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| June 16, 2005 | Thursday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 8, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Afghanistan : major clash KANDAHAR, June 16 (PPI): Fighting broke out between about 90 suspected Talibans and hundreds of Afghan soldiers and US troops on the border between Kandahar and Uruzgan after the militants attacked a joint Afghan-coalition patrol, army commander Gen. Muslim Amid said.Seven militants were killed and 10 wounded in the fighting which ended with the insurgents fleeing into nearby mountains, carrying their injured, he said. Two militants were captured.(Posted @ 17:32 PST)
Six US servicemen killed as Iraqi forces win Australian praise BAGHDAD, June 16 (AFP) - Six US servicemen were killed amid a spate of violence that left more than 40 Iraqis dead. Five marines were killed in a roadside bomb during combat operations Wednesday near the town of Ramadi, west of the capital, the US military said. Another US sailor died of his wounds the same day when he was hit by small arms fire in clashes with insurgents, also in Ramadi.(Posted @ 17:10 PST)
Gilchrist voted destroyer-in-chief LONDON, June 16 (AFP) - Adam Gilchrist has been voted the most destructive and intimidating batsman in international one-day cricket. A poll of leading bowlers -- carried out by The Wisden Cricketer magazine -- identified the Australian as the man they fear most, ahead of the likes of Brian Lara, Shahid Afridi, Virender Sehwag and Englands Andrew Flintoff. Bowlers who took part in the survey included Shaun Pollock, Muttiah Muralitharan,Ntini, Heath Streak, Harbhajan Singh, Brett Lee, Shadat Hossain, Martin Suji and Peter Ongondo. Top ten: 1. Adam Gilchrist, 2. Brian Lara, 3. Shahid Afridi, 4. Virender Sehwag, 5. Andrew Flintoff, 6. Sachin Tendulkar, 7. Chris Cairns, 8. Matthew Hayden, 9. Abdul Razzaq, 10. Ricky Ponting(Posted @ 17:07 PST)
Pakistan's Musharraf says flexibility needed to resolve Kashmir issue SYDNEY, June 16 (AFP) - President Pervez Musharraf said there was "light at the end of the tunnel" in the long-standing dispute with India over Kashmir but warned flexibility was needed on both sides to resolve the issue. Musharraf, on the first visit to Australia by a Pakistani head of state, said a process of rapprochement was underway and there was a genuine desire for peace among the peoples of India, Pakistan and Muslim-dominated Kashmir. He told Asia Society function in Sydney: “ Kashmir dispute needs to be addressed, it relates to the fundamental rights of the Kashmiris.It cannot be wished away." Musharraf said he was suited to the role of peacemaker having had the "dubious distinction" of serving in two of the three wars between Pakistan and India over Kashmir."I am eminently qualified to bring peace because I understand the ravages of war," he said.(Posted @ 17:05 PST)
Three Sunni party activists gunned down in Pakistan KARACHI, June 16 (AFP) - An angry crowd went on the rampage in Karachi Thursday after three activists of a Sunni Tehrik were found murdered, police said. Supporters of Sunni Tehrik ( set ablaze two buses and forced shopkeepers to pull down their shutters in several southern neighbourhoods. Riot police took up positions in sensitive areas as hundreds of mourners gathered for the funeral of the men later Thursday. Two workers for the Sunni Tehrik were shot dead late Wednesday while the bullet-riddled body of another activist was found early Thursday, police said. Tension has been simmering between Sunni Tehrik and MQM activists since Tuesday, when a gunbattle between rival workers left three people injured.(Posted @ 17:00 PST)
Iraqi judge, former Baathist gunned down as 13 wounded in car bombs BAGHDAD, June 16 (AFP) - An Iraqi judge and a former regime member were assassinated on Thursday, as 13 people were wounded in car bombs in the oil city of Kirkuk and in Baghdad, security sources said. Judge Salem Mahmud Haj Ali was gunned down in Mosul along with his driver. South of Baghdad, two gunmen dressed as policemen killed Karim Kazimi, a former senior member of Saddam Hussein's Baath party, in Hindiyah near the city of KarbalaIn other acts of violence Thursday, eight Iraqis, including four soldiers, were wounded when a suicide car bomber blew himself up in the path of an army convoy near the entrance of the Northern Oil Company in Kirkuk. In Baghdad, five Iraqi soldiers were wounded in a car bomb attack against their convoy, an interior ministry source said.(Posted @ 16:60 PST)
Veteran civil servant declared Hong Kong's next leader HONG KONG, June 16 (AFP) - Veteran civil servant Donald Tsang was declared Hong Kong's new leader by election officials Thursday after securing the overwhelming backing of a Beijing-backed committee that selects the Chinese territory's chief executive.(Posted @ 16:55 PST)
UN atomic agency to sign inspection agreements with Saudi Arabia VIENNA, June 16 (AFP) - The UN atomic agency decided Thursday to sign agreements with Saudi Arabia authorizing only limited inspections of its nuclear facilities, diplomats said.(Posted @ 16:53 PST)
Kashmiris get bus back to India, want ticket to talks MUZAFFARABAD, June 16 (Reuters) - After being feted for two weeks in Pakistan, Kashmiri leaders went home to India's side of the border on Thursday with hopes they can finally join a peace process between South Asia's nuclear rivals. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, one of the 9-member delegation to visit Pakistan, said the next move was up to India. "We expect the government of India to show seriousness and play its role in carrying forward this process," Farooq told reporters in Muzaffarabad. "The time has come for all three parties in the conflict to be involved in the peace process and I feel the first step towards that has been taken now," Farooq said. Before leaving Muzaffarabad, the leaders visited a refugee camp on the outskirts of the city, where some refugees raised banners proclaiming "Kashmir will become Pakistan", while others chanted "Kashmir will be independent."(Posted @ 16:25 PST)
Al Qaeda extends deadline for Iraq soldier hostages DUBAI, June 16 (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's wing in Iraq gave the U.S.-backed government another 72 hours to free women prisoners, threatening to kill 36 Iraqi soldiers it holds hostage if it does not comply, according to an Internet statement on Thursday by the group led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. (Posted @ 16:10 PST)
India mine flooding kills 14 PATNA, India, June 16 (Reuters) - Fourteen miners were feared dead when a wall collapse flooded a mine in Pataratu in Jharkhand state in eastern India on Wednesday, a government official said Thursday. (Posted @ 16:07 PST)
Iraqi judge shot dead in Mosul MOSUL, Iraq, June 16 (Reuters) - A senior Iraqi judge Salem Mahmoud al-Haj Ali was shot dead in his car in the northern city to Mosul as he was driven to work on Thursday, police and hospital officials said. His driver was also killed.He is the third judge to be assassinated in Mosul (Posted @ 15:59 PST)
Cambodian school siege ends, one child dead SIEM REAP, Cambodia, June 16 (Reuters) - A Canadian child and two gunmen were killed on Thursday as Cambodian troops and police stormed a school in the resort town of Siem Reap to end a six-hour siege near the Angkor Wat temples, police said. Witnesses said volleys of gunfire erupted at the school compound shortly before about two dozen policemen rushed out of the gates clutching children in their arms, in a confused ending to the drama. Six masked gunmen had stormed into the Siem Reap International School at around 9 am (0200 GMT) and taken a teacher and 29 young pupils hostage, many of them children of expatriate hotel workers.The gunmen repotedly demanded up to $30,000 and a 12-seater van to make their escape. (Posted @ 15:59 PST)
US envoy says bin Laden likely not in Afghanistan KABUL, June 16 (Reuters) - The outgoing U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan said on Thursday he did not believe fugitive al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden or Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar were in the country. Zalmay Khalilzad was responding to comments by a senior Taliban commander who said bin Laden, architect of the Sept 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, was in good health and that Omar was in direct command of Taliban forces in Afghanistan. "Mullah Omar is not is Afghanistan; I do not believe Osama is in Afghanistan," Khalilzad told a news conference, without saying where they were thought to be. (Posted @ 15:50 PST)
Jordan leads hunt for Iraq's looted treasures AMMAN, June 16 (Reuters) - Hidden in cars, coat pockets and even bags of onions, ancient treasures are flowing out of Iraq and many are surfacing in Jordan, where officials have seized a record 1,347 pieces in the past two years. The seized artefacts, kept in a secret storehouse, included an Assyrian ivory carving ransacked from the Baghdad Museum by looters as Saddam Hussein's rule crumbled, U.N. and Jordanian officials said this week. "These pieces are priceless,” said Philippe Delanghe, programme specialist for culture in the Iraq office ofUNESCO, based in Amman. (Posted @ 15:49 PST)
Pakistani airliners nearly collide over Karachi ISLAMABAD, June 16 (Reuters) - A Pakistan International Airlines aircraft carrying 266 people came close to colliding with a domestic airliner,carrying another 146 passengers, an official said on Thursday A warning system on the PIA Boeing 747, which was flying from Karachi to New York on Tuesday, alerted the pilot to an oncoming Airbus A320 aircraft of domestic carrier Airblue, a PIA spokeswoman said. "They were only a few nautical miles away in the same air corridor," The PIA plane went into a steep dive to avoid a collision.No one was hurt. A similar incident involving planes from the two airlines took place in December, also over southern Pakistan Civil aviation officials have started an inquiry into Tuesday's near miss. An investigation into the incident in December has not yet been completed. (Posted @ 15:48 PST)
Campaign ends in Iran's presidential race TEHRAN, June 16 (Reuters) - Campaigning in Iran's tight presidential race ended on Thursday with moderate cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani leading a pack of seven, but unlikely to secure the necessary 50 per cent to avert an unprecedented run-off vote between the two top candidates, possibly on June 24. (Posted @ 15:32 PST)
Cricket-Bangladesh 19-2 against England after 4 overs LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - Bangladesh are 19-2 against England after 4 overs. England won the toss and put Bangladesh into bat in their triangular series one-day game at the Oval. Jon Lewis took both wickets (Posted @ 15:25 PST)
US Afghan "Viceroy" vows hands-on role in Iraq KABUL, June 16 (Reuters) - Outgoing U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, dubbed by some as the American "Viceroy" to Afghanistan, was unapologetic about his style on Thursday and vowed a similar hands-on role if confirmed as envoy to Iraq. "My premise is that failure is not an option -- there is too much at stake," Khalilzad told a farewell news conference in Kabul. "I am not a potted plant!" (Posted @ 15:24 PST)
Musharraf says Pakistan has "broken the back" of Al-Qaeda; leaves for New Zealand SYDNEY, June 16 (AFP) - President Pervez Musharraf said Thursday that Pakistan’s military has "broken the back" of Al-Qaeda and reduced the terrorist organisation to small isolated bands hiding in the mountains on the Pakistan-Afghan border. "Terrorism will be confronted with force," Musharraf told an Asia Society function in Sydney. Musharraf said undermining the root causes of terrorism demanded a two-pronged strategy which needed Washington's involvement. "One prong is the Muslim world rejecting terrorism; the other prong should be executed by the West, especially the United States, to resolve all political disputes, the indirect strategy to counter Al-Qaeda, the indirect strategy to pacify Iraq or Afghanistan is the solution of the Palestine and the Kashmir disputes,” he said. Musharraf left Australia Thursday afternoon for a visit to New Zealand. (Posted @ 12:04 PST)
Sheikh Aziz's health deteriorates in Indian jail SRINAGAR, Jun 15 (APP): The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League (PL) party expressed concern over the deteriorating health of its Chairman, Sheikh Abdul Aziz, held in Tihar jail, New Delhi. Aziz, suffering from kidney disease, was not being provided proper medication by the jail authorities, a spokesman of PL said in a statement in Srinagar Wednesday according to a Kashmir Media Service report. (Posted @ 11:56 PST)
Mexico arrests Pakistani arms dealer sought in U.S. MEXICO CITY, June 15 (Reuters) - Mexican police near the U.S. border arrested a Pakistani, Arif Ali Durrani, wanted in the United States for trafficking anti-aircraft missiles, the attorney-general's office said on Wednesday. No further details were given of the charges against him in the United States. (Posted @ 11:13 PST)
Annan says he will not resign from UN PARIS, June 15 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, under fire over the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal, said on Wednesday he would not resign and was determined to continue his work to reform the United Nations. Annan said in a newspaper interview it was regrettable that former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker could not conduct his inquiry into the affair in "serenity" because of "incessant attacks against me, the U.N., and this committee". Annan's comments came after a newly disclosed memo appeared to cast doubt on his insistence he was unaware of a bid by a Swiss firm that employed his son for a lucrative contract under oil-for-food programme. (Posted @ 10:39 PST)
Bush defers moving US embassy to Jerusalem WASHINGTON, June 15 (AFP) - President George W. Bush announced Wednesday that he was deferring for six months the process of moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In a memorandum for US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Bush said the decision was "necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States." (Posted @ 10:38 PST)
Bomb-laden US military jet crashes in residential area, sparks evacuation LOS ANGELES, June 15 (AFP) - A US military jet carrying four 225 kilogram bombs Wednesday crashed into a residential suburb in the western US state of Arizona, forcing the evacuation of 1,300 homes, authorities said. The US Marine Corps Harrier jump jet ploughed into a garden of a house in the city of Yuma, injuring one civilian on the ground, but the pilot walked away from the crash site, a military spokesmen said.(Posted @ 9:35 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 157.46 points: KARACHI, June 16: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 7331.27, down 157.46 points from Wednesdays’s close. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:50 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, June 16: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.50 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:50 PST)
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