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| 13 February 2005 | Sunday | 03 Muharram 1426 |
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Updated round-the-clock, with a major update before 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT).
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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).
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NATO urges Afghanistan to decide poll date soon: KABUL, Feb.13: NATO urged Afghanistan today to fix a date for parliamentary elections as soon as possible to give the alliance time to plan reinforcements to send to the country for the vote. Speaking after a regular command handover for Afghanistan's NATO-led peacekeeping force, a senior alliance official said that unless the polls were held by the first week of July, troop rotations meant it would be better if they were delayed until September. The repeatedly delayed polls were supposed to be held this spring, but while President Hamid Karzai says he wants them as soon as possible, the election law means they cannot now be held before mid June and most diplomats see July as more realistic. (PPI) (Posted @ 22:30 PST)
Afghanistan says militia commanders may be forced to disarm: KABUL, Feb 13: Afghanistan's defence ministry warned today that warlords who fail to disarm and disband their private armies will be forced to do so. So far, 38,887 militiamen have laid down their arms as part of a UN Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programme but certain factions and commanders have resisted giving up their weapons. "The Afghan defense ministry warns those commander who have not had good cooperation with the DDR process," said ministry spokesman General Mohammed Zahir Azimi. (AFP) (Posted @ 22:35 PST)
Israeli cabinet approves prisoner release: JERUSALEM, Feb 13: The Israeli cabinet approved the release of 500 Palestinian prisoners, a gesture the Jewish state hopes will boost support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas among his constituents. In a further move to build trust between the two sides, officials were slated to meet later today to finalise details of Israel's handover of the West Bank city of Jericho to Palestinian control, possibly this week. Four other West Bank cities are slated to revert to Palestinian control in the coming weeks. None of the prisoners slated for release had been jailed for killing Israelis, and almost all had completed two-thirds of their sentences. A further 400 prisoners will be released in the coming months. (DPA) (Updated @ 22:35 PST)
Israel lets 200 Gaza workers cross in new gesture: GAZA, Feb 13: Israel let more than 200 labourers enter from the Gaza Strip for the first time in months today in a gesture to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as he tries to strengthen a ceasefire agreed last week. In further steps to bolster peace moves, Israeli leaders met to finalise the release of 500 Palestinian prisoners and both sides agreed that Israel would hand over security control of the West Bank city of Jericho this week, officials said. Abbas won a pledge from Hamas Islamic militants on Saturday to keep a de facto truce while it weighs the ceasefire he agreed with Israel. In a major policy shift, Hamas said it would not retaliate immediately for any Israeli action. (Reuters) (Posted @ 14:00 PST)
Talabani poised for top post after fighting Iraq governments for decades: BAGHDAD, Feb 13: Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani, in pole position to take a top post in the Iraqi government after his list romped in second in last month's election, has spent his whole adult life fighting successive regimes in Baghdad. A veteran nationalist, known simply as "Mum (Uncle) Jalal" in his fiefdom in Iraq's northern mountains, the imposing barrel-chested Talabani set out his bid for high office in the new Iraq just 10 days before the poll results were released. "I am the candidate for the Kurdish democratic list for one of the two posts of responsibility," said Talabani, referring to the presidency or the premiership. Talabani founded the PUK as an alternative to the KDP, which he described as grounded in tribalism. The new party was to be based on socialist ideals and enjoyed popularity in urban areas. (AFP) (Posted @ 22:45 PST)
Shiite list to take 132 seats in Iraq assembly: BAGHDAD, Feb 13: The main Shiite coalition list in the Iraq election is expected to take 132 seats in the new 275-member National Assembly, according to election commission results issued today. The Kurdish alliance will have 71 seats and interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's list 38, according to calculations based on the results. (AFP) (Posted @ 22:45 PST)
Shi'ite list says won around 60 pct of Iraq vote: BAGHDAD, Feb 13: The United Iraqi Alliance, a coalition of mainly Shi'ite Islamist parties, said today it had been told by Iraq's Electoral Commission that it had won around 60 percent of the vote in the country's election. "We have been told that we got around 60 percent," a senior source in the Alliance told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The final vote tally is due to be announced at 4 p.m. (1300 GMT). The United Iraqi Alliance is certain to have won the most votes, with a coalition of Kurdish parties expected to be in second place and a bloc led by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi third. (Reuters) (Posted @ 14:00 PST)
Iran refuses to give up heavy-water nuclear reactor: TEHRAN, Feb 13: Iran said Sunday it would not give up plans to build a heavy-water reactor, which can be used to make nuclear weapons material, in exchange for a light-water research reactor proposed by the Europeans. (AFP) (Posted @ 13:45 PST)
Fears of collapse as fire ravages huge Madrid office block: MADRID, Feb 13: Madrid authorities warned today there was a "high risk" a 31-storey office building would collapse after the biggest fire in the city's history. A huge pall of grey smoke dominated the skyline after the fire at the Windsor building in the Spanish capital's financial district burned throughout the night. "There is a high risk of collapse," firefighters said, while Mirardo Tudela, deputy chief of the Madrid fire department, told a press conference that "the situation is critical. "The structure of the building is unstable," Tudela said. He noted that "the blaze is still not under control and the situation remains critical" as firefighters battled to prevent flames spreading to nearby buildings including a shopping centre. "The cause appears to have been a short circuit," emergency services spokesman Javier Ayuso told reporters. (AFP) (Updated @ 22:35 PST)
Seven injured in Paris theatre blast: PARIS, Feb 13: Seven people were slightly injured in an explosion at a theatre in northwest Paris today, the police said. The cause of the explosion at the Empire Theatre was not immediately known, the police said. "The explosion took place without a fire towards 0700 (0600 GMT) on the bottom floor, and the structural damage is significant," a police spokeswoman said. "The seven wounded, slightly hit, were cared for in a neighbouring cafe," she said, adding that the injured had been passersby. (Reuters) (Posted @ 14:15 PST)
Four killed, 25 injured in Kashmir grenade attack and clashes: SRINAGAR, Feb 13: Twenty-five people including an Indian soldier were injured today when rebels hurled a hand grenade at an army patrol in Indian Kashmir, police said. The attack happened at Shopian. "The injured have been rushed to various hospitals," a police spokesman said, adding three seriously injured were being shifted to Srinagar's main hospital. Indian troops sealed off part of the town and launched a search. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Four Islamic militants were killed in two separate clashes with Indian troops in the southern districts of Doda and Poonch late Saturday, police said. Four AK assault rifles and some radio sets were recovered from the two sites as well as a large quantity of ammunition. (AFP) (Posted @ 22:40 PST)   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) 568-3188 webmaster@dawn.com Make sure to reload these pages so you're viewing the current version. |
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