IRAN: The Iranian government delivered a stern warning to the country's
opposition Saturday against further protests of the disputed
presidential election.
The opposition had called for more protests in Tehran and around the
world, a day after Iran's supreme leader said the reelection of
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad must be accepted. Witnesses (quoted by CNN and the French news agency) report
a heavy police presence at the site of a planned rally in the capital,
and the country's Security Council told defeated presidential candidate
Mir Hussein Mousavi he will be responsible for "consequences of illegal
rallies."
US-AFGHANISTAN: The U.S. military says a failure by American forces to follow proper rules likely resulted in at least 26 civilian deaths during a battle against Taliban militants in western Afghanistan. In a report issued Friday, the military says U.S. aircraft dropped bombs on buildings that may have contained civilians, as they targeted Taliban fighters in Farah province on May 4. U.S. officials say at least 78 militants were killed in the clash.
INDIA-US PLANE: Indian officials say a U.S. cargo plane carrying ammunition to Afghanistan was ordered to land in the Indian city of Mumbai after it violated the country's airspace. Airport officials told reporters the plane took off from Diego Garcia Island military base near Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, and was headed to the southern Afghan province of Kandahar. An Indian Air Force spokesman (T. K. Singha) told Press Trust India news agency the plane flew over western India late Friday without authorization.
AFGHANISTAN: Afghan officials say six civilians have been killed in a roadside bombing in western Afghanistan. A spokesman for the provincial governor (Mohammad Naqeeb Arween) said the attack took place late Friday in the Gozara district of Herat province. Officials say three women were among those killed when a bomb hit their vehicle. Also Friday, U.S. military officials said two U.S. troops were killed when a roadside bomb exploded in the southern part of the country. And the British Defense Ministry said a British soldier was killed in an explosion on the same day while on routine patrol near Lashkar Gah in Helmand province.
INDIA-KASHMIR: Schools, offices and shops were shut down in Indian-controlled Kashmir
Saturday to protest a visit to the disputed region by India's vice
president. Streets were deserted in Kashmir's main town of Srinagar, aside from
security forces on patrol. Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari is set to
attend a university event in the city later in the day. His visit comes amid three weeks of protests by Kashmiris who allege Indian forces raped and murdered two women last month.
Their bodies were found in a shallow stream in the town of Shopian (located south of Srinagar), and Indian officials initially said it appeared the women accidentally drowned.
