UPI NewsTrack TopNews

Nov 09, 05:04 PM

Current Headlines: House arrest order against Bhutto lifted ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Pakistani officials Friday lifted the house arrest order for Benazir Bhutto following a daylong standoff with the former prime minister and her supporters.

The lifting of the order came as Pakistan experienced its first deadly explosion since President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency six days ago, CNN reported.

The attack, possibly a suicide bomb, occurred at the home of of Amir Muqam, the country's minister for political affairs, in Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan. Police said it killed four people, but the minister was not harmed, CNN said.

Police barricaded Bhutto in her Islamabad villa, preventing her from traveling to Rawalpindi to lead a rally against the government and its crackdown. Riot police reportedly beat Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party supporters when about 50 tried to cut through the cordons of barbed wire around her home.

Bhutto, speaking with a megaphone near the breach, told police, We are not the enemy; give us way.

Also Friday, the government took CNN and the BBC off air for a second time as part of a media blackout.

Georgian opposition tries for unity TBILISI, Georgia, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Ten opposition parties plan to unite behind a single candidate in the presidential elections now set for early January in Georgia.

President Mikheil Saakashvili gave in on elections Thursday after days of demonstrations in the capital. He said that voters on Jan. 5 will also decide whether to have early parliamentary elections.

Possible presidential contenders include Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burdzhanadze and former Foreign Minister Salome Zourabishvili, the Russian news agency Novosti reported. But Saakashvili appears to be betting that the opposition will not be able to coalesce around a candidate with enough popularity to be a serious challenger.

The president ended a state of emergency. He had been widely criticized by Russian and Western European leaders.

Kerik pleads innocent to charges WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Bernard Kerik, the ex-New York police commissioner, Friday said he was innocent to tax evasion, corruption and other charges in a 16-count federal indictment.

The indictment accused Kerik of accepting more than $250,000 in renovations to his apartment from a company allegedly linked to organized crime. Kerik, 52, pleaded not guilty to all charges at his arraignment in White Plains, N.Y., and was released on $500,000 bond, the Washington Post reported.

During a news conference to announce the indictment, Michael Garcia, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Kerik was breaking the very laws he was sworn to uphold.

The investigation of Kerik focused on gifts he allegedly accepted while he was first New York corrections chief and then police commissioner.

The indictment also said Kerik failed to report $500,000 in income to the IRS and falsely claimed tens of thousands in tax deductions over a six-year period. Prosecutors allege that he made numerous false statements on his application to become U.S. Homeland Security secretary.

Kerik was a one-time protege of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the front-running Republican presidential hopeful. Giuliani has called his sponsorship of Kerik a mistake.

EU border-free zone covers 9 more nations BRUSSELS, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- European Union ministers agreed nine member countries may join the bloc's border-free zone, meaning their nationals may travel without passports in the zone.

The states of central and eastern Europe, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, are to enter the EU's Schengen zone Dec. 21, when they will open their internal land and sea border check points, the EU Observer online reported Friday.

The nine EU countries, which joined the EU in 2004, are to open their air traffic borders in March.

The idea of a passport-free zone was born in Luxembourg's Schengen village in 1985, since when 15 countries have joined the club.

Next week, the European Parliament is to voice its opinion on the interior ministers' decision and all the 27 EU ministers are to meet again to formally approve it Dec. 6.

North Sea storm fails to cause major flood LONDON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Predictions of a 10-foot rise in sea level failed to materialize along England's East coast Friday and evacuated residents were allowed to return home.

More than 1,000 people in Norfolk spent Thursday night in emergency shelters after officials feared a North Sea storm would cause flooding from Humberside to Kent, The Telegraph reported.

When conditions did not turn out as bad as predicted, evacuated residents were permitted to return to their homes. But residents along the Lincolnshire coast were warned they were still at risk of a tidal surge late Friday afternoon or early evening.

Because of criticism over the handling of last summer's floods, local authorities were quick to warn some 7,500 residents.

Forecasters had said the storm could be on the same scale as one in 1953 that breached the dikes in the Netherlands and caused severe flooding in East Anglia, The Guardian reported. About 2,000 people died in both countries in that storm.

In London, the Thames River Barrier was closed.

Oil platforms in the North Sea were evacuated and ferry services to the Orkney and Shetland Islands were shut down.