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Rockets hit Baghdad city hall, park BAGHDAD -- A rocket slammed into Baghdad's city hall and another hit a downtown park Tuesday as more frightened civilians fled a Shiite militia stronghold where U.S.-led forces are locked in fierce street battles.
The American push in the Sadr City district -- launched after an Iraqi government crackdown on armed Shiite groups began in late March -- is trying to weaken the militia grip in a key corner of Baghdad and disrupt rocket and mortar strikes on the U.S.-protected Green Zone. But fresh salvos of rockets from militants arced over the city, wounding at least 16 people and drawing U.S. retaliation that escalated civilian panic and flight to safer areas. One rocket -- apparently aimed at the Green Zone -- blasted the nearby city hall. Three 122 mm rockets hit parts of central Baghdad, including destroying some playground equipment in a park. An Iraqi police station was damaged by a rocket that failed to detonate, the U.S. military said.
Chinese president visits Japan TOKYO -- President Hu Jintao, on the first visit to Japan by a Chinese leader in 10 years, called Tuesday for the Asian giants to improve their often strained relations and -- as a show of goodwill -- reportedly offered to lend Tokyo a pair of pandas. But protests continued to dog China on the international stage ahead of this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing, with hundreds of protesters marching to demand a "free Tibet." Thousands of riot police mobilized to ensure Hu's safety. Hu and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, hoping to underscore the positive during the Chinese leader's five-day stay, hope pingpong and pandas will take the edge off more contentious problems like border disputes, historical animosity and concerns over China's rule in Tibet. "We stand at a new starting point," Hu said after his arrival. "We must develop our strategic partnership."
New Delhi couple sealed in inside home NEW DELHI -- The Wadhwas were enjoying a nap after lunch when a team of overzealous New Delhi officials padlocked their gate, trapping the elderly couple inside and inadvertently bringing them to the center of a heated debate about zoning laws and illegal businesses. The couple was caught up in a sweeping municipal drive to instill order in India's chaotic capital by shutting down and demolishing illegally built structures that have sprung up like mushrooms across the sprawling city of 14 million. City employees mistook the residence of Madhusudan Wadhwa, 76, and his wife for a commercial business in violation of local zoning laws when they locked their gate Monday, officials said. The couple didn't realize they were trapped until their son visited that evening and saw the municipal seal outside, Wadhwa said Tuesday. It took four hours for police and city officials to realize the error and open the gate. Wadhwa runs a small business selling sweets to small shops but he doesn't work from his house, he said. The Wadhwas have never received any legal warnings or notices from the city before being sealed inside their house.
Chilean volcano forces evacuation SANTIAGO, Chile -- The long-dormant Chaiten volcano blasted ash some 20 miles (30 kilometers) into the Andean sky on Tuesday, forcing thousands to evacuate and fouling a huge stretch of the South American continent. The thick column of ash climbed into the stratosphere and blew eastward for hundreds of miles (kilometers) over Patagonia to the Atlantic Ocean, forcing schools and a regional airport to close. Citizens of both countries were advised to wear masks to avoid breathing the dangerous fallout. The five-day-old eruption is the first in at least 9,000 years for the volcano in southern Chile, according to volcanologists at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Chilean officials ordered the total evacuation of Chaiten, a small provincial capital in an area of lakes and glacier-carved fjords just six miles from the roiling cloud. Also emptied was the soot-coated border town of Futaleufu, about 75 miles from the volcano. |
