ALGIERS, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - A gas explosion in an old house in eastern Algeria killed six people and injured another eight Saturday, emergency services said.

The blast levelled the two-storey building in an old quarter of Annaba, 600 kilometres (375 miles) east of Algiers, killing two women, one of them pregnant, a man and three children.

One of the eight injured was in serious condition, the emergency services added.

BEIJING, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - At least 16 people were killed and 15 injured in a massive explosion at a fireworks factory in southwestern China that also levelled nearby houses, state media reported on Monday.

One person was also missing after the blast which occurred Sunday morning in a remote county of Chongqing municipality, Xinhua news agency said, citing local government sources.

The force of the blast levelled several houses nearby and casualties could rise further as rescuers search through the rubble, the report said.

MANILA, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - FBI and Australian investigators were Monday helping Philippine detectives investigate a bomb attack on a Manila shopping mall which left 11 dead, police said.

Other international forensic experts have also been called in to assist with the probe of Friday's bombing of the Glorietta mall in the Makati financial district, Manila police chief Director Geary Barias said.

MANILA, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - The toll from a deadly bomb blast in a Manila shopping mall has risen to 11 after another body was found in rubble at the ravaged building and an injured man died in hospital, officials said Sunday.

A 23 year-old woman was found buried in the basement of the Glorietta shopping mall in Manila's financial district of Makati late Saturday, said councillor Jun-jun Binay who is overseeing the recovery efforts.

QUETTA, Oct 20, 2007 (AFP) - At least seven people were killed and six others injured Saturday when a bomb exploded in south western Baluchistan province, police said.

'There was a bomb explosion in the main bazaar and seven people were killed and six are wounded,' local police officer Hazoor Baksh told AFP.

The blast happened in the town of Dera Bugti.

MANILA, Oct 20, 2007 (AFP) - Military explosives were used in a huge bomb blast at a Manila shopping mall that left nine dead and 113 injured, Philippine police said Saturday.

Evidence collected from the Glorietta mall blast site indicates that the bomb 'contained RDX, the main chemical component of C4,' the police said in a report to President Gloria Arroyo.

In the Philippines C4 explosive is only used by the military.

The report was delivered at a top-level security meeting between the President and her security advisers at police headquarters in Manila.

KIEV, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - The death toll from a natural gas blast that destroyed a 10-storey building in eastern Ukraine last week now stands at 23, the government announced on Friday.

Earlier in the day the government had reported 21 dead and at least four missing from the blast.

The victims, all identified, were killed instantly during the explosion in the city of Dnipropetrovsk last Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Andriy Klyuyev said, according to the Interfax news agency.

MANILA, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - A huge bomb ripped through a shopping mall in the Philippine capital's financial district Friday, killing eight people and wounding 70, police and rescue workers said.

Panicked shoppers ran out of the Glorietta mall in the Makati district of Manila as smoke billowed out of the building shortly after noon.

Manila police chief Geary Barias said the blast killed eight people and wounded at least 70 others.

'There may be more people inside,' he told reporters.

KIEV, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - The death toll from a natural gas blast that destroyed a 10-storey building in eastern Ukraine last week now stands at 21, the emergency situations Ministry said Friday.

'Twenty one people died, including seven children,' the ministry said in a statement.

Another 17 people are being treated in hospital and at least four are still missing, the ministry said.

The explosion in the city of Dnipropetrovsk on October 13 was caused by a malfunction in the gas supply system, local gas provider Dniprogaz said.

MANILA, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - The death toll from a massive bomb blast Friday at a Manila shopping mall rose to eight with at least 70 others injured, police said.

'There may be more people inside,' said Manila police chief Geary Barias, who released the updated toll.

'The ceilings are damaged and may collapse.'

Bomb debris carpeted a 200 square metre (2,153 square foot) area, he added.

MANILA, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - A bomb ripped through a shopping mall in the Philippines capital's financial district Friday, killing four people, police and rescue workers said.

Panicked shoppers ran out of the Glorietta mall in the Makati district of Manila as smoke billowed out of the building and police rushed in.

A member of the rescue teams inside the mall told AFP four people have been confirmed dead. Local television said at least 45 other people were injured.

Police initially blamed the noon time blast on a gas leak at a restaurant inside the mall.

MANILA, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - An explosion that killed four people at a shopping mall in the Philippine capital on Friday was 'probably caused by a bomb,' national police chief Avelino Razon told AFP.

Police initially blamed the noon time blast on a gas leak at a restaurant inside the Glorietta mall in Manila's financial district Makati.

However, Razon said: 'From our assessment this is not what was initially reported as LPG (liquefied petroleum gas).

MANILA, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - Three people were killed in the Philippine capital on Friday when a fuel tank explosion ripped through a shopping mall in the financial district of Makati, police said.

Panicked noontime shoppers ran out of the Glorietta mall as smoke billowed out of the building and police rushed in to investigate, witnesses said.

'Our initial report is that it was an accidental explosion of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas),' said Manila police chief Geary Barias.

He said the gas tank apparently exploded at a restaurant inside the mall.

MANILA, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - An explosion apparently caused by a fuel tank ripped through an upscale shopping mall in the main Philippine financial district of Makati in the capital Manila on Friday, police said.

Panicked shoppers ran out of the Glorietta mall as smoke billowed out of the building and police rushed in to investigate, witnesses said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

WASHINGTON, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - World leaders condemned the bombings targeting former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto that killed at least 125 people, and urged the country to pull together in the face of the tragedy.

The United States, which counts Pakistan as a valuable ally in its 'war on terror,' said the blasts aimed to stifle freedom in the country but should not be allowed to derail pending elections.

SYDNEY, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Friday that bombings in Pakistan which killed at least 125 people were likely the work of Al-Al Qaeda.

Howard, a staunch ally of US President George W. Bush with troops deployed in both Iraq and Afghanistan, said Al-Al Qaeda could have targeted former prime minister Benazir Bhutto because of her support for the US 'war on terror.'

Bhutto narrowly the twin blasts which ripped through the surging crowds for her emotional homecoming parade in Karachi, also injuring hundreds.

DNIPROPETROVSK, Ukraine, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - The death toll from a natural gas blast that destroyed a 10-storey building in eastern Ukraine now stands at 15, the ex-Soviet republic's president, Viktor Yushchenko, said Monday.

'Fifteen people died,' Yushchenko said in a statement. He also declared Tuesday a national day of mourning.

The explosion in the city of Dnipropetrovsk on Saturday was blamed on a sudden and still unexplained rise in gas pressure. The blast tore apart a section of the apartment building.

AMRITSAR, India, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - Indian police said on Monday that an explosion that killed six people and injured 32 in a packed cinema hall in northern India was a 'terrorist' bombing.

Hundreds of people -- mainly poor migrant workers -- were crammed into the theatre in the industrial city of Ludhiana in Punjab state to watch Sunday's late-night screening of a new Bollywood comedy.

'It was a bomb blast. It is a terror act. We are trying to find out the exact nature of explosives used,' said a senior police official on condition of anonymity.

AMRITSAR, India, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - At least six people were killed and 30 others injured Sunday in a suspected bomb attack in a packed cinema hall in northern India, police and witnesses said.

The explosion happened as hundreds of people -- mainly poor migrant workers -- were crammed into a theatre in the industrial city of Ludhiana in northern Punjab state to watch the late-night screening of a new Bollywood comedy.

Police officials in Amritsar, the main city in Punjab, put the toll at six dead and around 30 injured, many of them seriously.

AMRITSAR, India, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - At least six people were killed and dozens injured Sunday in a suspected bomb attack in a packed cinema hall in northern India, police and witnesses said.

There were scenes of panic after the explosion, which happened as hundreds of people were crammed into a theatre to watch the late-night screening of a newly-released Bollywood comedy.

AMRITSAR, India, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - At least five people were killed and scores injured Sunday in a suspected bomb attack in a packed cinema hall in northern India, police and eyewitnesses said.

There were scenes of panic after the explosion, which happened as hundreds of people were watching a late-night screening of a newly-released Bollywood comedy.

The apparent attack took place in the industrial city of Ludhiana in northern Punjab state. Police officials in Amritsar, the main city in Punjab, put the toll at five dead and scores more injured.

NEW DELHI, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - At least three people were killed and scores injured in a blast Sunday in a cinema hall packed with spectators in northern India, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

Scores of people were injured in the explosion and police were trying to evacuate panic-stricken spectators from the theatre in northern Punjab state, the Hindi news channel Aaj Tak reported.

It said the explosion took place during a screening of a new Bollywood comedy.

Witnesses reported hearing a loud explosion, reports said.

DNIPROPETROVSK, Ukraine, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - Rescue workers continued to search the rubble Sunday after a natural gas explosion in eastern Ukraine killed between 10 and 13 people and tore apart a 10-storey apartment building.

The rescuers aided by sniffer dogs continued their search for survivors of Saturday's blast in the city of Dnipropetrovsk, as uncertainty surrounded the exact death toll.

ANKARA, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - Two shepherd boys aged 13 and 14 were killed Sunday by an explosive device they had found in eastern Turkey, Anatolia news agency reported.

The teenagers had found the device on waste land near their village of Erhaci, close to the border with Armenia. They were killed instantly when the device went off as they were handling it.

It was not known what kind of device was involved.

There has been sporadic violence in the zone between Turkish security forces and Kurdish separatists.

DNIPROPETROVSK, Ukraine, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - Between 10 and 13 people were killed in a natural gas explosion that destroyed much of a 10-storey apartment building in eastern Ukraine, officials said Sunday.

Amid contradictory reports on the toll from Saturday's blast in the city of Dnipropetrovsk, rescuers aided by sniffer dogs continued to pick through rubble in hope of finding survivors.

DNIPROPETROVSK, Ukraine, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - Thirteen people were killed and 23 others injured in a natural gas explosion at an apartment building in eastern Ukraine, said Emergency Situations Ministry Sunday, Interfax reported.

The ministry earlier told AFP that 11 people had died in Saturday's incident in the city of Dnipropetrovsk.

One more body was later discovered under the rubble and another person died in hospital, according to a revised toll from the ministry, Interfax reported.

DNIPROPETROVSK, Ukraine, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - At least 13 people were killed and 23 others injured in a gas explosion in an apartment building in eastern Ukraine, the emergency situations ministry said Sunday.

The previous toll of nine rose after rescuers found two more bodies in the remains of the building that was partially destroyed in the blast in the city of Dnipropetrovsk on Saturday.

The two bodies could not immediately be removed from the building, said the regional branch of the ministry.

DNIPROPETROVSK, Ukraine, Oct 13, 2007 (AFP) - At least 11 people were killed and 23 others injured on Saturday in a natural gas explosion in an apartment building in eastern Ukraine, the emergency situations ministry said.

The previous toll of nine rose after rescuers found two more bodies in the remains of the building that was partially destroyed in the blast in the city of Dnipropetrovsk.

The two bodies could not yet be taken out of the building, according to the regional branch of the ministry.

DNIPROPETROVSK, Ukraine, Oct 13, 2007 (AFP) - At least nine people were killed and 23 injured on Saturday in a natural gas blast in an apartment building in eastern Ukraine, the emergency situations ministry said.

Rescuers found the bodies in the remains of the 10-storey building that was partially destroyed in the explosion in the city of Dnipropetrovsk.

'Nine bodies were discovered in the debris,' the ministry said in a statement.

Twenty-three others, including six children, were hospitalised.

DNIPROPETROVSK, Ukraine, Oct 13, 2007 (AFP) - Nine people were feared killed Saturday in a natural gas blast that partly destroyed an apartment building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk, rescuers on the ground told AFP.

Rescuers and Ukraine's Kanal 5 television said that nine people were believed dead, while 21 others had been hospitalised, including six children.

The blast tore the roof off the 10-storey building and collapsed the middle section.

DNIPROPETROVSK, Ukraine, Oct 13, 2007 (AFP) - At least six people died Saturday when a suspected gas blast partly destroyed an apartment building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk, rescuers on the ground told AFP.

'Six bodies have been found in the rubble, according to preliminary information,' Olexander Dmyterko, a spokesman for the Emergency Situations Ministry, told AFP.

'A section in the middle of the building has collapsed completely,' he said.

Early reports described the building as nine storeys, but Dmyterko said it was 10.

DNIPROPETROVSK, Ukraine, Oct 13, 2007 (AFP) - As many as six people were feared dead Saturday after a gas blast partly destroyed a nine-storey apartment building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk, rescuers on the ground told AFP.

Rescue workers at the building said that 'six people' died, but the reports were not immediately confirmed.

Emergency services could be seen evacuating panicking residents from the remaining part of the building.

DNIPROPETROVSK, Ukraine, Oct 13, 2007 (AFP) - A suspected gas blast partly destroyed a nine-storey apartment building Saturday in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk, a AFP correspondent at the scene said. It was not clear whether there were victims.

Emergency services could be seen evacuating panicking residents from the remaining part of the building.

The blast at 11:00 am (0800 GMT) collapsed part of the residential building and shattered windows of neighbouring buildings.

KABUL, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - A bomb exploded Friday near a packed mosque in southern Afghanistan, killing at least two people, as the war-weary nation marked the start of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, officials said.

The blast occurred as hundreds gathered for prayers at the mosque in Gereshk district of volatile southern Helmand province, officials said.

A spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said four people were killed in the blast, but a provincial police commander put the toll at two.

KABUL, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - A bomb exploded near a mosque in southern Afghanistan on Friday, killing at least two people as the war-weary nation marked the start of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, officials said.

The blast occurred as hundreds gathered for prayers at the mosque in Gereshk district of volatile southern Helmand province, officials said.

A spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said four people were killed in the blast, but a provincial police commander put the toll at two.

KABUL, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - A bomb exploded Friday in southern Afghanistan, killing four people, near a mosque packed with hundreds of worshippers marking the start of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, the NATO-led force said.

A NATO-led military spokesman said several others were wounded in the blast in Gereshk district of Helmand province.

A local police commander however put the toll at two dead.

JODHPUR, India, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - A Bangladeshi national was among several men being questioned Friday in connection with the bombing of one of India's holiest Islamic shrines that left two dead, police said.

'One Bangladeshi and five others are being questioned,' a senior police official said on condition of anonymity.

No charges had been brought against the suspects, who were detained after a handbag containing a mobile phone was recovered from the blast site in the northern pilgrimage town of Ajmer in Rajasthan state.

JODHPUR, India, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Three worshippers died and 18 others were wounded in a bomb attack Thursday at one of India's most revered Islamic shrines in the northern state of Rajasthan, police said.

India sounded a nationwide alert after the attack, with some officials pointing the finger at hardline Muslim militants allegedly backed by neighbour and arch-rival Pakistan.

'It was a low intensity explosion. Preliminary information suggests a lunch box appeared to be packed with something which exploded,' Rajasthan's home minister, Gulabchand Kataria, told AFP.

JODHPUR, India, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - The death toll from a blast at one of India's most revered Muslim shrines in the northern state of Rajasthan rose to three Thursday as a worshipper succumbed to his injuries, police said.

Eighteen others have been hospitalised with injuries after the blast outside the Dargah Sharif, or holy Dargah, in the state's pilgrimage town of Ajmer, Police Inspector-General Nand Kishore told AFP.

JODHPUR, India, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Two worshippers were killed and nearly a dozen injured Thursday in a bomb attack near one of India's most revered Islamic shrines in the northern state of Rajasthan, officials said.

India sounded a nationwide alert after the attack, with some officials pointing the finger at hardline Muslim militants allegedly backed by neighbouring Pakistan.

'It was a low intensity explosion. Preliminary information suggests a lunch box appeared to be packed with something which exploded,' Rajasthan's home minister, Gulabchand Kataria, told AFP.