Grounded cargo ship breaks apart
A cargo ship grounded off the New Zealand coast since October has split into two pieces after being lashed by pounding seas, spilling sea containers and debris and sparking fears a fresh oil spill could wash ashore, maritime officials said today.
The officials said the front section of the wreck remains stuck in its original position, but the stern section has broken off, has slipped at least 100 feet away from the bow and is "moving significantly," pounded by 19-foot swells.
Oil cleanup teams had "been activated to respond to the potential release of oil from the ship and to treat any affected wildlife," Maritime New Zealand said in a statement.
Former Pakistani leader Musharraf faces arrest
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf will be arrested in connection with the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto if he returns to the country, a government prosecutor said Saturday.
There is no need for any "fresh arrest warrants" for him as a court has already issued orders for his arrest, prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali told reporters.
Hours earlier, Musharraf told a Pakistani news channel that he would come back later this month to contest the next parliamentary elections, which could be held later this year. Musharraf has been living in London and Dubai since 2008.
Nigerian Muslim sect kills 15 Christians
A radical Muslim sect attacked a church worship service in Nigeria's northeast during assaults that killed at least 15 people, authorities said Saturday, as Christians vowed to defend themselves from the group's widening sectarian fight against the country's government.
The attacks by the sect known as Boko Haram came after it promised to kill Christians living in Nigeria's largely Muslim north, exploiting long-standing religious and ethnic tensions in the nation of more than 160 million people. The pledge by the leader of an umbrella organization called the Christian Association of Nigeria now raises the possibility of retaliatory violence.
Sudanese president offers help to Libya
The Sudanese president, for years an adversary of Moammar Gadhafi, offered his nation's help Saturday in disarming Libya's former rebel fighters and integrating them into the army and police forces — one of the trickiest problem's facing Libya's new leaders.
The proposal from Omar al-Bashir, who has been charged with crimes against humanity for atrocities committed in Darfur, triggered outrage from Amnesty International.
"We have good experience in integrating insurgents and entering them into the armed forces or the police," al-Bashir said at a news conference with Libyan officials. "Our officers are ready at any time."
From wire reports
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