Motorcycle bomb at Afghan market kills 3 people

KABUL (AP) — A bomb hidden in a parked motorcycle ripped through a crowded Afghan market in southern Helmand province on Tuesday, killing at least three people, as NATO reported that U.S. special forces had come under attack the previous day north of Kabul.

The attack on the Americans was the second that targeted international troops in Afghanistan on Monday.

According to NATO spokesman Maj. Bryan Woods, a suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into a U.S. Special Operation Forces' convoy as it was returning to base after clearing land mines north of the Afghan capital, Kabul.

There were no casualties in that attack, which occurred in Kapisa province, said Woods. He said as the bomber targeted the U.S. convoy, insurgents simultaneously started firing upon it.

Qais Qadri, spokesman for the Kapisa governor, said one civilian was killed in the attack but Woods could not confirm the civilian death, saying only that the special forces returned safely to their base "after engaging the enemy."

Earlier on Monday, a truck bomb hit the entrance of a Georgian outpost in the Musa Qala district in Helmand, one of the most volatile regions of Afghanistan, killing three service members from the former Soviet republic. Georgian soldiers are under NATO's command.

And on Tuesday, the motorcycle bomb hit a market in Safar, a village 70 kilometers (42 miles) from the district center of Garamser in Helmand, said Omer Zawak, the spokesman for the provincial governor.

Three people were killed and seven were wounded in the blast, said Zawak, fearing the toll would rise because Tuesday is the day local residents hold their weekly bazaar. Four children were among the wounded and two of them were reported in critical condition, said police spokesman, Shah Mahmood Hashna.

Zawak said that in Monday's attack on Georgian soldiers, several troops were also wounded. The deaths of the three Georgian troops brought the number of soldiers from the former Soviet republic killed in Afghanistan to 22. Georgia has about 1,600 troops in Afghanistan, the largest non-NATO contingent there. Georgian soldiers are under NATO's command.

So far this month, 12 international service members have been killed in Afghanistan, according to an Associated Press count. Along with the three Georgians, eight of those were Americans and one was German.

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Associated Press writers Amir Shah and Rahim Faiez in Kabul, and Mirwais Khan in Kandahar, Afghanistan, contributed to this report.

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Afghan official: Motorcycle bomb at market kills 3

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Market rally loses steam despite drop in US claims

LONDON (AP) — Higher-than-expected Chinese inflation figures on Thursday gave some investors a chance to cash in recent gains on the world's financial markets in spite of more good news from the U.S. with another fall in weekly jobless claims.

Nonetheless, many of the world's stock indexes remained within touching distance of their recent record highs after the 4,000 fall in U.S. claims to a new five-year low of 327,000.

"The latest reading continues to come in below forecast and so provides a positive surprise," said Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co.

However, the claims figures, coming on top of last week's surprisingly strong monthly nonfarm payrolls data for April, failed to help European stocks recover earlier losses or and give an early boost to U.S. trading.

In Europe, Germany's DAX, which has set a series of record highs, was up a further 0.16 percent at 8,262. The CAC-40 in France ended Thursday 0.7 percent lower at 3,942 while the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares dropped slightly, 0.02 percent, to 6,581, broadly unaffected by the expected decision by the Bank of England to keep its monetary policy unchanged.

Trading in many parts of Europe was light as many countries were on a public holiday, though markets remained open.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.05 percent at 15,1097 while the broader S&P 500 index fell 0.2 percent to 1,628.

The claims figures helped shore up the dollar, which was making another attempt to breach the 100 yen mark. Several attempts over the past few weeks have just fallen short. It was 0.4 percent higher at 99.34 yen, while the euro was trading 0.4 percent lower at $1.3104.

Earlier, government figures showing China's consumer price index rose 2.4 percent in the year to April, up from 2.1 percent the previous month and ahead of expectations of a more modest advance to 2.2 percent, had given the markets a soft tone.

Many reasons have been cited for the recent strength of stock markets around the world, including hopes over the U.S. economy, a seeming easing in Europe's debt crisis and an aggressive new monetary policy from the Bank of Japan.

Earlier, Japan's Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.7 percent to 14,191.48 — a modest retreat after a strong run that's sent the Nikkei up to five-year highs.

Another aspect of the Bank of Japan's massive monetary stimulus has been to weaken the yen dramatically. That feeds through into stocks as a lower currency makes the country's exports relatively cheaper.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.1 percent to 23,211.48 after the Chinese inflation figures. However, mainland Chinese shares were mixed with the Shanghai Composite Index down 0.6 percent to 2,232.97 while the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.2 percent to 967.69.

South Korea's Kospi index was also in focus as it jumped 1.2 percent to 1,979.45 after the Bank of Korea lowered its benchmark interest rate for the first time in seven months. In announcing that it was lowering the rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.5 percent, the Bank of Korea became the latest central bank to take steps to boost flagging economic growth.

Oil prices drifted lower following recent strong gains — the benchmark New York contract was down 83 cents at $95.79 a barrel.

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Fire at illegal market In India kills at least 18

KOLKATA, India (AP) — A fire broke out at an illegal six-story plastics market in the Indian city of Kolkata early Wednesday morning, killing at least 18 people, police said.

The blaze, which started before 4 a.m., was likely caused by a short circuit, said West Bengal fire minister Javed Khan. The fire was under control by mid-morning, he said, but toxic gases being released by the blaze was hampering rescue efforts.

A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said at least 18 people had died. He said police were looking for the owner of the building, which was filled with dozens of small shops selling various plastic products.

At least eight people were hospitalized in critical condition and the death toll was expected to rise, Khan said.

He called the scene of the fire "an illegal, unauthorized market."

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