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Violence breaks out again between hindus and christians

By Times Wires
Published December 28, 2007

India

Hindu extremists attacked village churches and burned down the home of a prominent Christian politician Thursday, officials said.

Gangs of Hindus and Christians defied a curfew imposed after two days of attacks by Hindu hard-liners. Local police have been unsuccessful in halting the attacks and the federal government announced it was sending in a paramilitary force.

A mob of Hindus torched the house of Radhakant Nayak, a member of the Indian parliament's upper house and a Christian leader in the area, Nayak told the CNN-IBN news channel.

Superintendent of Police Narsingh Bhol said several churches and prayer houses were ransacked in the Kandhamal district of Orissa state area and some were set on fire. He could not give an exact number.

There were conflicting reports of what sparked the attacks on the churches in the rural district of Kandhamal. Each side blamed the other.

North Korea

Deadline to declare nuclear activity likely will be missed

North Korea is likely to miss a year-end deadline to declare all its nuclear activities and disable its main nuclear site, the South Korean foreign minister said Thursday.

The comment by the foreign minister, Song Min-soon, came a day after North Korea warned that it would slow work to disable its main nuclear complex at Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang, because of delays in deliveries of aid.

Delays are a regular feature of implementing any deal with North Korea but the latest setback will create fresh doubt about an agreement previously seen as one of the few diplomatic successes of the Bush administration.

In agreements struck in February and fine-tuned in October, North Korea promised to disable its Yongbyon nuclear facilities and give a complete declaration of all its nuclear programs by the end of the year in return for fuel and other aid.

Elsewhere

Colombia: Police have arrested two suspects in the fatal shooting a North Carolina woman earlier this month during a botched robbery in northern Colombia, authorities said Thursday. Jean Cuddy Oviedo, 37, was on vacation with her Colombian husband and three children.

Indonesia: At least 87 people were dead or missing, and tens of thousands have been forced from their homes after landslides and floods caused by torrential rains on Java island. Hundreds of police, soldiers and residents were digging through the debris with their bare hands, shovels and hoes.

Australia: Convicted terror supporter David Hicks will walk free Saturday after being held captive in Guantanamo Bay and Australia for nearly seven years, though the Australian government has imposed strict controls on his movements. Hicks became the first person convicted at a U.S. war-crimes trial since World War II when he pleaded guilty in March to providing material support to al-Qaida.

Times wires

[Last modified December 28, 2007, 01:20:02]