|
| March 17, 2006 | Friday | Safar 16, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Norway names new Sri Lanka peace envoy OSLO, March 17 (Reuters) Norway appointed a new peace envoy on Friday to help mediate between Sri Lanka's government and Tamil Tiger rebels. Foreign ministry peace expert Jon Hanssen-Bauer, 53, would take over from Erik Solheim, who became Norway's International Development Minister in October 2005 after six years focused only on Sri Lanka. "Solheim ... will lead the work, visit Sri Lanka regularly and have responsibility for Norway as facilitator of the peace process," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.. (Posted @ 15:47 PST)
US accuses Iran of "unhelpful activities" in Iraq BAGHDAD, March 17 (Reuters) U.S. officials in Iraq on Friday again accused Iran of meddling in its neighbour's internal affairs, saying was carrying out "unhelpful activities" there. A U.S. embassy statement said Washington was "concerned about unhelpful Iranian activities in Iraq. These concerns are well known and we have talked about them." (Posted @ 15:47 PST)
Bomb explodes inside bus in Baghdad BAGHDAD, March 18 (Reuters) A bomb exploded inside a small bus in Baghdad on Friday and police said they feared casualties. The blast took place in eastern Baghdad. (Posted @ 15:47 PST)
North Korea wants Norway to broker nuclear deal-paper OSLO, March 17 (Reuters) North Korea wants Norway to mediate in its dispute with the United States over the development of its nuclear industry, the daily Norwegian newspaper VG said on Friday. ”We hope Norway can contribute as conflict solver in the ongoing nuclear dispute between the U.S. and North Korea," North Korea's ambassador to the Nordic region said. (Posted @ 15:07 PST)
U.S. continues assaults in Iraq BAGHDAD, March 17 (Reuters) U.S.-led forces on Friday pressed on with a major offensive against suspected guerrilla targets near the northern Iraqi town of Samarra, witnesses said. The sound of what appeared to be heavy U.S. machineguns crackled in the village of Jillaam overnight as a fire raged and flares arched overhead, witnesses said. There was no sign of a counter attack by insurgents. It was not clear if U.S. and Iraqi troops had also attacked other parts of their target area northeast of Samarra. The military also said 41 insurgents had been detained and weapons had been found in "Operation Swarmer" and that the mission would last for several days. (Posted @ 15:07 PST)
Afghan bandits kill 21 in Iran TEHRAN, March 17, 2006 (AFP) A group of armed bandits from Afghanistan killed 21 people and injured another seven innocent people in Iran's south-eastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, state television reported Friday, quoting police. Police forces from the province and the neighbouring provinces are hunting the assailants, it added. (Posted @ 15:07 PST)
U.S. House Okays $91.9 billion for wars, Gulf Coast WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved $91.9 billion President George W. Bush sought for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Gulf Coast hurricane relief. The emergency spending bill also contained language barring a state-owned Arab company, Dubai Ports World, from managing American ports, although the company has pledged to pull out of the deal the administration initially approved. The House passed its bill by 348-71, despite the cost concerns expressed by lawmakers. The Senate's version of the bill has not yet cleared its Appropriations Committee. The bill included $67 billion for military operations, bringing the wars' costs so far to nearly $400 billion; $19 billion for the Gulf Coast, bringing that to about $90 billion, and $4.1 billion in emergency foreign aid. (Posted @ 13:10 PST)
Tribesmen clash with Pakistani forces near Afghan border WANA, Pakistan, March 17, 2006 (AFP) Tribesmen exchanged fire with security forces Friday in Khamranz, 40 kilometres northeast of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, but there were no immediate reports of any casualties, officials said. "The miscreants fired five rockets at the post and then attacked it using small arms early Friday," a local security official said. He said forces responded with fire and repelled the attack. "A hunt is on for the attackers in the area." Separately a paramilitary soldier was wounded when militants fired several rockets at a security checkpost in Speenwan town in North Waziristan late Thursday. (Posted @ 12:44 PST)
Malaysia begins bird flu poultry slaughter KUALA LUMPUR, March 17, 2006 (AFP) Malaysian officials have begun slaughtering poultry and monitoring residents after discovering two outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in the same state, they said Friday. "Since last night we killed 39,588 birds. It includes ducks and chickens," an officer from the state Veterinary Department said. Health officials have also began visiting homes within 300 metres of the two outbreak areas. (Posted @ 11:22 PST)
Initial lab tests indicate H5N1 virus in Israel JERUSALEM, March 17 (Reuters) Initial laboratory tests indicated that a flock of turkeys that died on two farms in southern Israel were infected with the H5N1 flu virus, an agriculture ministry official said on Friday. The official said it could take up to 48 hours to isolate the virus to get final confirmation. (Posted @ 11:21 PST)
Australian PM leaves door open on selling uranium to India SYDNEY, March 17, 2006 (AFP) Prime Minister John Howard hinted after talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Friday that Australia could sell uranium to India following New Delhi's nuclear deal with the US. Howard told a joint news conference: "There isn't going to be any immediate change in government policy. Obviously, like all policies, you never say never." Howard said he had told Rice that Australia has a policy of selling uranium only to signatories to the NPT. "However, we would send in the next little while a team of officials to India to get some more information regarding that agreement and that group would go on to the United States," he said. (Posted @ 10:00PST)
Pakistan warns against U.S.-India nuclear deal: FT SINGAPORE, March 17 (Reuters) Pakistan has said a civilian nuclear energy deal between its arch rival India and the United States would wreck international agreements to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, the Financial Times reported on Friday. The daily quoted Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri as saying that the U.S. decision to give nuclear technology to India would encourage other nations to follow suit. "The whole Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty will unravel. It's only a matter of time before other countries will act in the same way," Kasuri told the Financial Times in an interview. "Nuclear weapons are the currency of power and many countries would like to use it. Once this goes through, the NPT will be finished. It's not just Iran and North Korea. Brazil, Argentina and Pakistan will think differently," he said. Kasuri said the United States should not treat the two countries differently. "We demand equality of treatment and we will continue to pursue it. We have a large population and a fast-growing economy. If the Indian deal goes through, there are some things we will do," he said, without elaborating. (Posted @ 09:53 PST)
Iran-U.S. talks on Iraq would be "useful": Rice SYDNEY, March 17 (Reuters) U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday she believed talks with Iran on the issue of Iraq would be "useful" but would not be expanded to included to cover Tehran's nuclear ambitions. "These talks might be useful ... but those talks are limited to questions concerning the country at issue, so in this case it would be limited to questions about Iraq," Rice told a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister John Howard in Sydney. "We will see when and if those talks take place." (Posted @ 09:48 PST)
Indian police say kill four men in Gujarat NEW DELHI, March 17 (Reuters) Indian police shot dead four men overnight in the western state of Gujarat. Police were conducting routine searches in the main city of Ahmedabad after midnight when they were shot at and returned fire, state police chief said. "We have not yet been able to establish their links or motives. Some arms and ammo also found. Two of them are Pakistanis and the other two Kashmiris," he said. He did not explain how police determined the identities of the dead. (Posted @ 09:42 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 217.49 points: KARACHI, March 17: At 02:48 PST, the KSE-100 index was at 10906.69, up 217.49 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 02.48 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, March 17: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.4 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 12:00 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Editor: Tahir Mirza
The DAWN Group of Newspapers
Haroon House, Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed Road, Karachi 74200, Pakistan.
Phone:+92 (21) 111-444-777 Fax: +92 (21) 569-3995
webmaster@dawn.com
Make sure to reload these pages so you're viewing the current version.
|
|
|
Contributions |