- DAWN - Latest Stories; 27 April 2005


27 April 2005	Wednesday	17 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426

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)

to return to the regular issue please click here.

Rumsfeld defends use of smaller sized force in Iraq WASHINGTON, April 27 (AFP) - US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld voiced exasperation Wednesday over criticism that the United States committed too few troops to stabilize Iraq against the advice of his former army chief of staff. Rumsfeld said his top commanders recommended that the smaller sized force used in Iraq, and that was the number of troops the administration went with. "So I must say I am tired of the Shinseki argument being bandied about day after day in the press," Rumsfeld told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee. (Posted @ 23:55 PST)

Landmine kills paramilitary soldier in southwest Pakistan QUETTA, Pakistan, April 27 (AFP) - A paramilitary soldier died when he stepped on a landmine in southwest Pakistan's Baluchistan province, officials said Wednesday. The soldier was "blown into pieces" but three others were not hurt by the blast Wednesday in Kahan, about 380 kilometers (236 miles) southeast of Quetta, paramilitary commander Lieutenant Colonel Rizwan Malik told AFP. Since the start of the year, Baluchistan has been wracked by violence blamed on insurgent tribesmen demanding more royalties from the region's rich natural resources and a rollback of military forces in the region. Separately, four policemen were wounded Tuesday while removing a bomb from a railway track shortly after another bomb nearby had damaged the line in the Jafferabad district, police said Wednesday. (Posted @ 23:40 PST)

Bush taken to bunker in White House security scare WASHINGTON, April 27 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush fled to an underground bunker Wednesday after his security detail feared an aircraft had entered restricted airspace near the White House, his spokesman said."It was quickly learned that it was a false alarm and that all was clear in a very short amount of time, and everything is fine," White House press secretary Scott McClellan later told reporters. Vice President Dick Cheney was also taken to safety, said McClellan. The spokesman said Bush was in the bunker "a very short amount of time," and that he believed it was the first time the president had gone to the underground facility since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. "There was a report or an indication that an aircraft had entered restricted airspace around the White House, and so there was some precautionary measures that were taken," he said. The US Secret Service, which is responsible for Bush's safety, "is still looking into that." (Posted @ 23:30 PST)

Banks allowed to finance wheat procurement by private sector KARACHI, Apr 27 (APP)- State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has relaxed earlier restriction over banks and allowed these to provide financing facilities to their eligible borrowers, licensed wheat traders and the flour mills, for procurement of wheat. Under the new arrangement, it said, the banks would be free to determine the rate of mark- up on their lending to the private sector for the purpose of wheat procurement depending upon the risk profile of each borrower. As the lending to the government agencies for wheat procurement is secured against the government guarantee, it is expected that the mark up rate for the private sector would be in excess of the rates charged by banks to the government agencies. (Posted @ 23:00 PST)

Uribe fires four top Colombian generals BOGOTA, April 27 (AFP) - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Wednesday fired four top generals who had opposed his plan to revamp the country's military by establishing regional joint commands. Generals Roberto Pizarro Martinez, second in command of the armed forces; Luis Fabio Garcia Chavez, the army's chief of operations; General Hernan Cadavid Barco, the army's development chief; and Jairo Duban Pineda, the army's inspector general, were relieved of command after being called for a review. (Posted @ 22:35 PST)

Meeting- Arrangements to accord welcome to Japanese PM reviewed RAWALPINDI, April 27 (PPI): District Coordination Officer (DCO) Rawalpindi, Sardar Hamid Ali Khan has reviewed the arrangements for according warm welcome to Japanese Premier, who is arriving on April 30. The meeting, chaired by DCO Rawalpindi here on Wednesday decided that more than five hundred scouts would be present on both sides of the road, holding flowers in their hands to accord welcome to honorable guest. Sardar Hamid directed the district education department to ensure the discipline on this occasion and warned that no negligence would be endured in this regard.(Posted @ 22:30 PST)

Lebanon sets May elections after Syrian departure BEIRUT, April 27 (AFP) - Lebanon's new government, bolstered by a strong vote of confidence in parliament Wednesday, just a day after the last Syrian soldier left the country, said parliamentary elections would be held next month.(Posted @ 21:30 PST)

Iraq's prime minister-designate announces cabinet deal BAGHDAD, April 27 (AFP) - Iraqi prime minister-designate Ibrahim Jaafari Wednesday announced he had formed a cabinet, more than 12 weeks after historic general elections.(Posted @ 19:30 PST)

Insurgents shoot dead Iraqi woman MP as cabinet vote delayed BAGHDAD, April 27 (AFP) - The unveiling of Iraq's new cabinet was again delayed Wednesday amid sharp disagreements over proposed ministers as suspected insurgents shot dead a woman MP, the first such killing since the January 30 election.(Posted @ 19:30 PST)

Sri Lanka's worst train-bus crash kills 35, driver arrested POLGAHAWELA, Sri Lanka, April 27 (AFP) - Thirty-five passengers were killed and 28 people injured when a train smashed into a bus at a level railway crossing in this Sri Lankan town, police and doctors said Wednesday.The packed bus was dragged 55 meters (yards) after being struck by the express passenger train as it was trying to cross the track 80 kilometres (50 miles) northeast of Colombo.(Posted @ 18:45 PST)

UN nuclear agency postpones vote on new term for ElBaradei VIENNA, April 27 (AFP) - The UN atomic agency has postponed until June a decision on whether to give current chief Mohamed ElBaradei a new term, diplomats said Wednesday.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) met Wednesday in a special session to discuss the appointment of a new director general when ElBaradei's Current term expires November 30(Posted @ 18:45 PST)

Exhibitors confirm big orders for garment, leather machinery Karachi, April 27 (PPI): Exhibitors at 4th International Garment & Leather Machinery & Accessories Exhibition, IGATEX Pakistan 2005-Garment, have confirmed booking of large-scale orders worth millions of rupees during the third day of the show.(Posted @18:45 PST)

US trains Pakistani military fighting Al-Qaeda WASHINGTON, April 27 (AFP) - US military are training Pakistani troops who have to come up against Al-Qaeda and foreign fighters hiding in Pakistan's tribal areas near the Afghan border, The New York Times said Wednesday quoting a US general. Lieutenant General David Barno, whose 18-month tour of duty in Afghanistan ends next month, told the daily the Pakistani units were being trained in night flying and airborne assault tactics, in the first acknowledgement of such training by a US military officer. The general said that on Saturday he attended a display by the Pakistani units trained by the Special Services Group at the US military team's headquarters at Cherat, near Peshawar.Pakistani militry sources, however, denied that there were any US military trainers at Cherat and said the display Barno was referring to was in reality a joint military excercise.(Posetd @ 17:30 PST)

Thousands gather for Gaza settler protest GUSH KATIF, Gaza, April 27 (Reuters) - Israelis poured into Gaza's biggest Jewish settlement in a blaze of orange on Wednesday to rally against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to abandon the strip in under four months' time.Political avenues for stopping Israel's first evacuation of settlements from land that Palestinians seek for a state have been closed off. All 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip are due to be evacuated along with four of the 120 in the West Bank, where some 230,000 settlers inhabit land to which Jews claim to have a much stronger historic attachment.(Posted @ 17:30 PST)

First U.N. peacekeepers arrive in Sudan EL-OBEID, Sudan, April 27 (Reuters) - The first deployment of a huge U.N. peacekeeping mission in Sudan began on Wednesday with 12 Nepalese soldiers and equipment arriving in clouds of dust on a cool morning in the west of the country. The soldiers are part of an eventual deployment of 10,000 peacekeeping troops, military observers and hundreds of civilian police to help shore up a peace deal signed in January which ended more than two decades of civil war in Sudan's south. (Posted @ 17:00 PST)

E.U. and Pakistan open political talks LUXEMBOURG (DPA) - The European Union and Pakistan opened political talks Wednesday focusing on what E.U. officials described as Islamabad's "strategic role" in South Asia and the country's struggle against religious extremism and terrorism. The talks - the first formal political dialogue between the E.U. and Pakistan - are being attended by Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, his Luxembourg counterpart Jean Asselborn. A statement by the European Commission issued ahead of the meeting said the bloc was planning a four-fold increase in development aid to Islamabad, raising the current 15 million euro annual aid package to 60 million euros a year as of 2007. (Posted @ 17:00 PST)

Highway accidents leave 25 dead in Bangladesh DHAKA (DPA) - At least 25 people have been killed and more than 70 others injured, many critically, in two separate highway mishaps in central Bangladesh, officials said on Wednesday. The first accident happened as a speeding passenger bus crashed through the railings of a bridge and plunged into a dried-up creek near the town of Kalihata 130 kilometres north of the capital Dhaka, witnesses said. Police and fire brigade rescuers said 20 bodies were found in the wreckage of the bus which was heading towards Dhaka from Gaibandha district in northern Bangladesh. The other highway accident on Tuesday occurred when a truck loaded with gas cylinders smashed into a passenger coach near Bashail town 110 kilometres north of Dhaka, leaving five people dead. (Posted @ 17:00 PST)

New delay in naming Iraqi cabinet BAGHDAD, April 27 (AFP) - Formation of the new Iraqi government has been put back by a day because of disagreements over the names of some proposed ministers, a senior member of the ruling alliance acknowledged Wednesday. Officials had earlier said that prime minister-designate Ibrahim Jaafari had finalized a deal on his proposed coalition late Tuesday, after nearly three months of protracted political haggling since the landmark elections. The new delay illustrates the difficulties the various factions face in agreeing to a broad-based Shiite, Sunni and Kurd alliance in a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. (Posted @ 17:00 PST)

World's biggest airliner soars into French skies TOULOUSE, France, April 27 (Reuters) - The world's biggest airliner, the Airbus double-decker A380, soared effortlessly into the sky on Wednesday on one of the most eagerly awaited maiden flights since the supersonic Concorde took off in 1969. The A380, which is designed to carry 555 passengers but has room for more than 800, took off from Airbus headquarters near Toulouse in southern France. (Posted @ 15:30 PST)

Four policemen hurt as blasts damage key Pakistan railway line QUETTA, Pakistan, April 27 (AFP) - Four policemen were injured while removing a bomb from a railway track in southwestern Pakistan shortly after another bomb nearby had damaged the line, police said Wednesday. The first bomb, planted by suspected tribal rebels, blew up a section of the track in the Jafferabad district of restive Balouchistan province late Tuesday that disrupted traffic between the provincial capital Quetta and the rest of the country. As the repair work was under way at the site of the blast, 280 kilometers (175 miles) south of Quetta, police had found another bomb nearby on the same track. (Posted @ 15:15 PST)

Taliban commander arrested in southern Afghanistan KABUL, April 27 (AFP) - Afghan government troops have captured a key Taliban commander after a brief shoot-out during a raid in southeastern Afghanistan, an official said Wednesday. Mullah Momen, who local authorities described as a "key Taliban organiser," was arrested in Deh Chopan district of Zabul province on Tuesday, a provincial government spokesman told AFP. Momen, who served as a military commander in eastern Afghanistan during Taliban's 1996-2001 rule, has been involved in anti-government activities since the fall of the hardline regime in late 2001, Alikhil said. (Posted @ 14:55 PST)

Pakistan arrests two Islamic militants KARACHI, April 27 (AFP) - Pakistani police have arrested two militants from an Al-Qaeda-linked banned Islamic militant group in a raid in the port of Karachi, police said Wednesday. Mohammad Yunus and Nafees Ahmed from the Jaish-e-Mohammad group were arrested at a house late Tuesday in the city's western district of Orangi, chief police investigator Manzoor Mughal told AFP. Police also recovered a large quantity of explosives along with two hand grenades and dozens of toys which police suspect would be used to make booby traps, he added. Jaish was outlawed by President Pervez Musharraf in 2002. (Posted @ 14:50 PST)

Three civilians injured in US troops firing in eastern Afghanistan KABUL, April 27 (AFP) - Three civilians were injured when US troops fired at their mini-bus after being attacked by a home-made bomb in eastern Afghanistan, Afghan officials said Wednesday. The injured in the incident which occurred near the town of Jalalabad Tuesday included a woman, Jalalabad deputy police chief Amir Khan Liwal told AFP. "First the American vehicle was attacked by a remote control bomb. After the bomb explosion American soldiers fired at the civilian mini-bus -- they injured three people," Liwal said. Liwal said that the explosion did not cause casualties among the US soldiers. (Posted @ 14:30 PST)

Pakistan inks six agreements of US $ 42 Million with Int. companies for exploration in Oil& Gas LONDON Apr 27 (APP)- Pakistan Wednesday signed here six agreements of over US $ 42 million with International companies to carry out exploration in oil and gas sector in various Blocks in Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan. These agreements were inked at the conclusion of a two-day conference on "New Opportunities in Pakistan is Oil and Gas Sector" organized by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources. Premier Oil Pakistan Offshore BV and BHP Billion would do the drilling in Jhangara Block in Sindh, Tullow Development Pakistan Ltd, an Irish company, in cooperation with Tullo Pakistan Operation Pvt Ltd would carry out exploration in Kohat and Bannu West Block in the NWFP., NATIVUS Resources Ltd and RDC International Pvt Ltd in Huramzai and Laogasht in Balochistan, and RDC International in Changai in Balochistan. (Posted @ 14:30 PST)

Pakistan calls developing countries to muster political will to fill the growing gap between rich and poor UNITED NATIONS, Apr 27 (APP): Pakistan has called upon the leaders of the developing countries to muster the political will in order to meet the imposing challenges which emerges due to systematic inequalities against them, growing gap between rich and the poor and unfulfilled commitments of developed partners. Speaking at the UN sponsored meeting on informal thematic consultation on Cluster- One the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN Munir Akram said for the developing countries the forthcoming World Summit at the UN in September this year should focus primarily on the development specially the implementation of agreed development goals. He said "we believe that the September Summit can only be successful if the leaders of the developing countries agree on a concrete plan of specific actions to achieve the development goals". (Posted @ 14:30 PST)

U.S. soldier killed in southern Afghanistan KABUL (DPA) - An American soldier was killed Tuesday when insurgents ambushed his unit while it conducted a patrol northwest of the town of Deh Rahwood in the southern province of Uruzgan, the U.S. military said in a statement Wednesday. No other Coalition or Afghan forces were injured in the ambush, according to the statement. (Posted @ 12:30 PST)

Taliban ambush Afghan police, six killed KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, April 27 (Reuters) � Taliban fighters ambushed a police chief's convoy in southern Afghanistan, killing four policeman, police said on Wednesday. The police chief of Deshu district in Helmand province, Shadi Khan, survived Tuesday's attack near the Pakistan border but four of his men were killed. Two Taliban fighters were also killed in the clash, the police chief said. A Taliban spokesman, Abdul Latif Hakimi, confirmed the ambush but said no Taliban were killed. The two policemen captured in the fighting were executed, he said. (Posted @ 12:00 PST)

Air India hit by wildcat strike, flights disrupted BOMBAY, April 27 (AFP) - Ground staff and engineers of state-run Air India staged a 24-hour wildcat strike Wednesday, forcing cancellation of flights, an airline official said. The union called the strike to protest against a delay in holding elections for union representatives. Management has responsibility for staging the union elections. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)

Islamic lecturer convicted of recruiting for Taliban WASHINGTON, April 26 (AFP) - A US jury Tuesday convicted an Islamic scholar of drumming up recruits to join Afghanistan's former Taliban milita in holy war against the United States, while Americans reeled after the September 11, 2001, attacks. Ali Al-Timimi, 41, was found guilty on 10 counts by a jury in Alexandria, Virginia, near Washington, after seven days of jury deliberations. US District Court judge Leonie Brinkema set sentencing for July 13. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)

Another train accident in Japan injures car driver TOKYO, April 27 (APP/AFP) - A car hit a moving passenger train Wednesday near Tokyo, seriously injuring the vehicle's driver, police said, amid heightened safety fears following Japan's biggest train wreck in four decades. It was the third straight day of train accidents in Japan. On Monday morning a commuter train flew from the tracks into an apartment building in the western town of Amagasaki, killing more than 90 peopleand on Tuesday, part of a passenger train derailed in Ibaraki prefecture northeast of Tokyo when it hit a truck, but there were no injuries. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)

New execution deadline for Romanian hostages in Iraq: Al-Jazeera BUCHAREST, April 26 (AFP) - The kidnappers of three Romanian journalists held in Iraq set a new ultimatum for their execution, hours after the employer of two of the hostages announced they were still alive. The kidnappers have given Bucharest until 1300 GMT Wednesday to announce the withdrawal of its 860 troops from Iraq in order to save the journalists' lives, Al-Jazeera television reported. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)

Dr. Raza receives Philadelphia Business Journal's '40 under 40' award WASHINGTON, Apr 27 (APP) - Dr. Raza Bokhari, a noted Pakistani American, Tuesday received the Philadelphia Business Journal's '40 under 40' Philadelphia Award He was chosen out of 200 professionals as one of the region's most accomplished young professionals by the Philadelphia Business Journal and the Fox School of Business and Management, of Temple University. Dr. Raza Bokhari is President & CEO Lakewood Pathology Associates & Parkway Clinical Laboratories. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)

Sacked Nepal prime minister held on graft charges KATHMANDU, April 27 (Reuters) - Former Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba was arrested on Wednesday for refusing to appear before an anti-graft panel to answer allegations of corruption, police said. The arrest came just four days before the scheduled end of emergency rule imposed by King Gyanendra after he sacked Deuba's government on Feb. 1. (Posted @ 09:20 PST)

More than 50 feared dead in S.Lanka train crash COLOMBO, April 27 (Reuters) - More than 50 people were feared dead after a passenger train crashed into a commuter bus in central Sri Lanka on Wednesday, police said. "The Colombo-Kandy inter-city express train collided with a commuter bus. We fear close to 60 have died," said a spokeswoman at the police emergency centre in Colombo. (Posted @ 09:20 PST)

China's Hu boosts Manila ties with investments MANILA, April 27 (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao affirmed burgeoning ties with the Philippines on Wednesday by agreeing investments and loans worth $1.6 billion to fund infrastructure and mining projects in the Southeast Asian nation. Hu's delegation signed 14 investment agreements worth a total $1.1 billion the two countries are also likely to edge towards closer security ties during Hu's visit ally."The main purpose of this visit is to further expand our defence relations with China, to promote deeper relations," said Philippine Defence Secretary Avelino Cruz. (Posted @ 09:20 PST)

Karachi Stocks up 111.92 points: KARACHI, April 27: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 7276.65, up 111.92 points from Tuesday's close. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 15:05 PST)

Forex update: KARACHI, April 27: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:10 PST)

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

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

Note: Make sure to reload these pages so you're viewing the current version.


Privacy Policy © DAWN Group of Newspapers, 2005