SOUTH ASIAIndia-Pakistan Shellingin Kashmir Kills 6India and...

SOUTH ASIA

India-Pakistan Shelling

in Kashmir Kills 6

India and Pakistan exchanged deadly shelling in Kashmir and threats of war, with New Delhi saying it “accepted the challenge thrown by our neighbor” and Islamabad warning of retaliation.

But both governments also said they favored peace.

At least six people from both sides were reported killed in the shelling across the cease-fire line dividing the disputed territory of Kashmir.

Pakistani shells also fell in the Indian state of Punjab, but there were no casualties.

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THE PHILIPPINES

Suspected Rebel Leader

Arrested in Bombings

Philippine police captured a suspected Muslim rebel leader accused of masterminding recent deadly bombings, officials said.

Authorities arrested Noor Mohammed Umog, who allegedly heads a special operations unit of the Abu Sayyaf extremist group, on Wednesday, police senior Supt. Bartolome Baluyot said.

Police are preparing to charge Umog with multiple murders for three bombing attacks that killed 15 people outside a shopping mall in the southern port city of General Santos on April 21, Baluyot said.

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BRITAIN

Wind Farm to Power

40,000 Homes Gets OK

The government granted approval to build what will be Britain’s biggest wind farm, with the capability to generate electricity for 40,000 homes.

The $51-million development in Cefn Croes, Wales, will have 39 wind-powered turbines.

Energy Minister Brian Wilson said he approved the farm after a “thorough consideration” of issues raised by supporters and foes.

The government has pledged to have 10% of Britain’s electricity supplied from renewable sources by 2010.

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CANADA

Serial Murder Suspect

Appears in Court

A pig farmer who is accused of killing six Vancouver women and suspected in the deaths of more than 40 others appeared in a British Columbia court, saying nothing and rolling his eyes on hearing that he faced a seventh murder charge.

Robert Pickton, 52, in custody since February, had been charged with killing six of the women. His lawyer said Pickton was shocked to learn that police filed a seventh murder charge Wednesday.

Police have confirmed that they found human remains at the farm Pickton co-owns in Port Coquitlam, 20 miles east of Vancouver.

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LEBANON

Hezbollah Leader Touts

‘Martyrdom’ Operations

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, whose group carried out several suicide attacks on Israeli forces in Lebanon, urged Palestinians not to give up “martyrdom” operations.

“The experience of the Lebanese resistance is that those who love death defeat those who are afraid of death,” he said.

Addressing a rally in Beirut to mark two years since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon, Nasrallah said suicide attacks were a locally made weapon that Israel could not contain.

“The culture of martyrdom is the strongest weapon. It does not carry a ‘made in U.S.A.’ or ‘made in Soviet Union’ stamp,” he told 20,000 supporters.

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IRAQ

U.S. Warplanes Killed

Civilians, Baghdad Says

The United States said its warplanes made their second attack on air defenses in southern Iraq in a week, and Iraq said two civilians were killed in the raid.

The U.S. Central Command, based in Tampa, Fla., said its jets dropped precision-guided weapons on an antiaircraft missile system and a missile control center in southern Iraq early Thursday.

“The enemy attacked our civilian and service installations in Thi Qar province, killing two civilians and wounding two others,” an Iraqi military spokesman told the official Iraqi News Agency. U.S. officials said the attack was launched after patrolling aircraft were fired on from the ground.

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UKRAINE

Officials Announce

Plans to Join NATO

Ukrainian officials declared that their former Soviet republic will start the process to seek membership in NATO.

Yevhen Marchuk, chief of the National Security and Defense Council, said President Leonid D. Kuchma attended the meeting where the decision was made and is expected to sign a corresponding document.

Ukraine wants to officially inform NATO about its decision on July 9, during a visit by alliance Secretary-General George Robertson, Marchuk said.

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NEPAL

Ruling Party Suspends Premier’s Membership

Nepal’s ruling party suspended the prime minister as a member to punish him for dissolving the parliament and calling fresh elections.

In another protest against the decision of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and King Gyanendra, three senior Cabinet ministers quit. Deuba remains prime minister until the Nov. 13 elections.

Deuba had asked the king to call elections after a faction of the ruling Nepali Congress Party declared its opposition to a plan to extend the nation’s 6-month-old emergency rule.