Today's Headlines

Fifteen dead in Iraqi suicide attacks

BAQUBA: A suicide bomber rammed an ambulance packed with explosives into a security headquarters on Wednesday, killing 13 people in the second major attack against Iraqi forces in as many days.

A second suicide attack in a nearby town killed two others and wounded a top provincial official, shattering a relative calm in Iraq following the formation of a new government by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki last month.

“We have so far received 13 bodies, and are treating 64 wounded,” Firaz al-Dulaimi, a doctor at Baquba hospital, said, referring to the first attack on Wednesday morning in the Diyala provincial capital.

The 10:00 am (0700 GMT) bomb in the middle of Baquba, a restive ethnically mixed city north of Baghdad, targeted an office of the Force Protection Service, the agency responsible for securing the country’s government buildings

About 90 minutes later in the nearby town of Ghalbiyah, a suicide bomber blew up his explosives-filled car in the midst of a crowd of Shiite pilgrims, killing two people and wounding 16, an official in the provincial security command said.

Among the wounded were Diyala deputy governor Sadiq al-Husseini and three of his bodyguards.

Husseini was visiting with worshippers as they gathered ahead of commemorations for Arbaeen, which marks 40 days since the anniversary of the death of the revered seventh century Shiite Imam Hussein.

Baquba, and Diyala province, was an Al-Qaeda stronghold as recently as 2008. While violence has dropped off dramatically both in Diyala and nationwide since then, the province remains one of Iraq’s least secure.

The attacks came a day after a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-packed vest in the middle of a crowd of police recruits in the central city of Tikrit, killing 50 people and wounding up to 150.

It was the deadliest attack to hit Iraq in more than two months, and the first major strike since Maliki named a new cabinet on December 21, ending nine months of stalemate after March elections.

Tikrit’s police chief Colonel Ibrahim al-Juburi and the head of the city’s emergency response squad Brigadier General Mohammed Majeed were fired in the aftermath of the blast.

Maliki condemned the Tikrit attack, saying “terrorists” had once again targeted the innocent.

“Once again the terrorists returned to their usual tactics of killing the innocent and targeting the brave young people who wanted to serve their country and defend it,” he said in a statement Tuesday evening.

“We will follow the case closely until we find who is responsible, and the reasons that let this tragic catastrophe happen.”

Violence across Iraq has declined substantially since its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common.

Protests force Tunisian president out of power

Now ousted Tunisian President Zine El Abidne Ben Ali fired his interior minister on Wednesday after a deadly wave of violent unrest, the biggest in decades, reached the capital for the first time. People taking part in the unrest said they were angry about unemployment, corruption and what they called a repressive government. After mounting demands for him to step down, Ben Ali left the country on January 14, 2011.

Demonstrators hold boards reading “Ben Ali get out”. Thousands of angry demonstrators marched through Tunisia's capital, demanding the resignation of the country's autocratic leader.

Arab leaders meet on economy, poverty

SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Arab leaders gather in Egypt on Wednesday to discuss trade and development as the region feels the aftershocks of a popular uprising in Tunisia that emboldened dissidents in the Arab world.

It is the first meeting of Arab heads of state since Tunisian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was forced out of the country on Friday after weeks of protests sparked by the self immolation of an unemployed man.

The death has sparked a rash of copycat attempted suicides in Algeria and Egypt, where two men set themselves on fire on Monday as foreign ministers met in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheik to prepare for the summit.

One of the Egyptians succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday.

Addressing the meeting, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Mohammad al-Sabah reminded his counterparts of the challenges the region faces.

“Countries disintegrate, people conduct uprisings … and the Arab citizen asks: ‘Can the current Arab regime meet these challenges dynamically?’”

He questioned: “Can the regime address the humanitarian suffering of the Arab citizen?”

The government of Egypt, where roughly half of the population lives on two dollars a day and dissidents complain of similar grievances to Tunisia’s protesters, has denied any similarity with Tunisia.

Foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said the Tunisian uprising was peculiar to that country and Egypt allowed its citizens more freedoms.

The summit will also take place as early results indicate most southern Sudanese voted for independence in a referendum this month that is expected to partition Africa’s largest country.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday to attend the summit.

The meeting is expected to implement the resolutions of its predecessor, which was held in Kuwait in 2009, and which included setting up a $2 billion fund to finance small and medium sized businesses.

In a region where rulers often assume power through coups or inheritance, the Tunisian uprising was unusual in that a highly autocratic ruler was forced out by mass protests.
Tunisian Foreign Minister Kamel Morjane, who briefed his counterparts in Sharm el-Sheikh on developments in his country, told reporters at a press conference that the protests were fuelled by political and economic grievances.

Delegates from one of the countries complained to AFP that they expected the summit’s pledges to lead to nowhere, as previous promises had.

But the economic aspect of the Tunisian revolt, which is mirrored in other countries in the region, may add to the urgency of taking measures to alleviate poverty in the region.

NZ-Pakistan 2nd test drawn; Pakistan wins series

WELLINGTON: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-haq produced a man of the match performance to ensure his side batted out the final day to draw the second test against New Zealand on Wednesday and claim their first series victory since 2006.

Misbah finished the day on 70 not out, following on from his 99 in the first innings, as Pakistan reached 226 for five at the close of play, 48 runs short of their victory target of 274, to wrap up the two-match series 1-0.

Adnan Akmal was two not out as the visitors claimed their first series win since they beat the West Indies 2-0 at home five years ago.

“It’s pretty pleasing, we’ve been through some rough times but we’ve played some really good cricket in this series, we’ve been very disciplined,” Pakistan coach Waqar Younis told reporters.

“Full credit to Misbah and the boys, I think they all stuck to the task and managed to win the series.”

Misbah had shared in an 118-run stand with Younus Khan (81) – their second century-stand of the match – after New Zealand had threatened to spoil the visitors’ day when they reduced them to 42-3 in the first session.

Chris Martin was particularly aggressive in the first session, taking 2-24 off nine overs and had the Pakistani batsmen frantically trying to see him off.

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori also provided some concerning moments for the visitors, introducing himself in the eighth over and getting bounce from the harder ball and some turn out of the footmarks.

“KEY PARTNERSHIP”

Misbah and Younus, however, slowly but assuredly ground down the attack and for long periods during the session between lunch and tea looked to have given up any pretence of chasing down the target before they slowly began to increase the scoring rate.

New Zealand were given the slightest hope of a final session victory when Younus was caught by Reece Young off Tim Southee in the final over before tea.

“That was the key partnership, Misbah and Younus Khan,” Vettori said. “They’re pretty experienced players and they know their game pretty well.

“The wicket was good and we just couldn’t get that breakthrough early enough.

“I think even when we got Younus out before tea there was a chance there but we just needed to keep getting those breakthroughs to get into their inexperienced middle and lower order and we didn’t get them.”

Misbah, who faced 172 balls and hit his fifth boundary to bring up his 50 after 255 minutes at the crease, and Asad Shafiq, however, continued to combine stoic defence and flirting with the possibility of launching a frantic final assault.

In the final hour, Vettori trapped Shafiq in front for 24 to leave Pakistan 215-5 and while the New Zealand bowlers attempted to rattle them with several vociferous appeals, Akmal and Misbah negotiated their way through until the close.

Martin finished with 2-63 off 24 overs, leaving him on 199 test wickets.

Scoredboard:

New Zealand 1st innings

M. Guptill c Adnan Akmal b Umar Gul 29
B. McCullum lbw Umar Gul 2
K. Williamson c Adnan Akmal b Umar Gul 21
R. Taylor c Adnan Akmal b Wahab Riaz 78
J. Ryder c Adnan Akmal b Tanvir Ahmed 0
J. Franklin c Adnan Akmal b Abdur Rehman 33
R. Young c Adnan Akmal b Tanvir Ahmed 57
D. Vettori c Misbah-ul-Haq b Abdur Rehman 110
T. Southee c Misbah-ul-Haq b Umar Gul 1
B. Arnel lbw Umar Gul 1
C. Martin not out 4

Extras (b 7, lb 1, w 10, nb 2) 20

Total (all out; 127.1 overs) 356

Fall of wickets: 1-3 (McCullum), 2-46 (Williamson), 3-98 (Guptill), 4-98 (Ryder), 5-166 (Franklin), 6-180 (Taylor), 7-318 (Young), 8-322 (Southee), 9-338 (Arnel), 10-356 (Vettori)

Bowling: Umar Gul 32-3-87-4, Tanvir Ahmed 25-5-93-3 (1nb, 2w), Younis Khan 1-0-9-0, Wahab Riaz 16-3-46-1 (3w), Abdur Rehman 45.1-11-96-2 (1nb), Mohammad Hafeez 8-0-17-0.

Pakistan 1st innings

Taufeeq Umar c Guptill b Vettori 70
Mohammad Hafeez c Young b Southee 1
Azhar Ali c Taylor b Martin 67
Younis Khan c Ryder b Vettori 73
Misbah-ul-Haq lbw b Martin 99
Asad Shafiq c Taylor b Vettori 0
Adnan Akmal c Martin b Vettori 22
Abdur Rehman c McCullum b Martin 5
Umar Gul c McCullum b Martin 19
Tanvir Ahmed c Taylor b Southee 7
Wahab Riaz not out 7

Extras (b 1, lb 2, w 2, nb 1) 6

Total (all out; 133 overs) 376

Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Mohammad Hafeez), 2-134 (Taufeeq Umar), 3-144 (Azhar Ali), 4-286 (Younis Khan), 5-294 (Asad Shafiq), 6-324 (Adnan Akmal), 7-333 (Abdur Rehman), 8-360 (Misbah-ul-Haq), 9-363 (Umar Gul), 10-376 (Tanvir Ahmed)

Bowling: Martin 32-7-91-4, Southee 28-7-102-2, Arnel 16-4-50-0, Franklin 9-1-30-0, Vettori 47-11-100-4, Guptill 1-1-0-0

New Zealand 2nd innings

M. Guptill lbw Abdur Rehman 73
B. McCullum c Tanvir Ahmed b Abdur Rehman 64
K. Williamson c Adnan Akmal b Tanvir Ahmed 15
R. Taylor lbw Umar Gul 52
J. Ryder b Mohammed Hafeez 17
J. Franklin c Younis Khan b Mohammed Hafeez 6
R. Young c Azhar Ali b Abdur Rehman 20
D. Vettori b Umar Gul 1
T. Southee not out 22
B. Arnel lbw Umar Gul 0
C. Martin c Adnan Akmal b Umar Gul 1

Extras (b 2, lb 6, nb 13, w 1) 22

Total (all out; 90.5 overs) 293

Fall of wickets: 1-120 (McCullum), 2-166 (K. Williamson), 3-166 (M.

Guptill), 4-192 (J. Ryder), 5-208 (J. Franklin) 6-268 (R. Young), 7-268 (R.

Taylor) 8-275 (D. Vettori), 9-275 (B. Arnel) 10-293 (C. Martin)

Bowling: Umar Gul 20.5-4-61-4, Tanvir Ahmed 10-0-36-1, Abdur Rehman 39-6-119-3, Wahab Riaz 8-1-38-0 Mohammed Hafeez 13-3-31-2

Pakistan 2nd innings

Mohammad Hafeez c Taylor b Martin 32
Taufeeq Umar lbw Southee 0
Azhar Ali lbw Martin 10
Younis Khan c Young b Southee 81
Misbah-ul-Haq not out 70
Asad Shafiq lbw Vettori 24
Adnan Akmal not out 2

Extras (lb 6, nb 1) 7

Total (5 wickets; 92 overs) 226

Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Taufeeq Umar), 2-35 (Azhar Ali), 3-42 (Mohammad Hafeez), 4-160 (Younis Khan), 5-215 (Asad Shafiq)

Bowling: Martin 24-6-63-2, Southee 15-2-49-2, Vettori 34-13-57-1, Arnel 9-5-17-0, Franklin 5-1-6-0, Guptill 3-0-16-0, Ryder 2-0-12-0

Toss: New Zealand

Result: Test drawn

Man of the match: Masbah-ul-Haq

Umpires: Daryl Harper (AUS), Rod Tucker (AUS)

Third umpire: Chris Gaffaney (NZL)

Match referee: Roshan Mahanama (SRI)

Giffords feared being shot at public events, husband says

Tucson, Arizona (CNN) -- Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was worried about her safety long before she was critically wounded in a mass shooting that killed six people in Arizona, her husband said in a new interview.

"We've discussed it a number of times," Mark Kelly told CNN affiliate KVOA. "She felt that that was a possibility, pretty much exactly what had happened ... there have been threats against her and other members of Congress."

Giffords was hosting a constituents' meeting outside a supermarket in Tucson when a gunman opened fire. In addition to the six deaths -- which included a 9-year-old girl -- 13 others were injured.

The couple were concerned over heated and divisive political debates, Kelly told the affiliate, but despite the fears, her passion for public service was a priority.

"She was doing what she loved, she was representing people of southern Arizona," Kelly said. "She felt it was very important for them to have the opportunity to walk up to her and tell her what they think."

Kelly said the lawmaker will resume her public service "stronger than ever" as soon as she's well enough. He predicted she will return to the scene of the shooting.

"She loves southern Arizona more than anything," he told CNN affiliate KGUN. "She's here every week, doing stuff like 'Congress on your Corner' and I'm sure the first thing she's gonna do, when she's ready, is a 'Congress on your Corner' at that Safeway" where the shooting occurred.

The outpouring of support has been tremendous, Kelly said, including an elementary school student who sent his $2.85 in lunch money to Giffords with a card.

"I sealed it back up and we're gonna give it back to him," Kelly said. "It almost made me cry just standing there in the room, just to see the kid put his lunch money in the envelope for her."'

Surveillance video shows suspect Jared Loughner walking up to Giffords and firing at her face from about two or three feet away, the Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing two sources who have seen surveillance videos.

The bullet hits her head just above her left eye and exits from the back of her skull, the sources said.

Giffords remains in serious condition at University Medical Center in Tucson. A second, unnamed victim is listed in good condition.

The video shows that after shooting the lawmaker, the suspect turns the gun at others attending the event.

One of the victims, U.S. District Judge John Roll, was killed while covering Giffords' district director Ron Barber, according to the sources.

"Judge Roll starts to push Barber down on the ground and lay on top of Barber, and they start to scamper under the table, but Roll is on top," one source said, according to the newspaper. "

The director was wounded; Roll was killed.

A law enforcement official said federal and local authorities have conducted more than 300 interviews as part of the investigation.

Destructive device found along Spokane MLK parade route

A backpack containing a potentially deadly device capable of inflicting "multiple casualties" was found in Spokane, Washington, along the route of a Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. parade, the FBI said Tuesday.

The device was discovered Monday morning by three parade workers before the event, FBI supervisory agent Frank Harrill told CNN. The city's explosives disposal unit neutralized the device.

The gray backpack was placed on a bench at the northeast corner of North Washington Street and West Main Avenue in downtown Spokane, the FBI said in a statement.

Agents have leads in the case, but Harrill would not provide details on the device and the investigation, which includes a $20,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

The FBI released photos of the Swiss Army-brand backpack and two T-shirts that were found within. One shirt says "Treasure Island 2009" and the other reads "Stevens County Relay For Life June 25th-26th 2010."

The FBI is asking the public for information on who might have been with the backpack from about 8 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. Monday. It also is asking for photos or videos taken in the area.

The incident forced organizers of the parade to change its route, CNN affiliate KREM said.

Ivan Bush, who has helped organize the King birthday celebration march in Spokane for more than 20 years, told the Spokesman-Review that news of the backpack's potential was "just painful to see and hear."

American Airlines pilot found dead; police investigating

Miami (CNN) -- Florida authorities on Tuesday appealed for the public's help in the case of an American Airlines pilot who was found dead of an apparent homicide in his Pompano Beach home.

Russell Christopher Walker, 50, was found dead by authorities conducting a welfare check about 10:30 p.m. Friday, the Broward County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Walker had not been heard from for seven to 10 days before he was found, the statement said. It does not say how police believe Walker died or offer any other details.

Anyone with information about Walker's death is asked to contact the sheriff's homicide department, the statement said.