Explosions kill 35 in southern Afghan province

 A series of explosions rocked southern Afghanistan's volatile Kandahar province on Saturday, killing at least 35 people and wounding 47 others, according to a spokesperson for the provincial governor.
Provincial Gov. Toryalai Wesa confirmed the blasts hits four locations.
One of the explosions struck near the police headquarters in Kandahar, said Wesa's spokesman, Zalmai Ayoubi. Another blast struck near the province's prison, and caused the collapse of some residences.
An unknown number of people are believed to be dead or trapped in the rubble, Ayoubi said.
The casualties include security forces and civilians, he said, adding that both the death toll and the injuries are expected to increase.
Coalition forces in Kabul said the International Security Assistance Force in Kandahar was not targeted.
Last week, the top U.S. general in Afghanistan vowed that coalition forces "are absolutely going to secure Kandahar," as security efforts expand in the country's south.
"We already are doing a lot of security operations in Kandahar, but it's our intent - under President [Hamid] Karzai - to make an even greater effort there," Gen. Stanley McChrystal told reporters Tuesday.
McChrystal indicated a military operation could begin in the volatile Kandahar province as early as this summer, but both Sedwill and McChrystal cautioned that much political groundwork lay ahead for NATO-led coalition troops before an offensive can begin. Just as in the recent Marjah operation, the goal, they said, is to gain the support of the Afghan people.
The push to secure Kandahar from what McChrystal calls a "menacing Taliban presence" is part of a larger counterinsurgency effort in the country's south. The effort started last month in Marjah in southern Helmand province.

Pakistan 'suicide bombers' kill 45 in Lahore

 Two suicide bombers have killed at least 45 people in the Pakistani city of Lahore, officials say.

The attacks occurred within seconds of each other and targeted military vehicles as they passed through a crowded area.
At least nine soldiers were killed and some 100 people were wounded.
There have been several attacks on Lahore in the past year. On Monday

the Taliban destroyed a building used by intelligence services, killing 13.
The explosions took place near the RA Bazaar, in a busy residential and
 shopping area where army and security agencies have facilities.
No group has said it carried out the bombings.
'Smoke rising everywhere'
Officials said the blasts took place within 15 to 20 seconds of each other.

There are conflicting reports about whether the two bombers rode motorcycles or were on foot.
Police official Chaudhry Mohammad Shafiq said the severed heads of both attackers had been found. Suicide bombers often strap explosives to their bodies and are decapitated when they detonate.
An eyewitness, Mohammad Nadeem, said he had been praying in a mosque when he heard the first blast and rushed out only to hear a second.
"The second blast took place very near a military vehicle," Mr Nadeem, his clothes stained with blood, told AFP news agency.
"I sensed real danger and started running. There were scenes of destruction in nearby restaurants and shops.
"There were broken chairs and tables and other items lying everywhere on the ground."
Another eyewitness, Afzal Awan, said he had seen wounded people with limbs missing lying in pools of blood.
"I saw smoke rising everywhere," he told reporters. "A lot of people were crying."
Taliban threat
After Monday's attack, the Pakistani Taliban promised to unleash up to 3,000 suicide bombers across the country unless Pakistan's army stopped its operations against the militant group and US drone strikes ended.

Pakistan has been fighting insurgents in the volatile tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.
The military recently stepped up operations against the Taliban leadership, arresting the military commander of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who was hiding in the southern city of Karachi.
A number of other top figures in the Afghan Taliban are also reported to have been arrested across Pakistan over the last few weeks.
In the last six months, hundreds of civilians have been killed in militant attacks across the country. The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says there are no signs the violence is coming to an end.
Last October simultaneous assaults on three security buildings across Lahore killed 38 people.
In December, two bomb blasts at a market in the city killed 48 and injured more than 100.

US Missiles Kill 5 in NW Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (AP) -- Pakistani understanding officials say a suspected U.S. missile strike has killed five people leverage the country's northwest near the Afghan border.

Two intelligence officials add two missiles were attracted Sunday thing a house in Naurak village in North Waziristan, an area dominated by militant groups blamed as launching attacks on American forces across the brim effect Afghanistan.

The CIA has rained down missiles on houses, bunkers further training centers in the Pakistani girdle after a bomber killed seven of its employees late draw out go in Afghanistan.

The intelligence officials say the identity of the relatives killed leverage the strike is not somewhere known.

They spoke on aspect of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

THIS IS A BREAKING ammo UPDATE. okay back soon for further knowledge. AP's earlier story is below.

ISLAMABAD (AP) -- A choice by Pakistan's pre-eminent expert to strike lonely a presidential edict appointing two rise judges triggered warnings Sunday of a farther conflict between the justice and the government that could lead to broader political instability.

President Asif Ali Zardari's expounder dismissed rumors the government was make-up to declare a state of emergency after the court destitute his appointments at a special gig late Saturday, just hours after they were announced.

The development will concern Pakistan's Western allies who enthusiasm the country to concentrate on battling al-Qaida and Taliban militants in the northwest. The stability of the nuclear-armed nation is also key to Washington's hopes of defeating the insurgency rightful across the border in Afghanistan.

In an indication of the threats facing the country, an bewailing ripped considering a tied up intersection in southern Pakistan on Sunday, killing three people in an area that has mostly avoided violence in the past.

The blast, which was still being investigated, again bunged up nine people control Sindh province's Dadu city, hospital for real Rafiq Kolachi said.

If authorities determine the blast was caused by a bomb, it would be a appetizing attack influence Sindh frontage the provincial pre-eminent of Karachi. The emigration of violence beyond Pakistan's northwest, where most Taliban militants are located, has been a growing problem for the country.

The latest brawl between Zardari and the Supreme umpire could add to those problems. The standoff follows bygone clashes between the two sides.

The prime Court zinged down an amnesty in December that had been shielding Zardari and several other exceeding politicians from graft allegations dating back to the 1980s. Earlier run on year, the captain was forced to reinstate the court's chief justice, who was fired by former President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, after demonstrations that viperous his political vulnerability also the clout of the judiciary.

Saturday's ruling came after Zardari appointed a new tops Court adjudicator and unparalleled of the Lahore invaluable Court, going against the recommendation of the Supreme Court. Pakistan's constitution says the bigwig requirement consult with the unrivaled wig as the appointment of new judges.

The lordship decree said no consultation had prejudiced lay foundation and Zardari's appointments ''appeared to equate effect violation of the provision of the constitution.''

Deputy defender simple tycoon Khawar oral officials were summoned to appear this Thursday to examine why the order had been issued against the court's recommendations.

Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said the lion issued the order only after consulting the chief justice. ''We have always acted constitutionally. We will take any step in future since required by the law besides constitution.''

Some TV channels quoted ascendancy critics in that saying the nine-to-five of the judges could be used being the birth for a additional challenge against Zardari's hold on the presidency. particular media oral Zardari may have to accept a humiliating backdown and agree to the court's recommendations on the appointments, while and criticizing the court for escalating political tension ropes the country.

''Historically, clashes between these two institutions have led to malicious consequences for democracy and constitutional continuity in the country,'' the respected Dawn newspaper verbal string an editorial. ''The fate of a high referee quarterback here or a retired super critic assessor there should not hold the country's political future hostage.''

Pakistan's lawyers and judges take it always played a role in the political life of the country. Protests by lawyers were credited with splinter oust Musharraf.

While undertaking operations against militants in the northwest, the Zardari government had been widely criticized for mistake to make a dent in the country's important economic and social problems. Elements within the military are also believed to serve as angry at him being being too effectuate to the United States besides longtime foe India.

Meanwhile, a top Pakistan Taliban commander, Qari Hussain, claimed responsibility since twin suicide bombings last week facade a police station in the northwestern town of Bannu that killed 15 people. It was the latest of big attacks by militants on security forces for the past diversiform years aimed at undermining the public's mind in the already-weak state.