A cargo plane crashed near Pakistan's Karachi airport, killing at least 11

Cargo plane crash kills 11

A cargo plane crashed near Pakistan's Karachi airport early Sunday, killing all eight crew members on board, TV reported. The Russian-made plane IL-76 crashed around 1:45 a.m. and immediately caught fire. The aircraft crashed near Dalmiya road in Gulshan-i-Jamal area which is close to a naval colony and the southern command of Pakistani air force. The cargo plane took off at 1:45 a.m. (3:45 p.m. Saturday ET) from the Jinnah Karachi International Airport for Khartoum, Sudan, and went down a few minutes later in the Gulistan-e Johar section of Karachi, an area where many Pakistani naval officers live.

Spokesman of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Pervez Jeorge told Dawn TV: "The Sudan-bound plane crashed two minutes after taking off from Karachi terminal. The pilot did not report any fault before the crash." The nationalities of the deceased passengers were not known.

Residents said the engine of the aircraft caught fire and it came down on an under-construction building. The plane was carrying relief aid to Sudan.

Earlier this month, a small passenger plane crashed soon after take-off from Karachi, killing all 21 people on board while in July, an airblue flight taking off from Karachi crashed in Margalla hills near Islamabad, killing around 130 people.

Bangladesh wins first Asian Games gold medal

Bangladesh wins first Asian Games gold medal

Bangladesh cricket team won their nation's first ever Asian Games gold medal by ending Afghanistan's dream run in the inaugural final of the Asian Games 2010 on Friday in Guangzhou, China.

Bangladesh has won a first-ever gold medal in the Asian Games, with its cricketers defeating Afghanistan in the Twenty20 competition in China. Bangladesh cricketers won their nation's first ever Asian Games gold medal by ending Afghanistan's dream run in the inaugural final on Friday.
Batting first , Afghan team scored 118 runs for 8 wickets in 20 overs. Asghar Estanakzai was the top scorer with his 38 runs and Naeem Islam , Shadat Hussain and Muhammad Ashraful took 2 wickets each.

Bangladesh chased the modest score in the last over to seal their first ever gold medal in Asian Games .Naeen Islam and Shabbir Rehman scored 34 and 33 runs, respectively.

US President Barack Obama gets 12 stitches after basketball game

President injured in basketball game

US President Barack Obama received 12 stitches in his lip after being struck by an errant elbow during a holiday basketball game with friends and family Friday morning, the White House said in a statement.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the President received a dozen stitches after getting hit with an errant elbow during a Friday morning basketball game with White House aide Reggie Love and some unidentified family members at the Fort McNair military base in Washington. Obama was playing a 5-on-5 game in the morning at local military base Fort McNair with Reggie Love, an advisor and former university basketball player, and members of his family who flew into Washington for the US Thanksgiving holiday. The White House did not say whose elbow struck the president.

Some Haitians blame "cholera spread" by UN peacekeepers from Nepal

UN worries its troops caused cholera in Haiti

It began as a rumor that farmers saw waste from a U.N. peacekeeping base flow into a river. Within days of the talk, hundreds downstream had died from cholera. The mounting circumstantial evidence that U.N. peacekeepers from Nepal brought cholera to Haiti was largely
dismissed by U.N. officials. Haitians who asked about it were called political or paranoid. Foreigners were accused of playing "the blame game." The World Health Organization said the question was simply "not a priority." The cholera outbreak began in Haiti last month; on Friday another 76 deaths were reported, bringing the total to 1,186, the health ministry said
MSF's chief in Haiti, Stefano Zannini, said more help was urgently needed to treat the sick and implement preventative measures.
"There is no time left for meetings and debate - the time for action is now," he said.
In the capital of Port-au-Prince, 350 people sought treatment at Medecins Sans Frontieres facilities in the week ending November 7. That number spiked to 2,250 the following week.

Protests have likewise spread around Haiti, as angry people took to the streets demanding the United Nations get out of their country. Many demonstrators claimed U.N. peacekeepers from Nepal were responsible for the outbreak that has afflicted eight of Haiti's 10 provinces.

Nepal's U.N. office said in a statement Friday that its peacekeepers have never been linked to a communicable disease, and that tests done by the United Nations, Haiti's government and independent groups prove that none of its peacekeepers now in Haiti has cholera.But protesters have targeted the United Nations, as well as Nepal, all week. The world body claims demonstrators have attacked its peacekeepers, as well as prevented the movement of humanitarian aid and medical help by blocking roads, bridges and airports.UN officials argue that the violence is being encouraged by forces that want to disrupt the presidential election, due on
28 November. Cholera - a water-borne disease - is present in all 10 of Haiti's regions and has affected more than 20,000 people. The first cases were reported near the Artibonite River north of Port-au-Prince, but medical experts have warned future outbreaks could be caused by contaminated food.

The U.S. Agency for International Development, said U.S. authorities have "a lot of confidence" in the Haitian government's response to the outbreak. The U.S. government strategy for aid in Haiti is to focus on prevention, he said, citing the need for clean drinking water, the addition of chlorine to the water supply, the ready availability of oral rehydration salts, education of rw not to get the disease, and money to expand treatment centers.

Nigeria: 286 pounds of heroin sent from Iran seized

Nigeria says heroin was shipped from Iran

Nigeria's drug enforcement agency says it has seized 286 pounds (130 kilograms) of high-quality heroin hidden inside a shipment of auto parts sent from Iran. The drugs were hidden inside auto parts and were discovered because of intelligence reports from foreign collaborators, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency said in a statement. National Drug Law Enforcement Agency said the had received "strong intelligence" from "foreign collaborators" four months ago, so it had been monitoring the consignment before it arrived in Nigeria. The drugs were brought into Nigeria aboard a foreign vessel, the MV Montenegro. Three Nigerians have been arrested
in connection with the drugs shipment. Last month, Nigeria's security service said that it had seized 13 shipping containers filled with illegal weapons, including rockets, grenades and bullets -- believed also to have come from Iran.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Odein Ajumogobia said Tuesday the issue of the weapons shipment would be reviewed by a U.N. sanctions committee that was appointed by the Security Council to monitor the Iranian regime.

30 trapped in New Zealand's coal mine after explosion

30 trapped in NZ coal mine after explosion

Wellington Desperate efforts to reach at least 30 coal miners missing after an explosion tore through an underground mine in New Zealand stalled on Friday as fears of another blast frustrated rescue attempts. Emergency services were racing to the Pike River Coal Processing Plant near the town of Atarau on the west coast after police received reports of an explosion, police said in a statement. Local Mayor Tony Kokshoorn told New Zealand's National Radio that around 30 people at the mine were unaccounted for.

Speaking at a press conference, regional police commander Gary Knowles said tests were being carried out on samples of gas taken from in and around the mine. The tests have so far proved inconclusive and Mr Knowles said he was not prepared to send any of the volunteer rescuers into the mine until it was proved to be a safe environment. He said they needed to balance the safety of the rescuers with the lives of those underground.

"We will still look for that window of opportunity to get underground and get those men out," he said. "We still remain positive and we believe that once that window of opportunity opens, we are ready to go."

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, who spoke briefly at the end of Saturday's press conference, said that he's received offers of help from many groups and people, including an e-mail from Prince William that his heart went out to the miners. "From the government's perspective, we're doing everything we can to make sure these 29 brave men are taken out of the mine," said Key. "It's a difficult time for everyone."

Indian Chopper crashes in Arunachal, 12 dead

Indian helicopter crash kills 12

Eleven people — two pilots and nine trainee pilots — were killed today when an Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter crashed after an explosion on board near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
ndian military authorities have ordered an inquiry to determine the cause, he said. The helicopter was carrying Air Force crew and other military personnel when it crashed

Defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said that the explosion on board the chopper occurred minutes after its take-off from the Tawang helipad at around 12 noon. The helicopter was en route to Guwahati. IAF officials said the wreckage of the medium-lift chopper has been located by the Army in Bomdir area.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu has condoled the deaths.