Two a penny

.

A bomb has killed up to 80 people and wounded more than 200 in a busy market area in the Pakistani city of Peshawar.

The blast came several hours after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Pakistan pledging a fresh start in relations with an increasingly embattled and sceptical partner in the struggle against Islamic militancy. Clintonwas in Islamabad, three hours drive away, when the blast hit. North West Frontier Province Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain says 200 were wounded in Wednesday’s attack in Peshawar city.

A government official says the death toll has risen to at least 80 people.

Pakistan is on high alert amid fears of retaliatory strikes by Pakistani Taliban militants as the army attacks their strongholds in South Waziristan on the Afghan border.

The bomb went off in the busy Peepal Mandi market street in Peshawar’s old city, sparking a fire that engulfed several buildings.

The offensive came after a series of brazen attacks on the United Nations, army headquarters, police and general public, in which more than 150 people were killed.

The army launched the offensive on October 17 and says it is making steady progress as soldiers push towards the al Qaeda-linked militants’ bases in the region’s rocky mountains and patchy forests.

There have been several bomb attacks since the offensive began.

“Several buildings and a mosque have been badly damaged while a fire has engulfed a building,” witness Aqueel-ur-Rehman told from the scene.

Wednesday’s blast caused serious damage in the neighbourhood of old wood and brick buildings, busy streets and narrow lanes.

CLINTON: WE’RE TURNING THE PAGE

Clinton told reporters the United States was “turning the page” as she began her first visit to Islamabad as the the top US diplomat on Wednesday amid rising anti-American sentiment in Pakistan and an expanding US-led war in neighbouring Afghanistan.

“I can see three bodies lying under the debris,” he said.

Clinton acknowledged that misunderstandings dogged US ties with Pakistan and pledged to refocus the relationship on the “needs of the people” including strengthened economic assistance and development of democratic institutions.

Clinton acknowledged that misunderstandings dogged US ties with Pakistan and pledged to refocus the relationship on the “needs of the people” including strengthened economic assistance and development of democratic institutions.

Clinton’s three-day visit, kept secret out of security concerns, comes amid a surge of anti-US feeling in Pakistan, which is increasingly bloodied in a campaign against Islamic fundamentalists that is being closely followed by the United States and other Western powers already embroiled in the conflict in neighbouring Afghanistan.58 billion) over the next five years.

.

Maori Party MP Hone Harawira has proposed a novel way to cut his travel costs – he will hitch-hike around his electorate.

Te Tai Tokerau MP Mr Harawira, who with travel expenses totaling $67,000 in the first six months of the year was one of Parliament’s more prolific travelers, said hitch-hiking was one way to cut costs but it carried a number of other benefits.

He said that by travelling this way he would run into people that he would not otherwise meet and it allowed him to relax and “enjoy the day”.

“It’s not a big deal, I’ve been doing it for the last three years,” he told Radio New Zealand.”

He said it was the best way to talk to people about what was important.

“You get into a car and sooner or later they’ll start talking to you about the issues that are important to them.

“It doesn’t matter who picks you up, you get to enjoy talking to everyone,” he told the broadcaster.

Mr Harawira said it wasn’t difficult to know who was potentially one of his voters and who was not, but it wasn’t necessarily important. .

The MP for the northern-most Maori electorate defended his high expense bill, saying his home was remote and it took him two planes and a taxi ride to get to work.

-

.

Police have released the names of two teenagers killed in a head-on accident in Paremata in which one car flipped on to its roof.

Udo Fourie and Nathan John Laurenson, both 18, died in the crash on Grays Rd on Sunday evening.

The Impreza flipped on to its roof, landing in water in Pauatahanui Inlet.

Detective Sergeant Glenn Barnett said an eastbound Subaru Impreza driven by a 22-year-old lost control on a corner and crossed the centre line into the path of a Subaru Legacy. The 22-year-old driver is in hospital with serious injuries.

The deceased pair were passengers in the Impreza. Her three-year-old daughter suffered bruising.

A teenager from the Legacy was also in hospital with serious injuries, and a 19-year-old mother was in a critical condition.

“At this point in time, it is too early to comment on any of the factors to the crash or whether any charges will be laid”.

Mr Barnett said police were examining the scene and both vehicles. .