Check Todays News: Kills

Friday, February 11, 2011

Teen suicide bomber kills 20 at Pakistan army centre - Reuters

By Zeeshan Haider

ISLAMABAD | Thu Feb 10, 2011 2:27am EST

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A boy in a school uniform blew himself up at a Pakistani army recruitment center on Thursday, killing 20 cadets, officials said, in an attack that challenges government assertions that crackdowns have weakened militants.

Pakistan's army has carried out a series of offensives against al Qaeda-linked Taliban insurgents. But the operations in lawless tribal areas along the Afghan border have failed to break the resolve of Taliban fighters determined to destabilize the U.S.-backed government.

The brazen bombing on Thursday in the northwestern town of Mardan suggested militants are regrouping after a lull in major attacks.

Militant operations in recent months have been mostly sectarian and have not focused on military targets.

"The bomber struck recruits when cadets were busy in their morning training," a military official told Reuters. At least 20 people were wounded.

The boy apparently walked into the compound, officials said.

"It seems the Taliban are still a very potent force because they continue to attack installations, even if they have been quiet for a time," said former general Talat Masood.

"They reassert themselves after a while, and it will be a while before we consider them to be less of a threat."

The Taliban have previously launched bold attacks on the military, Pakistan's most powerful institution.

Last March, two suicide bombers targeting the Pakistani military killed at least 45 people in the city of Lahore, including nine soldiers.

In 2009, Pakistani Taliban militants disguised as soldiers attacked the army's headquarters in Rawalpindi and later took 42 people hostage in a nearby office building.

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani condemned Thursday's attack at the Punjab Regiment Center.

"Such cowardly attacks cannot affect the morale of the security agencies and the resolve of the nation to eradicate terrorism," he said in a statement.

Gilani's government faces pressure on several fronts.

It is trying to revive a stagnant economy propped up by an $11 billion Internet Monetary Fund loan which requires politically sensitive reforms.

View the original article here

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Bill Gates Says Anti-Vaccine Effort Kills Children

19050438 story

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday February 05, @06:31PM
from the won't-somebody-think-of-the-oh-wait dept. Hugh Pickens writes writes "CNN has an interesting interview with Bill Gates who says that unbelievable progress is being made in both inventing new vaccines and making sure they get out to all the children who need them. The improvements could cut the number of children who die every year from about 9 million to half that. But Gates has harsh words for those who engage in anti-vaccine efforts, especially Dr. Andrew Wakefield, who falsified data to 'prove' a fraudulent link between vaccines and autism. 'It's an absolute lie that has killed thousands of kids,' says Gates. 'Because the mothers who heard that lie, many of them didn't have their kids take either pertussis or measles vaccine, and their children are dead today.'"