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| October 3, 2005 | Monday | Sha’aban 28, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan-India to begin third round of talks in January ISLAMABAD, Oct 3 (APP): Pakistan and India Monday agreed to begin the third round of talks from next year with a determination to resolve their disputes through the Composite Dialogue process. "There are differences of perception, but it should be possible to find common ground and reach a settlement," Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan told a news briefing following talks between the foreign ministers of the two countries earlier in the day. The Composite Dialogue has Jammu and Kashmir as very important subjects and it remains focused on this issue," he added. He said the matter cannot be put on a backburner as it deals with the fundamental rights of the Kashmiri people. "We are not only dealing with it at the Composite Dialogue level, but also at the leadership level," he added. When questioned about the different perceptions of both the sides towards a resolution of the Kashmir dispute, the Foreign Secretary said "we have to proceed on the basis of hope and trust. He categorically stated "Pakistan will not accept any LoC based solution," which he added was also not acceptable to the Kashmiris. (Posted @ 21:45 PST)
PM says his visit to promote Pakistan's world image, increase ties with regional countries ON BOARD SPECIAL AIRCRAFT, Oct 3 (APP): Describing his visit to South Korea, Malaysia and a stopover in Thailand as very productive, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Monday said it would help promote Pakistan's position on world issues, its role as an anchor of peace and project its growing and vibrant economy. "The visit would help boost our ties with these countries, particularly in trade and economic issues, promote our position on world issues, our strong position in the Muslim Ummah and our role as an anchor of peace," he told reporters while flying back home after a six-day visit. (Posted @ 21:30 PST)
Thai Prime Minister to visit Pakistan in December for FTA talks KHON KAEN (Thailand), Oct.3 (APP):Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra would visit Pakistan in December this year for bilateral talks that would focus on speeding up ongoing discussion on signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and Thailand."During my visit to Pakistan, we will hold talks on bilateral relations, including FTA, ASEAN and regional issues, he said while talking to reporters after their one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. He described his talks with Aziz as very very good and fruitful. That covered entire gamut of multi-faceted ties between Pakistan and Thailand, he said. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told reporters that he also discussed with his Thai counterpart the ongoing UN reforms, Pakistan's status with ASEAN and signing FTA as soon as possible. We are trying to upgrade our status with ASEAN to a full dialogue partner with Thailand's help and Prime Minister Thaksin has assured full support in this regard, he added. The two leaders also discussed situation in the region and various challenges facing the world. (Posted @ 21:25 PST)
TROOPS MARTYR 2 MORE KASHMIRI YOUTH Srinagar, October 03 (APP): In occupied Kashmir, the Indian troops, in their fresh act of state-terrorism, martyred two more Kashmiri youth in Kupwara district, Kashmir Media Service reported. Meanwhile, unidentified gunmen killed two persons in Kishtwar area of Doda district while Indian troops arrested Imam of a Mosque, Maulvi Ghulam Qadir Dar and his son Rauf Ahmad Dar , a 12th class student, at Samboor in Pampore area. Another youth was arrested in Gool area. Auto driver Riaz Ahmad Pandit was reported missing along with his rickshaw from Nowhatta area of Srinagar. (Posted @ 21:10 PST)
India and Pakistan sign two deals at peace talks ISLAMABAD, Oct 3 (AFP) - Pakistan and India signed two pacts Monday as foreign minister Mahmood Kasuri and Manmohan Singh reviewed a cautious peace process. The two countries also agreed to hold Joint Economic Commission meetings for the first time in 16 years, Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran told a news conference after the ministerial-level talks. "This is very significant development," he said, adding that economic and trade talks will be held Tuesday. The talks were held in a "cordial atmosphere", a Pakistani foreign ministry official said. The peace moves launched in early cover eight subjects including Kashmir, but has so far produced a number of largely symbolic steps, including a bus service across divided Kashmir and resumption of sporting ties, but progress has been sluggish on central issues such as Kashmir itself. On the Kashmir dispute, Saran reiterated Indian position ruling out any change in the borders. "We have said in the past that we are not able to really countenance any territorial changes, but we have said, short of that, whatever can be done to address the adverse human consequences ... we should address those negative consequences. "And I think that is precisely what we have been trying to do," he said.The Islamabad meeting follows a meeting in September between President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New York that ended without any major initiatives, contrary to some expectations. (Posted @ 21:10 PST)
Tens of thousands flock to holy baths in India during solar eclipse NEW DELHI, Oct 3 (AFP) - Hindu pilgrims across India jostled to take holy baths in River Ganges in the ancient towns of Varanasi, Haridwar and Allahabad during a rare solar eclipse on Monday, television networks reported. Most offered special prayers as the moon started moving across the solar face at 4.20 pm (1050 GMT) and then carried out ritual bathing for the two-hour duration of the annular eclipse, which was also observed in parts of Africa, Europe and other Asian countries. The solar face was almost completely covered by the moon in India's southern and western parts but was seen only as a 20 percent eclipse in northern parts. Indian astrologers said the event could spark off disasters, epecially as it is to be followed by a lunar eclipse on October 17. (Posted @ 20:10 PST)
Millions watch eclipse of the sun MADRID, Oct 3 (AFP) - Millions of people living in Europe, Africa and Asia watched Monday as the moon passed across the face of the sun, causing an annular eclipse in which only a fiery solar rim can be seen. The corridor in which this dramatic event could be seen was a narrow one, snaking from the North Atlantic, where it started at 0841 GMT, across the Iberian peninsula and then to northern and eastern Africa before petering out in the Indian Ocean at 1222 GMT. Countries that lie on this path included Portugal and Spain as well as Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, northern Chad, central Sudan, southwestern Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. The inhabitants of Madrid were among the first to see the spectacle during which the sun was obscured for four minutes, the Spanish capital lying in the centre of the strip from which the phenomenon could be seen in its fullest form. (Posted @ 20:00 PST)
Bomb blast causes gas supply disruption in Quetta KARACHI Oct 3 (PPI): Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) gas pipeline from Shikarpur to Quetta was damaged near Kolpur, about 27kms from Quetta at about 2:30am, on the night between October 2 & 3, 2005. A severe blast damaged the main pipeline supplying gas to Quetta and its suburbs, reports said. SSGC spokesman said emergency squads were at site supply will be normalized sometime during the night of Monday and Tuesday . (Posted @ 19:35 PST)
Russia keen to take part in $7.4Bln Iran-Pakistan-India Gas Pipeline Moscow, Oct 3(PPI: Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom, the world's largest gas firm, is keen to participate in the construction of $7.4 billion Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline that would bring gas from the gigantic South Pars fields in Iran to two South Asian countries. ``We are keen on participating in Iran-India pipeline project,''Russia's Minister of Industry and Energy Viktor Khristenko said during a visit to Far Eastern island of Sakhalin to witness along with Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar the maiden oil and gas production from Sakhalin-I fields. (Posted @ 19:25 PST)
Palestinian MPs ask Abbas to appoint new cabinet RAMALLAH, West Bank, Oct 3 (AFP) - Deputies called Monday on Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas to appoint a new government as a result of the current administration's failure to halt the security chaos in the West Bank and Gaza. Forty-three deputies voted in favour of a motion demanding a new government, five voted against and a further five abstained, parliament speaker Rawhi Fattuh announced. The vote means that Palestinian Authority president Abbas has to appoint a new government in the next fortnight but he can ask prime minister Ahmed Qorei to head a new administration. The new government would be an interim administration that would stay in place until legislative elections take place as planned on January 25. (Posted @ 19:05 PST)
Turkey studying EU framework deal for talks-official ANKARA, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Turkey has received the final version of the European Union's framework agreement mapping out its entry talks with the 25-nation bloc and is now studying the document, an official told Reuters on Monday. "(Foreign Minister Abdullah) Gul has brought the document to the (ruling AK) Party headquarters for a political evaluation," the official said. EU foreign ministers have been locked in discussions in Luxembourg all day on the wording of the text. The talks cannot go ahead without an agreement between the EU and Turkey. (Posted @ 18:55 PST)
British Secretay of State for Defence calls on President RAWALPINDI, Oct 3 (APP) : British Secretary of State for Defence John Reid, currently on an official visit to Pakistan, called on President General Pervez Musharraf here Monday. During the meeting, the President recalled the existing friendly relations between the two countries and expressed the hope that the visit of Mr Reid would serve to further enhance these ties. He exchanged views on various facets of cooperation between the two countries in the field of defence. Mr Reid expressed his resolve for further strengthening defence cooperation between the United Kingdom and Pakistan. (Posted @ 18:20 PST)
Iraqi court finally confirms Saddam trial date BAGHDAD, Oct 3 (AFP) - Iraq's Special Tribunal officially announced Monday that ousted dictator Saddam Hussein would go on trial on October 19 for a Shiite massacre, confirming a date announced by the government a month ago.The court also unveiled the names of those who will be tried alongside Saddam over the 1982 massacre of 143 people in the Shiite village of Dujail following an attempt on his life there. They are:ex-vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan, Saddam's half-brother and former intelligence boss Barzan Ibrahim al-Hassan and a former deputy chief in Saddam's cabinet, Awad Ahmad al-Bandar; Abdullah Khadem Ruweid, Mezhar Abdullah Ruweid, Ali Daeh and Mohammed Azzam al-Ali -- former ruling Baath party officials (Posted @ 18:15 PST)
Torrential rain in southeast China leaves 59 police missing BEIJING, Oct 3 (AFP) - Fifty-nine trainee policemen were missing Monday after mountain torrents swelled by Typhoon Longwang swept away two buildings at their academy in southeast China, state media reported. President Hu Jintao has ordered an all-out rescue operation. (Posted @ 18:10 PST)
US forces kill 12 rebels in Iraq assault BAGHDAD, Oct 3 (AFP) - US forces said Monday they killed 12 insurgents in gunbattles and bombing raids in Iraq on the second day of an widening assault against Al-Qaeda linked fighters near the Syrian border. Meanwhile, Oil Minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulum survived an assassination attempt when his convoy was bombed and fired on in Baghdad. Two of his bodyguards were killed. Also, the Al-Qaeda group said it had abducted two US marines and threatened to kill them unless US forces release Sunni Muslim female prisoners within 24 hours. But the marines contested the claim. Oil minister Ulum was heading to the opening of an oil facility in Baiji when his convoy was bombed on a bridge on the road leading out of the capital, a ministry spokesman said. Meanwhile, Arab ministers decided in Jeddah on Sunday to send Arab League chief Amr Mussa to Iraq to prepare for a reconciliation conference grouping all factions in a bid to ease ethnic tensions. (Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Pakistan and India sign missile, maritime deals ISLAMABAD, Oct 3 (AFP) – Nuclear armed India and Pakistan signed agreements Monday on giving advance notice of ballistic missile tests, and on setting up a hotline between their coast guard agencies, officials said. "The agreement entails that both countries provide each other advance notification of flight tests that it intends to undertake of any surface-to-surface ballistic missile," said a statement referring to the missile agreement. The second agreement was on the establishment of a hotline between the maritime authorities of Pakistan and India. "The communication link will lead to early exchange of information between the two sides regarding apprehended fishermen who inadvertently stray into each others territories," the statement said. This " in turn would lead to an early beginning of the process of providing consular access, nationality verification and repatriation" of arrested fishermen, it added. Visiting Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Khurdsheed Kasuri witnessaed the signing ceremony. (Posted @ 17:20 PST)
Two dead in series of courthouse blasts in Bangladesh DHAKA, Oct 3 (AFP) - Two people were killed in bombings at Bangladesh courts Monday and police said the attacks may have been timed to coincide with the filing of charges after a nationwide wave of blasts last month. Five people had been arrested . One bomb exploded at a court in the southeastern district of Lakshmipur, killing one person and injuring a police officer, and a second bomb went off at a courtroom in Chittagong, injuring one person. Another bomb at the same courthouse failed to explode, said city police officer Moksud Ahmed. A third explosion killed one person at a magistrate's court in Chandpur. On Sunday two people were killed and three injured when unknown persons hurled four bombs at a fish market in the southwestern district of Satkhira. In a separate incident on Sunday, a powerful bomb exploded near a hospital in the eastern district of Brahmanbaria although no one was hurt. (Posted @ 17:10 PST)
India tests surface-to-air missile BHUBANESHWAR, India, Oct 3, (AFP) - India Monday successfully tested a homemade surface-to-air missile three times at a coastal range in the eastern state of Orissa, a government official said. The multi-target missile Akash was first fired at 12:50 pm from a mobile launcher at the Chandipur-on-Sea testing site. Two more tests followed within a span of 20 minutes. In all three tests the missile responded perfectly, hitting the intended target, official sources said. The 700-kilogramme Akash, which can track 100 targets simultaneously with onboard radar, can move at a speed of 600 metres a second and deliver a 55 kilogramme warhead across 27 kilometres in 50 seconds. (Posted @ 17:00 PST)
Scores hurt when immigrants storm Spanish enclave border MELILLA, Spain, Oct 3 (AFP) - Scores of people were injured Monday when about 650 would-be illegal immigrants stormed the Spanish enclave of Melilla in Morocco, officials said. "From what I saw, these people were injured by blows from batons and rifle butts," an official told AFP adding that they stormed part of the 20- meter high metal fence at two places separating the enclave from the north African country. Melilla governor's office said 135 people had been injured. An AFP journalist said they used makeshift ladders at two spots where the barrier was about six metres high. He said he had been told that 350 people entered the enclave headed for Melilla police station to register and be given notice of expulsion, a procedure which gives them access to a local reception centre, medical aid and possible entry to the EU. The latest assault took place at 5:15 am in spite of the deployment by Spain of 480 troops and by Morocco of 1,300 police officers and auxiliary forces. (Posted @ 16:40 PST)
Bush chooses White House counsel Harriet Miers for Supreme Court: report WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush has picked White House legal counsel Harriet Miers to be a new US Supreme Court justice, US television reported early Monday. (Posted @ 16:25 PST)
Australian duo wins Nobel Medicine Prize for ulcer research STOCKHOLM, Oct 3 (AFP) - Australian research duo Barry J. Marshall and J. Robin Warren were on Monday awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for their breakthrough research on how to treat stomach ulcers with antibiotics, the Nobel jury said. Working together, the pair in 1982 "made the remarkable and unexpected discovery" that gastritis as well as peptic ulcer disease is the result of a stomach infection caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, it said. Stomach ulcers are one of the most common diseases of mankind and can in some cases lead to stomach cancer. (Posted @ 16:25 PST)
11 people killed in South Korea concert stampede: police SEOUL, Oct 3 (AFP) - Eleven people were trampled to death in South Korea Monday in a stampede at a music concert in a stadium in the southern city of Sangju, police said. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Afghans forces kill 31 militants near Pakistan border KABUL, Oct 3 (Reuters) Afghan government troops killed 31 insurgents in weekend fighting in south-eastern Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan, a Defence Ministry spokesman said on Monday. Twenty-eight militants were killed after a four-hour gun battle on Sunday night in the Angor Ada area of Paktika province, the spokesman said. Three more militants were killed early on Sunday in a separate clash in Paktika province. It was unclear if the militants killed were Taliban fighters or their al Qaeda allies known to be holed up in the border area, the spokesman added. A spokesman for the U.S. military, which has a base in the area, said U.S. forces were not involved. Taliban officials could not be reached for comment.(Updated @ 14:16 PST First Posted @ 12:55 PST )
Six militants killed in Pakistani tribal area MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, Oct 3 (AFP) Six militants were killed in an attack on a Pakistani military checkpoint in a tribal area near Afghanistan, officials said Monday. The insurgents were among a group of up to 30 who on Sunday surrounded the Zara Mela checkpost in North Waziristan, an official said adding that "six of them were killed when soldiers returned fire, but they managed to escape with five bodies." Meanwhile scores of tribesmen met in Miranshah Monday to demand a ceasefire during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and to urge security forces to inform them before operations to avoid civilian casualties, residents said.(Updated @14:15 PST First Posted @13:05 PST )
Gas explosion kills 34 in Chinese coal mine BEIJING, Oct 3 (Reuters) A gas explosion in a Chinese coal mine near Hebi on Monday killed at least 34 people, the official Xinhua news agency reported.(Posted @ 14:10 PST)
Prime Minister reaches Thailand KHON KEAN (Thailand), Oct 3 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz made a brief stopover here on his way to Pakistan at the special request of Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, after concluding his six day visit to Malaysia and Korea. He was received at the airport by Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Surakiard. Aziz will hold talks with his Thai counterpart and discuss bilateral matters and issues of regional importance.(Posted @ 13:05 PST)
Indian train jumps tracks, 18 killed, 100 hurt BHOPAL, India, Oct 3 (Reuters/AFP) Six coaches of the Bundelkhand Express sped through a railway station near Datia town in Madhya Pradesh, jumped the tracks and crashed into a signal cabin on Monday, killing 18 passengers and injuring 100, authorities said. The death toll was likely to rise as many passengers remained trapped inside the carriages and 40 of the injured were in a critical condition, they said. Rescue teams, including soldiers, had reached the site and were removing passengers from the cars.(First posted @ 12:50 updated 16:50 PST)
Bus blast kills 21 in Tajikistan DUSHANBE, Oct 3 (Reuters) A powerful blast killed all 21 passengers on board when a bus running on liquefied gas collided with another bus in western Tajikistan, police said on Monday. The accident on Sunday occurred in a rural area 50 km south of the Central Asian state's capital of Dushanbe, police said, adding only 15 bodies could be identified.(Posted @ 10:40 PST)
Tour boat capsizes in upstate NY, 21 killed GLENS FALLS, N.Y., Oct 2 (Reuters) Twenty-one people from a senior citizens' tour group were killed on Sunday when a small tour boat capsized after it hit the wake from a larger boat on Lake George in upstate New York, police said.(Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 102.21 points: KARACHI, October 3: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 8327.87, up 102.21 points from Friday's close. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:30 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, October 3: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.35 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:30 PST)
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