Twin explosions shake Syrian capital

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Twin explosions shook the heart of the Syrian capital today, and state TV blamed a double suicide car bombing that it said may have been the work of al-Qaida.

The state TV report said a number of military personnel and civilians were killed in the blasts targeting the state security building and an intelligence building. It did not give a specific number, but said most of the dead were civilians.

The blasts are the first such attack in the Syrian capital since the start of the uprising against President Bashar Assad in March and came a day after an advance team of Arab League observers arrived in the country on a mission to try to resolve the turmoil.

The government has long depicted the uprising as the work of terrorists and armed gangs.

The state TV report, about an hour after the blasts went off, said initial investigations showed involvement by the al- Qaida terrorist network. It showed footage of several mutilated and torn bodies on the ground, with rubble, twisted debris and burned cars littering the road. Bystanders and ambulance workers used blankets and stretchers to carry bloodstained bodies into vehicles.

Queen Elizabeth to host royals’ Christmas

LONDON ( AP) — Queen Elizabeth II’s extended family will gather at Sandringham Estate for a traditional holiday weekend that will mark Kate Middleton’s first Christmas as a royal.

Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge, will be at the rural estate with her husband, Prince William, and other senior royals, including Prince Philip, the queen’s husband, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, and Prince Harry.

The queen will also deliver her pre-recorded Christmas message that will be broadcast throughout much of the world.

Palace officials said today the family will mark Christmas with a church service on the estate grounds.

The queen is preparing to observe her Diamond Jubilee year marking 60 years on the throne. Extensive celebrations are planned.

Student leaves $172K violin on bus

PHILADELPHIA ( AP) — Police are asking for the public’s help recovering a rare violin worth $172,000 that was left on board a Boston- to- Philadelphia bus by a groggy music student from Taiwan.

Philadelphia police say the instrument was left in an overhead bin on a Megabus late Tuesday.

Muchen Hsieh tells KYWTV she noticed she didn’t have the violin after getting picked up by the family hosting her visit to the Philadelphia area. She called the bus company but was told the instrument hadn’t been found.

Hsieh says a Taiwanese culture foundation lent her the violin as she studies at the New England Conservatory in Boston. It was made in 1835 by Vincenzo Jorio in Naples.

Lt. John Walker says the instrument can be returned to Philadelphia police, no questions asked.

Pakistan’s army denies ouster plan

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s army chief has denied accusations that the military is working to oust the country’s civilian government amid tension over a secret memo sent to Washington earlier this year about an alleged coup, the military said today.

The memo scandal has heightened long-standing tensions between the army and the government at a time when the country is struggling to deal with a violent Taliban insurgency, a stuttering economy and deteriorating relations with its most important ally, the United States.

Pakistani Taliban fighters attacked a paramilitary fort in northwestern Pakistan today, killing one soldier and kidnapping 15 others, police said. The brazen attack was followed by a statement to media in which the militants said they would kill the abducted troops.