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| June 7, 2005 | Tuesday | Rabi-us-Sani 29, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Palestinian prisoners accuse Israeli guards of Holy Quran abuse Jerusalem (dpa) - Palestinian prisoners accused guards in Megiddo prison in northern Israel of desecrating editions of the Holy Quran, and said they would begin a hunger strike Wednesday, Palestinian reports said Tuesday.Israeli prison administrators rejected the accusation, saying the pages allegedly desecrated were not of the size of editions of the Holy Quran. They added that 81 mobile phones and 40 knives had been seized in an ongoing search of cells.Similar accusations of Holy Quran desecration at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay on Cuba resulted in furious protests in several Moslem countries.(Posted @:23:55 PST)
National Assembly to start discussions on Budget ISLAMABAD, Jun 7 (APP): The National Assembly will start discussion on the Federal Budget 2005-06 here from June 9 (Thursday).In this connection a meeting of the House Business Advisory Committee was held here Tuesday at Parliament House. Ch. Amir Hussain, Speaker National Assembly presided over the meeting, says a NA statement. The meeting was held in cordial and friendly atmosphere. It discussed and finalized the schedule for the passage of Finance Bill 2005. It was decided that general discussion on the Budget will start from Thursday June 9. It was also agreed that there will be two sittingof the National Assembly everyday. (Posted @ 23:50 PST)
Russian Foreign Minister arrives for talks in Cyprus Nicosia (dpa) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Cyprus Tuesday for a two-day visit to discuss the revival of the Cyprus talks, as well as trade and visa relations. Lavrov was to meet Wednesday with Greek Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos and the President of the House of Representatives (parliament) Demetris Christofias. He will also meet the United Nations Chief of Mission in Cyprus, Zbigniew Wlosowicz.(Posted @ 23:50 PST)
Stormy romance brings Florida baby boom MIAMI, June 7 (Reuters) - Nine months after the first of three hurricanes crisscrossed central Florida and stranded residents in their darkened homes, hospitals throughout the region are reporting a baby boom, the Orlando Sentinel said on Tuesday.Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach has seen 25 percent more deliveries than a year ago and pregnant women flocking to child birth classes there all tell the same story."There was no electricity, they were spending a lot of time at home, there were candles and I'll leave the rest up to you," Halifax spokeswoman Kate Holcomb told the newspaper.(Posted @ 23:15 PST)
Cricket-Pakistan's Youhana needs shoulder surgery KARACHI, June 7 (Reuters) - Pakistan batsman Yousuf Youhana is to undergo surgery on a chronic problem in his right shoulder which has troubled him for two years. "I underwent MRI and ultrasound tests last week and they showed ruptures in muscle tissues in the shoulder," Youhana told Reuters after Pakistan earned a 1-1 series draw by beating West Indies by 136 runs in the second test in Jamaica on Tuesday. "It has been bothering me for two years now and of late it has become difficult to hold the bat properly. I am now looking for permanent treatment," said the 30-year-old batsman. Pakistan have a three and a half month break from international cricket before they play England at home in three tests and five one-dayers.(Posted @ 22:55 PST)
N.Korea says will return to talks but not when-U.S. WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) - North Korea told the United States this week it would return to six-party talks on ending its suspected nuclear weapons programs but did not say when it would do so, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday. "The North Koreans said they would return to the six-party process but did not give us a time certain when they would return," U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.(Posted @ 22:55 PST)
Cricket-Kaneria, Shabbir help Pakistan draw series KARACHI, June 7 (Reuters) - Pakistan won a test in the Caribbean for the first time in 17 years when they beat West Indies by 136 runs in the second and final test in Kingston, Jamaica on Tuesday. Leg spinner Danish Kaneria grabbed five for 46 and paceman Shabbir Ahmed took four for 55, registering match figures of eight for 119, to earn Pakistan a 1-1 draw in the series. West Indies, who resumed on 114 for six chasing 280 for victory, were bowled out for 143 on the fifth day as they slumped to their 13th defeat in 20 tests."It was a very close match," said Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, who hit his 22nd test century on Monday. "The pitch was not easy for batting on the fourth and fifth days. It is good to see the team fighting hard and hopefully we can continue playing like this."(Posted @ 22:50 PST)
Kasuri leaves for high-level talks in Washington ISLAMABAD, Jun 7 (APP): Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri is leaving here Tuesday for Washington to hold high-level talks with US officials on bilateral, regional and global issues.The foreign minister during his two day visit to the United States of America, from June 9-10, will hold talks with the US Secretary of State Dr. Condoleeza Rice.He will also meet Stephen Hadley, National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush. During his visit, Foreign Minister Kasuri will also have meetings with leading members of the Congress on the Capital Hill and interface with leading think tanks and editorial board members. The visit of the Foreign Minister underscores the strength and closeness of bilateral relations and is expected to take the process of bilateral cooperation a step further in the social sectors,economic and defence fields.(Posted @ 22:15 PST)
Seventeen Afghan insurgents captured, says U.S. military Kabul (dpa) - Supported by U.S-led coalition forces, Afghan troops captured seventeen suspected Taliban along the Pakistani border, the U.S. military said Tuesday in a statement. The insurgents captured Monday will be transferred to the detainee holding facility at Bagram airfield, 50 kilometres north of the capital Kabul, and the main U.S. military base in war-torn Afghanistan, according to the statement.The insurgents were in possession of automatic rifles, Taliban-sponsored reading material and letters threatening Afghans not to cooperate with Afghan and coalition forces, the statement said.(Posted @ 21:45 PST)
Hurriyat leaders meet Kasuri The visiting Hurriyat leaders from Indian Held Kashmir Tuesday met Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar and Azad Kashmir President Sardar Muhammad Anwar were also present on the occasion. Foreign Minister and the Hurriyat leadership had detailed exchange of views on all aspects of Pakistan-India composite dialogue process, Confidence Building Measures and the Kashmir issue.(Posted @ 21:20 PST)
Musharraf supports Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline Rawalpindi June 7 (PPI) The visiting Indian Minister for petroleum Mani Shankar Aiyar called on President Pervez Musharraf here Tuesday. The Indian Minister informed the President about his talks with his Pakistani counterpart Amanullah Khan Jadoon on Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project. President Pervez Musharraf said it is an important project and its implementation was in the interest of all the three countries.(Posted @ 21:00 PST)
Pakistan beat West Indies to draw series KINGSTON, Jamaica, June 7 (AFP) - Pakistan completed a 136-run victory in the second and final Test against West Indies on Tuesday.The two-Test series was tied 1-1, after West Indies won the first match by 276 runs.Scores:Pakistan 374 and 309. West Indies 404 and 143.(Posted 20:45 PST)
Straw visits Israel after revealing British diplomats met Hamas JERUSALEM, June 7 (AFP) - British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw opened talks Tuesday with his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom after revealing in London that Britain had begun contacts with blacklisted Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.But after arriving in Israel, Straw appeared to backtrack from his comments and took aim at the group -- classified as a terrorist group by Britain, the European Union and the United States -- for waging "random terror".Hamas and rival militant group Islamic Jihad both claimed responsibility for an attack Tuesday on a Jewish settlement in southern Gaza in which a Chinese and Palestinian worker were killed.(Posted @ 20:45 PST)
Dams: Salman terms Kalabagh, Bhasha dams ' construction feasible Islamabad June 07 (PPI)The Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Dr. Salman Shah has said that construction of Kalabagh and Bhasha dams would start immediately after a final decision by the government in the light of the recommendations of two committees. Addressing a post-budget news conference he said feasibility studies of Kalabagh and Basha Dams have already been completed.(Posted @ 19:15 PST)
Suicide bombings in northern Iraq kill 22 Kirkuk, Iraq (dpa) - A series of suicide car bomb attacks in northern Iraq killed 22 people and injured 39 on Tuesday, according to Iraqi police. Three attacks occurred near Iraqi checkpoints in and around Hawija, 50 kilometres southeast of Kirkuk. One took place near the entrance to a U.S. military base, and a fourth occurred north of Kirkuk. Three Iraqi soldiers, 15 civilians and the four suicide bombers were killed in the attacks. In Baghdad, a car bomber trying to hit a passing police patrol missed the target, injuring one policeman and 16 civilians in the northern suburb of Shu'lah, witnesses said. Two civilians, a man and a woman, were killed when they were caught in the crossfire between U.S. soldiers and insurgents in Ramadi, 110 kilometres west of Baghdad, In another incident Tuesday, U.S. forces arrested Sheikh Abdel Sittar al-Jumeili at his home in Fallujah. Near Fallujah, a U.S. marine died Monday from wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle a day earlier, and in Balad, north of Baghdad, a civilian motorist was killed by a roadside bomb apparently intended for a U.S. patrol which passed the scene minutes later.(Posted @ 18:50 PST)
Mideast truce under fire as five killed in West Bank, Gaza QABATIYA, West Bank, June 7 (AFP) - Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinians, including a militant leader, during operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Tuesday. Two people were killed and five wounded when Palestinian militants fired multiple mortar rounds into the main Jewish settlement bloc in Gush Katif in southern Gaza, the army said. The casualties were Palestinians and foreign workers, but no Israelis . In the West Bank, Mraweh Khaled Kamil, a chief of Islamic Jihad's armed wing in the Jenin area, died under a hail of gunfire in the town of Qabatiya with other wanted militants, witnesses said.A civilian caught in cross-fire was also killed and nine other Palestinians injured, one of them seriously, Palestinian sources said. The Israeli military counted one soldier wounded, two armed Palestinian gunmen as "hit", and it said four militants surrendered. Another Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli soldiers on the border between the occupied Gaza Strip and Egypt, sources on both sides said.
Six including senior policeman injured in Afghan attacks KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 7 (AFP) - Two roadside bombs planted by suspected Taliban militants exploded separately in southeastern Afghanistan, injuring six people including a senior police officer, officials said Tuesday. The deputy police commander of Khak-i-Afghan district in Zabul province and two of his guards were "badly" injured when a bomb detonated on Monday, provincial spokesman Gulab Shah Alikhil told AFP.In neighboring Kandahar province, a similar device Monday injured three soldiers patrolling in Shahwali Kot, police said.(Posted @ 18:30 PST)
Al Qaeda ally claims Mauritania attack - website NOUAKCHOTT, June 7 (Reuters) - An Algerian group allied to al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for a weekend attack in Mauritania which killed 15 soldiers, according to an Internet posting. Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) said it had carried out Saturday's dawn raid on a remote Mauritanian military post near the border with Algeria and Mali, according to the statement on a website. It was not immediately possible to confirm the authenticity of the statement, which would be the first from the GSPC claiming responsibility for an attack outside Algeria.(Posted @ 18:15 PST)
IHK HC QUASHES RASHID'S DETENTION SRINAGAR, June 07 (APP): In occupied Kashmir, the High Court has quashed detention of Abdul Rashid Shahkar, a resident of Lal Bazar, Srinagar, who was booked under draconian Public Safety Act (PSA), Kashmir Media Service reported.(Posted @ 17:15 PST)
PBC to observe protest against desecration of Holy Quran ISLAMABAD, Jun 7 (APP): Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) will observe protest on June 9 (Thursday) throughout the country against desecration of the Holy Quran in Guantanmo Bay. According to a PBC press release the lawyers will boycott courts to record protest, hold meetings of their Bar Associations, pass resolutions and take out processions .(Posted @ 17:15 PST)
One killed, 8 injured in building collapse LAHORE, June 7 (APP): A labourer was killed while eight others sustained injuries when a double-storey building collapsed at Tajpura scheme, Dubai chowk Ghaziabad on Tuesday. Police said that about 10 labourers were working on the ground floor to convert the lower portion into a hall when it caved in. As a result one labourer was killed while 8 others received injuries. (Posted @ 17:08 PST)
Pakistan hands over 10 ambulances to Afghanistan Peshawar, June 7 (APP): The Government of Pakistan Tuesday handed over 10 well-equipped ambulances to the Afghanistan government, says an official handout. Pakistan had announced the provision of 45 ambulances to Afghanistan, out of which 23 were delivered earlier. (Posted @ 17:08 PST)
Rep. Lee applauds President Musharraf for showing leadership in War on Terror WASHINGTON, Jun 7 (APP)- Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Founding Co-Chair of the Congressional Pakistan Caucus Tuesday commended President Pervez Musharraf for handing over senior al-Qaida terror suspect Abu Farraj al-Libbi to the United States. In a statement issued in Houston, Texas, the Congresswoman said: "I want to commend President Musharraf for showing leadership once again in the War on Terror. Pakistan has been a steadfast ally of the United States in this war to dismantle the Al-Qaida terror network." (Posted @ 17:08 PST)
LHC directs court liquidator to dispose assets of Forex Company LAHORE, June 7 (APP)-The Lahore High Court Tuesday taking up a plea against a Forex Company directed the court liquidator to dispose the assets of the company to accommodate the affectees.Registrar Co-operatives had filed a petition against Forex Services International Pvt Ltd. The court directed the court liquidator, Syed Ali Zafar Shah, advocate to advertise sale of assets of the company and dispose of the assets to return money to the affectees, who had invested in the company. (Posted @ 16:55 PST)
New budget focuses on agriculture, industrial and services sectors: ISLAMABAD, Jun 7 (APP): Terming the budgetary proposals for FY 2005-06 as "people-friendly, farmers-friendly and investment- friendly", Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr. Salman Shah said Tuesday the main focus has been laid on agriculture, industrial and services sectors to remove shackles in the way of sustained economic growth. "The measures proposed in the new budget are aimed at improving the life of common man and to prepare them for effective participation in the country's economy", Dr. Salman Shah flanked by Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub Khan, Minister for State for Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, Secretaries of Finance and Planning, Chairman CBR and Advisor to the Ministry of Finance Dr. Ashfaq Hassan Khan told a Post-Budget Press Conference here. (Posted @ 16:55 PST)
New Army chief appointed in Bangladesh DHAKA (DPA) - The Bangladesh government Tuesday appointed Major General Moeen U. Ahmed as the country's new Army chief for the next three years, a Defence Ministry statement said. Major General Moeen, who takes his new assignment as Army chief of staff on June 15, succeeds Lieutenant General Hassan Mashhud Chowdhury, who retires next week. (Posted @ 15:58 PST)
OIC team affirms Thailand's southern violence not relgious conflict BANGKOK (DPA) - A six-person delegation of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) who have been investigating the escalating violence in Thailand's majority-Moslem deep South, affirmed on Tuesday that the situation was not a religious conflict. Sayed Gasim Almasri, head of the OIC advance team, whose investigation will pave the way for another visit to Thailand by OIC Secretary General Ekm Eleddin Ihsanoglu at a still undisclosed date, told a Press conference "the roots of the (southern) problem could be anything but religion". (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Blair arrives in Washington WASHINGTON, June 7 (AFP) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in Washington early Tuesday to meet with US President George W. Bush to discuss initiatives ahead of the Group of Eight (G8) summit next month. (Posted @ 15:35 PST)
Bolivian president quits; Congress to meet to decide future LA PAZ, June 7 (AFP) - Bolivian President Carlos Mesa resigned after he was forced to flee his office amid angry street protests demanding nationalization of the country's huge natural gas industry, as Congress prepared to meet Tuesday to decide the future of the government. (Posted @ 15:30 PST)
Power cut to Bangladesh refugee camp, 4 die from heat DHAKA, June 7 (Reuters) - Four people have died of heat exhaustion and dozens of others are ill at a refugee camp in Dhaka after Bangladeshi authorities cut off electricity there, a camp leader said on Tuesday. (Posted @ 15:13 PST)
Israeli troops kill Palestinian policeman QABATIYA, West Bank, June 7 (Reuters) - Israeli troops killed an unarmed Palestinian policeman on Tuesday during a clash with militants in the West Bank, local residents and medics said. They said soldiers entered the village of Qabatiya near the city of Jenin and encircled a house, exchanging fire with militants holed up inside. A uniformed Palestinian policeman, who was not carrying a weapon, was shot and killed by Israeli forces and that two Palestinians throwing stones at the troops were wounded. The policeman, they said was trying to chase away the stone-throwers when he was shot. (Posted @ 15:05 PST)
Bangladeshi woman dies as fighter plane crashes DHAKA, June 7 (Reuters) - A woman was killed and four people injured when a Bangladeshi fighter plane crashed into homes on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka on Tuesday, officials said.The pilot ejected himself unhurt. (Posted @ 14:55 PST)
Uzbek killings a "massacre" - human rights report MOSCOW, June 7 (Reuters) - Human Rights Watch on Tuesday accused Uzbekistan's leadership of trying to cover up a "massacre" by blocking an international inquiry into the killing of protesters last month. The New York-based group released the first comprehensive, independent report into the bloodshed in the town of Andizhan but said key questions -- including the real death toll which witnesses have said could be over 500 -- were still unanswered. "The scale of this killing was so extensive, and its nature was so indiscriminate and disproportionate, that it can best be described as a massacre," said the report. It said the wounded were left untreated for hours and some were finished off by troops. Many bodies were still unaccounted for, it said. (Posted @ 14:55 PST)
At least 16 dead in Somali militia clashes MOGADISHU, June 7 (Reuters) - At least 16 people have been killed and eight injured in separate militia clashes in two towns north of the capital, officials said on Tuesday. At least 11 people died in Balli Guled village north of Mogadishu, near Galkayo, and another five were killed in heavy factional fighting in Beletweyne on Monday. (Posted @ 14:50 PST)
Three suicide attacks in N. Iraq kill 14 KIRKUK, Iraq, June 7 (Reuters) - Three suicide car bomb attacks around the Iraqi town of Hawija near Kirkuk on Tuesday killed at least 14 people and wounded 22, local police said. Meanwhile in Baghdad, a car bomber ploughed into a police patrol and detonated his explosives, police said an accurate toll of the casualties was still being established. (Posted @ 13:05 PST)
Iraqi Sunni cleric killed in Basra BASRA, Iraq, June 7 (Reuters) - A Sunni cleric, Salam Abdul-Karim, in the southern Iraqi city of Basra has been killed, relatives said on Tuesday. He was taken away from his home on Sunday by men wearing police uniforms. His body was found the following day. (Posted @ 13:05 PST)
L.K. Advani resigns as president of BJP NEW DELHI, June 7 (APP/AP) BJP leader L.K. Advani resigned as party president after Hindu hard-liners expressed outrage at his praise of Pakistan's founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, during his recent visit to Pakistan, a news report said. Advani handed in his resignation to Sanjay Joshi, the party's organizational secretary, Press Trust of India news agency said. (Posted @ 12:35 PST)
Syria's vice-president to step down DAMASCUS, June 6 (Reuters) - Veteran Syrian Vice-President Abdel-Halim Khaddam, close to centre of power in Damascus for four decades, said on Monday he planned to step down to make way for a younger breed of politicians, Baath Party members said. "He cited personal reasons, apparently health reasons, and said he will remain loyal to the party," a Baath party member said. (Posted @ 12:20 PST)
Two Lashkar-e-Jhangvi suspects involved in mosque blasts seized in Karachi KARACHI, June 7 (AFP) - Police arrested two members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Mufti Altaf and Bilal Farooqi, in a raid early Tuesday on a house in Karachi's eastern Gulistan-e-Johar district, a senior police official said. Ten kilograms of explosives, two hand grenades, extremist literature and other material were also recovered from the suspects. The raid was carried out after the interrogation of a militant who had attacked a mosque in Karachi and survived, police added. (Posted @ 11:35 PST)
Pentagon says no plans to close Guantanamo prison WASHINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Monday rejected a call to close the Guantanamo prison for foreign suspects and declined to express regret over five cases of U.S. jailers "mishandling" the holy Quran. "Guantanamo serves a vital purpose in many ways," a senior Pentagon spokesman said clarifying that the United States was not considering shutting down the jail as suggested by a senior US Democrat. (Posted @ 11:30 PST)
West Indies score 114 for 6 chasing 280 at close of play in second innings KINGSTON, Jamaica, June 7 (Infostrada Sports) West Indies scored 114 for 6 Monday chasing Pakistan’s target of 280 runs at close of play on the fourth day of the test match. Summarized score: Pakistan 1st innings 374 (Yonus 106, Asim 51, Inzamam 50; Collymore 7-78), West Indies 1st innings 404 (Lara 153, Hinds 63, Sarwan 55; Shabbir 4-64), Pakistan 2nd innings 309 (Inzamam 117, Shoaib 64, Yonus 43, Shahid 43; Best 4-46, Collymore 4-56), West Indies 2nd innings 114 for the loss of 6 wickets (Smith 49, Hinds 19, Gayle 15, Lara 0, Browne 9 n.o., Powell 4 n.o.; Danish 4-36, Shabbir 1-40, Razzaq 1-37) (Posted @ 09:19 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 286.85 points KARACHI, June 07: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 7391.25, up 286.85 points from Monday's close. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:25 PST)
Forex update KARACHI, June 07: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.45 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:25 PST)
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