Jailbreak plan foiled in Pakistan , 97 arrested
Reuters, Islamabad
Pakistan has arrested 97 al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militants, including three commanders, in the southern city of Karachi and foiled a planned attack to break U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl’s killer out of jail, the army said on Friday.
The men are accused of involvement in major attacks on two Pakistani air bases, the Karachi airport, several regional intelligence headquarters and on police installations between 2009 and 2015, the military said.
US denies navy patrols plan with India
Reuters, Washington
There are currently no plans for joint naval patrols by the United States and India, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that the United States and India had held talks about conducting joint naval patrols, quoting a U.S. defense official saying they could include the disputed South China Sea, a move that would likely anger China, which claims most of the waterway.
49 dead in Mexico prison battle
AFP, Monterrey
Inmates armed with bats and blades brawled and ignited a fire in a packed prison in northern Mexico on Thursday, leaving 49 dead in the bloodiest jailhouse riot in years.
Twelve others were injured during the “pitched battle” that lasted 30 to 40 minutes at the Topo Chico prison in the industrial city of Monterrey, said Nuevo Leon state Governor Jaime Rodriguez. The fight erupted following a dispute over control of the prison between two rival members of the Zetas drug cartel, Rodriguez said.
California gas leak under control
AFP, Los Angeles
A massive gas leak near Los Angeles that forced thousands from their homes for months was brought under control on Thursday, a utility official said.
The methane leak, the biggest in California’s history, has been deemed an environmental disaster by several outside experts. More than 4,500 families living in the affluent Porter Ranch area were forced to relocate after the leak was detected in October as residents reported getting ill from the noxious fumes spewing out of a damaged pipe.
