CENTRAL ASIA

KARZAI SWEARS IN AFGHAN CABINET

KABUL, Afghanistan – President Karzai swore in 20 members of his new Cabinet in Afghanistan’s latest step toward democracy, as a top NATO commander warned of stiff security challenges ahead from an eruption of suicide attacks by Taliban militants.

In the latest assault, an attacker detonated his bomb-rigged car near a Canadian military convoy 15 miles northeast of the capital Kabul on Tuesday, killing an Afghan bystander driving a horse cart. There were no coalition casualties, officials said.

Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, who regularly releases statements on behalf of the Taliban, said a member of the extremist group carried out the bombing, the fifth suicide attack in Afghanistan in three days.

The ceremony follows an April 20 vote by parliament to approve most of Mr. Karzai’s choices for key ministries. That ballot was the first by lawmakers to endorse a Cabinet following landmark general elections last year. Five of Mr. Karzai’s nominees, including the incumbent information and economy ministers and the sole woman, were rejected.

President Bush called Mr. Karzai to congratulate him on the approval of his choices for top ministries in the historic Cabinet vote. The White House press secretary, Scott McClellan, said they also talked about the Afghan economy, relations with Pakistan, and the security situation in Afghanistan.

– Associated Press

SOUTH ASIA

NEPAL’S CABINET DECLARES CEASE-FIRE WITH MAOISTS

KATMANDU, Nepal – Nepal’s new Cabinet sought yesterday to end a bloody decade-old Maoist insurgency that has killed 13,000 people in this Himalayan kingdom, matching the rebels’ cease-fire declaration and saying the government will no longer label them “terrorists.”

It was a dramatic turn for the rebels, who appear headed for a role in the political mainstream after joining with a seven-party alliance in a campaign of street protests that forced King Gyandendra to relinquish power last week.

Deputy Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli urged the rebels to join peace talks and said all terrorism-related charges against them will be dropped. The government will also ask Interpol to quash international arrest warrants for the Maoists’ leaders. He noted the alliance already has met a key rebel demand by committing to write a new constitution, which is expected to strip the monarchy of most of its powers, including control of the military. The king had seized absolute power in February 2005, citing the government’s failure to quell the insurgency.

There was no immediate response from the rebels. But in a worrying sign, the Maoist leader, Prachanda, already has criticized squabbling over Cabinet posts among the alliance, which led three weeks of protests against the king. He also said the legislature is not up to the tasks at hand – negotiating peace, rejuvenating the economy, mounting the election of a constitutional assembly and investigating the security force crackdown on demonstrators.

Before the Cabinet made its announcements, America’s Assistant Secretary of State, Richard Boucher, said Washington was not ready to drop the Maoists from its list of terror groups.

– Associated Press

EAST AFRICA

BOY PUBLICLY EXECUTES THE MAN WHO KILLED HIS FATHER

NAIROBI,Kenya – A boy of 16 stabbed to death the man who killed his father in a public execution ordered by an Islamic sharia court in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.

Several hundred people gathered in a schoolyard to watch Mohamed Moallim kill Omar Hussein with repeated blows with a knife to his head, throat, and neck. Hussein had been found guilty of killing the boy’s father, a teacher, in the same way after an argument over his son’s schooling. He was sentenced to death by the court in the city’s Bermuda district two months ago.

“I am happy now because I killed the man who killed my father,” Mohamed said calmly after Tuesday’s execution, which is believed to be one of the first in recent years in Mogadishu.

– The Daily Telegraph