At least 11 people died in Pakistan when they were knocked off the roof of a crowded train or electrocuted after religious flags they were carrying to an Islamic festival became entangled in an overhead power line.

Authorities arrested al-Qaida’s No 3 commander and said today they were “on the right track” to catch bin Laden himself.

A court in Pakistan today turned over an Islamic militant for police questioning over the killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and two failed assassination attempts against President General Pervez Musharraf, police said.

Pakistani authorities have arrested the alleged mastermind of a deadly bombing near the US Consulate in Karachi two years ago, but another key member of his network is still on the run, a senior official said today.

Pakistan has barred major gatherings and sent police to guard mosques today after two devastating attacks killed 70 people within a week in suspected sectarian attacks – raising concern this key US anti-terror ally might witness a spiral of bloodshed.

A FRESH explosion of sectarian violence in Pakistan in which 40 people were killed is a fight-back by hardcore Islamic militants, many trained of which are by al-Qaida, investigators and analysts have said.

Thousands of minority Shiite Muslims rampaged through an eastern Pakistan city for a second day today, setting fire to a police station and the mayor’s office, after a mass funeral for victims of a suicide bombing at a mosque that killed 31 people.

PAKISTANI President Pervez Musharraf yesterday hailed the killing of top al-Qaida operative Amjad Hussain Farooqi as a breakthrough and predicted it would lead to more high-profile arrests.

Police may have killed a suspected top al Qaida operative today in a four-hour gun battle at a house in southern Pakistan that also led to the arrest of two other men.

A THREE-YEAR-OLD girl widely reported to have died of obesity was actually the victim of a genetic abnormality.