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| October 2, 2005 | Sunday | Sha’aban 27, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
EU in last-ditch bid to break Turkey deadlock LUXEMBOURG, Oct 2 (AFP) - The European Union launched a last-ditch bid Sunday to break a deadlock threatening landmark negotiations with Turkey, but admitted "considerable difficulties" remained at emergency talks on the standoff. The 11th-hour ministerial talks Sunday evening -- hours before the scheduled negotiations with Ankara Monday -- focus on Austrian demands that the EU consider something less than full membership for the vast mainly Muslim state. (Posted @ 19:50 PST)
Sharon, Abbas talk as Israel suspends offensive JERUSALEM, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed on Sunday to meet soon and improve cooperation as Israel suspended an offensive following a halt to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. Their first telephone conversation in over five weeks could help put peacemaking back on track after a surge of violence that damaged hopes stirred by Israel's Sept. 12 withdrawal from Gaza to end 38 years of military rule. (Posted @ 19:45 PST)
World Bank neutral expert begins Baglihar inspection NEW DELHI, Oct 2 (APP): World Bank Swiss neutral expert Raymond Lafitte on Sunday started inspection of the dam design and "peripheral setup" of the 450-MW controversial Baglihar hydel project in Doda district of Indian Held Kashmir. "The team entered the project construction site at Chanderkote area of the district at around 1000 hrs. The team straight away went to the dam site and began inspecting its peripheral structures like the diversion tunnels," a senior official was quoted as saying, according to a news report received here. The 3-member Swiss team would be discussing the entire design with the Indian and Pakistani officials during the inspection tour after studying the flow of the Chenab river and the various data provided, the report said. The Pakistani representatives had brought along "documentary evidence" in support of their vewpoint, the report added. Lafitte was appointed the neutral expert to adjudicate on the Rs 45 billion power project by the World Bank in May under the terms of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty after Pakistan pointed out that the construction of the project was in violation of the treaty. (Posted @ 19:10 PST)
Prime Minister says nuclear assets in safe hands KUALA LUMPUR, Oct.2 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Sunday said Pakistan was fully capable to safeguard its nuclear and strategic assets and ruled out any possibility of their falling into wrong hands. "We have strong Command and Control system in place to safeguard our strategic assets. "If we can develop the nuclear programme we can manage it at world class level," he told a questioner after his address to the Islamic University of Malaysia. The Prime Minister said he was proud of being a part of the government under the leadership of President General Pervez Musharraf, which has transformed Pakistan in the last six years and was rebuilding the country that was prosperous and developed. (Posted @ 16:10 PST)
Five judges picked for Saddam trial BAGHDAD, Oct 2 (AFP) - Five judges have been chosen for the much-anticipated trial this month of toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein over the massacre of Shiite Muslim villagers in 1982, a source close to the court said Sunday. "Five magistrates will try Saddam Hussein," the Iraqi Special Tribunal source said without identifying the judges. Saddam and seven of his former henchmen are due to go on trial on October 19 for the killing of 143 Shiite Muslims in the village of Dujail, north of Baghdad in 1982, following an attempt on his life there. (Posted @ 16:05 PST)
Malaysian Works Minister calls on Prime Minister KUALA LUMPUR, Oct.1 (APP): The Works Minister of Malaysia, Samy Vellu called on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Sunday and discussed with him matters relating to bilateral ties between Pakistan and Malaysia. The Prime Minister briefed him on the efforts in Pakistan to build the country's infrastructure to meet growing demands of an expanding economy that posted 8.4 per cent growth in the last fiscal year. (Posted @ 14:50 PST)
Bangladesh arrests alleged bomb plot mastermind DHAKA, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Security forces in Bangladesh lLate Saturday arrested Mufti Abdul Hannan, the alleged leader of the Bangladesh chapter of the Islamist militant group Harkatul Jihad from a house in Dhaka's Madhya Badda area and also seized explosives and bomb-making materials. Police said they had intensified search for the two other top leaders Shayek Abdur Rahman and Bangla Bhai. (Posted @ 11:20 PST)
Bomb kills two police officers in restive southern Thailand BANGKOK, Oct 2 (AFP) - Two police officers were killed in a bombing early Sunday after they were lured from their post by a hoax phone call in Thailand's troubled Muslim-majority south, police said in a statement. A third person was injured. "The incident took place when police received a call saying a concrete block was blocking the railway track. The two police officers went to investigate and it turned out to be a hoax. On way back to their post, the bomb went off and both policemen were killed. (Posted @ 11:15 PST)
US forces kill eight rebels in western Iraq BAGHDAD, Oct 2 (AFP) - US forces sweeping western Iraqi territory near the Syrian border have killed eight rebels in their first day of operations, the US military said in a statement. Some 1,000 US soldiers on Saturday launched Operation "Iron Fist" against a "terrorist sanctuary" in and around Sadah, near Al-Qaim, in the western Al-Anbar province of Iraq. In one engagement, Super Cobra helicopter destroyed a vehicle after its driver fired on a marine position with a rocket-propelled grenade. The rebel was killed, the statement said. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)
Three soldiers killed by rockets in Pakistani tribal area MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, Oct 2 (AFP) - Three soldiers were killed and eight injured when militants fired at least 20 rockets at an army camp in a Pakistani tribal area near the Afghanistan border late Saturday, a security official said Sunday on condition of anonymity. Soldiers returned the fire which damaged two houses and killed a buffalo in nearby villages of North Waziristan but there were no reports of casualties among the militants, he said. Meanwhile troops supported by helicopter gunships continued a search in North Waziristan's Khatey Killay village near the Afghan border, residents said. Local officials have said as many as 30 suspected militants have been killed since the operation started on Thursday. They said troops have retrieved five bodies. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
Israel suspends air raids, targeted killings in Palestinian territories JERUSALEM, Oct 2 (AFP) - Israel has suspended until further notice air raids, targeted killings and artillery fire in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, an official in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office told AFP. The decision means the suspension "for now" of Israeli air raids in the Gaza Strip, of artillery fire towards the north of the territory and of operations aimed at eliminating radical Islamic militants in both Gaza and the West Bank, said the official. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
Suicide bombers carried out Bali attacks BALI, Indonesia Oct 2 (APP/AP) _ Suicide bombers carried out attacks on three crowded restaurants on Indonesia's resort island of Bali, killing at least 25 people (32 according to another agency report) and wounding more than a 100, a top anti-terror official said Sunday. He said two Malaysian fugitives were suspected of masterminding the strikes. Maj. Gen. Ansyaad Mbai said the three attackers went into the packed restaurants on Saturday evening wearing explosive vests. The remains of their bodies were found at the scenes, he said. "I have seen them. All that is left is their head and feet," he told The Associated Press. "By the evidence we can conclude the bombers were carrying the explosives around their waists." According to other reports two Australians and a Japanese person were killed, along with 12 Indonesians. Hospital officials were trying to identify the nationalities of the other corpses in the morgue. Among the injured were 49 Indonesians, 17 Australians, six Koreans, three Japanese and two Americans, a hospital official said adding that the others had yet to be identified. Early Sunday, forensic experts were at the site of all three attacks. At about 8 p.m one of the bombs on Jimbaran beach went off in the Nyoman Cafe. Five minutes later another explosion rocked a neighbouring seafood restaurant. About 30 kilometers away in Kuta, at almost exactly the same time, a third explosion hit the three-storey Raja steakhouse in a bustling outdoor shopping centre. ((First Posted @ 09:30 PST updated @ 10:40 PST))
El Salvador volcano kills two, thousands flee PALO CAMPANA, El Salvador, Oct 1 (Reuters) - El Salvador's largest volcano erupted for the first time in a century on Saturday, killing two people and forcing thousands to flee their homes. The Ilamatepec volcano, also known as Santa Ana, hurled out hot rocks, ash and boiling water on Saturday morning and a massive plume of smoke rose more than 10 miles (16 km) into the air. (Posted @ 09:30 @ 10:40 PST)
'Iraq guilt' mars morale, recruitment at British army: top general LONDON, Oct 2 (AFP) - Army morale and recruitment are suffering because troops are seen as "guilty by association" with Prime Minister Tony's Blair's decision to invade Iraq, Britain's top soldier claimed in comments published here Sunday. General Sir Michael Walker, chief of the defence of staff, also said, in an interview with the Sunday Times, that Britain and the United States will have to make do with a less-than-perfect outcome from the US-led war. (Posted @ 09:15 PST)
Hundreds of thousands turn out in Paris for "White Night" celebrations PARIS, Oct 2 AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of revellers and curious onlookers invaded the streets of Paris on Saturday night for the annual "White Night" celebration of culture, with everything from video installations to an electric guitar orchestra on offer throughout the French capital. At midnight, the French mayor's office announced a 600,000 turnout with police reporting no serious incidents. (Posted @ 09:15 PST)
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