Muslims, Christians Clash In Cairo, Egypt After Mob Burns Church

Hundreds of Christians and Muslims hurled stones at each other in downtown Cairo on Sunday, hours after Muslim mobs set fire to a church and a Christian-owned apartment building in a frenzy of violence that killed 12 people and injured more than 200.

The deepening religious violence in military-ruled Egypt is exacerbating the lawlessness and disorder of the country's bumpy transition to democracy after three decades of autocratic rule under former President Hosni Mubarak was brought to an end in February.

Muslim youths attacked a large crowd of Coptic Christian protesters marching from the headquarters of Egypt's general prosecutor to the state television building overlooking the Nile, said Christian activist Bishoy Tamri. TV images showed both sides furiously throwing stones, including one Christian who held a large wooden cross in one hand while flinging rocks with another.

Scores were injured, but an army unit securing the TV building did nothing to stop the violence, Tamri said.

Hours earlier, mobs of ultraconservative Muslims attacked the Virgin Mary Church in the slum of Imbaba on the opposite side of the Nile. The attack was fueled by rumors that a Christian woman married to a Muslim man had been abducted by the church. Residents said a separate mob of youths armed with knives and machetes attacked an apartment building several blocks away with firebombs.

"People were scared to come near them," said resident Adel Mohammed, 29, who lives near the Virgin Mary Church. "They looked scary. They threw their firebombs at the church and set parts of it ablaze."

The military deployed armored vehicles and dozens of troop carriers to cordon off a main street leading to the area. They halted traffic and turned away pedestrians. Men, women and children watching from balconies took photos with mobile phones and cheered the troops.

Islamic clerics denounced the violence, sounding alarm bells at the escalating tension during the transitional period following Mubarak's Feb. 11 ouster by a popular uprising.

"These events do not benefit either Muslim or Copts," Ahmed al-Tayyeb, the sheik of al-Azhar, told the daily Al-Ahram.

Interfaith relationships are taboo in Egypt, where the Muslim majority and sizable Christian minority are both largely conservative. Such relationships are often the source of deadly clashes between the faiths.

During the 18-day uprising that ousted Mubarak, there was a rare spirit of brotherhood between Muslims and Christians. Each group protected the other during prayer sessions in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the revolution.

But in the months that followed, there has been a sharp rise in sectarian tensions, fueled in part by a movement of ultraconservative Muslims known as Salafis who have become more active in Egypt.

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Explosions Rock Town Where Osama Bin Laden Was Killed

ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan -- Witnesses say two loud explosions have rocked the Pakistani town where Osama bin Laden was killed in a U.S. raid.

The source of the blasts was not immediately clear. An Associated Press team at the compound where bin Laden was living before the April 29 raid saw no signs of unusual activity Sunday.

There had been speculation that authorities might demolish the house in Abbottabad to try to stop the intense media attention on the town.

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Syria to lift emergency law

Bowing to pressure from a popular uprising, Syria's president promised Saturday to end nearly 50 years of emergency rule next week but coupled his concession with a stern warning – that further unrest will be considered sabotage.

The protest movement has been steadily growing over the past four weeks, posing a serious challenge to the 40-year ruling dynasty of President Bashar Assad and his father before him. A British-trained eye doctor who inherited power 11 years ago, Assad acknowledged Saturday that Syrians have legitimate grievances.

But he warned there will no longer be "an excuse" for organizing protests once Syria lifts emergency rule and implements a spate of reforms, which he said will include a new law allowing the formation of political parties.

"After that, we will not tolerate any attempt at sabotage," Assad said in a televised meeting with his Cabinet.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets before and after Assad's speech in a sign that his promises were unlikely to appease a movement that has grown bolder in demanding sweeping changes. More than 200 people have been killed over the past four weeks as security forces tried to crush the protests using live ammunition, tear gas and batons.

Syria's widely despised emergency laws have been in place since the ruling Baath party came to power in 1963, giving the regime a free hand to arrest people without charge and extending state authority into virtually every aspect of life.

The regime says Syria is under a state of emergency because Damascus is technically at war with Israel. But many say that is only a pretext to give the president unlimited powers to ban demonstrations, control the media and allow eavesdropping.

Critics said Assad should simply have lifted the emergency law himself Saturday – something that is well within his authority in a country where the real power is concentrated around Assad and a tight coterie of family and advisers.

Instead, he put the onus on the new Cabinet, urging them to take swift action. Assad spoke at the swearing-in of the Cabinet, which replaces the government dissolved in late March in an attempt to placate protesters.

"We have been chewing the same bit for 10 years now," said opposition figure Haitham al-Maleh, adding that he expected the street pressure to continue throughout the country. "The president can lift the state of emergency laws with a presidential decree, there is no need for all this stalling."

There was also concern that Assad will replace the emergency laws with equally harsh restrictions on public expression.

"We do not want to be hasty," Assad said Saturday. "Any reforms have to be based on maintaining internal stability."

Assad has tried to quell the protests in recent weeks with both force and limited concessions that have failed to appease an emboldened movement inspired by the Arab uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. He also said armed gangs and a "foreign conspiracy" were behind the unrest, not true reform-seekers.

Still, he offered vague promises of change, such as forming committees to look into replacing the emergency laws and freeing detainees. He also fired his previous Cabinet – a move that was largely symbolic, as Assad holds the power.

But the protesters have raised the ceilings on their demands every week. As the protest movement has swelled in numbers, an increasing number of people have started shouting for the downfall of the regime, rather than just reforms.

"The people simply want to see Assad go now," said a protester from the southern city of Daraa, where thousands of people took part in a protest Saturday, many of them calling for regime change.

He asked that his name not be used for fear of government reprisals.

In the seaside city of Banias, up to 10,000 people turned out for the funeral of Osama al-Sheikha, 40, who died Saturday from wounds sustained last week when security forces cracked down on dissent in the seaside city of Banias, several witnesses said. The army sealed off the city several days ago as the protests there turned violent.

Activists also said hundreds of people in the Damascus suburbs took to the streets in anger following Assad's speech.

The witness accounts could not be independently confirmed because Syria has placed tight restrictions on media outlets and expelled foreign journalists.

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Japan Nuclear Crisis: Fukushima Plant

TOKYO — A blueprint for ending radiation leaks and stabilizing reactors at Japan's crippled nuclear plant drew a lackluster response Monday, as polls showed diminishing public support for the government's handling of the country's recent disasters.

The plan issued by Tokyo Electric Power Co. over the weekend, in response to a government order, is meant to be a first step toward letting some of the tens of thousands of evacuees from near the company's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant return to their homes.

Those forced to flee due to radiation leaks after a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami on March 11 knocked out the plant's power and cooling systems are frustrated that their exile will not end soon. And officials acknowledge that unforeseen complications, or even another natural disaster, could set that timetable back even further.

"Well, this year is lost," said Kenji Matsueda, 49, who is living in an evacuation center in Fukushima after being forced from his home 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the plant. "I have no idea what I will do. Nine months is a long time. And it could be longer. I don't think they really know."

Pressure has been building on the government and TEPCO to resolve Japan's worst-ever nuclear power accident, and Prime Minister Naoto Kan is facing calls for his resignation.

"You should be bowing your head in apology. You clearly have no leadership at all," Masashi Waki, a lawmaker from the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, shouted during an intense grilling of Kan and members of his Cabinet in parliament Monday.

"I am sincerely apologizing for what has happened," Kan said, stressing that the government was doing all it could to handle unprecedented disasters.

TEPCO's president, Masataka Shimizu, looked visibly ill at ease as lawmakers heckled and taunted him.

"I again deeply apologize for causing so much trouble for residents near the complex, people in Fukushima and the public," Shimizu said.

Polls by several Japanese national newspapers released Monday showed widespread dissatisfaction, with more than two-thirds of Japanese surveyed unhappy with how Kan's administration has dealt with the nuclear crisis.

"Nothing concrete," said a headline in the Mainichi newspaper of the plan. "The nuclear timetable does not show enough consideration for the residents," said the Nihon Keizai, a financial newspaper.

A majority of those surveyed in the polls by the Mainichi, Nihon Keizai and Asahi newspapers expressed support, though, for tax increases to pay for reconstruction of areas devastated by the tsunami.

Goshi Hosono, an adviser to the prime minister and member of his nuclear crisis management task force, said the government would closely monitor TEPCO's implementation of its crisis plan and hoped it could be carried out ahead of schedule.

The timetable's first step focuses on cooling the reactors and spent fuel pools, reducing radiation leaks and decontaminating water that has become radioactive, within three months. The second step, for within six to nine months, is to bring the release of radioactive materials fully under control, achieve a cold shutdown of the reactors and cover the buildings, possibly with a form of industrial cloth.

Nuclear safety officials described the plan as "realistic," but acknowledged there could be setbacks.

"Given the conditions now, this is best that it could do," said Hidehiko Nishiyama of the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, adding that conditions at the facility remain unstable.

Explosions, fires and other malfunctions have hindered efforts to repair the stricken plant and stem radiation leaks.

"There is no shortcut to resolving these issues. Though it will be difficult, we have to go step by step to resolve these problems," he said.

Even with the announcement of the timeline, it remained unclear when evacuees might be able to return home.

The area would need to be decontaminated, including removing and replacing the soil, Nishiyama said.

Hosono said the evacuees would not have to stay in gymnasiums for such a long period, but would be moved into temporary housing.

Some evacuees were unswayed by TEPCO's plan.

"I don't believe a word they say," said Yukio Otsuka, 56, a private school owner whose home is about three miles (five kilometers) from the power plant. "I don't trust them. I don't believe it is possible. We have really drawn the short stick on this one."

Activists criticized the delay in the roadmap's announcement.

"TEPCO has taken far too long to provide an indication of the direction it plans to take to bring the situation at Fukushima Dai-ichi under control," said Philip White of the Tokyo-based Citizens' Nuclear Information Center, a group of scientists and activists who have opposed nuclear power since 1975. "We hope TEPCO meets its targets, but there are many challenges ahead and many uncertainties."

The unveiling of the roadmap came two days after TEPCO – also under pressure from Kan's government – announced plans to give 1 million yen ($12,000) in initial compensation to each evacuated household, with much more expected later.

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Japan Evacuation Zone: Government Expected To Extend Evacuations Over 18 Miles

Tokyo -- Japan plans to extend the evacuation zone around its crippled nuclear plant because of high radiation levels, local media reported Monday, with engineers no closer to regaining control of six reactors hit by a giant tsunami one month ago.
Concern at Japan's inability contain its nuclear crisis, caused by a March 11 earthquake and tsunami, is mounting with Prime Minister Naoto Kan's ruling party suffering embarrassing losses in local elections Sunday and neighboring China and South Korea voicing criticism.
Engineers at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant north of Tokyo said Sunday they were no closer to restoring the plant's cooling system which is critical if overheated fuel rods are to be cooled and the six reactors brought under control.
They are hoping to stop pumping radioactive water into the ocean Monday, days later than planned.
Four weeks after the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl quarter of a century ago, the government was moving to extend a 20 km (12 mile) evacuation zone due to high levels of radiation, the Asahi newspaper reported.
The government has so far refused to widen the zone, despite being urged to by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and countries like the United States and Australia advising its citizens to stay 80 kms away from the plant.
The Asahi said the government would extend the zone to 30 kms in certain areas, depending on wind direction, and residents would be given a week to prepare for evacuation.
The Japan Times said authorities would soon forcibly close the 20 km zone, stopping people returning to their shattered homes to pick through the rubble for belongings.
Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato criticised the evacuation policy, saying residents in a 20-30 km radius were initially told to stay indoors and then advised to evacuate voluntarily.
"Residents in the 20-30 km radius were really confused about what to do." Sato told NHK television Sunday.
Media reports said that Sato would refuse to meet the president of Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) when he visits the area Monday.
It is Japan's worst crisis since World War Two after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and a huge tsunami battered its northeast coast, leaving nearly 28,000 dead or missing and rocking the world's third-largest economy.
POLITICAL FALLOUT
Japanese voters Sunday vented their anger at the government's handling of the nuclear and humanitarian crisis, with Kan's ruling Democratic Party of Japan losing nearly 70 seats in local elections.
The unpopular Kan was already under pressure to step down before March 11, but analysts say he is unlikely to be forced out during the crisis, set to drag on for months.
"The great disaster was a double tragedy for Japan. The first tragedy was the catastrophe caused by the earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear accident. The other misfortune was that the disaster resulted in prolonging Prime Minister Kan's time in office," Sankei newspaper said in an editorial Monday.
In Tokyo, around 5,000 people took to the streets in two separate anti-nuclear protests Sunday.
China and South Korea have both criticised Japan's handling of the nuclear crisis, with Seoul calling it incompetent, reflecting growing international unease over the month-long atomic disaster and the spread of radiation.
Japan's economy, the world's third largest, is reeling from the triple disaster and several countries have banned or restricted food imports after detecting radiation.
More critically, the nuclear crisis and power shortages have disrupted Japan's manufacturing and electronics global supply chains, hitting computer and automakers in particular.
Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa Monday reiterated that the economy is likely to return to a recovery path once supply constraints caused by last month's earthquake and tsunami ease, and as exports grow.
RADIOACTIVE SEAWATER
TEPCO has struggled to regain control of its nuclear plant.
It is currently pumping nitrogen into reactors to counter a build up of hydrogen and prevent another explosion sending more radiation into the air.
"We cannot say what the outlook is for the next stage," Hidehiko Nishiyama, a deputy director-general of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) said Sunday.
In a desperate move to cool highly radioactive fuel rods, TEPCO has pumped water onto reactors, some of which have experienced partial meltdown.
But the strategy has hindered moves to restore the plant's internal cooling system, critical to end the crisis, as engineers have had to focus how to store 60,000 tonnes of contaminated water.
Engineers have been forced to pump low-level radioactive water, left by the tsunami, back into the sea in order to free up storage capacity for highly contaminated water from reactors.

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Japan Nuclear Plant Fails To Stop Radioactive Water From Spilling Into Ocean

Japanese nuclear power plant operator TEPCO expects to stop pumping radioactive water into the ocean on Monday, days later than planned, a step that would help ease international concern about the spread of radiation from a smashed nuclear plant.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan's Democratic Party was likely to be punished at Sunday's local polls for his handling of the massive earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan's northeastern coast on March 11, killing 13,000 and triggering the world's worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

China and South Korea have also criticized Japan's handling of the nuclear crisis, with Seoul calling it incompetent, reflecting growing international unease over the month-long atomic disaster and the spread of radiation.

Japan is struggling to regain control of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that was damaged by the magnitude 9 quake and 15 meter tsunami.

The nuclear plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), has been pumping sea water into the reactors to cool the nuclear core, and then discharging the water, after it has become contaminated, back into the Pacific Ocean

TEPCO had planned to stop the discharge on Saturday, but work was interrupted by a powerful aftershock late on Thursday. The firm then pushed the target back to Sunday, a goal it failed to meet.

"We are making checks on remaining water, and the final check is scheduled for tomorrow," a company spokesman told a press briefing late on Sunday.

TEPCO was forced to start pumping sea water into the power plant after failing to restart the reactors' cooling systems after the quake. It has been pumping in nitrogen to cool the core, but officials say they are unsure of what to do next.

"We cannot say what the outlook is for the next stage," Hidehiko Nishiyama, a deputy director-general of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) said on Sunday. "As soon as possible we would like to achieve stable cooling and set a course toward controlling radiation."

It is also grappling with a major humanitarian and economic crisis and facing a damages bill as high as $300 billion -- the world's biggest for any natural disaster.

Japanese who voted in local elections on Sunday were expected to shun Kan's ruling party, further weakening him and bolstering opponents who will try to force his resignation once the crisis ends. Results of the vote are expected on Monday.

Unpopular prime minister Kan was already under pressure to step down before the disaster, but analysts say he is unlikely to be dumped during the nuclear crisis, which is set to drag on for months.

ANTI-NUCLEAR PROTESTS

In Tokyo, around 5,000 people took to the streets in two separate anti-nuclear protests on Sunday. Some carried placards reading 'No More Fukushima' and 'No Nukes'; others danced and played musical instruments.

One group of demonstrators marched to the offices of the operator of the stricken plant, which has apologized to Japan, and neighboring countries, for the crisis.

Radiation from Japan spread around the entire northern hemisphere in the first two weeks of the nuclear crisis, according to the Vienna-based Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization.

Japan's economy, the world's third largest, is reeling from the triple disaster and several countries have banned or restricted food imports after detecting radiation.

More critically, the nuclear crisis and power shortages have disrupted Japan's manufacturing and electronics global supply chains, hitting computer and automakers in particular.

Power blackouts and restrictions, factory shutdowns, and a sharp drop in tourists have hit the world's most indebted nation.

Efforts to regain control of six reactors hit by the tsunami, which caused partial meltdowns to some reactor cores after fuel rods were overheated, has been hindered by 60,000 tonnes of radioactive water.

NISA said efforts to restore cooling systems were not making clear progress.

TEPCO wants to start moving some of the highly contaminated water out of the reactors and into a condenser, a key step toward restoring the critical cooling system.

"We may be able to use (electric) systems that are currently functioning for cooling, and that may speed up the cooling restoration. But there is no concrete and clear option," said NISA's Nishiyam
a.

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Ivory Coast: Ouattara Forces Commit Abuses, Human Rights

Ivory Coast — United Nations and French helicopters fired rockets on strongman Laurent Gbagbo's residence on Sunday in an assault the U.N. said was to retaliate for attacks by his forces on U.N. headquarters and civilians.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he had authorized the strikes, accusing Gbagbo of using heavy weapons against Ivory Coast civilians and the U.N. forces trying to protect them.

Residents from nearby neighborhoods reported seeing two U.N. Mi-24 attack helicopters and a French helicopter open fire on the residence, where Gbagbo is holed up in a bunker. The residents couldn't be named for fear of reprisal.

An Associated Press reporter saw the helicopters take off from the French military base followed minutes later by explosions coming from the direction of the residence. Successive waves of French helicopters took off from the base in the following hours and additional bombardments could be heard.

Gbagbo has been living in a bunker in his residence in Abidjan for nearly a week. After a decade in power, he refuses to step aside even though the United Nations has ruled that he lost the November presidential election to Alassane Ouattara.

Forces loyal to Gbagbo were encircled at the presidential residence earlier this week but broke out on Saturday, ambushing a patrol of soldiers loyal to his rival and advancing downtown.

Pro-Gbagbo forces also attacked U.N. headquarters on Saturday and again on Sunday.

In New York, a statement issued by the U.N. secretary-general accused Gbagbo and supporters of saying earlier in April that they were willing to negotiate an end to the crisis but that "they, in fact, used that time to regroup their forces and redeploy heavy weapons."

Since then, Ban said, Gbagbo's forces have attacked U.N. peacekeepers, civilians and the Golf Hotel where Ouattara is holed up.

Ban said he authorized U.N. units, with backing from French forces, to carry out attacks aimed at eliminating Gbagbo's heavy weapons.

He urged Gbagbo again "to step aside immediately" and turn the government over to Ouattara.

In Ivory Coast, U.N. spokesman Hamadoun Toure said: "This is in retaliation for a series of attacks for the last three or four days not only against (the U.N.) but also against the civilian population – often with heavy weapons."

Toure said Sunday's airstrikes targeted the presidential palace and Gbagbo's residence, as well as military bases where heavy weapons had been identified.

Gbagbo has lost control of virtually the entire country in the last two weeks as forces loyal to Ouattara have swept down from the north and west into the commercial capital. U.N. and French forces joined the effort last week, and a first round of U.N. and French airstrikes destroyed much of his arsenal of tanks, mortars and other heavy weapons.

In the wake of the onslaught, Gbagbo and his top military men were negotiating a surrender early last week that had raised expectations the four-month political standoff was nearing an end. But he continued to assert he would not give up power and was the legitimate president of Ivory Coast.

"I am concluding that Mr. Gbagbo has lost contact with reality," said the U.N. peacekeeping mission head, Choi Young-jin.

The United Nations said the Golf Hotel in Abidjan where Ouattara is based came under attack late Saturday and one peacekeeper was injured. Rockets and mortars landed on the hotel grounds shortly after U.N. forces came under attack nearby, said U.N. spokesman Toure. One peacekeeper was evacuated to a hospital with serious injuries, he said.

Massere Toure, a communications adviser for Ouattara, denied the hotel itself was targeted by the attack, which she said started when a patrol sent out from the hotel was ambushed by forces loyal to Gbagbo. Toure confirmed that stray bullets and at least one mortar landed on hotel grounds during the fighting.

Ouattara's forces have repeatedly said they do not want to kill Gbagbo, a move that would stoke the rage of supporters of the strongman, who won 46 percent of the vote in last year's election.

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Russia Plans Space Program Expansion And Moon Base By 2030: Reports

Russia is planning a massive increase in its space launches and may even build a base on the moon as part of a manned mission to Mars in the next two decades, according to reports.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday that his country's plans go well beyond transporting crews to the International Space Station. With a 2010-2011 space budget estimated at 200 billion rubles ($7.09 billion), Russia is the world's fourth-largest spender on space after U.S. space agency NASA, the European Space Agency and France

"Russia should not limit itself to the role of an international space ferryman. We need to increase our presence on the global space market," Putin is quoted as having said at his residence outside Moscow. The meeting was planned specifically to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's pioneering space flight.

Other reports cite official documents which claim a manned Russian mission to Mars could be possible in 2030 following the creation of a moon base. "Above all, we are talking about flights to the moon and the creation of a base close to its north pole where there is likely to be a source of water," read one of the documents, according to the Telegraph.

Russian scientists are also said to have touted the moon as a potential source of energy, saying it contains large reserves of helium 3, a sought-after isotope that may be the key to a new way of generating power.

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Missing AP Photographer Altaf Qadri Found Safe In Libya

An award-winning Associated Press photographer covering the conflict in Libya was located Sunday after being missing for more than a day, the news agency said.

Altaf Qadri was safe and unhurt, and was on his way back to the AP offices in Benghazi, according to John Daniszewski, the agency's senior managing editor for international news and photos.

Qadri became separated from his colleagues near the eastern Libyan city of Ajdabiya while on assignment Saturday, according to the AP.

"We're very pleased that he has emerged unharmed while covering the violence in the area," Daniszewski said. "We thank all the people around the world who offered good wishes for his safe return."

Qadri, 35, won a World Press Photo award this year for his poignant photograph of relatives mourning over the body of a man killed in a shooting by Indian police in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Qadri, an Indian citizen, is a native of the Kashmiri city of Srinagar. He studied science at Kashmir University and worked as a computer engineer before taking a job as a staff photographer at a local Kashmiri newspaper in 2001.

In 2003, he joined the European Press Photo Agency and covered the conflict in Kashmir. In 2008, he began working for The Associated Press in the Indian city of Amritsar. His work has appeared in magazines and newspapers around the world and has been exhibited in the United States, China, France and India.

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