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| July 11, 2005 | Monday | Jumadi-us-Sani 3, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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More than 30 civilians burned to death in Congo attack BUKAVU, DR Congo, July 11 (AFP) - An armed gang herded dozens of civilians into their huts in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), lit the homes on fire and burned more than 30 of them alive, the UN mission in the DRC said Monday. "More than 30 civilians, mostly women, were killed and about 50 wounded" in the attack on Saturday night on Ntulumamba village, about 70 kilometres (45 miles) to the northeast of the border town of Bukavu in Sud-Kivu province, the spokesman for the UN mission MONUC Kemal Saiki said. Sud-Kivu province, which borders on Rwanda and Burundi, is one of the most volatile parts of a vast central African nation emerging from a 1998-2003 war, and like areas further north is home to many former rebels and militia groups. The victims were forced into their huts and their homes were then set ablaze, Saiki told AFP.(Posted @ 23:25 PST)
Rebels kill at least 14 villagers in north Uganda KAMPALA, July 11 (Reuters) - Ugandan rebels killed at least 14 villagers on their way to market in the troubled north of the country, the army and aid workers said on Monday. Fighters from the cult-like Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) ambushed a heavily-loaded vehicle as it approached Paloga trading centre in Kitgum district on Sunday, the army said. "Apparently the rebels ambushed a civilian pick-up with people going to market and killed 14 of them," said Captain Paddy Ankunda, army spokesman in the north. A United Nations official in the region said the death toll had since risen to 17 and that 10 people were injured in the attack. The official said the vehicle had also been set on fire. Paloga is about 30 kilometres (19 miles) south of Uganda's porous border with southern Sudan, where the LRA's elusive leader Joseph Kony is thought to be hiding.(Posted @ 22:50 PST)
PM tells German businessmen Pakistan offers lucrative investment opportunities FRANKFURT, (Germany) Jul 11 (APP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Monday said Pakistan has become an attractive destination for foreign investment due to structural reforms and liberal economic policies of the government. Addressing the heads and Chief Executive Officers of leading German investment companies and businessmen at a function organized by Deutsche Bank at its headquarter the Prime Minister gave an overview of Pakistan's economy and its achievements and said Pakistan is trying to achieve the confidence of foreign investors and has taken a number of steps in this regard.(Posted @ 20:42 PST)
5.21 lakh persons affected by recent flood LAHORE, July 11 (APP): The flash floods affected 521305 persons in 11 districts of the province perishing 82 cattle heads and damaging crops over 207824 acres of land. Director Operation Relief Department, Mian Akram talking to APP said that 198 relief camps have been set up in flood hit areas and dry and cooked food,medicines and tents are being provided to affectees.He said a total of 802 villages have been affected in the province including 89 in district Layyah,159 in district D G Khan ,196 in Rajanpur, 40 in Mianwali,125 in Muzaffargarh,26 in Bhakkar,46 in Sialkot,34 in Gujrat,38 in Gujranwala ,16 in Mandi Bahauddin and 32 in Sargodha district. About damage to property , he said 10900 houses were damaged or destroyed in district Layyah, 6804 in district D G Khan , 823 in district Muzaffargarh and 489 in Sialkot . Persons affected in various districts: 2,40,000 in layyah; Rajanpur 85,030, Sialkot 37371,Gujrat 20,000,D G Khan 14515,Muzaffargarh 3769 and Bhakkar 100.(Posted @ 20:35 PST)
Two US pilots die at Canadian air show OTTAWA, July 11 (AFP) - Two US pilots, part of the civilian aerobatics team Masters of Disaster, were killed late Sunday in a fiery midair crash during a show in Moosejaw in western Canada. Witnessed by 20,000 spectators including friends and relatives, Bobby Younkin and Jimmy Franklin's biplanes collided with a third plane during a recreation of a World War I dogfight. The pilot of the third plane landed safely.(Posted @ 20:18 PST)
Fourteen drown as Pakistan flood-rescue boat capsizes MULTAN, Pakistan, July 11 (AFP) - At least 14 people drowned on Monday when a rescue boat evacuating flood affected people to safer places capsized in central Pakistan, officials said. Twelve bodies have been recovered while the search for two children was ongoing in Rojhan Mazari town, 270 kilometers (170 miles) west of Multan, local police chief Anis Lodhi told AFP. A wave of floodwater swept the boat, which then capsized after hitting an electricity pole in the inundated village, he said.(Posted @ 20:15 PST)
Blair to work with Muslims for 'moderate voice' of Islam LONDON, July 11 (AFP) - Prime Minister Tony Blair said Monday he was proud of the contribution of Muslims in Britain, and vowed to work with them to promote the "moderate and true voice" of Islam in the wake of the London bombings.(Posted @ 20:05 PST)
Rice in Japan on Asia tour ahead of NKorea nuclear talks TOKYO, July 11 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived here late Monday for talks with Japanese leaders, including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. aimed at laying the groundwork for resumed talks on ending North Korea's nuclear program. She arrived from Thailand where she toured the tsunami-hit resort of Phuket. She began her tour in China, the main ally of Pyongyang and host of the nuclear talks, and heads late Tuesday to South Korea.(Posted @ 20:00 PST)
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to visit Japan from August 8-11 ISLAMABAD, Jul 11 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will visit Japan from August 8-11 at the invitation of Prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, a foreign office statement said on Monday.(Posted @ 18:15 PST)
Bye-elections result withheld on recommendation of R.O QUETTA, July 11 (APP): Election Commissioner Balochistan Chaudary Qamar Zaman has said that the result of the bye-elections for the Provincial Assembly seat PB-12 Qila Abdullah-II has been withheld by the Chief Election Commissioner on the recommendation of the Returning Officer.(Posted @ 18:12 PST)
PCB offers central contract to 20 players LAHORE, July 11 (APP)- Pakistan Cricket Board on Monday offered Central Contract for a period of one year, effective July 1, to twenty top players of the country,a spokesman said. Another 13 having the potential to represent Pakistan in future,are being offered Central Retainership Contract for similar period.Players to get central contract are: Inzamam ul Haq , Yousaf Youhana , Younus Khan, Abdul Razzaq , Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi , Muhammad Sami, Danish Kaneria , Kamran Akmal , Asim Kamal , Salman Butt , Naveed ul Hassan Rana , Yasir Hameed , Shoaib Akhtar , Arshad Khan , Shabbir Ahmad , Rao Iftikhar , Umar Gul , Bazid Khan , Imran Farhat. Folloiwing are offered Central Retainership Contract:- Misbah ul Haq , Hasan Raza , Faisal Iqbal, Muhammad Asif Yasir Arafat, Najaf Shah, Muhammad Khalil, Shahid Nazir, ,Muhammad Irshad, Imran Tahir, Zulqarnain Haider , Asher Zaidi and Taufiq Umer. (Posted @ 18:10 PST)
Pakistan condemns attacks on Islamic centers, shrines in New Zealand, UK ISLAMABAD, July 11 (APP): Pakistan Monday condemned the attacks on Islamic centers and other religious places in New Zealand and Britain, apparently in the wake of last week’s bomb blasts in London. "The attacks on Islamic centers and religious places are most unfortunate and regrettable," Foreign Office Spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani said. "Terrorism has no religion. Those who are engaged in terrorism are the enemies of humanity and their actions are against the spirit of Islam," Jilani told APP. Those attacking the religious places of Muslims, or for that matter any faith, "would only serve the cause of terrorists,"he added.(Posted @ 18:05 PST)
President says development projects and robust growth offer vast investment opportunities RAWALPINDI, July 11 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf said Monday that a number of infrastructure development projects underway in the country and robust growth of the national economy offer tremendous scope for investment. Talking to a 10-member delegation of national and international industrialists representing the steel sector he said that out of the approximately 700 multinational business concerns operating in Pakistan, nearly all have been posting profits in double figures.(Posted @ 18:00 PST)
PM arrives in Berlin BERLIN, July 11 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was accorded a warm welcome when he arrived in Berlin on the second day of his visit to Germany. A smartly turned out contingent of the army presented a salute to the Prime Minister as he alighted from the aircraft. Formal welcome ceremony will be held at the Chancellery.(Posted @ 17:35 PST)
Bosnia mourns Srebrenica victims Sarajevo/Srebrenica (dpa) - Sirens and a minute of silence across Bosnia-Herzegovina at noon on Monday marked the observance of the 10th anniversary of the massacre in the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica . Some 50,000 people gathered at the Memorial Center Potocari near Srebrenica to pay tribute to up to 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men killed by Bosnian Serb troops in Srebrenica on 11 July 1995, during the 1992- 1995 war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Numerous international delegations, including the presidents of Albania, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, foreign ministers of Britain, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey, Bulgaria, Slovenia, and Macedonia, and other international dignitaries have also arrived in Potocari. During the commemoration at the Memorial Center Potocari, 610 recently identified Srebrenica victims would be buried, making a total of 1,937 Srebrenica victims that were buried in Potocari out of 2,070 victims identified in the last decade.(Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Pakistani, Chinese navies to hold joint exercises Islamabad (dpa) - Pakistani and Chinese navies will hold joint exercises next year in Pakistani waters to boost cooperation in tactics, security and counter-terrorism operations, a naval official said Monday. This will be the second joint naval exercise between the two navies. The last such exercise was held in November 2003 near the Shanghai Coast in China. Pakistani naval chief Admiral Shahid Karimullah extended the invitation for joint exercises to the Chinese navy during his recent visit to Beijing.(Posted @ 17:20 PST)
Muslims must not become scapegoats, warns Archbishop London (dpa) - The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, Monday warned against making Muslims in Britain scapegoats for the multiple bomb attacks that killed at least 49 people and injured 700 last Thursday. "Routine friendship and cooperation between Muslims and Christians remains the best hope we have in any conflict of finding ways forward," Willams told a church meeting in York, northern Britain. "Nothing can really substitute for a face-to-face encounter when even the sharpest differences of conviction can be held with respect," the head of the worldwide Anglican Church said.(Posted @ 17:15 PST)
U.S. military praises Pakistan's support in fight against terrorism Kabul (dpa) - U.S.-led coalition forces on Monday praised Pakistan for its support in the war against terrorism. Speaking at a regular press conference, James Yonts, the U.S. military spokesman, told reporters in the Afghan capital Kabul that the government of Pakistan has been doing its utmost efforts to fight terrorism. "What I do know is Pakistan has been a strong defender and fighter in war on terrorism," he said. "No other country has killed as many or has captured as many terrorists as Pakistan has. We are working very closely with the military, so we are very very confident that Pakistan is doing all it can or as much as they can to support the war on terror."(Posted @ 17:08 PST)
Bakiyev questions U.S. presence in Kyrgyzstan BISHKEK, July 11 (Reuters) - Kyrgyzstan's newly-elected president Kurmanbek Bakiyev on Monday questioned the continued presence of U.S. troops on a military base they have used since the 2001 war to oust the Taliban in Afghanistan. "We may proceed with the issue of whether it is expedient to still deploy military forces of the United States (in Kyrgyzstan)," Bakiyev told a news conference. "Time will show when and how it (withdrawal) happens."(Posted @ 16:55 PST)
Blast kills 16 in Russian shopping centre: officials MOSCOW, July 11 (AFP) - Sixteen people were killed Monday in an explosion in a shopping centre in the north-western Russian city of Ukhta, the emergency situations ministry said. "An explosion whose cause is unknown took place at 1:58 p.m. Moscow time (0958 GMT) in a shopping centre housed in a two-storey brick building and caused 16 deaths, according to preliminary information," a spokesman for the ministry told AFP by telephone. Ukhta, which has a population of about 100,000 is in the oil-rich Komi region of Russia.(Posted @ 16:35 PST)
Nine Iraqi soldiers massacred as rebels multiply attacks BAQUBA, Iraq, July 11 (AFP) - Nine Iraqi soldiers were killed Monday when rebels launched a carefully-planned dawn raid on a road checkpoint in central Iraq, a day after nearly 50 died in a string of nationwide attacks mostly triggered by suicide bombers. Meanwhile, the Iraqi authorities said they were investigating the deaths of nine bricklayers, arrested Sunday on suspicion of links to insurgents, who suffocated to death while held in a police van in Baghdad.Monday's dawn raid by insurgents targetted a checkpoint outside Khales, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) northeast of Baghdad, police said. Gunmen opened fire on the checkpoint at around 5:50 am and when Iraqi army reinforcements rushed to the scene triggered a bomb hidden in a pickup truck carrying melons which had been parked nearby. Six soldiers and three civilians were also wounded in the attack. In other violence Monday, two Iraqi soldiers were shot dead near al-Azisiyah, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) southeast of Baghdad, as troops searched houses looking for a suspect who escaped, the army said. Two other people were arrested. And four more people were wounded during a mortar attack in the morning in the eastern part of town, it added.(Posted @ 16:32 PST)
US sending up to 700 extra troops for Afghan elections KABUL, July 11 (AFP) - The United States said Monday it will send up to 700 extra soldiers to Afghanistan and pledged the shattered country's landmark parliamentary elections would go ahead as planned this September. Spokesman Colonel James Yonts said a US airborne battalion, usually consisting of 500 to 700 troops, "will show up very soon" to join the 18,000-member American-led coalition in Afghanistan. He did not give a date.(Posted @ 16:25 PST)
Nearly 100 dead or missing in China mine disasters BEIJING, July 11 (AFP) - Forty-one miners died and 57 others are missing after two separate disasters in China's coal mine industry, a government agency and state media said Monday.The bulk of the casualties came when a gas explosion ripped through a mine in China's northwest Xinjiang region, killing at least 40 and leaving 43 unaccounted for, the State Administration for Work Safety said A total of 87 people were working but only four miners have been found alive.One miner died and 14 others were feared dead in a separate coal mine accident in southern China's Jiangxi province.(Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Police kill four Taliban militants in clash in southern Afghanistan KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, July 11 (AFP) - Afghan police killed four Taliban fighters and arrested one in a clash in the country's south that also left one officer wounded, a provincial government spokesman said on Monday. The gun battle broke out on Sunday when police raided a militant stronghold in the Chanaran valley of Daychopan district, Zabul province, said spokesman Gulab Shah Ali Khail. "Four Taliban were killed in the fighting. The rest of them managed to flee into the mountains," the spokesman told AFP. Local district chief Zafar Khan said one Taliban militant was arrested and one police officer wounded. But Abdul Latif Hakimi, claiming to represent the ousted Taliban regime, put the police death toll at nine and said only two Taliban were wounded and no one killed in the clash. He was speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location.(Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Eight militants, Indian soldier killed in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, July 11 (AFP) - Eight militants and an Indian army soldier were killed in fresh clashes in Indian occupied Kashmir, army and police officials said Monday.Three militants were killed in northern Baramulla district late Sunday, army spokesman Vijay Batra said. One of them was identified as Tanveer Abbasi alias Gazali serving as chief financial controller of the Harkat-ul-Mujahedin , Batra told AFP.Two others , one of them the district commander of another hardline group, were killed by troops in another gunbattle in the southern district of Pulwama late Sunday, Batra said.Three more militants and an Indian army soldier were also killed late Sunday in clashes in the adjoining southern districts of Rajouri and Doda, a police spokesman said.The violence came a day after India's Home Minister Shivraj Patil toured Indian occupied Kashmir to review security arrangements for the ongoing annual Hindu pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Amarnath. Kashmir is in the grip of a nearly 16-year-old insurgency that has left more than 44,000 people dead by official count. Separatists say the toll is twice as high.(Posted @ 16:18 PST)
Pakistan police gun down killer leopard PESHAWAR, Pakistan, July 11 (AFP) - Police commandos Monday shot dead a snow leopard which reportedly killed six women in northwestern Pakistan, officials said. They lured the leopard into a forested area with a caged goat and then sprayed the cat with bullets when it fell for the trap, about 200 yards (meters) from the spot where it was thought to have mauled a woman on Friday. "We are 100 percent sure it is the same leopard," Police Superintendent Shah said.(Posted @ 16:15 PST)
Fretful Londoners return to work on subways, buses LONDON, July 11 (AFP) - Millions of Londoners returned to work Monday riding rush hour trains and buses, trading fretful glances amid security warnings that new attacks could occur as long as the bombers remained at large. After a day of prayers for the victims people descended into subway trains and rode the buses to work again. London Mayor Ken Livingstone rallied Londoners as he rode the Underground to work on Monday, saying, "We don't let a small group of terrorists change the way we live." Transport police said one line remained suspended while parts of four other lines were closed.(Posted @ 16:10 PST)
Four prisoners escape from US jail in Afghanistan KABUL, July 11 (AFP) - Four detainees escaped a heavily fortified jail in the main American military base in Afghanistan on Monday, the US armed forces said. The "dangerous enemy combatants" slipped out of the prison at Bagram Air Base, north of the capital Kabul, at 5:00 am (0030 GMT), spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jerry O'Hara told AFP. He refused to give their nationalities. Bagram currently holds about 375 Afghan prisoners and an unknown number of foreigners. Many have been detained there since US-led forces invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 to overthrow the Taliban. (Posted @ 15:41 PST)
Pakistan rejects Indian allegations on terrorist camps ISLAMABAD, July 11 (APP): Pakistan Monday dismissed Indian allegations of running terrorist camps in the country, saying such charges would not help the ongoing peace process between the two countries. "There are no terrorist camps in Pakistan," Foreign Office spokesman, Jalil Abbas Jilani, said when asked to comment on a recent statement made by Indian External Affairs Minister, Natwar Singh, in which he had alleged that terrorist camps existed in Pakistan. (Posted @ 12:56 PST)
14 killed as electric wire falls on passenger boat MULTAN, July 11 (APP)- As many as 14 persons were electrocuted and several others injured Monday morning when a live wire fell on a passenger boat carrying about 40 people in tehsil Rojhan, district Rajanpur, police sources said. (Posted @ 11:48 PST)
Body of U.S. commando found in Afghanistan KABUL, July 11 (Reuters) - The body of a U.S. commando, the last in a group of four who went missing in Afghanistan last month, has been found and recovered, CNN reported quoting a senior U.S. defence official. The Navy SEAL commando was killed in a shoot out with insurgents, the official was quoted as saying. (Posted @ 10:13 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 35.18 points: KARACHI, July 11: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 7553.76, up 35.18 points from Friday's close. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:40 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, July 5: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.5 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:00 PST)
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