Nigerian unions end strike

Nigerian unions end strike

NIGERIA: Nigeria's trade unions called off on Tuesday a week-long general strike over fuel prices, which had raised tensions in Africa's most populous country just days before the arrival of U.S. President George W. Bush.

But they said President Olusegun Obasanjo, who left on Tuesday for an African summit in Mozambique, must order an investigation into "the murder of innocent and defenseless Nigerians by the police" after a union leader accused police of killing at least 10 demonstrators in Lagos.

The violence has cast a shadow over Bush's scheduled visit on Saturday to the country of more than 120 million people, which is a major supplier of oil to the United States.

The leaders of the umbrella Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said in a statement after an all-night meeting they were ending the strike to ease the suffering of ordinary Nigerians.

It said a compromise deal had been struck with the government to increase the fuel price from the previous level of 26 naira (20 U.S. cents) a liter to 34 naira, rather than the 40 naira originally announced. -- Reuters

;REUTERS;ANJ; ANPAi..r.. SPACE-MARS Finally, NASA sends Mars Rover on its way JP/12/ATW

Finally, NASA sends Mars Rover on its way

UNITED STATES: Despite a late glitch that stopped the countdown at seven seconds, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) managed to launch its latest Mars mission successfully on Monday after fixing the problem and resetting the clock.

The liftoff ended almost two weeks of frustrating delays for the space agency. Engineers had to scramble to diagnose a problem with a pressure valve on the first stage of the Delta 2 rocket in order to get the rocket off at 11:18 p.m. EDT (9:18 a.m. on Tuesday in Jakarta), 43 minutes late.

When the six-wheeled Mars Expedition Rover Opportunity reaches the Red Planet, it will scour the surface for signs that could point toward ancient life.

Already speeding toward Mars is the first of the twin rovers, named Spirit, which launched on June 10.

But the Delta rocket holding Opportunity had been idled since June 25 by scheduling and technical problems, bad weather, and even an errant fishing boat in restricted waters near the launch site.

The US$400 million mission finally got away in spectacular fashion, streaking across the night sky over Florida like a massive fireball, lighting up the beaches below. -- Reuters

;REUTERS;ANJ; ANPAi..r.. AFGHAN-PAKISTAN (UPDATE 4, PICTURE) Afghan leader condemns Pakistan embassy attack JP/12/ATW

Karzai condemns Pakistan embassy attack

AFGHANISTAN: Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned a raid on the Pakistan embassy on Tuesday by demonstrators angry about an alleged Pakistani incursion, and apologized to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

Pakistan lodged a formal protest with the Afghan government after the attack and accused Afghan security forces of allowing protesters to ransack the embassy. No one was hurt in the violence.

"I strongly, strongly, strongly condemn this action," Karzai told a news conference.

"Those who committed this act are not the enemies of Pakistan. They are the enemies of Afghanistan, peace in Afghanistan. They are enemies of friendship between Afghanistan and Pakistan."

The Afghan Foreign Ministry said it would pay compensation for the damage and guarantee the mission's security. -- Reuters

;AFP;ANJ; ANPAi..r.. Peru sched-lead Peruvian police question top Shining Path leader JP/12/ATW

Police question top rebel leader

PERU: Police on Monday interrogated one of the last top original leaders of Peru's feared Shining Path insurgency, captured over the weekend after a lengthy police operation.

Florentino Cerron Cardoso, 43, also known as "Comrade Marcelo," is accused of 122 murders, 92 terrorist attacks and other armed incidents, including arson, said Gen. Marco Miyashiro, chief of Peru's anti-terrorism police force.

Cerron, 43, made a living selling exotic flowers. He was arrested peacefully with his wife on Saturday in the central Andean city of Huancayo, 300 kilometers (186 miles) east of Lima, Miyashiro said.

Cerron was a member of the Shining Path's central organizing committee. He appeared in a video seized in 1986 at a Shining Path hideout of a wedding attended by several rebel leaders.

The video -- a key tool for authorities trying to identify leaders of the secretive group -- is referred to as "Zorba the Greek" because in it the group's legendary leader, Abimael Guzman, is seen dancing to the film's theme music.

The Shining Path waged a bloody war against the Peruvian state starting in 1980.

Up to 60,000 people were killed in political violence between 1980 and 2000 in fighting between the government, the Shining Path and the smaller pro-Cuban Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, the head of the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission said in June. -- AFP