Nov
16
Wildfires in LA reduce hundreds of homes to ash
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LOS ANGELES - Southern Californians endured a third day of destruction Saturday as wind-blasted wildfires torched hundreds of mobile homes and mansions, forced tens of thousands of people to flee and shut down major freeways.
No deaths were reported, but the Los Angeles police chief said he feared authorities might find bodies among the 500 burned dwellings in a devastated mobile home park that housed many senior citizens.
“We have almost total devastation here in the mobile park,” Fire Capt. Steve Ruda said. “I can’t even read the street names because the street signs are melting.”
The series of fires has injured at least 20 people and destroyed hundreds of homes from coastal Santa Barbara to inland Riverside County, on the other side of the Los Angeles area. Smoke blanketed the nation’s second-largest city Saturday, reducing the afternoon sun to a pale orange disk.
As night fell, a fire fed by a sleet of blowing embers hopscotched through the winding lanes of modern subdivisions in Orange and Riverside counties, destroying more than 50 homes, some of them apparently mansions.
A blaze in the Sylmar community in the hillsides above Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley destroyed the mobile homes, nine single-family homes and several other buildings before growing to more than 8,000 acres - more than 12 square miles. It was only 20 percent contained Saturday.
It sent residents fleeing in the dark Saturday morning as notorious Santa Ana winds topping 75 mph torched cars, bone-dry brush and much of Oakridge Mobile Home Park. The blaze, whose cause was under investigation, threatened at least 1,000 structures, city Fire Department spokeswoman Melissa Kelley said.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and Orange and Riverside counties. Fire officials estimated that at its peak 10,000 people were under orders to evacuate, including residents of the mobile home park.
Extreme fire conditions were expected to continue into Sunday morning, with humidity at just 10 percent to 15 percent and winds gusting to 45 mph through canyons. Winds, however, could reverse direction and dip to 5-mph breezes Sunday afternoon.
“We still have another 15 hours of red flag conditions,” Robert Balfour, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego, warned fire officials at a briefing Saturday night.
Many heat records were set as the region withered under the Santa Anas. Downtown Los Angeles was 20 degrees above normal at a record 93 degrees.
At an evacuation center, Lucretia Romero, 65, wore a string of pearls and clutched the purse and jacket she snatched as firefighters shouted at them to flee hours earlier.
Her daughter, Lisa, 42, wore a bloodstained shirt and pants. A helicopter dropping water on their home caused the entryway ceiling to collapse. Debris scratched her forehead and gave her a black eye.
Lucretia Romero said she saw smoke above the hills beyond the front door and then, within an hour, saw that a canyon across from her home was red with flame.
“They would drop water, the water would squash the flames and then two minutes later the flames would come back,” she said. Firefighters soon banged on the door and gave them 10 minutes to evacuate.
Flames swept across the park and scorched cypress trees, Ruda said. Firefighters had to flee, grabbing some residents and leaving hoses melted into the concrete.
Ruda produced a burned U.S. flag on a broken stick as a sign of hope and bravery for firefighters. “The home that this flag was flying from is gone,” he said.
Police Chief William Bratton said cars were found in the debris at the park, raising concerns that bodies might be found. Crews were waiting for the ground to cool before bringing in search dogs, he said.
The Santa Anas - dry winds that typically blow through Southern California between October and February - tossed embers ahead of flames, jumping two interstate highways and sparking new flare-ups. Walls of flame raced up ridge lines covered in sun-baked brush and surrounded high-power transmission line towers.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said the fire caused problems that shut down power lines in places, and he asked residents to conserve power to help avoid possible blackouts.
Shortly after midnight, the Sylmar fire burned to the edge of the Olive View-UCLA Medical Center campus, knocking out power and forcing officials to evacuate two dozen critical patients.
The shifting winds caused the fire to move uphill toward the San Gabriel Mountains, downhill toward homes and sometimes skip across canyons. It also jumped across Interstates 5 and 210, forcing the California Highway Patrol to shut down portions of both freeways and some connecting roads.
More than 60 homes were damaged or destroyed in a fire that erupted in the Riverside County city of Corona and spread west to the Orange County communities of Yorba Linda and Anaheim Hills.
In addition, 50 apartment units burned in a complex in Anaheim Hills. Devin Nathanson, 27, had put down a deposit on an apartment there and planned to move in Saturday. Instead, he watched from the road as it burned to the ground.
“At least none of my stuff was inside yet,” he said.
Palm trees lining the entrance to the complex were ablaze, and two firefighters manned hoses at the swimming pool and sprayed water on the leasing center. The roof caved in with a loud bang.
About 2,000 acres - more than 3 square miles - were charred by that fire, with more than 12,000 people in 4,500 dwellings ordered to evacuate in Anaheim alone. Six firefighters were injured, including four Corona firefighters who were hurt when flames swept over their engine. Two of the Corona crewmembers were treated at a hospital and released.
Winds began to decrease in the afternoon and were expected to drop further overnight, but humidity was expected to remain low.
Nov
6
To share the grief of the victims of recent earthquake in Balochistan, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has announced 300,000 rupees for dead and 100,000 for the injured.
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This is in addition to assistance announced by the president.
The Prime Minister will visit the quake-hit areas give the compensation. The Prime Minister has directed that the survey of the demolished houses should be expedited.
The Prime Minister has been vigorously following up the aid and assistance efforts to the Affectees of Ziarat and Pishin earthquake even while he was in turkey. He gave blanket permission to provide all possible assistance.The Prime Minister also directed the deputy chairman, ERRA and his team to visit the earthquake affected areas of Ziarat and Pishin immediately to undertake damage assessment for rehabilitation. He has directed that the construction of houses should be similar to those which have been done in the earthquake areas of AJK .Relief assistance from china, Japan, US, Saudi Arabia and Iran has also been received besides significant help from I.C.RC., W.H.O., Pakistan red crescent society, Saudi public assistance .The world food programme has started supplying two months ration for 20,000 people from November 03. The Prime Minister has thanked all the donors both international and local as well as public for their assistance.
Nov
6
NATIONAL NEWS - The executive committee of national economic council met in Islamabad with Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani in chair.
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The meeting reviewed new development projects in the country. The projects which were reviewed include housing and physical planning, power sector, health, energy, transport, communication, environment and social sector development. The ECNEC also reviewed the Diamir Bhasha dam project and the plan to rehabilitate the affectees of Bhashah dam project.
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Nov
6
At least eleven people were killed and 45 wounded when a bomb ripped through a gathering of tribal elders in Salarzai area of Bajaur Agency.
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The blast occurred as the tribal elders had gathered to devise a strategy against the militants. The Jirga decided to hand over militants wanted by the government to local administration in a day or two. Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the blast and expressed shock and grief over the loss of lives in it. He directed the local authorities to ensure provision of prompt medical facilties to the injured.
Earlier, at least five militants were killed and seven injured in shelling by security forces in Mamoond and Chahar Mang areas of the agency. Our correspondent reports that the security forces also destroyed several hideouts of militants.
Nov
6
Bomb kills 9 anti-militant tribesmen in Pakistan
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KHAR, Pakistan - A suicide bomber attacked a gathering of anti-militant Pakistani tribesmen Thursday, killing nine and wounding 45 in a northwestern region where the military has clashed with insurgents for months, officials said.
The attack in the Batmalai area of the Bajur tribal region was the latest to target tribal militias that have sprung up - with government backing - to take on al-Qaida and Taliban fighters nested along the Afghan border.
Pakistan launched an offensive in Bajur three months ago to dismantle what it said was a virtual Taliban mini-state that is a source of militants flowing into Afghanistan.
The Salarzai tribesmen were preparing to stage an assault on local militant hide-outs when the blast occurred, said Iqbal Khattak, a government official. Malik Rahimullah, a tribal elder, said the bomb exploded as soon as armed contingents began to move.
He and officials initially said it appeared that a remote-controlled bomb was used, but later Khattak said mutilated body parts of an apparent suicide bomber were found, and that witnesses said they saw a young man rushing into the crowd before the explosion.
Amir Khan, a tribesman, said the scene was littered with severed limbs and that several tribal elders were among the dead.
Khattak said nine people were killed. Mohammad Kareem, a hospital official in Bajur’s main city of Khar, said two dozen of the wounded were in serious condition.
The army claims to have killed some 1,500 insurgents in its offensive. At least 73 troops and 95 civilians have also died, it says. Lack of security and government restrictions make verifying accounts of the fighting impossible.
U.S. officials praise the operation in Bajur, saying it has reduced violence on the other side of the border. The U.S. has long been concerned that pockets of Pakistan’s northwest are sanctuaries for militants involved in attacks on American and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Militants have responded to the military offensives - as well as stepped-up U.S. missile strikes in parts Pakistan’s border zone - with a wave of suicide attacks that are adding to concern about the U.S.-allied country’s stability.
The militants also have gone after the tribal militias, including beheading some of the elders involved. A suicide attack in October in the nearby Orakzai tribal region against another such militia left dozens dead.
On Wednesday, an airstrike killed 15 suspected militants in Airab village in Bajur, according to Jamil Khan, a senior government official. He said the 15 dead included a Pakistani militant commander named Wali Rehman. Khan said Rehman was known to shelter foreign militants linked to al-Qaida.
Nov
4
With the harsh winter looming, the government and aid agencies are rushing to provide relief and shelter to the quake-hit people in Balochistan.
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The government is making arrangements of tents and warm clothings to protect the homeless people from harsh weather.
A spokesman of Balochistan government said that shelters will be constructed for the homeless on fast track basis. He said the government is also arranging funds to be provided to the quake-hit people so that they could reconstruct their houses and shift in them. Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani visited the quake-hit areas and inspected the ongoing relief and rehabilitation activities. Army helicopters are being used take tents, blankets and relief items to remote and mountainous areas. The brotherly Muslim countries Saudi Arabia, turkey, Iran and others are also taking active part in providing assistance to the quake victims. Today, six trawlers carrying relief goods arrived from Iran. Iran’s consular general handed over the relief goods to federal minister Mir Humayun Aziz and PPP’S provincial president Mir Lashkari Raisani.
The relief items comprise one thousand tents, five thousand blankets, five tones detergent powder and two tones of dry fish. The ministers of Azad Kashmir presented a Cheque of five million rupees to Balochistan chief minister as assistance for the quake-hit people. They assured that AJK government will provide every possible assistance to people of Balochistan. Ouch power limited company handed over 500 blankets, 100 tents, ration and medicines for the quake-affected people.
Nov
4
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has reaffirmed Pakistan’s stance for maintaining a minimum credible deterrence through conventional and strategic capabilities.
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Talking to chairman joint chiefs of staff committee general Tariq Majeed, in Islamabad the Prime Minister said Pakistan, being an important country of the region is playing a critical role for the peace and stability in the region as well as the world at large.He said that despite having many challenges, the government would continue to pursue its policy towards economic sovereignty, smooth political process, good neighborliness, friendly international environment and good governance. The Prime Minister lauded the role of the armed forces for undertaking timely relief activities along with the national disaster management authority to ensure speedy provision of relief goods to the earthquake affectees in Balochistan. The chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff committee briefed the prime minister about the implementation of armed forces development plan.
Nov
4
President Asif Ali Zardari has arrived in Riyadh on a two-day official visit to Saudi Arabia.
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The President was received by the minister in waiting Saud Altuhami and governor of Riyadh Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz at air port. The President during his visit will hold wide ranging talks with Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz.
During his visit the president will seek Saudi support for the “friends of democratic Pakistan” Initaitive and the oil facility requested by Pakistan.
Oct
29
Police: At least 70 killed in Pakistan quake
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) — At least 70 people were killed Wednesday after a strong earthquake struck Pakistan, local police said.
Pakistani residents rest on a street following the earthquake in Quetta on Wednesday.
Pakistani residents rest on a street following the earthquake in Quetta on Wednesday.
The 6.4-magnitude quake struck western Pakistan at about 4 a.m. Wednesday (7 p.m. Tuesday ET), the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
Between 55 and 60 people were injured, police said.
The epicenter was 35 miles (60 km) north-northeast of Quetta, the agency said.
While the earthquake was felt in the provincial capital of Quetta, police say most damage and loss occurred outside the city. Video Watch a report on the deadly quake »
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Express News, a CNN affiliate, reported that emergency and rescue crews were rushing to quake-hit areas to help pull the dead and injured out of the rubble.
In the immediate aftermath, people in Quetta are said to have left their homes and spilled into the streets.
Oct
26
Palin allies report rising campaign tension
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Even as John McCain and Sarah Palin scramble to close the gap in the final days of the 2008 election, stirrings of a Palin insurgency are complicating the campaign’s already-tense internal dynamics.
Four Republicans close to Palin said she has decided increasingly to disregard the advice of the former Bush aides tasked to handle her, creating occasionally tense situations as she travels the country with them. Those Palin supporters, inside the campaign and out, said Palin blames her handlers for a botched rollout and a tarnished public image - even as others in McCain’s camp blame the pick of the relatively inexperienced Alaska governor, and her public performance, for McCain’s decline.
“She’s lost confidence in most of the people on the plane,” said a senior Republican who speaks to Palin, referring to her campaign jet. He said Palin had begun to “go rogue” in some of her public pronouncements and decisions.
“I think she’d like to go more rogue,” he said.Â
The emergence of a Palin faction comes as Republicans gird for a battle over the future of their party: Some see her as a charismatic, hawkish conservative leader with the potential, still unrealized, to cross over to attract moderate voters. Anger among Republicans who see Palin as a star and as a potential future leader has boiled over because, they say, they see other senior McCain aides preparing to blame her in the event he is defeated.
“These people are going to try and shred her after the campaign to divert blame from themselves,” a McCain insider said, referring to McCain’s chief strategist, Steve Schmidt, and to Nicolle Wallace, a former Bush aide who has taken a lead role in Palin’s campaign. Palin’s partisans blame Wallace, in particular, for Palin’s avoiding of the media for days and then giving a high-stakes interview to CBS News’ Katie Couric, the sometimes painful content of which the campaign allowed to be parceled out over a week.
“A number of Gov. Palin’s staff have not had her best interests at heart, and they have not had the campaign’s best interests at heart,” the McCain insider fumed, noting that Wallace left an executive job at CBS to join the campaign.