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| August 31, 2005 | Wednesday | Rajab 25, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Officials see 1,000 Iraqis dead in stampede BAGHDAD, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Up to 1,000 Iraqi Shi'ites might have died in a stampede on a Tigris River bridge in Baghdad on Wednesday, panicked by rumours a suicide bomber was about to blow himself up, government officials told Reuters. Most victims were women and children who "died by drowning or being trampled" after panic swept a throng of thousands as they headed to the shrine of Imam Musa KAZIM, an Interior Ministry official said. "An hour ago the death toll was 695 killed, but we expect it to hit 1,000," said Dr Jaseb Latif Ali, a general manager at Iraq's Health Ministry. A police source said swarming crowds had been heading to the Kadhimiya mosque in the old district of north Baghdad when someone shouted there was a suicide bomber among them. "Hundreds of people started running and some threw themselves off the bridge into the river," the source said. "Many elderly died immediately as a result of the stampede but dozens drowned, many bodies are still in the river and boats are working on picking them up." Earlier at least seven people were killed in three separate mortar attacks on the crowd heading to the mosque to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Moosa Kazim. Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari declared three days of mourning and President Jalal Talabani said in a statement that it was "a great tragedy which will leave a scar on our souls". Explosions were heard across Baghdad on Wednesday morning. A Reuters correspondent reported hearing six mortar rounds exploding near the main airport, although the U.S. military had no information of any attacks there.(Posted @ 19:00 PST)
Indian PM invites Kashmiri leaders for peace talks NEW DELHI, Aug 31 (Reuters) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday invited Kashmir's main political leaders alliance for peace talks, aiming to resume a dialogue stalled for a year. "The prime minister has invited the Hurriyat Conference, led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, for talks on Sept. 5 in New Delhi," a spokesman for Singh’s office said. "We have received an invitation and, in principle, have accepted the invitation," Farooq, who heads the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, said. (Posted @ 14:40 PST)
US Navy offers supply of two frigates to Pakistan Navy: CNS ISLAMABAD, Aug 31 (APP): Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Shahid Karimullah on Wednesday said that US Navy has offered two frigates to Pakistan Navy. "These Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates are not only more equipped than Chinese F-22P version but also bigger in size," said the Admiral while talking to newsmen at the launching of a book at the Bahria University Auditorium. He said the bigger space at the frigate would enable the PN to instal more arms and equipment on board the ship.Answering a question regarding acquiring of nuclear submarine, the CNS said: "we will have to develop it indiginously one day to meet our requirements instead of looking to others."Responding to another question regarding the capability of cruise missile recently developed by Pakistan, he said, another test would be undertaken in due course but it may take some time to make it possible to fire from a frigate.(Posted @ 20:55 PST)
Pakistan in the forefront to bring stability to Afghanistan; Kasuri VALLETTA (Malta) Aug 31 (APP): Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri Wednesday said that Pakistan had been in the forefront of international efforts for a stable Afghanistan and had contributed more than any other country for a "stable and prosperous" Afghanistan. Addressing the Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee of Malta on the second day of his visit to Malta, he said Pakistan had now 88,000 troops on the border with Afghanistan which was more than the "combined strength of the other coalition partners in Afghanistan." Also, he said 250 Pakistani soldiers embraced martyrdom in the quest for a stable Afghanistan.(Posted @ 20:45 PST)
Casualties in Iraq, Aug 31 BAGHDAD, Aug 31 (Reuters) A U.S. soldier was killed and three wounded when an improvised explosive device detonated on their combat patrol southeast of Samarra at about 12:35 p.m., the U.S. military said in a statement. One Iraqi policeman was killed and four were wounded when a roadside bomb struck their patrol in Kirkuk, while another policeman was killed and two civilians were wounded in clashes between gunmen, police said.A driver was killed by U.S troops when he failed to obey instructions and refused to stop in the town of Baiji, the U.S military said.A director of intelligence in Diyala province, Lt- Col Ali Keza'al, escaped when gunmen opened fire on his motorcade between Baquba and Baghdad. Police said one of his bodyguards was seriously injured. A U.S soldier was killed when he was struck by a roadside bomb in Iskandariyah, south of Baghdad, on Tuesday, the U.S military said. An Iraqi policeman was killed by gunmen on his way to work in the western town of Kerbala, 100 km (68 miles) southwest of Baghdad, police said.(Posted @ 20:45 PST)
Cricket-New Zealand beat Zimbabwe by 27 runs HARARE, Aug 31 (Reuters) - New Zealand beat Zimbabwe by 27 runs on Wednesday in the fourth match of their triangular series, which also involves India. Scores: New Zealand 238 (Nathan Astle 61, Scott Styris 63, Andy Blignaut 4-46). Zimbabwe 211 (Andy Blignaut 50, Shane Bond 4-17).(Posted @ 20:30 PST)
At least 816 killed in Baghdad bridge stampede BAGHDAD, Aug 31 (AFP) - At least 816 people were killed and 323 injured Wednesday in a stampede on a Baghdad bridge near a Shiite shrine where more than a million pilgrims had gathered, a security official told AFP.(Posted @ 20:25 PST)
India and Pakistan to review peace process ahead of summit ISLAMABAD, Aug 31 (AFP) - Nuclear rivals Pakistan and India will hold secretary-level talks Thursday to nudge forward their slow-moving peace process and set the agenda for a rare meeting between their leaders, officials said.Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran flew into Lahore late Wednesday. He did not talk to reporters at the airport and later left for Islamabad where he will hold discussions with Pakistani counterpart Riaz Mohammed Khan on Thursday before returning home the following day. "It is an important meeting and itcomes at the end of the second round of talks" under the so-called "composite dialogue" between the two sides, said foreign office spokesman Naeem Khan. The Indian official's arrival comes exactly two weeks before Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan are due to meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly conference. This week's talks could help "firm up the agenda" before Singh and Musharraf meet in New York on September 14.(Posted @ 20:25 PST)
Eight suspected Taliban killed, four captured in Afghan clashes: officials KANDAHAR, Aug 31 (AFP) - At least eight suspected Taliban fighters were killed and four captured in two clashes with Afghan and US troops in southern Afghanistan, local Afghan officials said Wednesday. Tuesday night "in Khas Uruzgan district of Uruzgan province, the Afghan national army and coalition troops attacked one suspected Taliban hideout. After two hours fighting, eight Taliban were killed and guns and a rocket launcher seized," said Uruzgan governor Jan Mohammed Khan. The US military said around nine suspected Taliban fighters were killed, also on Tuesday, but did not say if the deaths were from the same clash. Also on Tuesday, four suspected rebels were captured by Afghan troops in Zabul province.(Posted @ 20:20 PST)
US removes certain license controls for nuclear-linked exports to India WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (AFP) - The United States said Wednesday it had removed certain license controls for exports and reexports of American nuclear-related items to India under a bilateral pact, US officials said Wednesday. Revisions have been made to the so-called Export Administration Regulations to ease the restrictions, the Commerce Department said in a rule-change published in the Federal Register. Six Indian nuclear and space entities had been removed from a special list that had prevented them from purchasing sensitive US-made items without special licenses, it said. According to the Federal Register, "other" license requirements imposed by the Export Administration Regulations remained despite the changes. Among others, "the license requirements for the nuclear end uses" and "missile end use license requirements" specified under the rules continue to apply, it said.(Posted @ 20:15 PST)
Iraq stampede not sectarian-defence minister BAGHDAD, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Iraq's defence minister said the stampede on a Baghdad bridge on Wednesday which killed hundreds of people was not related to sectarian tensions gripping the country. "What happened has nothing at all to do with any sectarian tension," Saadoun Al-Dulaimi said on live television. "Only the seven that were killed this morning were killed by terrorists," he said, referring to seven people killed by a mortar attack before the stampede.(Posted @ 19:15 PST)
Pak Navy acquired eight Orion aircrafts KARACHI, Aug. 31 (APP): Pakistan Navy has acquired eight P-3C Orion aircraft from the United States. Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Shahid Karimullah, has termed it significant and expressed confidence that induction of these aircraft would augment PN capability to actively monitor its areas of interest at sea and add a new dimension to the offensive punch of Pakistan Navy fleet. He also said that provision of these aircraft was indicative of strong Pakistan-US relations and hoped that the defence cooperation between the navies of the two countries would further increase in times to come. The aircraft would be fitted with modern avionics and mission systems by the manufacturers .The aircraft are being provided free of cost by the US Navy and the expenses for modification of aircraft avionics systems will be met mostly from the US military aid. P-3C Orion is a long range maritime patrol aircraft with an endurance of about 18 hours and can carry Harpoon missiles. With the induction of eight P-3C, the existing fleet of PN P-3Cs will grow up to 10 aircraft.(Posted @ 18:45 PST)
Sarabjeet's sister coming ISLAMABAD, August 31 (PPI)Diljeet Kaur, sister of Sarabjeet Singh,the condemned Indian prisoner will be arriving in Lahore shortly from Amritsar to meet her brother in Koit Lakhpat Jail. She told BBC that she had made a written application and have received message that Indian government has allowed her to go to Lahore. I have also received message that I shall be granted visa and Ishall be able to meet my brother.' Diljeet Kaur said she will meet her brother and shall also talk to his lawyer.(Posted @ 17:45 PST)
Some 10,000 Pakistanis among those evacuated from New Orleans WASHINGTON, Aug 30 (APP)- There is a large number of Pakistani Americans living in New Orleans hit by hurricane Kartina, "but they moved out of the area, or were timely evacuated." Ms. Farhana Swati, secretary to the Governor of Louisiana told APP on telephone Tuesday that the community numbered 10,000 and they have been shifted to safe places, including Houston. (Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Pakistan, China to cooperate controlling endangered species BEIJING, Aug. 31 (APP): Pakistan, China, Russia, Afghanistan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have agreed for strengthening their cooperation in wildlife sector. In this connection, officials of these countries met in Urumqi, capital of China's Xinjiang Region and discussed a plan especially for conservation of endangered species such as saiga antelope, snow leopards, falcons, Tibetan antelope and Tigers. (Posted @ 17:25 PST)
President for unstinted supply of energy for strong industrial growth RAWALPINDI, Aug 31 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf directed the Government on Wednesday to strive for optimum utilization of indigenous energy resources and finalize import options for unstinted supply of power to the local and foreign industrial concerns. "We will ensure that all business companies, particularly the foreign entrepreneurs have uninterrupted supply of gas and electricity as it is imperative to maintain impetus to economic growth," he stated, chairing a meeting on Paksitan's energy strategy. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz also attended the meeting at which President Musharraf said foreign investment is vitally important in diversifying the economic base and the Government should endeavour to extend requisite infrastructures to the prospective investors.In his remarks, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the Government is also encouraging small hydel power projects to meet the growing needs of the agricultural sector. (Posted @ 17:20 PST)
Cricket-Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 88 runs in one dayer COLOMBO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 88 runs in the first of three one day international on Wednesday. Score summary: Sri Lanka 269-9 from 50 overs (Upul Tharanga 60, Marvan Atapattu 55, Mahela Jayawardene 50); Bangladesh 181-9 in 50 overs (Farveez Maharoof 3-29) (Posted @ 17:00 PST)
Naga tribes demand homeland on India, Myanmar border KOHIMA, India, Ag 31 (Reuters) - A fierce Christian hill tribe took to the streets in India's remote northeast on Wednesday to raise a new demand for a homeland sliced out of areas dominated by them in India and neighbouring Myanmar. Thousands of tribesmen, many wearing traditional headgear made of bamboo sticks and feathers, and women with hand woven shawls around their waists marched through Kohima, the capital of India's Nagaland state, carrying spears and placards. At a public rally, Naga leaders reiterated their demand for an expansion of Nagaland to include Naga-dominated parts of neighbouring Indian states, and made a new call for the inclusion of parts of northern Myanmar as well. "No artificial boundaries can separate us, let the world know the Nagas are one and want to live like a family," said Wangyuh Konyak, the sole member of India's parliament from Nagaland at the rally in Kohima. (Posted @ 17:00 PST)
One killed in southwest Pakistan bomb blast QUETTA, Aug 31 (AFP) - A man was killed and two others were wounded by a bomb blast today near a paramilitary facility in the town of Mastung, some 45 kilometres (28 miles) southeast of Quetta. The bomb was hidden in a vendor's push cart near a paramilitary barracks but it caused no damage to the facility. Police arrested one of the two people hurt in the blast, suspecting him of planting the bomb, the official added. Four others have also been taken into custody for questioning. Nobody claimed responsibility for the attacks. (Posted @ 17:00 PST)
90 percent of structures in Mississippi disaster zone 'gone': governor WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (AFP) - Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour said Tuesday that 90 percent of buildings in the worst-hit area of the Gulf Coast in his state are "totally just gone" after Hurricane Katrina. "Between the beach and the railroad, ... every house is just gone," Barbour told NBC television's "Today" show. "Ninety percent of the structures are totally just gone. Debris (is) knee deep, waist deep, hip deep." "It is indescribable," he said. "You'll see blocks and blocks and blocks where there are just no houses left. I mean, nothing." (Posted @ 16:45 PST)
Pentagon sending five ships to help hurricane relief operations: report WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (AFP) - The Pentagon is sending five ships, eight maritime rescue teams, helicopters, hovercraft and relief supplies to the southern region devastated by Hurricane Katrina, The New York Times reported Wednesday. In a decision late Tuesday, the US Defense Department dispatched a Navy amphibious assault ship from Texas, while four other vessels were expected to sail from Norfolk, Virginia, within 24 hours, a spokesman for the Northern Command told the daily. The assault ship is carrying six helicopters, while the other vessels will be loaded with food, fuel, medical and construction supplies, as well as hovercraft that can be used for evacuation and search-and-rescue missions, the spokesman Mike Kucharek said. At the same time, eight 14-person civilian Swift boat rescue teams are being flown from California to Louisiana aboard Air Force C-5 cargo planes, he added. Entire coastal communities in Louisiana and Mississippi have been devastated by Hurricane Katrina when it made landfall Monday with 225 kilometer (140 mile) per hour winds and torrential rain. Most of low-lying New Orleans was under water from the hurricane and from a broken levee holding back Lake Pontchartrain. A majority of its half a million residents have been evacuated. (Posted @ 16:45 PST)
Tears as Indonesia frees hundreds of Aceh rebel prisoners JANTHO, Indonesia, Aug 31 (AFP) - Tears of joy and hope flowed in Indonesia Wednesday as authorities freed more than 1,400 rebel Acehnese prisoners detained around the country, meeting a key condition of an historic peace pact. Teuku Darwin, head of the provincial justice ministry in Aceh, told AFP that 1,424 GAM prisoners across Indonesia were released, including 958 in Aceh.At a state prison in Jantho near the provincial capital Banda Aceh, 58 rebels were released to waiting families. Four of GAM's most senior members in the country, who were released from Bandung jail, arrived back home in Aceh by plane. The peace agreement saw GAM drop its long-held demand for independence for a form of local self-government and agree to disarm and demobilise its fighters. Indonesia promised in return to withdraw its non-local security forces by the end of the year and allow the creation of political parties in Aceh. (Posted @ 16:35 PST)
India's Tendulkar pulls out of Zimbabwe Test series NEW DELHI, Aug 31 (AFP) - India's star batsman Sachin Tendulkar withdrew from next month's Test series in Zimbabwe on Wednesday after failing to recover from an elbow injury, an official said. "Tendulkar will not be going to Zimbabwe," Indian cricket board secretary Karunakaran Nair told the Press Trust of India. Rookie opener Dheeraj Jadhav will replace Tendulkar for the two Test matches in Bulawayo from September 13-17 and Harare from September 20-24, Nair said. (Posted @ 16:15 PST)
Pakistan, Afghanistan, UNHCR agree to extend Afghan refugees' stay ISLAMABAD, Aug 31 (APP) The governments of Afghanistan, Pakistan and the UN refugee agency have agreed to extend the Tripartite Agreement giving those Afghans still living in Pakistan more time to return home, a UNHCR statement issued on Wednesday said. The agreement, which was expire on March 2006, will be extended in its present form to December 2006 pending the approval of the respective governments and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR).(Posted @ 14:15 PST)
New poll finds Bush Iraq ratings down WASHINGTON, Aug 30 (Reuters) President George W. Bush's approval rating slipped to a career low of 45 percent on concerns over the Iraq war and spiralling U.S. fuel prices, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll published Tuesday. The poll of more than 1,000 people found that 57 percent disapprove of Bush's handling of the war and 68 percent regard the level of American casualties as unacceptable. But a majority of respondents, 54 percent, said the United States should keep its forces in Iraq until civil order is restored.(Posted @ 13:45 PST)
US court freezes Palestinian-government assets WASHINGTON, Aug 30 (Reuters) A federal court in Rhode Island has ordered a freeze of all U.S.-based assets of the Palestinian Authority after the Palestinian government failed to pay $116 million in damages imposed by the court last year, according to legal documents obtained on Tuesday. Last year the court had ordered the Palestinian Authority to pay the damages for the 1996 shooting deaths of an American and his Israeli wife near an Israeli town. Palestinian officials were not immediately available for comment.
China halts 7,000 coal mines in latest safety drive BEIJING, Aug 31 (Reuters) China has ordered nearly a third of its thousands of coal mines to halt production and improve safety in the world's deadliest mining industry, state media said on Wednesday. The latest in a series of crackdowns was reported the same day explosives illegally stored at a coal mine owner's home in southern China blew up, killing four people and levelling six houses. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 54.92 points: KARACHI, August 31: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 7799.11, up 54.92 points from Tuesday's close. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:40 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, August 31: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.12 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:40 PST)
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