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| July 15, 2005 | Friday | Jumadi-us-Sani 7, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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24 killed in South African bus plunge JOHANNESBURG (DPA) - At least 24 people were killed and 30 injured Friday when a bus plunged down a ravine in South Africa's Eastern Cape province after a brake failure, local media reported. They quoted a bus company official as saying the driver had been ordered to pull over and wait for technical help with faulty brakes, but he ignored the order as he was eager to get home. The accident happened between Maclear and Tsolo during a trip from Cape Town. All the dead and injured were from the same town, Tsolo, the reports said.(Posted @ 23:50 PST)
Mangla dam storage capacity reduces SUKKUR, July 15 (APP)- Superintendent Engineer Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Sukkur, Saddoro Shaikh has said that since the completion of Mangla dam, the storage capacity of the dam reservoir has reduced by 20 percent due to siltation. While talking to APP here Friday at his office, he said for optimum utilisation of the Jehlum river water resources, it is necessary to regain the storage capacity.(Posted @ 23:15 PST)
Britain gives Pakistan list of London bombing suspects ISLAMABAD, July 15 (AFP) - British police have given Pakistan a list of terror suspects with possible links to the London attacks, officials said Friday, as two religious schools denied they had hosted one of the bombers.. "They provided us with names of certain individuals for information following the London bombing. We are checking the linkages here," a senior security official told AFP."We have asked the British government to provide specific information regarding the movement of suspected bombers in Pakistan," added the official. "We have no knowledge that anyone with the name of Shehzad Tanweer was enrolled in our madrassa. Our records do not confirm this name," Asadullah Farooq, son of madrassa leader Pir Saifullah Khalid, told AFP. "The allegation is baseless. We do not entertain foreign students, we only have Pakistani students," he added. Lashkar-e-Taiba also denied that Tanveer visited a campus formerly linked to the group in Muridke, near Lahore. "We have checked our records, no one with this name and with British nationality ever stayed there. We do not have a policy of carrying out suicide attacks on civilians," a spokesman for the group told AFP from Lahore.(Posted @ 20:22 PST)
Four Hamas militants killed in Gaza air strike GAZA CITY, July 15 (AFP) - Four Hamas militants were killed in an Israeli air strike on a van packed with explosives in eastern Gaza City on Friday, Hamas and Israeli military sources said.The armed wing of Hamas told AFP that the four killed were Hassem Abu Ras, Adel Hanyiah, Saber Abu Assi and Amjad Arafat. Palestinian medical sources said five civilians, including a child, were also wounded in the raid. An Israeli army spokesman also confirmed an Israeli air strike near the town of Salfit in the northern West Bank, which he said targeted two "Hamas terrorists". However, Palestinian sources gave conflicting reports of one and two militants killed in the blast. In Gaza, an AFP correspondent saw a headless corpse following a massive explosion, just hours after Palestinian security forces clashed with Hamas militants .(Posted @ 20:22 PST)
Pakistan's Musharraf launches new fight against Islamic extremism ISLAMABAD, July 15 (AFP) - President Pervez Musharraf Friday launched a new campaign against extremism in Pakistan. He told an unprecedented gathering of some 200 senior police officers from all over Pakistan that they must remove hate material including booklets, pamphlets and computer disks from local markets “latest by December this year." He also asked the police to crack down on militants outfits who were trying to resurface under new names after he banned most of them since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. He said the government would not allow any militant organisation to collect donations in any form or to address public meetings. Musharraf said the new measures should not be seen as anti-religion but were meant to curb the "extremist minority" harming Pakistan's interest and tarnishing the image of Islam.(Posted @ 20:20 PST)
Suicide bomb spree kills 20 across Baghdad BAGHDAD, July 15 (Reuters) - Suicide car bombers blew themselves up in a series of attacks within hours across the Iraqi capital on Friday, and U.S. forces said 20 Iraqis were killed. The U.S. military reported seven blasts in Baghdad, at least three of which were suicide car bombs . Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for five suicide attacks.(Posted @ 19:40 PST)
Unidentified victims of triple train crash buried Islamabad (dpa) - As many as 88 unidentified victims of the deadly train accident in Pakistan's southern Ghotki town were buried Friday, as the death toll from triple crash rose to 134, officials said. Rescuers recovered two more bodies by Thursday night as they nearly finished up the search for possible survivors trapped in the wreckage. "We have almost completed the search and it is unlikely any more bodies were found," provincial government spokesman Sallahuddin Haider told DPA. He said bodies of 46 victims had been identified and handed over to their relatives while those of 37 others were mutilated beyond recognition. The mutilated bodies along with unclaimed victims were buried on Friday as relatives were still searching for their loved ones among over 1,700 passengers who were on board the three trains at the time of accident.(Posted @ 18:58 PST)
Teen arrested for damaging six mosques Wellington (dpa) - An 18-year-old student was arrested Friday and charged with damaging six mosques in Auckland, apparently in response to the London bombings. The teen, whose name was suppressed, appeared in the Manukau District Court near Auckland and was released on bail, to appear again next month. Windows and doors of the suburban mosques were smashed on Sunday and at least one had "RIP London" written on a wall.(Posted @ 18:52 PST)
Egyptian scientist linked to London bombing arrested Cairo (dpa) - An Egyptian scientist has been arrested in Cairo in connection with the train and bus bombings in London, the British embassy confirmed."The man was arrested Thursday evening," an embassy spokesman said. He was commenting on television reports that 33-year-old Magdi el- Nashar was detained in a suburb of the Egyptian capital. BBC said el-Nashar, a biochemistry post-graduate student at Leeds University, was arrested with "British agents in attendance.". El-Nashar had left England two weeks before the July 7 bombings and Police believe it was el-Nashar who helped the bombers set up their bomb factory in Leeds.The U.S. FBI had also joined the search for el-Nashar because he attended North Carolina State University in 2000, ABC reported.(Posted @ 18:50 PST)
Twenty-four militants killed on Pakistan-Afghanistan border: military MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, July 15 (AFP) - Pakistani security forces have found the bodies of 24 suspected militants who died late Thursday after US-led troops fired at them across the border from southeastern Afghanistan, officials said Friday. Pakistan's military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told private tv channel television that "Coalition forces had informed us about the operation and our troops were on stand-by also." "When the firing was over our troops searched the area and found 24 bodies and two twin-cabin vehicles," Sultan said. "There was no firing from our side, our troops were just patrolling and stood alert." "Security forces have taken into custody the bodies of 24 militants in Lawara Mandi on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border," a local intelligence official who requested anonymity told AFP. The US-led coalition in Afghanistan was not immediately available for comment.(Posted @ 17:32 PST)
Kashmir: Shabir Shah demands repeal of draconian laws in IHK Srinagar, July 15 (PPI) President of Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) Shabir Ahmad Shah has asked the Indian government to repeal draconian laws and release prisoners in occupied Kashmir. In an interview, he said repeal of the draconian laws like disturbed areas act, armed forces special powers act and public safety act, eturn of troops to barracks, end of human rights violations and release of detained freedom leaders and activists is a must to make the peace process a success. He warned that if New Delhi did not take the required steps, the peace process would be adversely affected.(Posted @ 17:28 PST)
President says SAARC countries should cooperate for providing inexpensive medicines to people RAWALPINDI, July 15 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf has called for cooperation between South Asian countries for ensuring availability of inexpensive medicines for their people. Speaking to a delegation of Health Ministers belonging to membercountries of the SAARC he said regional cooperation in this field will help improve healthcare and ultimately contribute to overcoming poverty.(Posted @ 17:26 PST)
40 confirmed dead in Nepal ferry accident, another 56 missing KATHMANDU, July 15 (AFP) - Another 27 bodies have been recovered after a ferry boat capsized in the flooded Banganga river in southwestern Nepal, bringing the death toll to 40, police said Friday. Another 56 passengers are still missing, police said, adding that out of the 106 people travelling on board the ill-fated boat, only 10 managed to swim to safety.(Posted @ 17:25 PST)
One dead, 22 hurt as train ploughs into bus in Bangladesh DHAKA, July 15 (AFP) - One person was killed and 22 injured, six seriously, when a train hit a bus at a level crossing in northwest Bangladesh, a police official said.The bus was carrying 40 passengers when it was hit by the train early Friday in Lalmonirhat district, the official told AFP. "There was no signal system on that crossing. One person died on the spot. The others were taken to hospital where six of them are in a serious condition," he said. The Dhaka-bound express train was not derailed by the impact and no one on board was injured.Railway officials blamed faulty signal equipment.(Posted @ 16:50 PST)
India says Ayodhya attackers came from Pakistan LUCKNOW, India, July 15 (AFP) - Five gunmen who attacked a disputed religious site in northern India were from Pakistan and members of a militant group fighting Indian rule in divided Kashmir, police said Friday.(Posted @ 16:48 PST)
Sri Lanka v West Indies first Test scoreboard COLOMBO, July 15 (AFP) – Sri Lanka seized control at stumps on the third day of the first cricket Test against the West Indies at the Sinhalese sports club here on Friday despite the fact that rain curtailed play to just one-third . Summerised scores: West Indies 1st innings: 285 (Chanderpaul 69, Ramdin 56, Malinga 4-71, Vaas 3-35). Sri Lanka 1st innings: 227 ( Vaas 49, Muralitharan 36, Lawson 4-59). West Indies 2nd innings (overnight 17-3):end the day at 59 for six (Chanderpaul 29 n.o. – Vas 4 for 12, Muralitheran 2 for 17). West Indies lead by 117 runs with four wickets in hand(Posted @ 16:40 PST)
Bombs explode at Afghan election office, two police hurt KHOST, Afghanistan, July 15 (AFP) - Two bombs exploded in quick succession at an election commission office in restive southeastern Afghanistan, injuring two policemen, officials said Friday.The first blast late Thursday destroyed the office which was based inside a mosque in Khost city, they said, adding that the casualties occurred when another went off nine minutes later as police reached the area.(Posted @ 16:25 PST)
Mountain clash toll touches nine, 11 militants arrested in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, July 15 (AFP) - Indian troops Friday recovered the bodies of two more militants taking to nine the number of militants killed in clashes there, the army said.Separately, the region's police chief Gopal Sharma said 11 militants from Hizbul Mujahedin had been arrested over a series of high-profile killings and grenade attacks. Militants and troops first clashed in the snowbound Gurez area on Tuesday evening. Sporadic firefights occurred throughout Wednesday but ended during the night, allowing soldiers Thursday to close in on the positions from where the militants had been firing, the army said. "We recovered seven bodies of militants on Thursday and two more on Friday," Indian army spokesman Vijay Batra told AFP. Police chief Sharma meanwhile said the 11 Hizb militants had been arrested in southern Anantnag district in coordinated raids over the past few days. He claimed the 11 were involved in the murders of the brother of Kashmir home minister A.R. Veeri and the nephew of the region's Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, besides grenade attacks in busy market areas and a failed attack on the home minister. In other acts of violence in occupied Kashmir, police said seven people were injured in a grenade attack on a retired police officer in northern Magam town Friday. The officer and his two police guards were among the wounded. (Posted @ 15:48 PST)
US should pull out of Iraq now, says former CIA chief WASHINGTON, July 15 (AFP) - The United States should cut its losses, pull out of Iraq promptly and never again use its military might to build a nation according to its own values, former CIA chief John Deutch wrote Friday in The New York Times. US military presence in Iraq is harming US interests in the Arab world, detracts attention from other "important security challenges ... North Korea, Iran and international terrorism," and weakens the US military, said Deutch. "Those who argue that we should 'stay the course' because an early withdrawal ... would hurt America's global credibility must consider the possibility that we will fail in our objectives in Iraq and suffer an even worse loss of credibility down the road," he added. "I do not believe that we are making progress on any of our key objectives in Iraq," he said, adding that even when the Iraqi government appears to be functioning, "the underlying destabilizing effect of the insurgency is undiminished." (Posted @ 15:47 PST)
SC issues notice to NWFP Government, Advocates General in Hasba Bill Reference ISLAMABAD, Jul 14 (APP): A five-member bench of the Supreme Court Friday issued notices to NWFP Government and Advocates General of all the four provinces on a reference filed by the federation seeking the Apex Court's opinion on Hasba Bill 2005. The court after hearing arguments of the Attorney General for Pakistan, Makhdoom Ali Khan, admitted the reference for regular hearing. The regular hearing of the reference will be held on July 25 here. A five-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Hamid Ali Mirza, Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, Justice M. Javed Buttar and Justice Sayed Saeed Ashhad had taken up the matter at Karachi Registry today. (Posted @ 14:41 PST)
Indian police arrest three suspects linked to Ayodhya attack JAMMU, July 15 (AFP) - Police have arrested three suspects in occupied Kashmir who acted as gun-runners for Ayodhya militants, an official said Friday. A top police official said the suspects were picked up from two separate villages in the Mendhar area of occupied Kashmir's Poonch border district. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. (Posted @ 13:02 PST)
Two teens killed as Palestinian forces clash with militants GAZA CITY, July 15 (AFP) - Two teenagers were killed and more than a dozen other Palestinians wounded Friday as clashes between security forces and militants rocked Gaza City, medical sources said. It was not immediately clear whether the fatal shots were fired by Palestinian security officers or gunmen from the radical Hamas faction, but medical sources said security officers were wounded. The clashes erupted after Palestinian interior minister Nasr Yussef put security forces and police on high alert to "prevent by force if necessary all firing of rockets and mortars" against Israeli targets. (Posted @ 12:54 PST)
Chinese general warns U.S. over Taiwan BEIJING, July 15 (Reuters) - A senior Chinese general warned that China was ready to use nuclear weapons against the United States if Washington attacked his country over Taiwan, the Financial Times newspaper reported Friday. "If the Americans draw their missiles and position-guided ammunition onto the target zone on China's territory, I think we will have to respond with nuclear weapons,” Zhu Chenghu, a major general in the People's Liberation Army, said. (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 64.17 points: KARACHI, July 15: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 7535.81, up 64.17 points from Thursday's close. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:35 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, July 15: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.5 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 15:15 PST)
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