Ten killed as violent storms slam Central Europe

WARSAW: Ten people were killed and dozens injured as violent storms slammed Central Europe overnight to Friday, felling trees and electricity poles, ripping off roofs and causing local flooding.

Western and south-western Poland were hardest hit, with hurricane-force winds reaching 130-kilometres-per-hour (80 miles-per-hour) in some areas.

"Eight people died in all," Poland's national fire brigade spokesman Pawel Fratczak told media.

He said 82 people were seriously injured and required medical attention and that most deaths were caused by falling trees.

Those killed included a 24-year-old pregnant woman in Chojne near Sieradz, central Poland, who died when a tree branch crashed onto her car. Two children, aged 8 and 13, who were also in the car survived unscathed.

The most recent death was reported after the body of a 67-year-old man who disappeared Thursday evening was found Friday, crushed beneath a tree in a park in Legnica, southwest Poland, local police said.

In Krotoszyn, western Poland, seventeen people were injured when a broken high voltage power line fell on them, Fratczak said. Six suffered serious burns.

High winds also claimed two lives and injured dozens in the neighbouring Czech Republic.

A 75-year-old woman was killed in the northern town of Hradek nad Nisou by falling tree branches, while the body of a man presumed drowned was found after a boat capsized on a river south of the Czech capital Prague.

Bangladesh look to keep winning at newest venue

DOMINICA: Bangladesh hopes to christen international cricket's newest venue with victories in the first three one-dayers against West Indies on Sunday at Windsor Park in Dominica.

The Tigers would have probably had low expectations prior to their arrival in the Caribbean, but fortune favoured them when the leading West Indies players chose to boycott the series.

Their replacements were no match for the Bangladeshis, who convincingly swept the two-Test series to gain the boost of confidence that their appointed captain and leading fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza set as one of their objectives.

Sadly, Mortaza played only a minor role in the Test series triumph, following a fall which aggravated a previous right knee injury, and has sidelined him for the three ODIs and the Twenty20 International to follow.

Shakib Al Hasan will lead the side as he did during the Tests, and will hope to build on his performances which led to him winning the man-of-the-series award.

"We are looking forward to the ODI series too, and we want to continue winning," said left-arm spin bowling all-rounder.

"The boys have been playing really well, and God willing, we can also win the ODI series."

Bangladesh has added left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak, all-rounder Naeem Islam, and medium-fast bowler Syed Rasel for the series.

Razzak is the most experienced with 111 wickets at 27.90 in 81 ODIs and will be looking to exploit the frailty of the West Indies batsmen to spin bowling which was so apparent in the Tests.

But he will also be looking to give solid proof that his bowling action is no longer suspect, following his suspension in December last year, after playing against South Africa last November like Naeem and Rasel.

West Indies too, have recruited some troops to fortify their side, but the big names like Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor and Denesh Ramdin remain absent although the players' boycott has ended.

The players and the West Indies Cricket Board have agreed to arbitration, but the decision came after the announcement of the squad for the first two ODIs.

It is still not clear whether West Indies will start filtering the leading players back into the line-up for the last ODI or the Twenty20 match.

The first two ODIs will be staged at Windsor Park which has been significantly upgraded at a cost of $20.85 million, and allows Dominica to host its first international matches.

The ground, which was levelled out of a rubbish dump a couple decades ago, now accommodates state-of-the-art facilities featuring 10,000 seats and was a gift from China at the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

The series concludes Friday next week at Warner Park in St Kitts, which also stages a Twenty20 International between the two sides two days later.

Squads:
West Indies: Floyd Reifer (captain), Darren Sammy, Dave Bernard Jr, Travis Dowlin, Andre Fletcher, Rawl Lewis, Nikita Miller, Nelon Pascal, Kieran Powell, Dale Richards, Kemar Roach, Devon Smith, Devon Thomas, Gavin Tonge.

Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Abdur Razzak, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Mahbubul Alam, Mahmudullah, Mehrab Hossain Jr, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Raqibul Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Syed Rasel, Tamim Iqbal.

Minimum wage in US jumps 70 cents

WASHINGTON: In a time of rising joblessness across most of Tennessee, an increase in the federal minimum wage today could further send more people into unemployment and even prolong the recession, according to some small-business owners and economists.

"This really puts a crunch on owners," said Phillip Morgan, who employs a half-dozen teens and young adults at his Pizza Done Right restaurant in Joelton. Morgan said a 70-cents-per-hour minimum wage increase that takes effect today means if one of his younger workers leaves to go to college this fall, he won't hire a replacement.

Many of the 89,000 Tennesseans earning minimum wage or less will begin to get $7.25 an hour today, up from $6.55, the last of a three-step increase that began in 2007. That's an extra $28 a week for full-time workers. In Tennessee, only about 6 percent of hourly workers earn minimum wage or less, according to 2008 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The increase comes as the unemployment rate edged higher in 84 of Tennessee's 95 counties in June, with 82 counties reporting unemployment of 10 percent or greater, according to a state Department of Labor and Workforce Development report on Thursday.

While advocates say paying higher wages to workers will pump more money into the economy just when a boost is needed, others say the timing during a recession couldn't be worse and could lengthen hard times by forcing small businesses to lay off the same workers whom the pay hike was meant to help when it passed Congress under better economic conditions.

"It's a 10 percent increase, which is huge," said William Dunkelberg, chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Business, a business lobbying organization for small and non-chain businesses. "You don't get raises like that during a recession."

"How will they absorb the increase?" asked Rajeev Dhawan, director of Georgia State University's Economic Forecasting Center. "They will either hire less people or they will do less business."

Interstate elements involved in Mumbai attacks: India

NEW DELHI: Indian Home Minister P. Chidamabaram has said cannot hold responsible the Pakistan’s interstate elements involved in Mumbai attacks until the court’s verdict in the case gets unearthed.

In an interview with Indian television channel, he said the terror strikes like happened in Mumbai on November 26, 2008 could never ever be carried out without assistance of interstate elements.

He said Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving accused in 26/11 terror attacks, has confessed parts of charges leveled through charge sheet but not all.

Chidamabaram voiced doubts whether Pakistan would ever extradite Mumbai terror attack accused Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and others charged in Pakistan in the 26/11 case.

"I doubt Pakistan would be ready to extradite them, but even if Pakistan prosecutes them and acts according to the law, that would be a step forward," Chidambaram added.

The Indian Home Minister, however, expressed the hope that the confession of Ajmal Kasab will ensure that Pakistan expedites the trial against the other 26/11 accused.

Obama, UKs Brown urge Afghan burden-sharing

LONDON : U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown agreed on Friday it was necessary to share the military burden better with NATO allies in Afghanistan, Brown's office said. The head of the British armed forces, Jock Stirrup, said earlier that Britain was doing "much more than its fair share" of the fighting in Afghanistan compared with other NATO allies. Obama and Brown discussed Afghanistan in a phone call after Britain said it was sending 125 more troops to replace soldiers killed or wounded in an offensive against Taliban insurgents. "They agreed on the importance of better military and civilian burden-sharing with NATO allies," a statement from Brown's office said. Britain has temporarily boosted its contingent in Afghanistan to just over 9,000 to help provide security for next month's presidential election. It has the second largest foreign force after the United States. U.S. and British troops have launched major offensives against the Taliban in the southern province of Helmand. Nineteen British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this month, one of the highest monthly tolls since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. QUESTIONS OVER WAR The toll has triggered questions in Britain over whether there are enough troops to complete the task, whether they are properly equipped and if they should be in Afghanistan at all. Obama and Brown agreed that despite the human cost, military operations in Helmand were making progress and were helping to provide much-needed security for the elections. "Going forward, there needed to be a continued balance between security, governance and economic development as part of a comprehensive approach, with increased training of Afghan security forces," the statement said. Obama and Brown also said it was important to work to make the elections as credible and inclusive as possible. British Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said he had decided to send 125 more soldiers to Afghanistan after commanders told him reinforcements were necessary to "maintain our operational tempo and consolidate the real progress we have made". A Ministry of Defence spokesman said the reinforcements were intended to maintain the British force at just over 9,000 rather than to increase it. The total British death toll of 188 surpasses the number of British soldiers killed in Iraq after the 2003 invasion. Brown has been dogged by accusations that a shortage of helicopters in Afghanistan is endangering British soldiers because they are forced to use roads where they regularly become targets for bombs set by Taliban insurgents. He denies it.

Georgia to ask Biden for weapons, observers

TBILISI: Georgia's president was expected to ask U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday for advanced U.S. weaponry, military aid and unarmed observers to monitor a cease-fire along the boundaries of two Moscow-backed breakaway regions.

The White House refused to comment Thursday on Georgia's interest in U.S. military assistance. Russia, however, reiterated its warning that it would lower or halt military cooperation with any country supplying Russian arms to Georgia, an apparent threat to Ukraine.

President Mikhail Saakashvili said he and Biden had spoken informally Wednesday at a dinner in the $40 million presidential compound's glass-domed dining room ahead of talks Thursday.

"I told you there was no such thing as a free dinner in Georgia," Saakashvili told Biden, an apparent reference to Georgia's requests for expanded military assistance.

The smiling Georgian leader, who referred to Biden as "Joe," called the discussions "very productive."

Biden seemed more reserved, calling Saakashvili "Mr. President." While citing U.S.-Georgia ties, he also expressed support for political reforms that Saakashvili announced earlier in the week to counter claims he has turned authoritarian.

"We're here to talk about your security, economy, your democracy and the steps you are taking for solidifying your democracy," he told Saakashvili.

Biden later spoke privately with major opposition leaders, including two of Saakashvili's chief rivals: Irakli Alasania, Georgia's former ambassador to the U.N., and Nino Burdzhanadze, former speaker of parliament.

The vice president also was to address parliament and meet with the current speaker, a longtime Saakashvili ally, before leaving Thursday evening.

The White House has avoided making any public commitment on aid, arms or observers, although it says it stands behind Georgia's application for NATO membership despite determined opposition from Russia.

The U.S. gave Georgia $1 billion in aid shortly after Russia defeated Georgia in a short war last August. But Washington has so far not supplied the Georgian military with arms to replace those lost in the war, amid warnings from Moscow that such a step would raise the risk of another conflict.

A spokesman for the Georgian Defense Ministry, David Nardaya, said he could not say how much military aid was being sought because the information was classified but described the weapons as defensive.

In Moscow, the government said it would not stand by while Georgia was resupplied with weapons.

"We will continue inhibiting rearmament of the Saakashvili regime and are taking concrete measures for this," Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. He said this was in line with a presidential decree issued in January.

Ukraine supplied weapons to Georgia during last summer's conflict with Russia, and Belarus has expressed support for Georgia's claims to two Russian-backed breakaway regions at the center of last year's war. Both former Soviet republics have military ties with Russia.

Biden is on a four-day mission to Ukraine and Georgia to demonstrate U.S. support for the two countries, where Western-style democracies have struggled in the wake of peaceful revolutions and Russia's determination to have influence over former Soviet republics.

Judge accepts Ajmal Kasab confession

MUMBAI: An Indian judge accepted the confession of the lone surviving gunman from the shooting attacks in Mumbai, but said Thursday the trial would proceed anyway.

The young Pakistani gunman, Ajmal Kasab, unexpectedly confessed Monday to taking part in the November attack that paralyzed India's financial capital and killed 166 people.

The court had delayed a decision on whether to accept his confession and guilty plea, with prosecutors arguing that his statement was incomplete and accusing Kasab of seeking clemency. In response, Kasab said he was willing to be hanged for his actions.

Judge M.L. Tahiliyani decided Thursday to accept Kasab's confession, but he ordered the trial to continue because the accused did not address all 86 charges against him.

"The trial will proceed," he said.

Kasab's confession linked the attack to a shadowy but well-organized group in Pakistan. The statement bolstered India's charges that terrorist groups across the border were behind the well-planned attack, and that Pakistan is not doing enough to clamp down on them.

After the judge made his ruling, defense lawyer Abbas Kazmi asked to be recused from the case saying that his client had no faith in him.

"If he has no confidence in me, there is no sense in me continuing in the case," he said.

The judge urged Kazmi to remain on the case and told the lawyer and defendant to discuss their relationship during a recess.

Chief Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam had tried to get Kasab's confession thrown out, saying it was neither complete nor accurate.

Kasab admitted spraying gunfire into the crowd at Mumbai's main train station, and described in detail a network of training camps and safe houses across Pakistan, revealing the names of four men he said were his handlers.

He denied killing four Mumbai policemen whose deaths remain touchstones of grief and anger in India.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Islamabad was waiting for copies of the confession, but he said it would not impede the ongoing effort at dialogue between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

The court has issued arrest warrants for 22 Pakistanis accused of conspiring in the attack.

US Senate restricts Pak aid to terror fight

WASHINGTON: The United States Senate has approved the Department of Defence Authorization bill according to which the US military assistance to Pakistan can be used only for its fight against the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, reports ARY NEWS.

The bi-partisan amendment was introduced by Senators Robert Menendez and Bob Corker, amidst growing apprehension among US lawmakers that the American tax payers money given to Pakistan to fight against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda was being used to built up its army against India.

The Menendez-Corker legislative language would mandate a certification by the US Secretary of State and Secretary of Defence, before Pakistan is reimbursed with Coalition Support Funds, that the payment is both in the national security interests of the US, and will not affect the balance of power in the region.

"To this point, almost eight years and more than seven billion in American taxpayer dollars for Pakistan's military have not prevented the Taliban and Al-Qaeda from regrouping along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border," said Menendez.

"The fight against these extremists is crucial for our own security, which is why we have to certify that our support is in fact doing what we intend it to do and is not being used for other purposes. This is an issue of national security and of responsibility with taxpayer dollars, and it is important that passed the Senate," Menendez said.

"We appreciate the important role Pakistan has played in our fight to eliminate the terrorist safe havens within their borders, but we also owe it to our service members and the American taxpayer to ensure that the funds provided to Pakistan out of the Coalition Support Funds are in fact being directed toward those efforts and not misdirected," said Corker.

Non-Aligned Movement summit today

SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Leaders of the developing world were in Egypt for the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to discuss the effect of the global financial crisis on their countries.

But the organisation's 15th summit, attended by 55 heads of state, is likely to be overshadowed by talks on the sidelines between India and Pakistan, both NAM members.

Cuban President Raul Castro will address the opening session of the two-day gathering at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh where Egypt will take over the chairmanship of the 118-member movement from Cuba.

The summit will "provide for a chance for discussions over the international economic crisis, which first started in the industrialised countries, and greatly impacted the developing countries, especially Africa," Zimbabwe Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi was quoted by the official news agency as saying.

He said industrialised states "should not be given free rein to manage such a crisis."

On Monday, during preparatory talks, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said the summit aimed for "a new international order... in which nations (are not judged) by their size or military and economic capabilities."

Prime Ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani of Pakistan and Manmohan Singh of India are to meet on the sidelines amid hopes of a resumption of peace talks between the two countries, who have fought three wars.

Their meeting would be the second high-level talks since relations soured after last year's attacks in the Indian commercial capital Mumbai.

India, along with host Egypt, is a founding member of the NAM. The largest grouping of countries outside the United Nations, it is aimed at giving a voice to the developing world.

Founded in 1955, NAM's 118 member states represent around 56 percent of the global population. NAM states consider themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc.

Set up during the Cold War, the movement sought to distance itself from both the Western and Soviet blocs, but today its raison d'etre is questioned after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the ensuing shift in power politics.

NAM heads of state and government meet every three years. The next meeting will be held in Iran.

The movement groups 53 states from Africa, 38 from Asia, 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean, and just one from Europe -- the former Soviet republic of Belarus.

It has 16 observer countries and nine observer organisations.

Nepal-born scholar in neuroscience breakthrough Finding could spawn novel ways to treat alcoholism, epilepsy

KATHMANDU: A team of researchers, with Nepali-born Prafulla Aryal as key member, of the Salk Institute of Biological Sciences in La Jolla, California, has located the alcohol-binding site in the brain that could pave the way to a whole new approach to treating alcoholism, drug addiction, abuse-related brain diseases, and epilepsy.

Aryal was born in Jayabageshwari, Kathmandu in 1981 and did his schooling until the fifth grade at Siddhartha Banasthali School. He migrated to the United States in 1991 and is now a US citizen. After receiving undergraduate education from the University of Colorado-Boulder, he joined the PhD program at the University of California-San Diego in 2003. Now a permanent resident of Denver, Colorado, Aryal´s role was instrumental to the finding.

After zeroing in on a potential alcohol-binding site in the brain, Aryal systematically introduced amino acid substitutions to the site to deny alcohol molecules access to the site. After he introduced the substitution, alcohol no longer had its effect, thus confirming that it was indeed the alcohol-binding site in the brain.The binding-site is not only responsible for the brain´s response to alcohol, but also to epileptic seizures.

The finding by Aryal and his team, published by the Science Daily on Tuesday, is the closest that scientists have reached in understanding how alcohol affects the brain.

With the finding, “it may be possible to develop a drug that antagonizes the actions of alcohol for the treatment of alcohol dependence,” said the Institute in a statement.

Alternatively, if scientists could find a novel drug that fits the alcohol-binding site, this would dampen overall neuronal excitability in the brain and perhaps provide a new tool for treating epilepsy too, the team´s leader Dr Paul A Slesinger, associate professor in the Peptide Biology Laboratory at the Salk Institute, said in the statement.

In an e-mail to myrepublica.com, Aryal said he had been working on the study at Dr Slesinger´s lab at the Salk Institute for the past four years, as part of his thesis work in the field of neuroscience.

“This work shows, for the first time, a direct binding site for alcohol in a protein involved in alcohol´s action in the brain. This is a very novel and significant finding in the field of alcohol research and neuroscience,” Aryal wrote to myrepublica.com in an e-mail.

He further wrote that the finding was significant in that it sheds light on how exactly alcohol acts on the brain to alter its function. “I think, it is a great advancement in our knowledge about alcohol and for scientists that originated from Nepal,” Aryal wrote.

Other members of the research team are Dr Senyon Choe, a professor in the Structural Biology Laboratory, and Dr Hay Dvir, a postdoctoral researcher in Choe´s lab.

This work was supported by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and on General Medical Sciences, the HN & Frances Berger Foundation and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

The Salk Institute, a not-for-profit organization, was founded by Dr Jonas Salk, who discovered the Polio vaccine and chose to distribute it throughout the world, without proprietary concern, to eradicate the disease.

3 dead, 60 hurt in China train collision

BEIJING: Two passenger trains collided in central China on Monday, killing at least three people and leaving 60 injured, a railway official said.

The pre-dawn crash occurred in Hunan province when a train going from the provincial capital Changsha to the southern city of Shenzhen collided with another train heading to Shenzhen from Tongren in Guizhou province, said the official.

``The two trains hit each other on the side and cars from both trains derailed,'' he said, adding that the cause is under investigation.

Afghanistan: 800 civilians killed in conflict in January-May

KABUL: Civilian deaths resulting from armed hostilities between insurgents, the US military, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and government forces have increased by 24 percent so far this year compared to the same period in 2008, according to a report by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

In May alone, 261 non-combatants lost their lives in conflict in Afghanistan, John Holmes, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, told members of the Security Council at a meeting on 26 June.

One of the worst incidents was in May when dozens of civilians, among them at least 65 women and children, were killed when US forces bombed a village in the Bala Bulok district of Farah Province, southwestern Afghanistan, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) said on 26 May.

"UNAMA [the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan] recorded 800 civilian casualties between January and May 2009, mostly in the south, southeast and eastern regions of the country," states the UN Secretary-General's report, The Situation in Afghanistan and its Implication for International Peace and Security, which was released on 23 June.

At least 55 percent of the recorded deaths were attributed to insurgents, 33 percent were caused by international and Afghan forces and 12 percent could not be attributed to any of the warring parties, the report said.

The UN SG's report blamed the Taliban for most of the civilian casualties and welcomed measures adopted by international forces to minimize the impact of war on non-combatants.

Armed conflict has also displaced tens of thousands of people, leaving most in need of protection and assistance, aid agencies say.

Unprecedented rise
Since the fall of Taliban regime in 2001, insecurity has gradually plagued parts of the country, particularly the south.

In May 2009, security deteriorated to levels not seen since 2001, with over 1,000 recorded violent incidents, the UN report said.

While insurgency-related violence has been mostly concentrated in the volatile south and east, it has also expanded to central and northern areas of the country. "The next period will likely experience an increase in the level of violence compared with the same period last year, including complex suicide attacks, intimidation and assassinations carried out by insurgents," said the report.

In addition to adversely impacting the lives of civilians, the intensifying insecurity has posed serious threats to aid workers and has increasingly inhibited humanitarian access to large swathes of the country.

Over 60 security incidents involving NGOs were recorded from 1 January to 15 June 2009 by the Afghanistan NGOs Safety Office. Tens of aid workers were killed or kidnapped last year.

Owing to a surge of US forces over the past few months and the expansion of newly trained Afghan forces, security has seen improvement in Kabul, Herat, Logar and Wardak provinces, states the UN report.

However, aid workers are concerned that violence will peak in the coming months as the country is set to hold presidential and provincial council elections in August. Insurgents have reportedly threatened to disrupt the elections process with more suicide attacks and roadside explosions.

Speaker takes oath as acting president Honduras

TEGUCIGALPA: After Honduran troops ousted President Manuel Zelaya Sunday and flew him out of the country the speaker of the parliament Roberto Micheletti took oath as acting president of the country.

The UN General Assembly will meet in emergency session Monday to discuss the political unrest in Honduras where President Manuel Zelaya was ousted and sent into exile in Costa Rica, its spokesman said Sunday.

General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann scheduled a meeting for noon Monday at the request of Honduran Ambassador to the UN Jorge Reina Idiaquez, D'Escoto's spokesman Enrique Yeves told.

Yeves said D'Escoto, who earlier in the day strongly condemned the army coup in Honduras, met with several Latin American ambassadors to the UN who also pressed for a meeting to the 192-member General Assembly to discuss the latest developments in the central American nation.

Zelaya insisted as he arrived in regional neighbor Costa Rica that he remained the president of his Central American nation, but just hours later the Congress voted in the parliamentary speaker as the country's new leader.

The first such major upheaval in several decades in the impoverished country was triggered by a tense political standoff between Zelaya and the country's military and legal institutions over his bid to secure a second term.

"I will never give up since I was elected the president by the people," Zelaya said from San Jose, accusing Honduran troops of kidnapping him and denouncing what he called a "political conspiracy."

But Congress said it voted unanimously to remove him from office for his "apparent misconduct" and for "repeated violations of the constitution and the law and disregard of orders and judgments of the institutions."

In his place they appointed speaker Roberto Micheletti as the new leader to serve out the rest of the term, which ends in January. New general elections are planned for November 29.

Zelaya, elected to a non-renewal four-year term in 2005, had planned a vote Sunday asking Hondurans to sanction a future referendum to allow him to run for reelection in the November polls.

The planned referendum had been ruled illegal by the country's top court and was opposed by the military, but the president said he planned to press ahead with it anyway and ballot boxes had already been distributed.

The Supreme Court said Sunday that it had ordered the president's ouster in order to protect law and order in the nation of some seven million people.

The drama unfolded just about dawn on Sunday when some 200 troops swooped on Zelaya's home. He was bundled away in his pyjamas and flown out of the country.

As planes and helicopters overflew the capital, several hundred Zelaya supporters ignored warnings to stay home and flooded onto the streets of Tegucigalpa shouting out, "We want Mel," the president's nickname.

But the demonstration was halted in front of the presidential palace when the way was barred by a cordon of troops and armored vehicles.

US President Barack Obama said he was deeply concerned about the events in Honduras, as US officials said they recognized Zelaya as the country's legitimate president.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he wanted Zelaya to be reinstated and human rights in the country to be fully respected.

"The Secretary-General... expresses his strong support for the country's democratic institutions and condemns the arrest today of the constitutional President of the Republic," a UN statement said.

Sunday's dramatic events were the culmination of a tense political standoff over the past several days.

Last week Zelaya sacked the country's top military chief, General Romeo Vasquez and also accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Edmundo Orellana, after military commanders refused to distribute ballot boxes for Sunday's vote.

The heads of the army, marines and air force also resigned.

The Honduran Supreme Court then unanimously voted Thursday to reinstate Vasquez and hundreds of troops massed late last week in the capital Tegucigalpa.

Honduras president in exile, new leader orders curfew

TEGUCIGALPA :The newly appointed leader of Honduras Roberto Micheletti ordered a 48-hour curfew late Sunday after denying there had been a coup d'etat on deposed President Manuel Zelaya.

At dawn troops had roused Zelaya in his pajamas and flew him out of the country, ending a bitter power struggle with the military as parliament swiftly voted in a new leader.

Zelaya insisted when he arrived in regional neighbor Costa Rica that he remained the president of his Central American nation, but just hours later the Congress voted in the parliamentary speaker as the country's new leader.

"A curfew begins today and ends on Tuesday," Micheletti said at his first press conference, as worldwide condemnation for the action, led by the United States, continued.

"We recognize Zelaya as the duly elected and constitutional president of Honduras. We see no other," a top US State Department official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

Micheletti, a member of Zelaya's own Liberal Party, maintained however after being sworn in by Congress that he "came to the presidency not by a coup d'etat but by a completely legal process as set out in our laws."

The first such major upheaval in several decades in the impoverished country was triggered by a tense political standoff between Zelaya and the country's military and legal institutions over his bid to secure a second term.

"I will never give up since I was elected the president by the people," Zelaya said from San Jose, accusing Honduran troops of kidnapping him and denouncing what he called a "political conspiracy."

But Congress said it voted unanimously to remove him from office for his "apparent misconduct" and for "repeated violations of the constitution and the law and disregard of orders and judgments of the institutions."

Micheletti was appointed to serve out the rest of the term, which ends in January. New general elections are planned for November 29.

Zelaya, elected to a non-renewable four-year term in 2005, had planned a vote Sunday asking Hondurans to sanction a future referendum to allow him to run for re-election in the November polls.

The planned referendum had been ruled illegal by the country's top court and was opposed by the military, but the president said he planned to press ahead with it anyway and ballot boxes had already been distributed.

The Supreme Court said Sunday that it had ordered the president's ouster in order to protect law and order in the nation of some seven million people.

The drama unfolded at dawn on Sunday when some 200 troops swooped on Zelaya's home.

He was bundled away in his pyjamas and flown out of the country.

A leading government official, Armando Sarmiento, told AFP that at least eight cabinet members were also detained including Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas.

As planes and helicopters overflew the capital, several hundred Zelaya supporters ignored warnings to stay home and flooded onto the streets of Tegucigalpa shouting out, "We want Mel," the president's nickname.

But the demonstration was halted in front of the presidential palace when the way was barred by a cordon of troops and armored vehicles.

US President Barack Obama said he was deeply concerned about the events in Honduras, as US officials said they recognized Zelaya as the country's legitimate president.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he wanted Zelaya to be reinstated and human rights in the country to be fully respected.

Last week Zelaya sacked the country's top military chief, General Romeo Vasquez and also accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Edmundo Orellana, after military commanders refused to distribute ballot boxes for Sunday's vote.

The heads of the army, marines and air force also resigned.

The Honduran Supreme Court then unanimously voted Thursday to reinstate Vasquez and hundreds of troops massed late last week in the capital Tegucigalpa.

Zelaya, who was elected as a conservative, has shifted dramatically to the left during his presidency.

He is the latest in a long list of Latin American leaders, including Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, to seek constitutional changes to expand presidential powers and also ease term limits.

Chavez also denounced Sunday's arrest as a "coup d'etat" and alleged that the United States had a hand in Zelaya's overthrow. And he warned that if Venezuela's envoys to Honduras were harmed he would be prepared to intervene militarily.

Army foils militants” plan to target Amarnath pilgrims

Army on Monday foiled militants bid to target the Amarnath yatra by defusing an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.

According to sources, militants had planted the high intensity IED in Panthal area to target a convoy of the Amarnath Yatra.

The cavalcade of 53 vehicles, which is carrying 1,703 pilgrims, was resumed after one hour-long halt at Panthal, 155 kms from Jammu.

With today’’s batch, a total of 7,793 pilgrims have left Jammu for the Shrine since the beginning of the Yatra on June 15.

The yatra remained suspended for three days due to bad weather prevailing in Kashmir valley before resuming on June 19.