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| May 23, 2005 | Monday | Rabi-us-Sani 14, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
US-led forces kill two suspected Taliban in new Afghan operations KABUL, May 23 (AFP) - US-led troops killed two suspected insurgents in clashes Monday in southern Afghanistan, as foreign and Afghan forces conducted three new operations to hunt for remnants of the ousted regime. US Lieutenant Colonel Jerry O'Hara said the two were killed in Deh Chopan, a troubled district in southern Zabul province after attacking US troops. "Two insurgents were killed and the others fled the area," he added.(Posted @ 00:50 PST)
Baath Party slams U.S. over Saddam photos-newspaper DUBAI, May 23 (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein's Baath Party has said pictures of the former Iraqi leader in jail reflected the moral decline of the United States, a pan-Arab newspaper reported on Monday. "When the U.S. Defence Department leaks pictures of the defiant leader in prison ... it confirms the failure of its strategy in Iraq and, foremost, the moral and political collapse of the U.S. government and officials," London-based al-Quds al-Arabi daily quoted a Baath Party statement it received as saying.(Posted @ 00:50 PST)
Washington objects to invalidation of Iran candidates WASHINGTON, May 23 (AFP) - The United States said it was "deeply troubled" by the invalidation of more than a thousand potential candidates in Iran's upcoming presidential election, a state department spokesman said Monday. "Certainly, we're deeply troubled by a decision like this where the clerical regime's unelected Guardian Council invalidates the candidacy of over 1,000 presidential nominees in the upcoming elections, including the candidacies of the most prominent moderate candidates and all 93 women who had registered for the election," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.(Posted @ 00:50 PST)
US signs strategic partership pact with Afghanistan WASHINGTON, May 23 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush announced Monday that he had signed a strategic partnership with Afganistan's President Hamid Karzai for stepped up political, economic and security ties.(Posted @ 20:30 PST)
Kashmir political separatists invited to Pakistan ISLAMABAD, May 23 (Reuters) - Pakistan said on Monday it had invited the leaders of Indian held Kashmir's main political separatist alliance to visit the country next month, despite past objections by India.Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman told a news conference the invitation had been extended to all leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an alliance of about two dozen political groups, to make the trip on June 2. Jilani said Hurriyat leaders should not have a problem coming to Pakistan since a bus service between Indian and Pakistani Kashmir was launched on April 7 as part of a peace process resumed at the start of last year.(Posted @ 19:45 PST)
Pakistan to raise Holy Quran desecration issue with visiting US official ISLAMABAD, May 23 (AFP) - Pakistan will raise the issue of alleged desecration of the Holy Quran at Guantanamo Bay detention center when a senior US official arrives on Wednesday, the foreign office said."We will certainly raise this issue again when assistant secretary of state Christina Rocca visits Pakistan," foreign office spokesman Jalil Abass Jilani told reporters Monday.(Posted @ 19:30 PST)
Pakistan says no more discussion with India on Baglihar project Islamabad (dpa) - Pakistan on Monday said that bilateral discussions with India were finished on the Baglihar hydropower project. "Now we have passed that stage where we could discuss the issue bilaterally," Foreign Office Spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani told reporters at a weekly briefing.(Posted @ 18:30 PST)
Kashmir issue lies at the heart of Pak-India peace process: PM ISLAMABAD, May 23 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday underlined the centrality of Kashmir that "lies at the heart of the peace process" between Pakistan and India and called for showing necessary political will to resolve the dispute. Addressing the 36th session of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council, the Prime Minister said that Pakistan initiated a composite dialogue with India, sincerely hoping that it would ultimately lead to the just and durable solutions of all issues, particularly the Kashmir dispute. "It must be recognized that resolution of the Kashmir dispute is the key to durable peace in South Asia," said the Prime Minister who is also the Chairman of the AJK Council. AJK President Sardar Anwar Khan and Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan attended the meeting held at the Prime Minister Secretariat. (Posted @ 16:55 PST)
Bollywood film withdrawn after blasts in Indian theatres New Delhi (dpa) Controversial Bollywood film "Jo Bole So Nihaal", was withdrawn Monday from cinema halls across the country after twin bomb blasts in New Delhi theatres Sunday. (Posted @ 16:55 PST)
Indian president makes first Russian visit Moscow (dpa) - Russia, India and China should work towards tightening their three-way cooperation, Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said in Moscow Monday on his first state visit to the country. "Strengthening ties between these countries will help promote peace throughout the world," Kalam told Oriental specialists at the Russian Academy of Sciences. Kalam arrived Sunday on the first visit to Russia by an Indian head of state since the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union. (Posted @ 16:45 pST)
Pak Navy personnel rescue crew members of Korean vessel KARACHI, May 23 (APP)- Pakistan Navy personnel rescued 12 crew members of a Korean merchant ship, "MV Horizon-9", that caught fire about 15 miles south west of Karachi in the Arabian sea. A press release of the ISPR (Navy) on Monday said that the propulsion system and electric power of the ship had completely broken down and the vessel became "Not under command" in the open sea with its crew members trapped and waiting for assistance. (Posted @ 16:45 pST)
12 children kidnapped in Pakistan's central province Islamabad (dpa) - At least 12 school children were kidnapped by unknown persons from outside the school building in Jarawala town in Punjab. (Posted @ 16:45 PST)
Three Indian paramilitary troopers wounded in suspected militant ambush GUWAHATI, India, May 23 (AFP) - Three paramilitary troopers were seriously wounded in an ambush by suspected separatist rebels Monday in India's northeastern state of Assam, a police spokesman said. He said the rebelstriggered a remote-controlled bomb close to a crude oil refinery in Guwahati as paramilitary forces were on a foot patrol in the area. "The explosion was of a high intensity and it is sheer luck that the patrol party survived," the senior police official, who asked not to be named, told AFP. (Posted @ 16:40 PST)
India's eastern Bihar state to head for elections again NEW DELHI, May 23 (AFP) - India's cabinet Monday recommended new elections in the eastern state of Bihar four months after a hotly-contested vote threw up a hung assembly. The decision by the Congress-led federal coalition government came as allies of the BJP seemed on the verge of cobbling together the 122 legislators needed to run the state. The BJP immediately criticized the decision and said it was a violation of the constitution. "This is a murder of democracy and the Indian constitution," said BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Car bomb explodes at Baghdad restaurant BAGHDAD, May 23 (Reuters) - A car bomb exploded at a Baghdad restaurant on Monday and a police official said casualties were feared. The official said the bomb exploded in the Talibiya district of the capital. He had no further details. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Blair to visit US, Russia, EU capitals in G8 drive LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair will embark on a diplomatic shuttle ahead of a G8 summit in July to press for agreement on Africa and climate change, his office said on Monday. He will start in Rome this week. Before the summit, Blair will also visit Moscow and Washington, will see French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, and hold video conferences with the prime ministers of Canada and Japan." (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Al Qaeda behind killing of Iraq's PM adviser DUBAI, May 23 (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's wing in Iraq said it was behind the assassination of an official in the Ministry of State for National Security on Monday, according to an Internet posting. A statement from Al Qaeda in Iraq said its men killed Wael Rubaie and his driver as they headed to work in central Baghdad. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Insurgent attacks kill 7 Iraqis, 4 US troops BAGHDAD, May 23 (Reuters) - Guerrillas exploded a suicide truck bomb outside mayor's office and shot dead a security official and his driver in Baghdad on Monday, besides five others in escalating violence. The truck bomb exploded in the town of Tuz Khurmatu south of the oil city of Kirkuk, killing five people and wounding 18. Three American soldiers were killed in two separate attacks in the northern city of Mosul on Sunday, the military said, and another U.S. soldier was killed by a bomb blast near Tikrit.Meanwhile, U.S. and Iraqi forces detained 285 suspected insurgents in the western Baghdad district of Abu Ghraib after a major search operation, the U.S. military said. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
British FM presses Iran ahead of 'tough' nuclear talks BRUSSELS, May 23 (AFP) - British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on Monday pressed Iran to stick by commitments to freeze its nuclear activities, ahead of what he said will be "tough" talks with the European Union this week. Arriving for a regular ministerial talks in Brussels, he confirmed that the talks -- between Iran and the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany, plus EU foreign policy head Javier Solana - will take place in Geneva on Wednesday. (Posted @ 14:45 PST)
Moderate quake in southwestern Pakistan QUETTA, Pakistan, May 23 (AFP) - A moderate earthquake shook southwestern Pakistan on Monday but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, officials said. The quake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale was felt at 9:14 am (0414 GMT) in Quetta, a seismological department official, Mohammad Sajid, told AFP. The epicentre of the earthquake was located about 110 kilometers (69 miles) north of Quetta, near the town of Muslim Bagh, Sajid said. "There are no reports of any casualties or property losses so far," he said. (Posted @ 14:45 PST)
Four killed in occupied Kashmir violence SRINAGAR, India, May 23 (AFP) - Two people were killed in occupied Kashmir, whereas a civilian died in an explosion and a militant was shot dead by troops during a clash, police said on Monday. A police spokesman said the militants had abducted and later shot dead the civilians overnight in the southern district of Doda. No militant group claimed responsibility for the two killings. Another civilian died Sunday when he stepped on a land mine in the Tosha Maidan area of central Budgam district, police said. A police spokesman also informed that a militant was shot dead by Indian troops during a clash in the district of Baramulla on Sunday. (Posted @ 14:45 PST)
Two Uzbeks missing in southern Afghanistan, feared dead after convoy ambush KABUL, May 23 (AFP) - An Uzbek driver and his assistant have been abducted and are feared dead after militants attacked a convoy of trucks travelling in southern Afghanistan, an official said Monday. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
Chinese vice premier cancels meeting with Koizumi TOKYO, May 23 (AFP) - Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi cancelled on Monday a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi that was due to take place later in the day. "The Chinese side notified us this morning that she needs to go back to China because of urgent public duties," a Japanese foreign ministry official said. (Posted @ 12:20 PST)
BBC staff start 24-hour strike over job cuts LONDON, May 23 (AFP) - Journalists and broadcasting workers at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) started a 24-hour strike Monday over plans to cut 3,780 jobs across the world's biggest public broadcaster. BBC News 24 and BBC World sent out programmes with the word "Recorded" appearing on the screen. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)
India on high alert after morning blast NEW DELHI, May 23 (Reuters) - India was on high alert after a small blast on Monday wounded one person in Delhi. No group has claimed responsibility for Sunday's blasts that killed one person and wounded dozens. Police have erected temporary barricades on Delhi's roads and put railway stations and airports on alert. Police said a device hidden in a purse exploded beside a road on Monday but believed the attack was not connected to the cinema blasts. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Iran watchdog clears six to run for president TEHRAN, May 22 (Reuters) – Iran’s legislative watchdog on Sunday cleared six candidates to run for president including frontrunner Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former chief of police Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, 43, former head of state broadcasting Ali Larijani, 48, former commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards, Mohsen Rezaie, Tehran's mayor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,and former parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi, a mid-ranking cleric. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Two Iraqi soldiers, killed in Iraq morning attacks SAMARRA, Iraq, May 23 (AFP/Reuters) - Two Iraqi soldiers were killed and one wounded on Monday morning when insurgents fired 10 mortar bombs at a joint army-police base in Samarra, central Iraq, an army officer said. And in what might have been a series of further coordinated attacks, up to three car bombs exploded around the city, targeting a US base and a US army patrol, an army captain told AFP.(Posted @ 10: 00 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 315.87 points KARACHI, May 23: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 6984.22, down 315.87 points from Friday’s close. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:30 PST)
Forex update KARACHI, May 23: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.65 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:30 PST)
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