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| December 6, 2005 | Tuesday | Ziqa’ad 3, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Prisoners aren't sent to nations that torture WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Tuesday the United States does not secretly move terrorism suspects to foreign countries that torture to get information. The process known as "rendition" has come under the spotlight after reports that the CIA was operating secret prisons in Europe for terrorism suspects.(Posted @ 22:35 PST)
UN says Mugabe accepts food aid, no to shelters HARARE, Dec 6 (Reuters) Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has accepted a broad U.N. offer of food aid but was still opposed to an emergency shelter scheme for victims of a government urban slum demolition campaign, the United Nations said Tuesday. Jan Egeland, the U.N. humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, met Mugabe on Tuesday over the world body's criticism of a controversial urban "clean-up" drive that left thousands of people homeless earlier this year.(Posted @ 21:52 PST)
Saddam says US, Israel want him dead BAGHDAD, Dec 6 (AFP) Deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein on Tuesday accused the Americans and Israelis of wanting him dead, during an angry tirade during his Baghdad trial. "The Americans and the Israelis want the execution of Saddam Hussein," he shouted from the dock. "I was already sentenced to death three times and this will not be the first," he added referring to the death penalty that he faces if found guilty over the massacre of nearly 150 Shiite villagers in 1982. "Neither Saddam nor his companions are frightened of execution," he added, addressing a speech to the judge.(First Posted@ 15:00 PST Updated @ 21:08 PST)
OIC summit to chart course of action to tackle post 9/11 challenges: Kasuri JEDDAH, Dec 6 (APP): Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri Tuesday said the third OIC summit would take into account the challenges faced by the Ummah in the post 9/11 era and develop a consensus on ways to tackle the issues. Talking to reporters during a preparatory ministerial meeting to finalize the agenda for Wednesday's summit at Makkah, Kasuri said practical measures would be taken to deal with issues of sectarianism, terrorism, economic and trade collaboration between member states, besides removing the misperceptions about Islam.(Posted @ 20:44 PST)
German who says U.S. imprisoned him sues CIA WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (Reuters) The American Civil Liberties Union said on Tuesday it was filing suit on behalf of a German man who says he was wrongly imprisoned by the U.S. government, a legal challenge against one of the spy agency's most prominent tactics in Washington's declared war on terrorism. The group said it was suing former CIA Director George Tenet on behalf of Khaled el-Masri, who says that in 2003 he became the innocent victim of a CIA tactic known as extraordinary rendition, in which terror suspects are captured and flown to other countries for interrogation.(Posted @ 19:58 PST)
Five small blasts around Madrid after ETA warning MADRID, Dec 6 (Reuters) Five small bombs exploded on highways around Madrid without causing injuries on Tuesday after a warning from armed Basque separatist group ETA, a source at Spain's anti-terrorist forces said. "They are small and have caused no injuries," the source added. Basque police said motorway assistance association DYA had received a warning in the name of ETA that it had placed bombs around Madrid. Earlier, Santander airport in Northern Spain was evacuated while police searched for a bomb after a warning in the name of ETA.(Posted @ 19:52 PST)
Plane crashes into Tehran building, 116 killed TEHRAN, Dec 6 (Reuters) An Iranian military plane carrying at least 94 people burst into flames and smashed into a Tehran apartment block on Tuesday, killing all those on board and others on the ground, police and witnesses said. Interior Ministry Spokesman Mojtaba Mirabdollahi told the ISNA students news agency the death toll was 116. A government official estimated the apartment block housed about 250 people. The C-130 transport plane, which belonged to the Iranian air force, was bound for the southern port of Bandar Abbas and many of the passengers were local journalists who were going to cover military exercises in the Gulf. The pilot had reported engine trouble and requested an emergency landing at Tehran's Mehrabad international airport, but crashed just short of the runway, police said. Iran has a poor airline safety record. U.S. sanctions have prevented Iran from buying new aircraft or spares from the West, forcing it to supplement its fleet of Boeing and Airbus planes with aircraft from former Soviet Union countries.(First Posted@16:10 PST Updated @19:48 PST)
Indian troops kill two along the Line of Control SRINAGAR, Occupied Kashmir, Dec 6 (AFP) Indian troops Tuesday shot dead two alleged militants in the Kamalkote area of northern Uri sector along the Line of Control (LoC), the Indian army said.(Posted @ 19:00 PST)
Yawar blasts foreign meddling, sectarianism in Iraq DUBAI, Dec 6 (Reuters) Iraqi Vice-President Ghazi al-Yawar said on Tuesday that sectarianism and foreign intervention were hampering Iraq's efforts to form a national unity government. "The problem is in the leaders and foreign intervention, whether it is international or regional," Yawar said, urging political parties to abandon sectarian or ethnic interests. "We need national political entities to enhance the feeling of allegiance to Iraq and not to sectarian (forces)," he told an Arab media forum in Dubai.(Posted @ 18:56 PST)
Indian, Russian leaders seal defence deal at Moscow summit MOSCOW, Dec 6, 2005 (AFP) Russia and India paved the way for intensified defence cooperation Tuesday as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked up a "strategic partnership" between the two Soviet-era allies in Moscow. A key agreement signed in the presence of the two leaders Tuesday will protect intellectual property rights for Russian technology used in joint arms building projects. The projects include an Indian plan to build the country's first nuclear submarine, joint construction of a multi-purpose transport plane and plans for joint work on a fifth generation fighter jet, a defence official said. Two other agreements will allow India's use of a Russian navigation system made up of 14 satellites known as Glonass for peaceful purposes and Indian involvement in a Russian scientific research project on the sun.(Posted @ 18:45 PST)
36 Iraqi police killed in Baghdad double suicide attack BAGHDAD, Dec 6 (AFP) At least 36 Iraqi police officers and cadets were killed and 72 others wounded on Tuesday when two women suicide bombers blew themselves up in a Baghdad police academy classroom, police said. Initial reports from the US military had said at least 27 police officers and academy students were killed and another 32 wounded in the attack, which comes just nine days before Iraq holds parliamentary elections. It remains unclear how the two women were able to breach heavy security in place around the academy, where roads have been sealed off by Iraqi police in a bid to prevent such bombings.(First Posted@16:12 PST Updated @18:10 PST)
Iraq militant group says it has seized U.S. consultant DUBAI, Dec 6 (Reuters) An Iraqi militant group said on Tuesday it has kidnapped a U.S. security consultant and would kill him in 48 hours unless Washington frees all Iraqi prisoners, according to a video aired by Al Jazeera television. The grainy video showed a blond, Western-looking man sitting down with his hands tied behind his back. It also showed an American passport and an Arabic identity card bearing the name Ronald Schulz. Al Jazeera said it could not verify the authenticity of the tape.(Posted @ 17:44 PST)
Militants blow up railway track in southwest Pakistan QUETTA, Pakistan, Dec 6 (AFP) Suspected militants blew up a railway track in south-western Pakistan on Tuesday, delaying a train but causing no casualties. The saboteurs planted explosives on the railway in Sariab area on the outskirts of Quetta, a Pakistan Railways official said. The blast held up a freight train but the damaged track was repaired in about three hours and passenger trains were not disturbed, the official added. "It was the work of the same people who have been engaged in acts of sabotage in the past," the official added without mentioning any names.(Posted @ 16:38 PST)
Rice says U.S. rectifies mistakes in terror war BERLIN, Dec 6 (Reuters) U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday that Washington would work to rectify any mistakes it made in its war on terror, but declined to comment on the alleged CIA abduction of a German man. "When and if mistakes are made, we work very hard and as quickly as possible to rectify them," Rice told a news conference in Berlin. German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the same news conference she would ask her Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, to report on the German’s case to the parliamentary committee responsible for supervising the security services.(Posted @ 16:10 PST)
North Korea says U.S. finance row blocking nuclear talks SEOUL, Dec 6 (Reuters) A U.S. crackdown on North Korea's financial assets makes it impossible to resume multilateral talks on dismantling the state's nuclear weapons programmes, a commentary in Pyongyang's official media said on Tuesday.It was the first time the North has openly linked a possible halt in the six-party nuclear talks to the U.S. moves against its finances, South Korean officials said.(Posted @ 16:05 PST)
Cricket-Vaughan ruled out of one-day series in Pakistan LAHORE, Dec 6 (Reuters) England captain Michael Vaughan, who flew home for the birth of his second child after England's 2-0 test series defeat, would not be returning to Pakistan for the one-day series as his knee injury required further investigation, team doctor Peter Gregory said on Tuesday. Marcus Trescothick will lead England in the five-match series, which starts on Dec. 10 in Lahore, and batsman Ian Bell will replace Vaughan in the squad. "It is disappointing but surgery really is the only option for me at the moment," Vaughan said in a statement. "Hopefully I can make a full recovery in time for the tour to India in the early stages of next year," he added.(Posted @ 16:05 PST)
Iraqi PM wants coalition forces to stay TOKYO, Dec 6 (Reuters) Iraq wants multinational forces to stay until it has built up a military that was capable of maintaining security in the country, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari said on Tuesday. In a news conference during a visit to Japan, Jaafari said "we hope that the process of withdrawal of multinational forces from Iraq will be planned and executed together with the Iraqi government."(Posted @ 16:00 PST)
Blast destroys Monument to Gaza's Unknown Soldier GAZA, Dec 6 (Reuters) An explosion destroyed the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in Gaza on Tuesday. The Palestinian Interior Ministry said the blast was caused by a missile fired by an Israeli aircraft but the Israeli army denied responsibility. The monument, which does not contain a tomb, was built in 1956 by Egypt, which administered Gaza then, as a memorial to Egyptians and Palestinians killed in fighting with Israel.(Posted @ 16:00PST)
Cricket-India and Sri Lanka draw first test CHENNAI, India, Dec 6 (Reuters) The rain-delayed first test between Sri Lanka and India ended in a draw on Tuesday's final day. Scores: India 167; Sri Lanka 168 for four.(Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Saudi urges Muslim nations to confront 'enemies' of Islam JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Dec 6 (AFP) Foreign ministers of the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) opened a meeting in Jeddah on Tuesday with a Saudi call to confront attacks on Islam by "enemies" at home and abroad. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said the OIC should seek to counter the "harsh offensive on Islam from enemies abroad and some of its own children with deviant ideologies". The foreign ministers were holding a preparatory ministerial conference to draft the agenda of a two-day OIC summit starting Wednesday in the holy city of Mecca.(Posted @ 15:15 PST)
CIA moved last Qaeda suspects from secret prisons last month: media report WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (AFP) Only last month, the CIA moved 11 top Al-Qaeda suspects from two secret prisons in Eastern Europe to a new facility in the North African desert, ABC News said late Monday. The move was done hurriedly to clear the prisons of suspects ahead of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's four-nation tour of Europe this week, current and former members of the Central Intelligence Agency told ABC. The sources, ABC said, refused to name the two Eastern European nations as well as the facility in the North African desert where the suspects were now housed.(Posted @ 15:03 PST)
Israel begins clampdown in West Bank after bombing JERUSALEM, Dec 6 (Reuters) Israel began a clampdown in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday in the early stages of what it vowed would be a harsh military response to a suicide bombing that killed five Israelis. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has given the green light for hits on leaders of Islamic Jihad, the group behind Monday's attack in central Israel. Israel's army said it tightened restrictions on Palestinian movement in the West Bank and carried out raids that led to 14 arrests. Witnesses said the bomber's father and three brothers were among those detained. Sharon also convened his security cabinet to lay out plans for retaliation for the bombing at a busy shopping mall.(Posted @ 15:00 PST)
Afghan general injured, driver dies in bomb blast KHOST, Afghanistan, Dec 6 (AFP) - A bomb tore through an Afghan military vehicle, killing one person and injuring two others including a general in troubled eastern Afghanistan, an official said Tuesday.General Zia-Ul Haq of the fledgling, US-sponsored Afghan National Army and a bodyguard were wounded, while their driver died Monday in Urgun, a troubled district in Paktika province, military official Sana-Ul Haq said.(Posted @ 14:30 PST)
Police say 20 bodies found in western Iraq FALLUJA, Iraq, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Police said on Tuesday they had found the bodies of 20 people dumped in two separate locations in an area of western Iraq well-known for insurgency violence. Eleven men in civilian clothes were found on Monday dumped next to the main highway that links Baghdad to the border with Jordan in Iraq's west, police said. The bodies were found near the town of Rutba, 370 km (230 miles) west of Baghdad, in the mainly Sunni Arab desert province of Anbar. The bodies all had their hands tied and the men appeared to have been killed three days ago. Their identities were not clear. Also on Tuesday, police said the bodies of nine civilians had been found a day earlier beside a road near Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad. All nine had gunshot wounds. (Posted @ 12:53 PST)
Two Muslims shot dead in latest southern Thailand violence NARATHIWAT, Thailand, Dec 6 (AFP) - Two Muslim men, including the imam of a mosque, have been shot dead by suspected militants in Thailand's restive southern provinces bordering Malaysia, police said Tuesday. Two unidentified gunmen shot dead 64-year-old Muslim cleric Tayae Ladeng on Tuesday as he travelled to a meeting of district imams in Narathiwat province, one of three provinces that have seen unrest since January 2004. Late Monday, a 54-year-old Muslim school janitor was shot twice in Pattani province by two suspected militants as he rode his motorcycle home, police said. Muslims are sometimes targeted by Islamic insurgents because they are seen as traitors or collaborators with the Thai government. (Posted @ 12:53 PST)
JF-17 Sino-Pakistani Fighter Improved London, Dec. 06 (PPI): The joint Sino-Pakistani FC-1/JF-17 light multirole fighter aircraft has undergone a major redesign, including changes to its air intakes as well as the wing-fuselage join and rear fuselage section. The fourth prototype with the modifications has completed three months of trials. The Chengdu FC-1, which will also be manufactured by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) as the JF-17, is an export-orientated programme under joint development by the two countries. The fourth prototype (TP4) with new features is well into its test programme while a fifth aircraft is being used for static testing (along with the second prototype), Janes Defence Weekly reported Tuesday. The PAC is establishing its own facility to build the aircraft and has been importing specialist machine tools from suppliers in Sweden, and elsewhere, to set up a better production line than the one already established at Chengdu. Work on the first PAC aircraft is expected to begin in 2006.(Posted @ 12:30 PST)
China road collision kills 24 BEIJING, Dec 6 (Reuters) - A truck carrying a chemical rammed into a bus near Beijing, killing 24 people and injuring nine, the China Daily reported on Tuesday. The two vehicles plunged into a 20-metre (65-foot) ditch after the collision on Sunday. The truck which was carrying calcium chloride had suffered brake failure, the report said. (Posted @ 10:54 PST)
Landmine kills seven Sri Lankan soldiers in Tamil town COLOMBO, Dec 6 (AFP) - At least seven Sri Lankan soldiers were killed Tuesday when a landmine exploded in the northern Tamil town of Jaffna, military officials here said. Six men and one officer were riding in a tractor-trailer near a landmark Hindu temple when a claymore mine went off some 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of the capital Colombo, the officials said. (Posted @ 10:41 PST)
Indian ex-FM to resign over oil-for-food scam NEW DELHI, Dec 6 (AFP) - Former Indian foreign minister Natwar Singh, facing opposition fury over charges that he and the ruling Congress party skimmed the UN oil-for-food scheme in Iraq, is to resign, a party spokesman said Tuesday. Singh was removed from the foreign ministry last month when a UN report named him in the scam, but he remained in the cabinet as a minister without portfolio. Singh met Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi late Monday and told her he was resigning from the cabinet to save the party and government from further embarrassment, party spokesman Anand Sharma said. (Posted @ 10:41 PST)
President informs Pak community Pak-Yemen relations set to grow SANA'A Dec 6 (APP) : President Pervez Musharraf Monday described his meetings with the Yemeni leadership as fruitful, saying these will set the pace for fostering strong bilateral relationship. Addressing a gathering of Sana'a-based Pakistani community he referred to his meetings with President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Yemeni Prime Minister and cabinet members and expressed the confidence that these would lead to better ties in political, energy, trade and cultural areas. Pakistan, he said, would be willing to extend cooperation to Yemen in the agricultural field and provide expertise in increasing its agrarian output. About government's plans of reconstruction and rehabilitation in the quake-shattered areas, President Musharraf said the country is following a transparent strategy. "Relief assistance is definitely reaching down to the survivors and the government will provide finances and guidance to the affected people to rebuild their houses on modern lines," he said. Owners of each of the over 400,000 houses damaged in October 8 disaster are getting money to rebuild their houses, he added. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
U.S. to provide over $3 billion in security, economic assistance to Pakistan : Fact Sheet WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (APP)- Over the next five years, the United States "will provide" to Pakistan more than $3 billion in security, economic, and development assistance "to enhance counterterrorism capacity and promote continued reform, including of the education system." This is stated in fact sheet issued by the White House Monday, showing progress on the /11 Commission recommendations. The Fact Sheet says, in the last three years, the United States provided more than $4.5 billion in reconstruction, economic, and security assistance programs to Afghanistan." (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 51.80 points: KARACHI, Dec 6: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 9396.50 , up 51.80 points from Monday's close. (Bureau Report) (Posted @ 14:40 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Dec 6: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.2 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Posted @ 14:40 PST)
| All Branches of The State Bank of Pakistan |
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