Dozens of stone-throwing Muslim youths set fire to shops in the Pakistani city of Karachi today as sectarian unrest rumbled on despite a citywide shutdown called by a hardline Islamic alliance to protest against violence that has left 12 dead this week.

Rescue workers have recovered at least 80 bodies from surging waters in a remote south-west province of Pakistan, where heavy rains caused a large dam to burst, sending torrents of water through the streets and sweeping hundreds of people into the Arabian sea.

More than 400 people are missing in a remote area of south-western Pakistan after heavy rains caused a large dam to burst, sweeping villagers into the Arabian Sea, a provincial official said today.

Political allies welcomed the inauguration of President George Bush to a second term today, while critics expressed hope that he would use it as a turning point by acknowledging mistakes in Iraq and mending damage done by the war.