The world in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I fear that cutting the Internet may be a prelude to a massacre in Damascus.”

Adib Shishakly,

a Syrian opposition figure from Cairo Article, 1APakistani warlord wounded in attack

ISLAMABAD - A Pakistani militant commander who directs attacks against U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan was wounded in a suicide attack that killed six other people Thursday, Pakistani officials said.

It was not clear how badly Maulvi Nazir, considered the main Taliban warlord in South Waziristan, had been hurt in the blast, which occurred in the region’s main town, Wana.

A senior Pakistani official based in Wana said that Nazir was making a telephone call from a public facility in the main bazaar when a teenage boy riding an explosives-laden motorcycle crashed into his parked jeep.

Six people died immediately and nine were wounded, he said.

The official said that Nazir, thought to be in his late 30s, suffered minor leg injuries.

But a local Taliban militant suggested that the injury may have been more serious.

Jet-crash verdicts reversed in France

VERSAILLES, France - A French appeals court Thursday overturned manslaughter convictions against Continental Airlines and a mechanic in the 2000 crash of an Air France Concorde that killed 113 people.

The crash hastened the end for the already-faltering supersonic Concorde.

In the accident, which occurred July 25, 2000, the jet crashed into a hotel near Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport soon after takeoff, killing all 109 people aboard and four on the ground.

A mistake made weeks earlier and thousands of miles away by a Continental mechanic in Houston played a crucial role in the crash, the court found.

According to the original ruling, mechanic John Taylor fitted the wrong metal strip on a Continental DC-10. The piece ultimately fell off on the runway in Paris, puncturing the Concorde’s tire. The burst tire sent bits of rubber flying, puncturing the fuel tanks, which started the fire that brought down the plane.

Congo rebels say

pullout on track

GOMA, Congo - Rebels who last week seized Goma, one of the most important cities in eastern Congo, said they had pulled back slightly and were on track to leave the city by today, in accordance with a deadline imposed by the international community.

The apparent withdrawal of the M23 rebels indicates that international pressure may have succeeded in reversing the rebel advance and staved off what could have been the start of a new war between Congo and its much smaller and more affluent neighbor, Rwanda.

The M23 rebels are widely believed to be financially and militarily backed by Rwanda, which is accused of using rebel groups to gain access to the mines of eastern Congo.

Front Section, Pages 6 on 11/30/2012

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