanistan – An Afghan passenger plane carrying 44 people, including 6 foreigners, crashed Monday in a mountainous northern region where poor weather was hampering efforts to locate it, officials said. There was no immediate word on casualties.

Rescuers were on their way to the crash site near the 12,700-foot -high Salang Pass, a major route through the Hindu Kush mountains that connects the capital to the north. The plane, on a flight from the northern city of Kunduz, went down about 60 miles from Kabul, said Kabul International Airport Police Chief Mohammad Asif Jabar Khil.

Mr. Zemeri Bashary, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said the plane was operated by Pamir Airways, a private Afghan airline. The Afghan government asked NATO for assistance, he added.

NATO said a manned fixed-wing aircraft had been dispatched to the last known position of the missing plane but poor weather was hampering the aerial search.

2 NATO helicopters have been dispatched to the area and other helicopters with the international coalition are on standby at Bagram Air Field and the Kabul airport to help in any rescue effort, NATO said in a statement.

Suicide car bomb kills 10 in north Iraq

A suicide attacker detonated a car bomb on Friday outside a sports stadium in a predominantly Shiite town in northern Iraq, killing at least 10 people and wounding another 120, police and hospital officials said.

According to the police official, the bomber blew up his vehicle near the doorway to the stadium where a crowd of people were gathered,. A hospital official confirmed the casualty figures.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the press. Located between the Syrian border and the volatile city of Mosul, Tal Afar's residents are predominantly Shiite of Turkomen ethnicity, and have been recurring targets of suicide bombers.

The most recent attacks in the city before Friday's blast took place in October and previous to that in July, with dozens killed in both cases. The deadliest assault in the northwestern city was in March 2007 when truck bombs hit crowded markets, killing at least 152 people.

Iraq was wracked by a cord of coordinated attacks on Monday, killing 119 people across 10 cities. In most cases, Shiites or members of the security services were targets.

Palestinian boy found dead in West Bank

JERUSALEM - Palestinians and Israeli police say a Palestinian boy has been found dead from a gunshot wound in the West Bank. Palestinians say the teen was throwing stones at Israeli cars and was likely shot by an Israeli settler.

Ambulance driver Talal Eideh says his medical team found the boy lifeless near his village not far from Ramallah on Thursday evening.

Village resident and journalist Samer Shalaby says other youths who were with the boy said they were throwing stones and came under fire from one or more settlers.

Israeli police confirm the boy's death and say they’re investigating the cause. Spokesman Gili Elhadad said Friday that police received reports of stone-throwing and gunshots in the area on Thursday and are looking into both.

China Knife Attacks on Children: seven More Students Killed

7 children and 2 adults have been stabbed to death and at least 20 people injured in an attack at a nursery in central China.

The killer was named in local media as Wu Huanmin, who returned home after the assault and committed suicide.

The bloodshed happened in the city of Hanzhong in Shaanxi province.

It is the 5th violent 'copy cat' attack on schoolchildren in the last 2 months and happened despite unprecedented security outside schools across China

Suspected U.S. drones kill 14 militants

At least 24 suspected militants have been killed in 2 separate attacks in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region, officials say.

A succession of missiles is reported to have hit a vehicle and an alleged militant hideout in the Dattakhel area.

Officials say 12 militants were also wounded in the attack some 40km from the town of Miranshah. A second barrage of missiles was fired on a militant camp straight away on the border with Afghanistan hours later.

There was no word on the identity of any of the militants killed, however the attack was in an area where members of an Afghan Taliban faction led by a commander known as Gul Bahadur operate.

Foreign fighters linked to al-Qaeda are known to be in the area. Nearly 70 drone strikes have killed more than 200 people in Waziristan as the start of 2010, officials say. The majority of these strikes have been in the Dattakhel area.

6 dead in Philippine election day violence

6 Six people were killed during a series of national elections held in the Philippines today, authorities said.

3 people were shot dead and 10 others wounded when police clashed with supporters of a mayoral candidate in the southern province of Zamboanga Sibugay before dawn, local military spokesman Captain Arnold Gasalatan said.

The cause of the conflict was unclear but the police were ordered back to their stations, he said, adding the military had secured the area pending an investigation.

In the strife-torn southern province of Maguindanao, 2 men were killed as the armed followers of 2 rival politicians engaged in a gunbattle today, said military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Arnulfo Burgos.

One of the dead was identified as a member of an armed group, he added

Mumbai attack gunman Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab sentenced to death

The only gunman captured alive after the 2008 Mumbai attacks has been sentenced to death by an Indian court.

Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab, a Pakistani citizen aged 22, was found culpable on Monday of many charges, including murder and waging war on India.

Sentencing Ajmal Amir Qasab, the judge said he could not be rehabilitated. He has the right to appeal. The attacks left 174 people dead, 9 of them gunmen. Relations between India and Pakistan have still to recover.

India blamed Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba for the assault.

After initial denials, Pakistan acknowledged the attacks had been partly planned on its territory and that Ajmal Amir Qasab was one of its citizens.

Intel: Ex-Pakistan spy found dead in North Waziristan

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan – Intelligence officials say an ex- Pakistani spy held by an alleged militant group has been found shot dead in North Waziristan tribal region, officials said.

Khalid Khawaja went missing in late March along with another ex- intelligence official and a filmmaker.

The 2 intelligence officials confirmed Khawaja's body was found Friday near Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to media.

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Jobless Man Stabs 28 children at Kindergarten in China

BEIJING — A knife-wielding man wounded 28 children — most just 4 years old — and 3 adults Thursday at a kindergarten in eastern China, the second such violent attack at a Chinese school in as many days.

The 3 stabbings have been part of a series of school attacks in recent years, most blamed on people with personal grudges or suffering from mental illness, leading to calls for improved security. One sociologist said the attacks may happen in clusters, with 1 assailant triggering copycat attackers.

5 of the students injured Thursday were in critical condition in the hospital in Jiangsu province, said Zhu Guiming, an official with the propaganda department in Taixing city. Zhu said 2 teachers and a security guard at Zhongxin Kindergarten also were hurt in the attack, which happened in the early hours in the school day.

The suspect was identified as Xu Yuyuan, 47, who had been jobless as being fired from an insurance company in the year 2001, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Hamas Says Egypt Kills Four Tunnel Smugglers With Gas

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip ― Palestinian officials in Gaza say Egyptian forces have pumped gas into a cross-border smuggling tunnel, killing 4 Palestinians.

A Hamas security official in charge of the tunnel area says the Egyptians filled the passage with gas Wed. 28. Gaza doctor Hamdan Abu Latifa said the smugglers suffocated.

The Hamas official spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to give his name.

The tunnels have been an economic lifeline for Gaza, blockaded by Israel and Egypt as Hamas seized the territory in the year 2007. Weapons have also moved through the tunnels.

There was no comment from Egypt, which has been beleaguered to choke off the smuggling. Hamas says Egypt has blown up many tunnel entrances recently.

Officials: US Drone Strike Kills Five Militants in NW Pakistan

Pakistani officials say missiles fired from a U.S. drone aircraft have killed at least 5 suspected militants in Pakistan's North Waziristan region near the Afghan border.

Authorities say 3 missiles struck a compound Monday about 25 km (15 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, known as a hotbed of Taliban and al Qaeda militants.

In recent months, the U.S. has increased missile attacks by pilot-less drones against suspected al-Qaida and Taliban hide-outs in Pakistan's northwest.

Somewhere else in the tribal region, officials said Monday that Taliban militants kidnapped and killed a pro-government tribal elder, Maulana Abdul Haleem, and dumped his body in Bajaur region on the Afghan border.

Deadly blasts hit Bangkok protest hub

A series of explosions in the Thai capital Bangkok is reported to have killed at least 1 person and injured dozens more.

At least some of the blasts were caused by grenades, an army spokesman said, however it was not clear who fired them.

The blasts followed rising tensions in the long-running stand-off among police and anti-government protesters.

Abhisit Vejjajiva, Prime Minister of Thai has called an emergency meeting with security chiefs, officials said.

At least 1 person died and 50 people were injured, including at least 1 foreigner, according to reports citing hospital sources.

3rd Iraqi al-Qaeda leader killed: Iraqi military

US and Iraqi forces have killed one more al-Qaeda Iraq leader in northern Iraq, officials say. Ahmed al-Obeidi died in an operation in the northern province of Nineveh, said by Iraqi military spokesman Maj Gen Qassim al-Moussawi said.

The news comes the day after the government announced 2 leading insurgents had been killed. Iraqi al-Qaeda leader Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who led an affiliate group, died on Sunday.

Maj Gen Moussawi said Ahmed al-Obeidi, known by the name Abu Suhaib, was in charge of al-Qaeda in Iraq's operations in the provinces of Kirkuk, Salahuddin and in Nineveh.

Death toll rises to 1,339 in China earthquake

YUSHU, Qinghai, April 17 -- The death toll has climbed to 1,339 from a devastating quake in northwest China's Qinghai Province, with another 332 people still missing, rescuers said Saturday.

The 7.1-magnitude tremor, which struck the Yushu County in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu at 7:49 a.m. Wednesday, has also left 11,849 injured, 1,297 harshly, Xia Xueping, a spokesman for the rescue headquarters, told in a press conference.

Also Saturday, 100s of victims were cremated on a hillside in Gyegu, the hardest quake-hit town in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu, with family members mourning in tears and monks chanting Buddhist prayers.

Boat sinks in Bangladesh: 7 killed

Rescuers have recovered 7 bodies from a river in southern Bangladesh. Of about 50 people aboard, 6 are still missing.

The boat sank late Sunday on the River Machkata, about 75 miles south of Dhaka. But the fact was not clear how the boat sink, which was carrying mostly women & children. Some of the passengers swam ashore & save their life itself. Rescuers were continuing their search for the missing personals, report said.

They believe the fact of the sink was overcrowding & unfit vessels contribute to frequent boat accidents in Bangladesh, a delta nation of 150 million people crisscrossed by some 230 rivers.

Balochistan violence killed 5

Five people were killed & 6 others wounded in 3 occurrences of violence in Balochistan on Tuesday. In Quetta, armed men on a motorcycle fired up at 3 people near Jinnah town, killing 2 of them & wounding the 3rd.

The deaths were recognized as Tahiruddin & Mohsin Nasir & the wounded as Mohsin Ali. A man was slayed when his car was assaulted on the Masjid road. Abdul Karim Raisani died on the spot while his driver was wounded.

2 Bugti familymen were killed & 4 were wounded when a landmine exploded in Dera Bugti, Sources said.

Afghan attack: 3 German soldiers killed

Germany's Defense Ministry says 3 German soldiers have been slated in serious fighting in northern Afghanistan & 5 were injured badly.

The Bundeswehr detachment was patrolling southwest of the city of Kunduz when it was assaulted by armies, spokesperson said.

German troops & Afghan police were do fire with their enemies for an hour. It will resume after 3 hours later.

A Ship has seized in Somalia

The MV Iceberg1, ship was seized by ransom-seeking Somali pirates 10 miles away from Gulf of Aden Port. Aside from Filipinos, the crew includes of nationals from Yemen, Pakistan, Ghana, India, & Sudan.

“It is not confirmed as of this time how many Filipinos are onboard the ship," in DFA statement. Other than this incident, there are 4 Filipinos in 4 boats, being in custody by pirates in Somalia.

The Iceberg 1, vessel with load of 4,500 tons, was carrying a mixed cargo of general mechanical equipment & was bound for Jebel Ali in the UAE when seized, according to the European Union Naval Force.