Carried explosives Yemen cargo plane, Dubai police say

Yemen cargo plane carried explosives

On Friday, security officials in the UK and Dubai intercepted two packages from Yemen on US-bound cargo planes. intelligence agencies believe the packages are linked to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen. The packages were found on UPS and FedEx cargo planes, triggering alerts in the US, UK and Middle East. Other planes at US airports were checked because they were thought to contain items from Yemen.The two suspect packages -described by President Barack Obama as "a credible terrorist threat" - were addressed to Jewish synagogues in the Chicago area. President Barack Obama confirmed that the packages -- intercepted in the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates -- originated in Yemen, the
stronghold of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. "We also know that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ... continues to plan attacks against our homeland, our citizens, and our friends and allies," he said during a press briefing on the incident Friday. "Initial examination of those packages has determined they do apparently contain explosive material," Obama said.

The devices were designed to be detonated by a cell phone. The devices were "professionally" loaded and connected using an electric circuit to a mobile phone chip tucked in a printer, Dubai police told WAM, the official news agency for the United Arab Emirates. Police said they were tipped off about the possibility of an explosive device in postal packages onboard a FedEx flight from Yemen headed to Dubai. The Saudi government provided U.S. officials with tracking numbers of the two packages, enabling quick tracing to the United Kingdom and Dubai.

NATO trucks torched in Pakistan

NATO fuel tankers attacked in Pakistan, driver killed

Islamabad shut down the maim land route NATO supplies into Afghanistan on Sep.30 after officials accused NATO of killing Pakistan troops. Pakistan initially reported that three soldiers were killed and three wounded in the attack, but one of the soldiers who was critically injured and initially reported dead ended up surviving, said Maj. Fazlur Rehman, the spokesman for the Frontier Corps.

Pakistani soldiers fired at the two U.S. helicopters prior to the attack, a move the investigation team said was likely meant to notify the aircraft of their presence after they passed into Pakistani airspace several times. The attack early on Wednesday morning came on trucks on their way to the Chaman crossing. An unidentified number of gunmen in two vehicles attacked the trucks as they sat in the parking lot of a roadside hotel on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province. At least 25 trucks were destroyed by fire that spread quickly from vehicle to vehicle, senior police official Hamid Shakil said.The convoys bring fuel, military vehicles, spare parts, clothing and other non-lethal supplies for foreign troops in Afghanistan.

It was unclear who was behind the latest attack, but the Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for similar assaults on NATO supplies, including one before dawn Monday that killed four people.

Outbreak of cholera out of Haiti's capital Port-Au-Prince

five cholera cases in Haiti's capital is a "very worrying development"

Port-au-Prince could still be safe. The five patients were infected north of the capital, and those confirmed cases do not mean cholera has spread to Port-au-Prince, Imogen Wall, spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Haiti. The five patients in Port-au-Prince were infected in Artibonite, north of the capital, Wall said. They traveled to the nation's main city, where health officials discovered them to be infected within the incubation period. The five have been isolated and are receiving treatment she said.But meanwhile, officials are stepping up sanitation efforts and setting up quarantine areas in Port-au-Prince. And authorities are bracing themselves for a possible larger outbreak nationwide.Cholera is caused by a bacterial infection of the intestine and, in severe cases, is characterized by diarrhea, vomiting and leg cramps, according to the CDC. In such cases, rapid loss of body fluids can lead to dehydration and shock."Without treatment, death can occur within hours," the agency says.

A person can get cholera by drinking water or eating
food contaminated with the bacteria. During epidemics, the source of the contamination is often the feces of an infected person, and infections can spread rapidly in areas where there is poor sewage treatment and a lack of clean drinking water. The U.N. mission in Haiti credited access to clean water and free medical facilities for preventing feared outbreaks of cholera and tuberculosis.

(about Haiti's cholera epidemic.) Those most at risk are the very old and the very young. Dozens of infants who lay crying and uncomfortable on their mothers' laps, dehydrated and weak. Haiti's health minister, Dr. Alex Larsen, told in a telephone interview that he believes the cholera outbreak is stabilizing. Larsen added that reports of the outbreak spreading are so far unsubstantiated.

A bomb exploded outside a famous Sufi shrine in Pakistan's Punjab province.

The bomb exploded Sufi shrine in Pakistan

he bomb exploded minutes later killing at least one woman and leaving 15 other people wounded, some critically. Six people have been killed in a bomb outside a famous Sufi shrine in Pakistan's Punjab province. The dead from Monday's blast included at least one woman, said Maher Aslam Hayat, a senior government official in the town of Pak Pattan where the shrine is located. At least 13 others were wounded in the explosion, he said.

The bombing significantly damaged nearly a dozen shops on either side of the street outside the shrine, leaving large piles of rubble and broken wood. Blood stained the ground and the wall of one of the damaged shops.The shrine itself, which is dedicated to a 12th century Sufi saint, was largely undamaged. But the blast ripped off an old wooden door at the entrance to the shrine's grounds. Just outside the gate, explosive experts examined the twisted and charred body of the motorcycle on which the bomb was placed. The motor bike was parked near a group of people eating breakfast at a stall outside the shrine. They were among those killed and wounded in the blast, said Ali, the shopkeeper. The explosive device was remote-controlled.

At least a 100 people have been reported to be present at the time of the blast. The injured were taken to the District Headquarters hospital in Pakpattan. At least eight injured people were said to be in critical condition.

World Record: Sherpa Mount Everest for the 20th time

New World Record: Sherpa beats Everest for the 20th Time

Apa Sherpa just broke his own world’s record by summiting Mount Everest for the 20th time at 8:34 a.m. Saturday. The Apa Sherpa Foundation was recently organized as a nonprofit organization to help Apa extend the educational opportunities that his children have to his fellow Sherpa in the Khumbu. Apa’s goal in climbing this year was to help efforts to increase educational opportunities in the Khumbu Region, which includes the areas around Mount Everest.

Apa Sherpa -- a 50-year-old Nepali -- holds the record for summiting Everest, with 20 climbs.Everest is the world's highest mountain above sea level, at 8,848 meters (29,029 feet).Appa Sherpa, 47, reached the 8,850m-high (29,035ft) summit along with several members of his team, the Nepal Mountaineering Association said.Appa grew up in the Everest foothills and first climbed the mountain in 1989.His nearest challenger is fellow Sherpa guide Chhewang Nima, 42, who has made 15 successful trips to the summit.

Kabul, Afghanistan: Rebels die in attack on UN base in Herat

Kabul, Afghanistan: Rebels die in attack on UN base in Herat

The attackers wore suicide vests and dressed in burkas Afghan security forces have killed four militants who attacked a UN compound in the western city of Herat, officials say.A fifth attacker blew himself up at the gates, before the others, wearing suicide vests got inside, triggering a gun battle with police. Police and security forces surrounded the base, which houses a number of UN offices, and fought a 15-minute gun battle with the militants. All the attackers were killed, a

spokesman for the provincial governor said.A Taliban spokesman said the group was behind the attack, AFP news agency reported.A fifth attacker blew himself up at the gates, before the others, wearing suicide vests got inside, triggering a gun battle with police.

A UN guard and a policeman were lightly hurt.In October 2009, 12 people, including six UN workers were killed, when insurgents raided a guesthouse in the capital, Kabul. It was the largest attack against a UN target in Afghanistan since last year. KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan police say insurgents launched a pair of pre-dawn attacks on NATO bases in eastern Afghanistan. Maj. Wazir Pacha of the provincial police headquarters said attackers used heavy machine guns and rocket propelled grenades, but had been beaten back into corn fields surrounding the bases.

South Africa romp past Zimbabwe to win ODI series

South Africa odi series win 3-0

South Africa had previously won the Twenty20 international series 2-0 and made sure of the one-day whitewash in emphatic fashion.Having won the toss and chosen to bat first, Smith and opening partner Hashim Amla made 49 in the first five overs but fell within nine balls of each other to leave the home side 59-2 when Duminy and De Villiers came together. Tatenda Taibu top-scored with 28 as they were skittled for 127, with seamer Rusty Theron taking 3-18 in six overs. Duminy's only previous one-day hundred was also against Zimbabwe, in November 2009 - but he and De Villiers smashed nine sixes and 12 fours between them as Zimbabwe skipper Elton Chigumbura used nine different bowlers.

The Duminy-De Villiers stand was South Africa's highest ODI partnership for the third wicket, and the joint-ninth biggest of all time - as well as being the Proteas' third most prolific for any wicket.Duminy holed out with six overs left but Albie Morkel, David Miller and Colin Ingram ensured they compiled their third highest one-day score, finishing within a whisker of 400.
"We didn't play our best cricket today, both batting and bowling," Chigumbura commented. South Africa's five-man attack then combined well to make short work of the visitors' batting line-up, winning with 21 overs to spare.Only Taibu and Craig Ervine (24) looked set to hold up the procession of wickets, but after they were both bowled by off-spinner Johan Botha, the writing was on the wall for the tourists - despite some late entertainment as tail-ender Shingirai Masakadza lofted Botha for two sixes.

South Africa romp past Zimbabwe to win ODI series

South Africa odi series win

South Africa had previously won the Twenty20 international series 2-0 and made sure of the one-day whitewash in emphatic fashion. Having won the toss and chosen to bat first, Smith and opening partner Hashim Amla made 49 in the first five overs but fell within nine balls of each other to leave the home side 59-2 when Duminy and De Villiers came together. Tatenda Taibu top-scored with 28 as they were skittled for 127, with seamer Rusty Theron taking 3-18 in six overs. Duminy's only previous one-day hundred was also against Zimbabwe, in November 2009 - but he and De Villiers smashed nine sixes and 12 fours between them as Zimbabwe skipper Elton Chigumbura used nine different bowlers.

The Duminy-De Villiers stand was South Africa's highest ODI partnership for the third wicket, and the joint-ninth biggest of all time - as well as being the Proteas' third most prolific for any wicket. Duminy holed out with six overs left but Albie Morkel, David Miller and Colin Ingram ensured they compiled their third highest one-day score, finishing within a whisker of 400.
"We didn't play our best cricket today, both batting and bowling," Chigumbura commented. South Africa's five-man attack then combined well to make short work of the visitors' batting line-up, winning with 21 overs to spare. Only Taibu and Craig Ervine (24) looked set to hold up the procession of wickets, but after they were both bowled by off-spinner Johan Botha, the writing was on the wall for the tourists - despite some late entertainment as tail-ender Shingirai Masakadza lofted Botha for two sixes.

Haiti cholera 'detected in Port-au-Prince'

Cholera death toll in Haiti rises to 200

International aid and Haitian officials said at least five cases of cholera have been confirmed in Haiti's capital Saturday but insisted that the epidemic still had not spread to Port-au-Prince.These were people who contracted it outside of Port-au-Prince,'' Imogen Wall, a spokeswoman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. ``But we still think this epidemic has not reached its peak.''Humanitarian aid workers continued to struggle to contain the cholera outbreak that so far has killed 208 Haitians and hospitalized 2,674 as the government mounted a nationwide prevention campaign Saturday on television and radio.

A cholera epidemic spread in central Haiti on Friday as aid groups rushed doctors and supplies to fight the country's worst health crisis since January's earthquake. Nearly 200 deaths had been confirmed and more than 2,000 people were ill.The first two cases of the disease outside the rural Artibonite region were confirmed in Arcahaie, a town that is closer to the quake-devastated capital, Port-au-Prince. Officials are concerned the outbreak could reach the squalid tarp camps where hundreds of thousands of quake survivors live in the capital. by the health ministry in Arcahaie, the International Medical Corps said it was investigating other possible cases in Croix-des-Bouquet, a suburb of the capital. Radio reports also said there were two dozen cases of diarrhea on Gonave island.Cholera was not present in Haiti before the earthquake, but experts had warned that conditions were ripe for disease to strike in areas with limited access to clean water."You cannot say it is because of the earthquake, but because of the earthquake the situation here requires a high level of attention in case the epidemic extends," said Michel Thieren, a program officer for the Pan-American Health Organization.

Cholera is a bacterial infection spread through contaminated water. It causes severe diarrhea and vomiting that can lead to dehydration and death within hours.Larsen, the health minister, urged anyone suffering diarrhea to make their own rehydration serum out of salt, sugar and water to drink on the way to a hospital. The Ministry of Health confirmed 194 deaths and 2,364 cases of cholera,