Pipeline explosion kills 260 in Nigeria

LAGOS, Nigeria -- A gasoline pipeline ruptured by thieves exploded into a blazing inferno Tuesday as scavengers collected the fuel in a poor neighborhood, killing at least 260 people in the latest oil-industry disaster to strike Africa's biggest petroleum producer. A senior official for the Nigerian Red Cross, Ige Oladimeji, said his workers counted 260 dead by nightfall and took 60 injured people to hospitals. Residents said a gang of thieves had been illegally tapping the pipeline for months, carting away gasoline in tankers for resale. Tapping is common in Nigeria, but it brings frequent accidents. Earlier this year, 150 people died in a similar explosion in Lagos, and a 1998 pipeline fire killed 1,500 in southern Nigeria.

Sudan's president ready to discuss cease-fire

UNITED NATIONS -- Sudan's president said he accepts a U.N. package to help end escalating violence in Darfur and is ready to discuss a cease-fire, according to a letter circulated Tuesday. President Omar al-Bashir said in the letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan that Sudan is ready to immediately implement two recent agreements endorsing a three-step U.N. plan to strengthen the beleaguered 7,000-strong African Union force in the vast western region of the country. Al-Bashir also dropped his opposition to a hybrid A.U.-U.N. force that would be deployed as the final step in the peace plan. The African Union force has been unable to stop the violence that has killed more than 200,000 people and left 2.5 million displaced in Darfur since February 2003.

Pakistan plans fence, land mines along border

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan said Tuesday it will plant land mines and build a fence on parts of its long, rugged frontier with Afghanistan to meet criticism it does too little to stop Taliban and al-Qaida guerrillas from crossing the border. Relations have been souring between the neighbors, which are key U.S. allies in its war on terror groups. Afghan and NATO officials contend militants operate from sanctuaries in Pakistan, but the Islamabad government insists it does all it can to stop them. Afghanistan quickly objected to the idea of a fence along the 1,510-mile border, whose demarcation is disputed by the two nations. But Pakistani Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammed Khan said his country would be acting on its own territory and did not need Afghan consent.

Israel approves new West Bank settlement

JERUSALEM -- Israel has approved a new settlement in the West Bank to house former Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip, officials said Tuesday, breaking a promise to the United States to halt home construction in the Palestinian territories. Construction in the northern West Bank town of Maskiot began months ago, but the project received final approval from the Defense Ministry only last week, said Dubi Tal, head of the Jordan Valley regional council. Saeb Erekat, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, urged the government to revoke its authorization, saying it violated the spirit of cooperation inaugurated by a meeting Saturday between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The settlement will house 23 families.

Somalian government offers amnesty to militia

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Somalia government soldiers, joined by troops from neighboring Ethiopia, advanced toward Somalia's capital Tuesday as Islamic fighters dug in and promised a "new phase" in the war -- a chilling pronouncement from a movement that has threatened suicide attacks. Somalia called on the Council of Islamic Courts militias to surrender and promised amnesty if they lay down their weapons, a government spokesman said. The U.N. Security Council called an emergency meeting Tuesday for a briefing on the clashes. Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, a top leader of the Islamic group, said his fighters are in tactical retreat in the face of Ethiopian firepower. But the military struggle has just begun, he added.

-- From wire reports