European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 29, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday March 292007 stars and str i p e s Page 11 by Stephen Graham the associated press Islamabad Pakistan tribal elders signed a Deal with the government to deny Sanctuary to foreign militants in a Remote pakistani Border Region where Al Aida no 2 Ayman Al Zawaheri escaped a us air strike last year the two sides said tuesday the Accord was the third of its kind and underlines president Gen Pervez Mushar Raf s insistence that tribal leaders not the army take the Lead in taming the Frontier zone despite signs that Taliban fighters continue to use it As a launch pad for attacks into Afghanistan the agreement was signed monday at a ceremony attended by hundreds of tribal elders near Khar the main town of the Bajur Region said Malik Abdul Aziz head of Bjurs tribal Council after hectic efforts and talks with the local Taliban we have signed a peace Deal with the government to help it fight terror ism Aziz told the associated press local Taliban have assured us that they will not shelter foreign militants in their areas and they Are also part of a written agreement pakistanis routinely refer to tribal Mili Tants who Are suspected of aiding their eth Nic Lashtun Brethren fighting in Afghani Stan As local Taliban in return the government will expedite development projects in the Region Aziz said Shakil Qadir Khan the top government administrator in Bajur confirmed the agreement but provided no details a key us ally in its War on International terrorism has sought accords across the Semi autonomous tribal re Gion after a series of bloody military operations failed to catch a Laidas top Leader ship or prevent Taliban militants from find ing Sanctuary there officials argue that the deals will empower tribal elders to counter Militancy in their territory and open the Way for development projects to counter the poverty that helps extremist groups find recruits among the regions Young and unemployed however critics argue the governments military pullback has handed even greater control to militants and us military officials worry mat Cross order attacks into Afghanistan Are rising As a result four people killed in Gaza sewage flood the associated press umm Naser Gaza strip an Earth embankment around a sewage Reservoir collapsed tues Day spewing a River of waste and mud that killed four people and forced residents to flee from a Vil Lage in the Northern Gaza strip officials said a local palestinian official blamed the disaster on shoddy infrastructure and in officials said they had been warning of a catastrophe for More than two years a 70yearold woman two toddlers and a teenage girl died in the sudden flood and 25 people were injured said or Muawiyah Hassanin of the palestinian health ministry at least 25 houses were completely submerged palestinian emergency work ers poled among the houses on Flat bottomed boats and chickens fled their coops to Perch High on Power lines Fadel Kawash head of the palestinian water authority said that the level of sewage in the Pool had increased Over the past few Days creeping up the Earth embankments around the Pool until Hatem palestinian Rescue workers search for bodies among shanty houses after a cesspool embankment collapsed tuesday in the Village of umm Naser in the Northern Gaza strip one collapsed causing the sew age to pour toward the Village Ziad Abu Farya head of the Vil Lage Council described the scene As our tsunami Rescue Crews and gunmen from the militant Muslim group Hamas rushed to the area to search for people feared buried under the slide of sewage and mud most residents fled or were evacuated angry residents drove report ers out of the area and mobbed government officials who arrived at the scene the israeli army offered humanitarian assistance to help clean up the spill Virgin adds some Indian flavor to comics by Ramola Talwar Badam the associated press Mumbai Indian and Amer ican soldiers into a Barren Afghanistan desert toss a nuclear warhead into the hands of terrorists and you have an action packed plot in the latest graphic novel to be released by Vir Gin comics created by graphic artists in the Southern Indian City of Bangalore the dark tale titled virulent is the latest in a series of comic books produced in a year old partnership among British billionaire Richard Branson spiritual guru Deepak Chopra and Indian film maker Shekhar Kapur the comic will first be released in the United states on wednesday followed by Britain and India graphic novels Are part of virgins strategy of tapping into India booming entertainment Market the company sees India with its one billion plus population both As a producer of Content and As a consumer its one of the biggest entertainment markets with 55 percent of the population 550 million people under the age of 20 Suresh Seetharaman president of Virgin comics said in Mumbai virtually All the Art is created Here we have a team of 120 in Bangalore he said Ajaz a Virgin comics employee flips the pages of Devi a Virgin comics product at the company office tuesday in Bangalore India an american Reading it has no idea it was not written Down the Road from where he lives added Larry Lieberman Virgin comics chief marketing officer he has no idea it is written conceived and illustrated in India in Bangalore Seetharaman said Branson viewed the partnership As a Means to feature Eastern stories and philosophies of destiny India is Strong in mythology and magic it has a vault of stories that we can tap package and present to the world he said on the Side lines of a global entertainment Industry con Ference unlike last years serialized Virgin comics such As the Sadhu Devi and Snake Wom an which Are science fiction takeoffs on epic Indian Goodvert Sevil tales the new release tells the whole Story in one Book and at first glance appears rooted in the present the troops liberally swear in English and hindi and there Are references to the War on terror president Bush and even Bollywood Beauty Aishwarya Rai then comes the twist the terrorists turn into demonic vampires the new novel draws inspiration from an ancient Indian legend of a blood Demon who spawn clones every time a Warrior slashes and spills his blood a recent study by  pers released earlier at the Mumbai Confer ence projects India Media and entertain ment business to More than double Over the next five years to hit billion Seetharaman who also Heads Virgin Anima Tion said comic books were stepping stones comic books Are an incubator we use it As research and once it succeeds you can take it to gaming movies Ani mation the trick is to Tell stories to a global audience he added Quebec vote Staves off separation bid for now Montreal Quebec lib eral party won a mandate in Mon Days provincial election while the separatists failed to gain ground a result that Staves off an other referendum on separation from Canada but Premier Jean Charef s liberals fell Short of a majority in the provincial parliament in the three Way race that left Quebec ers facing an Uncertain political landscape while separation was not a major Issue in the Campaign it is an Issue never far from the sur face in Quebec with support for Independence usually hovering around 45 percent Russia assails us global policy in paper Moscow russian foreign ministry on tuesday sharply criticized the United states for what it called Over Reliance on Force and warned Washington against Mili tary action against Iran but in a major review of for eign policy priorities the minis try said Moscow was ready to co operate to end global crises if Washington treats it As an equal partner the 70page document Echo ing a Tough speech by president Vladimir Putin in Germany last month reaffirms russian determination to Challenge the United states when it feels it has to de spite Moscow recent decision to increase pressure on Iran nuclear program s Korea Trade talks spark hunger strikes Seoul a Trio of prominent South korean lawmakers said tuesday they have gone on a Hun Ger strike against a proposed free Trade agreement with the United states just Days ahead of a dead line for the ambitious Deal the South koreans fat is americas economic invasion of South Korea Independent Law maker in Jon Gin said in an inter View just outside the main in trance to the National Assembly where he set up a tent theres absolutely nothing to be gained for our country across town negotiators for the two governments were facing off Over automobiles Rice and other contentious issues standing in the Way of an Accord that would be the biggest for washing ton since the North american free Trade agreement of 1993 from the associated press