Suicide Attack Kills 35 in Pakistan

At least 35 people were killed in a suicide attack in north western Pakistan today. Guardian

The death toll in a massive suicide blast in Pakistan's north-west reached 35, officials said today, as the country prepared for the widower of the former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, to take over as president.[...]

Ahsan Iqbal, a spokesman for the chief opposition party, told Dawn News Television that Zardari's election was simply a stop along the way to restoring full democracy in Pakistan, and that the transition required giving up some of the president's powers.

Democracy is the last thing that Pakistan needs. Especially when there's "a lot of sympathy for the Taliban" in Pakistan.....

Dozens were wounded in Saturday's attack, in which an explosives-packed pick-up truck blew up at a police checkpoint on the outskirts of Peshawar in the north-west. Police said a huge amount of explosives was used in the blast, signalling that the attacker might have been aiming for a more important target.

Television footage showed a blast crater 3 feet (1 metre) deep, destroyed vehicles and pieces of debris scattered across a large area. Some buildings in a nearby market collapsed, leading civilians to dig frantically with their hands to find survivors.