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| 23 January 2005 | Sunday | 12 Zilhaj 1425 |
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Welcome to DAWN, Pakistan's most widely circulated English language newspaper. Updated round-the-clock, with a major update before 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT). Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window) |
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Authorities detains 29 Indians for illegal entry: QUETTA, Jan 23: Authorities have arrested 29 Indian nationals believed to have been en route to Europe when they were caught by Iranian officials and forced over the border into Pakistan, officials said. "We arrested 29 Indians Saturday evening and handed them over to the authorities," director general of the border police, Air Commodore Shaukat Hussain Changezi, told AFP today. He said the Indians were detained at Taftan border post, 750 kilometers (450 miles) west of Quetta, after Iranian authorities forced them to cross the border into Pakistan. "Their cases will be processed by the immigration authorities," Changezi said, adding that they may face prison terms of one to two months for illegal entry. The Indians had tried in vain to reach Turkey and were detained by Iranian authorities who expelled them to Pakistan, officials said. (AFP) (Posted @ 18:55 PST) 
Police chief, three others, killed in roadside bombing in Afghanistan: KABUL, Jan 23: Four people including a local police chief have been killed by a roadside bomb blast in southern Afghanistan. Wazir Mohammed, police chief of Char Chino district of Uruzgan province, was killed with his father, his brother and his bodyguard as he was driving from his home to his office on Saturday, interior ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal told AFP. "It is the work of enemies of peace and stability," Mashal said of the remote-control bombing on Saturday afternoon. Provincial governor Jon Mohammad blamed remnants of the country's ousted Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime. (AFP) (Posted @ 15:10 PST)
Israel May Suspend Military Operations : GAZA CITY, Jan 23: The Israeli military is willing to suspend operations against Palestinian militants if they call off attacks, Israel's defense minister said today, signaling a shift that could help pave the way for a cease-fire after more than four years of fighting. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz also said Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has received assurances from at least two militant groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, that they will halt attacks on Israel for at least a month. During this time, a more detailed agreement, including the terms of possible political participation of the opposition groups, would be negotiated, Mofaz said. A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the group has agreed to a test period of 30 days. If Israel does not carry out military operations during this period, Hamas will consider an open-ended cease-fire, the official said. (AP/AFP) (Posted @ 15:10 PST)
Ten Iraqis killed in violence north of Baghdad: SAMARRA, Jan 23: Ten Iraqis, including a mother and her child, were killed today in attacks north of Baghdad, while insurgents dynamited a voting center, a government building and a police station around the country. The US military said American and Iraqi security forces have rounded up more than 100 suspected insurgents since Saturday, ramping up efforts to thwart rebels trying to wreck Iraq's national elections being held in one week's time. The detainees included a suspect picked up in Baghdad and billed as one of Iraq's top 10 most-wanted, the US military said. Declining to name the individual, the military admitted it was neither Abu Musab al-Zarqawi nor Saddam Hussein's henchman Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri. In the latest bloodshed, three teachers from a technical oil college died in a roadside bombing north of the oil refinery town of Baiji, police said. (AFP) (Posted @ 23:35 PST)
Iraqi Official Mum on al-Zarqawi Rumors : BAGHDAD, Jan 23: Iraq's interior minister refused to comment on rumors that the top terror leader in the country had been taken into custody. "I wouldn't like to comment for the time being," Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib said when asked about rumors that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had been arrested. "Let's see. Maybe in the next few days we will make a comment about it." Pressing him, a reporter asked, "Does that mean he is in custody?" "No comment," the minister repeated, although he said that arrest warrants had been issued for al-Zarqawi and several officials from Saddam Hussein's regime, including Saddam deputy Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri and the ousted leader's half brother, Sabaawi al-Hassan. The rumors followed an interview aired on an Arab television station earlier this month in which a Saudi man arrested for a deadly truck bombing claimed that he heard from other insurgents that al-Zarqawi had been arrested by Iraqi police in Fallujah but released because authorities didn't recognize him. Rumors spread that Iraqi authorities had al-Zarqawi in custody but were waiting to announce it just before the Jan. 30 elections. The United States has offered a $25 million reward for al-Zarqawi's capture or death — the same amount as for Osama bin Laden (AP/AFP) (Posted @ 11:00 PST)
Iran Says Any U.S. Attack Would Be Big Mistake: TEHRAN, Jan 23: The United States would be making a big mistake if it launched a military attack against Iran, the Islamic state said today in response to recent statements by U.S. officials. "We think the chance (of a U.S. military attack) is very low unless someone wants to make a major strategic mistake," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told a weekly news conference. "Logically speaking, we don't think this is going to happen," he said. He said Cheney's comments about Israel attacking Iran's nuclear facilities underscored the influence Israel had on U.S. foreign policy. "Iran has always said that Tel Aviv decides U.S. policies and that the Zionist lobby is so powerful in the United States, therefore we were not surprised by such remarks," he said. (AP/AFP) (Posted @ 15:10 PST)
Yushchenko Takes Oath, Crowning People's Revolt: KIEV, Jan 23: Viktor Yushchenko became Ukraine's president today, crowning a peaceful revolt by ordinary people that overcame a rigged election, thwarted Russia's bid to influence the vote and pointed the country decisively Westward. Watched by Secretary of State Colin Powell and only minor dignitaries from Russia, Yushchenko -- his face pockmarked by poison administered to slow his rise to power -- took the oath of office to cap his two-month "Orange Revolution." "The people achieved honest elections, the transfer of power was legitimate," Yushchenko, a 50-year-old former central bank governor, told parliament after taking the oath. "We have a single aim -- a democratic and prosperous Ukraine." (Reuters) (Posted @ 18:50 PST)
Johnny Carson, King of Late Night, Dies : LOS ANGELES, Jan 23: Johnny Carson, the "Tonight Show" TV host who served America a smooth nightcap of celebrity banter, droll comedy and heartland charm for 30 years, has died. He was 79. Carson "passed away peacefully" early today and was surrounded by his family, his nephew, Jeff Sotzing, told The Associated Press. Sotzing would not give further details, including the time of death or the location. (AP/AFP) (Posted @ 23:55 PST)
15 killed in strikes on Indian rebels in Myanmar: separatist leader: GUWAHATI, Jan 23: Ongoing heavy fighting in the thick jungles of Myanmar between government troops and Indian separatists has left at least five rebels and 10 soldiers dead, a rebel leader said. Kughalo Mulatonu, a leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), which is fighting for a tribal homeland in India's northeastern state of Nagaland, said that the rebels were killed in intense shelling. The bombardment began late Wednesday and was continuing, he said. "Myanmarese soldiers attacked some of our bases with rocket launchers and mortars, killing five of our fighters," Mulatonu told AFP by telephone from somewhere along the India-Myanmar border. "We also killed 10 of their soldiers in retaliatory strikes." He said the attacks were taking place along the Chindwin River in the north of Myanmar, close to the abandoned World War II Shempuyang airport. (AFP) (Posted @ 11:00 PST)
Two arrested over murder of Kazakhstan diplomat: ISLAMABAD, Jan 22: Two people have been arrested over the shooting death of a senior diplomat from Kazakhstan in Pakistan, police said. Sapargali Aubakirov, deputy head of the central Asian republic's mission in Islamabad, was found lying in a pool of blood at his house in the capital on Wednesday with a single gunshot wound to the head. He died at hospital on Friday. "We arrested two suspects from Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi on Friday," police investigator Bashir Noon told AFP today. Noon said two other suspects were to be rounded up over shortly. Police had no immediate clues about a motive of the killers, but they have said there were no signs of a break-in. The diplomat was found sprawled on his sofa with critical head injuries on Wednesday by a servant who entered the house when he could not rouse his employer. Empty bottles of liquor and four partly-eaten hamburgers were discovered lying near Aubakirov, as well as a single empty bullet casing, police have said. The weapon used in the shooting has not been recovered, police added. (AFP) (Posted @ 12:15 PST)
Bomb rips apart railway track in Baluchistan : QUETTA, Jan 22: A bomb blast blew up a railway track, disrupting train services in Baluchistan but causing no injuries, officials said. "A powerful bomb ripped about four feet long track at a level crossing here," provincial home minister Shoaib Nausherwani told AFP. The minister blamed the attack on "terrorists" who wanted to create unrest in the province by resorting to rocket and bomb attacks. Railways authorities said the bomb was placed at a level crossing near the city's university area. The device went off at about 6:00 am (0100 GMT), deputy controller of Pakistan Railways, Ghulam Rasool, said. The blast occured only half an hour before a passenger train was to arrive in Quetta from Karachi, he said. "We rushed teams to repair the track," he said adding that rail traffic remained suspended for about three hours. (Reuters) (Posted @ 21:00 PST)
Senior tribal elder Mohammad Ibrahim gunned dead in South Waziristan: WANA, Jan 22: Gunmen today shot dead Mohammad Ibrahim near the Afghan border,local administration official Atiq Khan said. "The gunmen escaped, leaving him in a pool of blood," he added. The tribal elder, who was the head of a tribal committee which helps the government in negotiating with tribesmen suspected of providing shelter to Al-Qaeda linked fugitives, had survived a bomb attack on Tuesday. (Bureau Report) (Posted @ 23:55 PST)
Iraq to Arrest Ahmad Chalabi After Eid -TV: DUBAI Jan 22: Iraq's interim defense minister said the government would arrest Iraqi National Congress (INC) leader Ahmad Chalabi after the Eid al-Adha holiday on suspicion of maligning the defense ministry. The INC has emerged as a power broker in the main election list for the country's Shi'ite majority in the Jan 30. ballot and Chalabi is a contender for the post of prime minister. "We will arrest him and hand him over to Interpol. We will arrest him based on facts that he wanted to malign the reputation of the defense ministry and defense minister," Hazim al-Shaalan told Al Jazeera television. Chalabi, a cousin and rival of interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, was not immediately available for comment. The satellite channel quoted Shaalan as saying Chalabi would be handed to Interpol over his conviction in absentia by a Jordanian court in 1992 of embezzling millions from Petra Bank, whose 1989 collapse shook Jordan's political and financial system. Chalabi, who founded and ran the bank during a long period when he lived in the country, denies any wrongdoing. (Reuters) (Posted @ 11:55 PST)
Iraq Insurgents Free 8 Chinese Hostages: BAGHDAD, Jan 22: Insurgents in Iraq released eight Chinese laborers they had taken hostage and threatened to kill, as guerrillas launched more attacks on majority Shi'ites, expected to come out on top in Jan. 30 elections. A video tape produced by the insurgents showed the Chinese standing or kneeling in two rows in the desert, holding their passports open for the camera. A man with his face covered by a traditional checkered headdress then shook hands with each of the hostages before they walked off camera. China's embassy in Baghdad later confirmed the eight had been freed but said it was still trying to locate them. On Tuesday, the guerrilla group holding the men said it would kill them within 48 hours unless Beijing -- which opposed the war in Iraq -- explained why they were in the country. (Reuters) (Posted @ 20:35 PST)
Harried Philippine finance minister asks to resign: MANILA, Jan 22: Philippine Finance Secretary Juanita Amatong has asked to step down, citing the pressures of her job, officials said, but President Gloria Arroyo has not yet said she would accept her resignation. "I have hinted (to Arroyo) that I am leaving as soon as possible. I don't like this high-pressure job," Amatong told reporters."There is too much pressure in this job," Amatong said in a television interview, recalling the numerous meetings she had to juggle with legislators, foreign lenders and diplomats over efforts to avoid an impending fiscal crisis. The presidential palace did not say when Amatong would be replaced or who would take over but cabinet sources said Trade and Industry Secretary Cesar Purisima was being asked to become the new finance secretary. Amatong took over the top position at the Department of Finance in late 2003 following the resignation of her predecessor, Jose Isidro Camacho. (AFP) (Posted @ 12:20 PST)
Screen siren Parveen Babi found dead in apartment: BOMBAY, Jan 22: Actress Parveen Babi, who played the siren in dozens of Bollywood films, was found dead at her home today, a police officer said. Police broke into the Bombay suburbs apartment where she lived alone after neighbours said her door had not been opened for two days, deputy commissioner Amitav Gupta said. Gupta said the actress, who once featured on the cover of Time magazine as the face of the modern Indian woman, appeared to have died of natural causes. Her age was not immediately known. Babi, famed for her unconventional western looks, starred in more than 50 Hindi films mostly in the 1970s and early 1980s. (Reuters) (Posted @ 20:50 PST)
Four militants killed in Kashmir: JAMMU, Jan 22: Four militants were killed and two soldiers injured in a gunbattle in troubled Indian Kashmir , a police spokesman said. The encounter began Friday night when Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers challenged a group of militants hiding in the Gool forests of Udhampur district, the spokesman said today. "As the soldiers were aiming to storm the hideout they came under heavy fire in which two border guards were wounded," he said. The shootout lasted for several hours in which two militants were killed Friday night and two early Saturday morning while two managed to escape. A manhunt has been launched to capture the two fugitives, the official said. A large quantity of arms and ammunition were recovered from the hideout. (AFP) (Posted @ 11:55 PST)
Nepal wedding party bus rolls down gorge, 37 dead: KATHMANDU, Jan 22: A bus carrying a wedding party fell off a hilly road into a river in west Nepal killing 37 people including the bridegroom, his father and a brother, police said today. The bride was among more than a dozen people injured in the accident late on Friday in the remote Pyuthan district. (Reuters) (Posted @ 12:20 PST)
Critically hurt Kazakh diplomat dies in Islamabad: ISLAMABAD, Jan 21: A diplomat from Kazakhstan who was found shot in the head at his home in Islamabad two days ago died today and Pakistani police said he was killed apparently by robbers and that two people had been arrested. Sapargali Aubakirov, a counsellor at Kazakhstan's embassy, was in a coma on a life support system at Islamabad's Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences since Wednesday, after he was found critically wounded at his home. "He was declared dead this morning," a senior police official said. "So far our investigations show the act was criminally motivated. The purpose was to take his vehicle." Police say a .30 mm shell casing had been found in the diplomat's living room and his car was missing after two men had stayed with him overnight and had food and drinks with him. "We have achieved a major breakthrough. We have arrested a couple of people and looking for some more. We have also recovered the weapon," the official said but added that more details would be announced later. (Reuters) (Posted @ 20:45 PST)
Car Bomb Near Shi'ite Mosque Kills 13 in Baghdad: BAGHDAD, Jan 21: Militants detonated a car bomb near a Shi'ite mosque in Baghdad today. The bomb exploded before Friday prayers at the mosque in western Baghdad, killing at least 13 worshippers and wounding more than 40 people as they gathered to pray, doctors, witnesses and police sources said. The wounded were taken to a nearby hospital where the emergency room was quickly filled with bloodied bodies and the screams of the wounded. (Reuters) (Updated @ 15:05 PST)
Palestinian Police Deploy Across Gaza Strip : EREZ CHECKPOINT, Jan 21: Hundreds of armed Palestinian police deployed across the northern Gaza Strip today to prevent rocket fire on Israeli communities, raising hopes the two sides have found a way to end more than four years of bloody conflict and resume peace talks. The deployment, with officers patrolling in shiny new pickup trucks, came after Israel and the Palestinians renewed security coordination earlier this week. In parallel, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is negotiating with armed groups to win their commitment to a cease-fire, and his associates said he is making progress. Some 3,000 members of the Palestinian security forces were to take up positions in northern Gaza — a first since fighting erupted in 2000 and Israeli troops began targeting armed Palestinians, including many in uniform, on suspicion of involvement in the violence. Police were to deploy in the southern half of the strip by Sunday. However, the situation remains volatile. The militant groups have not yet committed to a cease-fire. "I don't know how soon we shall have results," Abbas told reporters today. Israel's deputy defense minister, Zeev Boim, said Israel would respond with "great force" to renewed Palestinian rocket fire. (AP/AFP) (Posted @ 20:55 PST)
Thousands Mourn Deposed Chinese Leader : HONG KONG, Jan 21: Thousands in Hong Kong held a candlelight vigil today for ousted Chinese leader Zhao Ziyang, who died Monday in his 15th year under house arrest for sympathizing with the Tiananmen pro-democracy protesters. The mourning of Zhao has been high-profile in this formerly British-ruled Chinese territory, which enjoys civil liberties denied on the mainland. Many in Hong Kong who oppose Beijing's domination lionize the protesters who took part in the bloody 1989 demonstrations in the Chinese capital. By contrast, the Chinese government has cautiously handled Zhao's death. Holding candles, mourners in a downtown Hong Kong park bowed three times toward a portrait of Zhao in keeping with Chinese tradition and observed a minute of silence. A makeshift tribute area for the reformist leader who died Monday in Beijing was inundated with wreaths. Organizers said 15,000 turned out for the vigil. Police spokesman Trish Leung put the crowd size at 10,000. (Guardian) (Posted @ 20:30 PST)
Six Mexican prison guards apparently executed: MEXICO CITY, Jan 21: Three guards at a maximum security Mexican federal prison in the border city of Matamoros and three federal police officers were found murdered near the prison, police sources said. The six officials were killed by gunshots to their heads in the city in the north eastern state of Tamaulipas, on Mexico's border with the United States. (AFP) (Posted @ 03:35 PST)
Sharp quake jolts New Zealand: WELLINGTON, Jan 21: New Zealand was jolted by a sharp earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale today, continuing a flurry of seismic activity in the lower North Island. The latest quake, which hit at 7:56am was centered just north of the capital city Wellington and felt across the North Island and the top of the South. There were no immediate reports of injury but shopkeepers said items were knocked off shelves. (AFP) (Posted @ 03:35 PST)
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