Pakistan
Crackdown on militants eases tension with India
India on Monday welcomed a Pakistani government crackdown on militants suspected in a suicide attack on India's Parliament and opened the door to high-level talks that could defuse tensions between the nuclear neighbors.
It was the first sign of a diplomatic breakthrough after two weeks of military buildups and exchanges of threats of war. The two nations have massed tens of thousands of troops, heavy artillery and ballistic missiles along their 1,800-mile-long border in their largest military deployment in 15 years.
Pakistani authorities Monday arrested Hafiz Saeed, the longtime leader of Lashkar-i-Taiba (Urdu for "Army of the Pious"), one of the two groups that India has accused in the Dec. 13 attack on its Parliament. He was charged with making inflammatory speeches and inciting people to violence. Pakistani officials said they also arrested about 25 members of Lashkar and the other group, Jaish-i-Mohammed ("Soldiers of Mohammed"), in Karachi.
Peru
Police confiscate tons of fireworks
Police on Monday combed through downtown Lima for fireworks, lugging away crate after crate of Roman candles, bottle rockets and firecrackers in hopes of averting a disaster like the inferno that killed nearly 300 people over the weekend.
The seizures followed the deadliest fire in Peru's history, which occurred Saturday night in an area of historic downtown Lima.
Lima Fire Chief Tulio Nicolini said the blaze began after sparks from a firecracker, lit apparently as a demonstration, ignited others on fireworks stands nearby.
About 40 tons of fireworks had been stashed in the congested neighborhood, the mayor's office said. It was not clear how much went off in the fire.
The death toll reached 290 Monday afternoon.
Argentina
Congressional leader sworn in as president
A congressional leader took over as the fourth president in two weeks Monday as Argentina struggled with a deep economic and political crisis. Tempers flared earlier as angry Argentines lined up at banks and riot police cordoned off Government Palace.
House leader Eduardo Camano who was likely to lead the executive branch only for a matter of hours became the next in line of succession after Adolfo Rodriguez Saa ditched his week-old caretaker presidency on Sunday, complaining that powerful members of his Peronist Party had let his government crumble as he tried to confront a devastating financial crisis.
A Peronist political leader, Buenos Aires provincial Sen. Eduardo Duhalde, was heavily favored by lawmakers to take over as interim president in a congressional session set to begin this afternoon.
China
Explosions kill 18 in fireworks factories
Explosions at two Chinese fireworks factories killed a total of 18 people and injured 85 others, state media said Monday.
The deaths came as China's fireworks industry, where fatal accidents are common, steps up production for lunar new year festivities. Chinese set off millions of firecrackers on the holiday, which this year begins Feb. 12.
In the second disaster, a series of seven or eight explosions Sunday ripped apart a rural factory in Jiangxi province, killing nine people and injuring 60, news reports said. The area is about 800 miles south of Beijing.
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