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| September 8, 2005 | Thursday | Sha’aban 3, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
US PGA event postponed to November in wake of Hurricane Katrina MADISON, Mississippi, Sept 8 (AFP) - The three million-dollar US PGA Southern Farm Bureau Classic has been rescheduled from October 6-9 to November 3-6 because of damage to the region from Hurricane Katrina. All net proceeds from the tournament at Annandale Golf Club will be donated to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in Mississippi, which received the full force of the killer storm along the now-devastated Gulf Coast area. (Posted @ 23:45 PST)
Spain arrests woman over links to terrorism MADRID, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Spanish police have arrested for suspected links to terrorism a Frenchwoman who is already in jail for drug trafficking, Spain's Interior Ministry said on Thursday. The woman, of North African descent, was initially questioned as a witness after police arrested two inmates from another jail in March -- Redouan Ben Fraima and Redouan Ahmed Ali and seized documents from their cells.(Posted @ 23:35 PST)
All necessary resources to be provided for country's defence Islamabad, sept 8 PPI: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has reiterated that all necessary resources will be provided for the defence of the country. Talking to Chairman Joints Chief of Staff Committee General Ehsanul Haq Thursday in Islamabad, he said the Army, Navy and Air Force would be provided adequate resources in order to upgrade their capabilities. Shaukat Aziz emphasized that Pakistan will maintain minimum credible deterrence as a guarantee of maintaining peace in the region.(Posted @ 23:25 PST)
Turkish troops kill seven Kurd rebels in mountains TUNCELI, Turkey, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Turkish troops killed seven Kurdish rebels in an operation in the east of the country on Thursday, a military source told Reuters. Clashes between Turkish security forces and the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have increased since the rebels called off a five-year unilateral ceasefire in 2004. The military source said the army airlifted more than 500 troops overnight onto the Munzur Mountains on the borders of the eastern Tunceli and Erzincan provinces, after discovering a group of 20 to 30 PKK rebels.(Posted @ 23:00 PST)
Palestinian teenager shot dead by Israeli troops in Gaza GAZA CITY, Sept 8 (AFP) - A Palestinian teenager was shot dead by Israeli soldiers Thursday near the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, hospital and security sources said. Eighteen-year Bashir Sufi was fatally wounded in the chest and abdomen by soldiers who were guarding the now empty Gaza settlement of Atsmona which lies close to the crossing into Egypt, the sources added. Israel is due to withdraw all of its troops from Gaza in the next few days after evacuating all settlers from the territory last month.(Posted @ 22:30 PST)
Cricket-England 319-7 at the close v Australia in fifth test LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - England were 319-7 at the close of play against Australia on the first day of the fifth and final Ashes test at The Oval on Thursday. Scores: England 319-7 (A.Strauss 129, A.Flintoff 72; Warne 5-118) v Australia(Posted @ 22:12 PST)
Musharraf. Mirwaiz 's praises for Musharraf delays joint declaration Islamabad, Sept 08 (PPI) The joint statement issued by New Delhi and the Hurriyat Conference after their path-breaking talks got delayed because Mirwaiz Umar Farooq wanted President Pervez Mushrraf should be credited for the dialogue. "There was a lot of argument on this issue before a compromise language and format was worked out," reports Dubai’s leading daily 'Khaleej Times".The demand caused a delay of 20 minutes in the release of the joint statement.(Posted @ 19:50 PST)
Blair ducks questions over what Cherie said about Islam NEW DELHI, Sept 8 (AFP) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair dodged questions Thursday about what his wife Cherie may or may not have told a group of Indian women journalists about the place of women in Islam. Mrs Blair, accompanying her husband, was quoted in Indian newspapers as telling members of the Indian Women's Press Corps on Wednesday that she was "fascinated" by Islam. Some participants reportedly told British journalists travelling with Blair that she also described Islam as an "anachronism" and suggested that Islam treats women badly. Confronted at a pre-departure press conference, the prime minister, clearly wary of another round of attacks on his lawyer spouse in the British press, said: "I wasn't at the lunch. I haven't spoken to Cherie about it." "I've got enough issues on my plate... I think I'll not comment any further," he added.(Posted @ 19:42 PST)
Tamil Tigers kill two policemen in ambush: Sri Lankan military COLOMBO, Sept 8 (AFP) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas Thursday ambushed a police patrol in the island's restive northeast, killing two constables and wounding six. The Tigers exploded a bomb and then fired on the patrol at Kathankudy in the district of Batticaloa, 300 kilometres east of the capital, defence spokesman Daya Ratnayake said.(Posted @ 19:36 PST)
Angry Afghan refugees ransack UN office in Pakistan PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Sept 8 (AFP) - Hundreds of Afghan refugees attacked a United Nations refugee agency office here in protest at delays in repatriating them, police and officials said Thursday. The mob destroyed computers, iris checking machines, furniture and a UNHCR vehicle in the "sudden" riot late Wednesday , office chief Yaris Khan told AFP.He said police had to disperse the crowd of between 300 and 600 at the registration centre, which is processing thousands of refugees who have been ordered to leave Pakistan by mid-September. But local police officer Usman Ali Shah said rioting occurred after the wooden roof of a makeshift shed collapsed after heavy rains, injuring eight refugees including some women and children. Refugee Jalat Khan, who is waiting for his papers to be processed so he can return to Jalalabad, said the attackers had come from a nearby camp at Kachha Garhi to help out those in the queue. "They reacted because they had seen their compatriots had been waiting for travel documents in hot weather for the past several days," he said. Refugees have arrived from different camps across Pakistan to pass through the registration centre in Peshawar, where they must undergo iris validation tests to stop them coming back through the porous border with Afghanistan. "We have decided to let all those who are already at the centre go back to their country without iris testing," the UNHCR's Khan said. "This is being done because of the unusual situation triggered by the attack. "About 1,000 Afghans left the site early Thursday and the situation was now under control, officials said.(Posted @ 19:12 PST)
Seven killed in occupied Kashmir clashes, grenade blast SRINAGAR, Sept 8 (AFP) - A militant and a policeman were killed in a clash in Srinagar while suspected militants killed five Muslims elsewhere in the state on Thursday, police said.A militant had been hiding in a house in Srinagar since taking part in an attack the previous day and was asked to surrender but he opened fire and hurled grenades that left a policeman dead and three other security force personnel injured.He was also killed.Meanwhile, a civilian was killed and eight others injured in a grenade explosion in Sopore town on Thursday, police said."The grenade was aimed at a security picket but missed the target and exploded among the people walking by the bunker," a spokesman said.Militants also killed a man and a woman in the southern district of Anantnag the same day.Two more Muslims, one of them a former militant who had surrendered, were also shot dead by suspected militants in the district of Doda , police said.(Posted @ 19:08 PST)
British FM warns of "terrible" consequences if Turkey talks falter LONDON, Sept 8 (AFP) - British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw warned Thursday of "terrible" repercussions for co-existence with the Muslim world if the European Union fails to follow through on the process for admitting Turkey to the union. "We cannot afford to get this wrong," Straw said in a speech in which he argued the case of Britain, current president of the EU, in favour of Turkey's accession talks to begin October 3. "By welcoming Turkey we will demonstrate that Western and Islamic cultures can thrive together as partners in the modern world. The alternative is too terrible to contemplate," he said.(Posted @ 18:52 PST)
At least 25 Indian soldiers drown in bridge fall NEW DELHI, Sept 8 (Reuters) - At least 25 Indian soldiers drowned in Sutlej river on Thursday after falling from a temporary bridge, an army spokesman said.The accident took place in a remote and mountainous area in Kinnaur district near India's border with Tibetwhere dozens of soldiers were assigned to repair bridges damaged by flash floods in June. Four soldiers survived. "As per initial reports, about 25-30 soldiers, including some officers, have drowned in the river," Indian army spokesman Colonel Sudhir Kumar Sakhuja said. "Army divers and military helicopters are scouring downstream areas to look for survivors," he said.(Posted @ 18:45 PST)
Mujahideen accuse Mirwaiz of following Abdullah Srinagar, Sept 08 (PPI) Several Mujahideen groups have accused Mirwaiz Umar Farooq of following Sh. Abdullah. Al-Nasireen, Farzandan-e-Milat, Save Kashmir Movement, and Al-Arifeen have in a joint a statement alleged that by holding talks with India, the Hurriyat (A) tried to sabotage the freedom movement. They also whemently condemned the arrest of Dukhtaran-e-Milat chief Syeda Asiya Andrabi and other women activists and hailed the DM campaign against flesh trade and other social evils.(Posted @ 17:48 PST)
Police arrest bomb expert wanted in Sheraton hotel attack case Karachi, Sept. 08 (PPI): Karachi police on Thursday morning arrested a bomb expert who was one of most wanted men for May 2002 bombing of Sheraton hotel Karachi, Capital City Police Officer Tariq Jamil told newsmen . Mufti Muhammad Sabir was coming to Karachi from Rawalipindi in a bus when police intercepted him near Sehrab Goth in the outskirts of Karachi. Sabir tried to flee but he was arrested after a brief exchange of fire, Jamil Said.(Posted @ 17:45 PST)
Three killed, 22 injured in road accident near Khuzdar KHUZDAR, Sept 8 (APP): Three people were killed while 22 others injured in a road accident on RCD Highway on Thursday morning when a Karachi- bound bus, coming from Quetta, collided with a parked truck near Khuzdar town. Balochistan Labour Minister, Maulana Faiz Mohammad, reached Khuzdar to supervise relief operation.(Posted @ 17:40 PST)
President reaffirms Pakistan's relentless fight against terror ISLAMABAD, Sep 8 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf Thursday said relentless and sustained efforts would continue at all levels till such time the country is rid from the scourge of terrorism, extremism and sectarianism. Presiding over a meeting of the National Security Council attended by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and members of the council the President said extremism forms the basis for terrorism and spoke at length on both short and long-term measures to curb extremist tendencies. These include in the short term; banning of militant organizations and not allowing them to operate under different names, action against publications spreading hate, misuse of loudspeakers in places of worship. In the long-term, the measures include Madrassah reforms, improvement of syllabi and the need for a national and international discourse. The two leaders praised the performance of law enforcement personnel in the campaign against terrorism. The meeting was briefed by Federal Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on internal security imperatives, with particular focus on the strategy to eliminate terrorism, sectarianism and extremism from the country.(Posted @ 17:35 PST)
Top judicial leaders from Pakistan, 59 other countries call for rule of law SHANGHAI, Sept 8 (APP): Top judicial leaders from Pakistan and 59 other countries called for effectively implementing relevant laws, treaties and conventions to uphold rule of law world over. They discussed topics from anti-domestic violence to challenges posed by the Internet at the week-long 22nd Congress on the Law of the World. Pakistan is represented at the conference by the Chief Justice Supreme Court,Mr Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.(Posted @ 17:28 PST)
Pak-lndia JWG talks on Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline start ISLAMABAD, Sep 8 (APP): The two-day second meeting of Pak-lndia Joint Working Group (JWP) on Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline started here on Thursday. The meeting reviewed progress made after the first JWG meeting held in July in New Delhi and discussed in detail technical, commercial, financial and legal aspects of the project. The meeting will continue tomorrow and a joint press conference would be held.(Posted @ 17:15 PST)
Saddam did not confess to mass killings - lawyer AMMAN, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein's chief attorney denied on Thursday that the ousted president had confessed to ordering executions and waging a campaign against Kurds in which thousands of people are said to have been killed. "There was no confession by the president and all the investigations in this case do not implicate him at all," Khalil Dulaimi said in a statement sent to Reuters.(Posted @ 17:12 PST)
Strike in occupied Kashmir over arrests of women activists SRINAGAR, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Shops, schools and businesses were closed on Thursday in Srinagar in response to a strike call to protest against the arrest of Asiya Andrabi, chief of Dukhtaran-e-Milat (Daughters of the Muslim Faith), who was arrested last week for raiding hotels, restaurants and wine shops to stamp out the "flesh trade" and check what the group called the "moral decline" in the Muslim-majority region. On Tuesday, authorities charged Andrabi and seven followers under a tough public safety law, drawing widespread condemnation. Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chief of the hardline faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an alliance of separatist political parties, called the strike. "The detention of Asiya Andrabi and her activists is a heinous crime, a shameful act. Their crime is that they raised a voice against evils in society," Geelani said in a statement.(Posted @ 17:08 PST)
Security incidents in Iraq, Sept 8 BAGHDAD, Sept 8 (Reuters) Two Iraqi soldiers guarding oil industry assets were killed and another nine wounded by a roadside bomb in al-Jazeera area, west of Tikrit, a police source said. An Iraqi lawyer was killed late on Wednesday after being abducted by people dressed in military uniforms and travelling in civilian cars, in Tikrit. One civilian was injured by a car bomb that exploded in a residential area near a hotel in central Karrada district of Baghdad.(Posted @ 17:00 PST)
Cricket-Warne checks England with three-wicket burst LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Shane Warne took three quick wickets to peg England back to 115 for three on the opening morning of the fifth and final Ashes test on Thursday. Trescothick was caught at slip and Michael Vaughan threw away his wicket after making 11. Ian Bell followed for a duck just before lunch as leg spinner Warne took three wickets for 11 runs in a 22-ball burst. Left-handed opener Andrew Strauss was on 42 not out, having hit seven fours, with Kevin Pietersen on 10. Warne's figures were three for 27.(Posted @ 16:56 PST)
Tigers reject truce talks at Sri Lanka airport COLOMBO, Sept 8 (AFP) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas Thursday rejected peace broker Norway's call to hold talks on salvaging their fragile truce with the Colombo government at the island's only international airport.(Posted @ 16:40 PST)
Mystery infection, not AIDS killed Arafat: report JERUSALEM, Aug 8 (AFP) - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died from an unidentified infection that was "highly unlikely" to have been caused by AIDS or poisoning, The New York Times reported on Thursday. Citing US and Israeli medical experts, who were shown Arafat's medical records, the paper said it remains a mystery as to what underlying infection killed the Palestinian leader. However, independent experts who reviewed his records for the paper said the pattern of his symptoms made AIDS a highly unlikely cause and suggested that poisoning was also "highly unlikely".(Posted @ 16:30 PST)
Woman passenger killed in stampede aboard Saudi aircraft COLOMBO, Sept 8 (APP/AFP) - A woman passenger was killed and 62 others were injured in a stampede aboard a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 aircraft Thursday following a bomb hoax at Colombo airport, police said.(Posted @ 16:10 PST)
North Korea six-party talks to resume Tuesday BEIJING, Sept 8 (Reuters) Six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear crisis will resume on Tuesday after a break of more than a month, the Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday.(Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Iraq sets Oct. 15 for constitution referendum BAGHDAD, Sept 8 (Reuters) Iraq has decided to hold a referendum on the country's draft constitution on Oct. 15, the head of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) said on Thursday. The draft of the constitution was on its way to the printers and will later be circulated among Iraqi voters, officials said.(Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Six Afghan police, two Taliban killed in pre-election attack KABUL, Sept 8 (AFP) Six Afghan policemen and two suspected Taliban insurgents were killed early Thursday after militants attacked a police post in Muqur, a district of Ghazni province in southern Afghanistan, officials said.(Posted @ 10:55 PST)
India approves multi-billion dollar French sub deal NEW DELHI, Sept 8 (Reuters) The Indian government approved a long-pending multi-billion dollar arms deal to buy submarines from France, a defence official said on Thursday, days before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Paris. The deal, initially estimated to be worth about $1.8 billion, involves the manufacture of six Scorpene SSK-class submarines at a naval dockyard in Bombay.(Posted @ 10:40 PST)
Australia announces tougher anti-terror laws CANBERRA, Sept 8 (Reuters) Australian Prime Minister John Howard announced new counter-terrorism laws on Thursday including preventive detention of suspects and use of tracking devices to monitor their movements. Howard said authorities could hold people for 48 hours in a "terrorism situation" in a toughening of current laws under which people can only be held if they are being questioned, or if there is evidence that they know of, or are involved in terrorist acts.(Posted @ 10:40 PST)
Russian soldier killed in Dagestan attack MOSCOW, Sept 8 (AFP) A soldier was killed early Thursday when unknown assailants opened fire on a camp of Russia's interior ministry troops in the Caucasus republic of Dagestan, the ministry's officials said.(Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, September 08: 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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