Islamabad - Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Wednesday sacked the country's top security adviser, apparently for breaching protocol while making a statement on the nationality of the lone surviving Mumbai gunman.
National Security Adviser Mehmud Ali Durrani was quoted by several television news channels, including the India-based CNN-IBN, as saying that Ajmal Amir Qasab, the only attacker arrested in the Mumbai mayhem, was a Pakistani national.
Tel Aviv - A senior Hamas official in Gaza told an Israeli Website Wednesday that a ceasefire with Israel could be reached within 48 hours.
"In the light of all the diplomatic efforts ongoing right now, I am convinced we will succeed in finding a formula agreeable to both sides within 48 hours," Ahmed Yousef, a senior Hamas political figure and advisor to deposed prime minister Ismail Haniya, told the Ynet website.
Los Angeles - A mystery disease is striking California's huge flocks of pelicans, which are being found disoriented far from their usual habitat, and displaying extreme fatigue and bruising inside their beaks, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
Bird rescuers suspect that fatal algae toxins may be responsible for the scourge, but the birds do not display many of the symptoms associated with those toxins, which normally occur in the summer.
New York - The search for a sustainable Israel-Hamas ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was emerging as countries engaged in resolving the conflict were reaching a consensus, a United Nations official said Wednesday.
"It seems that the elements for a way out of this crisis are emerging, but more work needs to be done quickly to flesh out a package and secure a buy-in of the crucial players," Robert Serry, the UN coordinator for the Middle East peace process said at UN headquarters in New York.
Tel Aviv - Israel will send a top official to Cairo to discuss the details of a French-Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, local media reported Wednesday.
Earlier, Israeli officials said the Jewish State welcomed the proposal, announced by Egypt President Hosny Mubarak at a press conference the night before with French leader Nicolas Sarkozy.
New York - UN Secretary General 
Islamabad - Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Wednesday sacked the country's top security adviser, apparently for breaching protocol while making a statement on the nationality of the lone surviving Mumbai gunman.
Tel Aviv - A senior Hamas official in Gaza told an Israeli Website Wednesday that a ceasefire with Israel could be reached within 48 hours.
Los Angeles - A mystery disease is striking California's huge flocks of pelicans, which are being found disoriented far from their usual habitat, and displaying extreme fatigue and bruising inside their beaks, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
New York - The search for a sustainable Israel-Hamas ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was emerging as countries engaged in resolving the conflict were reaching a consensus, a United Nations official said Wednesday.
Tel Aviv - Israel will send a top official to Cairo to discuss the details of a French-Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, local media reported Wednesday.
