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| May 20, 2005 | Friday | Rabi-us-Sani 11, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Government minister killed in Caucasus blast Moscow (dpa) - The minister of information and nationalities in the southern Russian republic of Dagestan was killed in an explosion at his home on Friday, local police said. The explosive device went off when Sagir Arukhov returned to his residence in the capital Makhachkala after work, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.(Posted @ 00:15 PST)
Religious divide no solution for Kashmir-Musharraf ISLAMABAD, May 20 (Reuters) - President Pervez Musharraf said on Friday Pakistan's dispute with India over Kashmir could be resolved through giving more autonomy to the region's people rather than through any solution based on religious divides. Musharraf has in the past described an insurgency in Indian-held Kashmir as a jihad, or holy war, for Muslims but has softened his words in an effort to give momentum to a peace process started at the beginning of 2004.(Posted @ 00:15 PST)
Pakistan is an investor-friendly country: PM ISLAMABAD, May 20 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Friday said Pakistan was an investor friendly country offering attractive opportunities to both local and foreign investors.He was taking to a delegation of investors led by Princess Sultan Kulsum Pahang of Malaysia, who called on him at the Prime Minister House today.The delegation expressed interest in investment in real estate, agri-business telecom and infrastructure development.(Posted @ 21:15 PST)
Musharraf for provision of clean,safe drinking water Islamabad,May 19 (PPI) President Pervez Musharraf has stressed upon the need for accelerating the transfer of the benefits of economic development and growth to the people of Pakistan in the form of improved services, particularly clean and safe drinking water.Attending a high level meeting alongwith Prime Minister ShaukatAziz here Thursday the President said we must ensure that people have access to clean and safe drinking water.(Posted @ 21:00 PST)
Muslims protest at US embassy in London over alleged Holy Quran abuse LONDON, May 20 (AFP) - Roughly 100 demonstrators invoking Osama bin Laden and denouncing US President George W. Bush gathered in front of the American embassy here Friday to protest alleged abuse of the Holy Quran by US soldiers.The group included a Briton who was held in the US camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and claimed to have witnessed the desecration of the Holy Quran American soldiers.(Posted @ 20:45 PST)
Libya to open US embassy soon: Kadhafi's son SHUNEH, Jordan, May 20 (AFP) - The son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi predicted Friday his country would soon open an embassy in Washington, marking a further step in the gradual rapprochement between the two former foes."By the end of this year we will have an embassy in Washington and the United States will have an embassy in Libya," Seif al-Islam Kadhafi told a conference on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in this Dead Sea resort.(Posted @ 20:45 PST)
Italian woman hostage killed in Afghanistan - kidnapper KABUL, May 20 (Reuters) - The Italian aid worker kidnapped in Afghanistan has been killed, the alleged kidnapper told Reuters on Friday, but a government spokesman said she was still alive.Timoor Shah said that he had killed Clementina Cantoni after President Hamid Karzai's government refused to accept his demands."We strangled her with a rope at nine o'clock last night,"Shah said. Karzai's spokesman, Jawed Ludin, insisted that 32-year-old Cantoni was still alive.(Posted @ 20:00 PST)
Iraq agrees Iran request for more Saddam charges BAGHDAD, May 20 (AFP) - Iraq has acceded to Iranian calls for additional war crimes charges against Saddam Hussein and his top aides in connection with the 1980-88 war between the two countries, the foreign ministry said Friday.The announcement followed a visit to Baghdad earlier this week by Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi.(Posted @ 19:45 PST)
At least 306 militants killed in South waziristan since March 2004 Islamabad (dpa) - A senior Pakistani military commander Friday said security forces in the troubled South Waziristan tribal region had killed at least 306 suspected militants, mostly foreigners, since March 2004.(Posted @ 19:30 PST)
Pakistani man rides Kashmir bus back home as bride denied permission to travel SRINAGAR, India, May 20 (AFP) - A Pakistani man who had made headlines when he traveled to Occupied Kashmir aboard the bus service to wed his cousin returned home without his bride, an official said on Friday. The marriage between Ajmal Basharat, a resident of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and his cousin, Samia Hai, was the first such wedding since the April 7 launch of the bus. "I'm going back without my wife as she has not been given permission to travel to Pakistan-administered Kashmir," he told reporters before making his journey to Muzaffarabad.(Posted @ 18:15 PST)
Occupied Kashmiri leader suggests joint power projects by India, Pakistan SRINAGAR, India, May 20 (AFP) - Occupied Kashmir's chief minister on Friday urged India and Pakistan to cooperate on developing hydroelectric power in a bid to avert further rows over power development in the territory. "This Baglihar project does not amount to any violation of the Indus Water Treaty”, the chief minister said in a statement. "The answer to end this mistrust and apprehension is to have joint ventures in hydroelectric power," he asserted.(Posted @ 18:00 PST)
India must show flexibility: Mirwaiz Srinagar, May 20 (PPI): Senior Hurriyat Leader, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, urged New Delhi to show flexibility in its stand and give suggestions for the final settlement of the Kashmir issue. He was addressing a seminar on the "Kashmir issue and Dialogue process" here as part of the week long programme to observe the death anniversaries of eminent liberation leaders Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq and Abdul Ghani Lone, the Kashmir Media Service reported.(Posted @ 18:00 PST)
MoU signed to prevent AIDS spreading in Pakistan ISLAMABAD, May 20 (PPI): The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Friday to prevent and control AIDS in Pakistan. The World Bank also advanced a $47 million grant for the project.(Posted @ 18:00 PST)
President, PM attend meeting for periodical foreign policy review RAWALPINDI, May 20 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz attended on Friday a meeting that carried out a periodic review of Pakistan's foreign policy. They exchanged views on President Musharraf's forthcoming visit to the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand and also the Prime Minister Aziz's upcoming visit to Turkey. The outcome of the visits by foreign leaders to Pakistan too came under discussion. Senior government officials attended the meeting as well.(Posted @ 17:45 PST)
Pakistan wants implementation of the 1989 agreement on Siachin: FO ISLAMABAD, May 20 (APP): Foreign Office Spokesman, Jalil Abbas Jilani, said on Friday that the Siachin dispute should be resolved through implementation of the 1989 accord, under which both countries were required to bring their troops back to their 1972 positions. Defence Secretaries' level talks will be held between the two countries on May 26, he added.(Posted @ 16:45 PST)
Swedish Airlines flight arrives in city LAHORE, May 20 (APP)- The inaugural flight of the Swedish national carrier SweFly landed in Lahore here on Friday morning and became the first European airline to link Lahore directly with Stockholm. The airline spokesman told APP that the first flight carrying 149 passengers aboard Boeing 767-200 landed here at the Allama Iqbal International Airport at 7.10 a.m. after a journey of nine hours and forty-five minutes. On arrival, the passengers were received by Swedish Consul General Bow Linatte, Director Marketing, Swefly, Naveed Siddique and officials of the Civil Aviation Authority. Two regular flights a week are now scheduled between the Swedish and Punjab capitals, he added. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Photos of Saddam in underwear prompt US military investigation LONDON, May 20 (AFP) - A British newspaper published front-page photographs on Friday of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein standing in his underwear while in US military custody, prompting an investigation into possible human rights abuses. Under the headline "Tyrant's in his pants," The Sun ran a photo of a bare-chested Saddam in his underwear and holding an item of clothing as he appeared to be getting dressed. The photos "were taken in clear violation of Department of Defence directives and possibly Geneva Convention guidelines for the humane treatment of detained individuals," a US military statement said adding that it was investigating the incident. (Posted @ 15:30 PST)
Leaked US documents highlight abuse of prisoners in Afghanistan KABUL, May 20 (AFP) - Two detainees in US military custody died in Afghanistan in 2002 after being severely beaten as part of a pattern of abuse by young and badly-trained soldiers, the New York Times reported on Friday quoting a leaked US Army criminal investigation report. "Sometimes the torment seems to have been driven by little more than boredom, cruelty, or both," the report said. (Posted @ 15:00 PST)
Four US soldiers killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, May 20 (AFP) - Four US soldiers have been killed in three separate incidents in Iraq, according to US military statements here on Friday. Two soldiers were killed in a drive-by shooting attack on their convoy in central Baghdad on Thursday, while another was killed a day earlier in a mortar fire attack on a base in Ramadi, west of Baghdad. Another soldier died in a road crash after a bomb exploded near US patrol vehicles overnight on Thursday to Friday near Taji, north of the capital. (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
Palestinian killed in Gaza clash with Israeli army JERUSALEM, May 20 (Reuters) - At least one Palestinian gunman was killed in a gun battle with Israeli forces near the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom in the Gaza Strip on Friday, the Israeli army said. Israeli radio said there were no Israeli army casualties. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Red Cross raised Guantanamo Holy Quran desecration abuse concerns WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross told the Pentagon as early as 2002 detainees at Guantanamo Bay prison had reported U.S. personnel mishandled the Holy Quran, Red Cross and U.S. officials said on Thursday. The ICRC told the Pentagon "multiple" times in 2002 and early 2003 prisoners at the base in Cuba alleged U.S. officials showed "disrespect" for the Muslim holy book, said Simon Schorno, an ICRC spokesman. "The U.S. government took corrective measures and those allegations have not resurfaced," Schorno said.He declined to specify if the complaints included the flushing of the Holy Quran down the toilet or if U.S. officials used the disrespect as part of interrogations.(Posted @ 9:30 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 113.61 points , May 20: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 7300.09, down 113.61 points from Thursday’s close. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:30 PST)
Forex update KARACHI, May 20: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 61.05 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:30 PST)
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