Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf hailed the start of a “new era of real democracy” in Pakistan and vowed Sunday to support an incoming government led by foes bent on diminishing his powers. “The journey toward democracy and development we started eight years ago is now reaching its destination,” said the former army strongman, who seized power in a 1999 coup. “A new era of real democracy has begun.” The U.S.-backed leader was speaking at a military parade celebrating Pakistan’s national day.
Barack Obama refers to the past couple of weeks as a tough, turbulent stretch. First, his foreign-policy adviser quit for calling Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton a “monster.” Then he had to distance himself from his longtime pastor’s fiery statements, a controversy that threatened his image as a uniter. He trails in polls in the upcoming Pennsylvania primary. Obama also watched his lead wither in national opinion surveys. “There’s no doubt we had a turbulent couple of weeks, but we’ve had turbulent weeks in the past,” Obama told reporters Friday. “ ... It’s not going to be a smooth, straight line. There’s times when the campaign is going well, and there’s times the campaign is not going well.”
With their fifth and final spacewalk under their belt, Endeavour’s astronauts planned to take some well-deserved time off on Sunday before starting the journey home. Astronauts Michael Foreman and Robert Behnken sailed through their six-hour spacewalk on Saturday, attaching a 50-foot inspection pole to the international space station and completing other chores. “You were just fabulous out there today,” astronaut Richard Linnehan told the pair as they floated back into the station about a half hour ahead of schedule. “I can’t say enough. Thanks for making everyone look good.”
Makers of Italy’s prized buffalo mozzarella took out full-page ads in Italian newspapers Friday assuring consumers that their cheese was safe after high levels of dioxin were found in some samples of buffalo milk. The tainted products came from a few buffalo dairies in the southern Campania region, whose reputation as a top agricultural producer has already been tarnished by a months-old garbage crisis that has fueled fears of food contamination.
Public broadcaster NHK says one person was stabbed to death and at least seven others were injured by a man who went on a knifing spree at a shopping mall in eastern Japan. The stabbings occurred in the city of Tsuchiura on Sunday. Seven people were injured and an eighth died as he was rushed to a nearby hospital.
