A suicide truck bomb exploded on the major al-Sarafiya bridge in Baghdad early Thursday, blowing a hole in the steel structure and sending cars toppling into the Tigris river below, police and witnesses said. At least six people were killed and 21 injured, according to hospital officials. That toll was expected to rise. Police were trying to rescue as many as 20 people whose cars plummeted into the waters below.
Strengthening a fragile detente, Japanese and Chinese leaders meeting in Tokyo pledged Wednesday to work together on North Korea, energy development and the environment, while defusing thorny disputes over history and territory. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is on the first visit to Japan by a Chinese leader in nearly seven years, building on a trip by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Beijing last year to salvage seriously damaged ties.
Brazil: Army asked to quell violence
Rio de Janeiro Gov. Sergio Cabral Filho has formally requested that the army intervene to contain the violence that has been spiraling out of control in Rio de Janeiro. Cabral made the request as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited the city. Offers of federal troops to help quell the violence were rejected under the previous governor, who was replaced Jan. 1. In December, a wave of violence in Rio de Janeiro left 19 people dead, including eight who were burned alive aboard a city bus.
A suicide car bomber struck a NATO convoy Wednesday in southern Afghanistan, wounding seven civilians, while a U.S.-led coalition airstrike killed 13 suspected militants, officials said. No NATO troops were injured in the suicide blast west of Kandahar city and one vehicle in the convoy was damaged, said Capt. Alex Watson, a Canadian military spokesman. Seven civilians were wounded in the explosion, said Esmatullah Alizai, Kandahar province’s police chief.
From Herald news services
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