Newsday (Suffolk Edition) du lieu suivant : Melville, New York • 7

A7 At least 13 die in blast near Red Mosque as it attempts to open after recent raid fallout killed hundreds BY MUBASHIR ZAIDI AND LAURA KING Los Angeles Times ISLAMABAD Pakistan The Red Mosque became a flashpoint for renewed violence Friday as authorities attempted to reopen it for Muslim prayers with militants battling police and an apparent suicide blast nearby killing at least 13 people The mosque in the heart of die capital was the scene just over two weeks ago of a raid by commandos who seized the compound from the heavily armed followers of a pair of radical der-ics More than 100 people died including one cleric and a subsequent wave of reprisal attacks by militants left 180 more dead The confrontation with militants including hard-core Taliban and al-Qalda extremists in the tribal areas straddling the Af-ghanistan-Palristan border has placed heavy new pressure on President Penrez Musharraf He was struggling already with a burgeoning pro-democracy movement and the Supreme reinstatement this month of chief justice whom he had suspended Pakistani authorities had expressed hopes that renovating the mosque and reopening it would help lay the episode to rest This proved to be a major miscalculation Protesters many in traditional prayer caps eject- -ed a government-appointed cler- Al' Colleagues rush to help an injured police officer second from right as he cries out after Friday's explosion in Islamabad ic when he attempted to preside over Friday prayers A crowd outside the compound hurled stones at riot police who responded with tear gas The clashes erupted a day after officials showed off re with the Muslim declaration of faith They also demanded reinstatement of former chief cleric Abdul Aziz in government custody The explosion which took place several hours into the con frontation occurred on the edge of busy Aabpara Market a few hundred yards from the mosque compound The blast was close to police barricades blocking the way to tHt mosque Most killed and injured were police officers pairs to the battle-scarred house of worship As worshippers flooded the compound protesters scaled rooftops and splashed paint on the walls and raised the mosque's onetime standard a black flag inscribed A $1B facelift for UN complex Repairs to the United Nations headquarters will begin in the fall six buildings with total floor space of 26 million square feet on 17 acres It will start in the fall and will be performed in a series of projects through 2014 Skanska said Another goal of the renovation is to make the buildings more energy efficient The Secretariat building alone where UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's office is located wastes as much as 25 percent of the heat pumped into it in the winter Skanska chief executive Stuart Graham said his company was honored to partner with the United Nations to help them create a modem and environmentally sound headquarters for its membership and Stockholm-based Skanska which has made a strong push into the US construction market in the past few years building the open-air stadium for the New York Jets and New York Giants in New Jersey said the project is its largest ever in the United States and one of its top three worldwide Skanska spokesman Peter Gimbe said the project was helping the company cement its position both in the tough New York market and worldwide Skanska said some L200 workers will work on the site at the project's peak THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The aging United Nations headquarters will undergo a $1 billion makeover its first-ever overhaul aimed at bringing the land-marked but leaking glass-and-steel complex into compliance with safety and fire codes The seven-year renovation is due to start this fall according to Skanska AB the Swedish construction company that said Friday it had won the bid to manage the project The sprawling 39-story glass-and-steel complin overlooking the East River has not seen major overhaul since it was built more than half a century ago and now violates safety and fire codes Built in 1950 the landmark UN Secretariat building and its neighboring Conference and General Assembly buildings built in 1951 and 1952 are packed with toxic asbestos have leaking roofs and erratic heating and cooling systems and lack fire sprinklers The renovation which will be the United largest investment to date involves a complete overhaul covering wwwMwsdayconi NEWSDAY SATURDAY JULY 23 2007.