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KABUL: An Afghan Health ministry spokesman said 28 people were killed and 141 others injured in the suicide blast attack near the Indian Embassy in the Afghan capital of Kabul Monday morning. Abdullah Fahim told Xinhua that out of the injured, 90 were hospitalized and 10 were in critical condition, adding the bomber himself might be among the 28 killed ones. He said he had no idea if the casualties included staff of the Indian Embassy.
-- Xinhua
KUALA LUMPUR: The young man who accused Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of sexually assaulting him is under police protection after receiving threats, officials said Monday. The allegations against Anwar, who says he is being targeted by the government to prevent him from seizing power, triggered a political storm. Criminal Investigation Department Director Bakri Zinin said Anwar's accuser, a 23-year-old former student leader who was a volunteer with the opposition, would remain under police protection until investigations are completed.
-- AFP
SEOUL: South Korea's embattled President Lee Myung Bak on Monday sacked three Cabinet ministers to try to end mass protests against US beef imports that have shaken his government. Lee replaced the Agriculture minister, the minister for Health and Welfare, and the Education minister, presidential spokesman Lee Dong Kwan said. "The reshuffle is aimed at making a new start in an effort to overcome difficulties at home and abroad," the spokesman said, citing surging oil prices which have prompted a government energy-saving drive.
-- AFP
PARIS: British and French scientists have identified several variants of a single gene that boost the risk of obesity, a study published Sunday in the British journal Nature said. Previous research had shown that an extremely rare mutation in the same PCSK1 gene can, all by itself, lead to huge gains in weight, making it the only known source of so-called monogenetic obesity. These same variants were also linked to increased risk of childhood obesity, as well as less extreme weight gain.
-- AFP
LOS ANGELES: Exhausted firefighters raced Monday to contain hundreds of wildfires raging across California as forecasters warned that a looming heat wave was set to deliver drier, hotter conditions. More than 330 wildfires blazed across the state, as firefighters focused their efforts near the tourist haven of Big Sur and the town of Goleta, near Santa Barbara, 103 miles north of Los Angeles. The blazes have burned around 559,000 acres across California since June 20, when lightning from dry thunderstorms triggered a series of forest infernos.
-- AFP
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday vowed to punish those behind the deadly blast which killed 19 people in the capital Islamabad on Sunday. Gilani visited the injured in the blast at an Islamabad hospital, the News Network International news agency reported. "I pay homage to the policemen who sacrificed lives for the people," Gilani told reporters at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, where over 20 injured are being treated. "This was a shameful and anti-human act," he said.
-- Xinhua
NAIROBI: Kenya has joined African countries that have refused to recognize Robert Mugabe as the president of Zimbabwe, Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula said in remarks published in the local media on Monday. Wetangula said Kenya would not recognize Mugabe's government as legitimate. Mugabe has been defiant despite growing international condemnation of a June 27 runoff presidential election, in which he was the only candidate after opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out, citing state-sponsored violence.
-- Xinhua
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