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| December 13, 2005 | Tuesday | Ziqa’ad 10, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Four U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq bomb attack BAGHDAD, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Four U.S. soldiers were killed when their patrol struck a makeshift bomb northwest of Baghdad on Tuesday, the military said in a statementNo other details were immediately available.(Posted @ 21:45 PST)
Champions Trophy field hockey results and standings CHENNAI, India, Dec 13 (APP/AFP) Results and league standings from the Champions Trophy men's field hockey tournament here on Tuesday: Australia 4 (Nathan Eglington 1, 13, Dean Butler 12, Travis Brooks 20) India 1 (Tushar Khandekar 31) The Netherlands 3 (Matthijs Brouwer 11, 56, Karel Klaver 57) Spain 2 (Santiago Freixa 60, Eduard Tubau 64)(Posted @ 20:20 PST)
Pakistan has stable economy, owing to prudent policies; PM ISLAMABAD, Dec 13 (APP): Pakistan is in the midst of an economic upturn owing to its wide ranging structural reforms, prudent macro-economic policies, fiscal discipline and consistency and continuity in policies have transformed Pakistan into a stable and resurgent economy. Talking to Young Global Leaders' delegation who called on him at the Prime Minister's House he said the country has a sense of direction, political stability, an active parliament and vociferous press. "We want peace with all neighbors, which is critical for sustainable peace in the region," Aziz said.(Posted @ 20:00 PST)
Mega projects to herald an era of economic upswing in Balochistan: Musharraf QUETTA Dec 13 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf Tuesday said that the mega projects being pursued by the federal government in Balochistan were moving towards their completion on schedule and will bring an era of socio-economic advancement in the province. He was addressing the elected representatives of Balochistan, provincial ministers, notables, lawyers and intellectuals here at Governor's House on Tuesday. He informed that the Mirani dam would be ready by June-July next year irrigating 34 thousand acres of land in Mekran and Sabakzai dam will be completed by September 2006 which would provide water to around six thousand acres of land in the Zhob district. He said the Gawadar port will also be ready by June 2006 where an oil refinery and a new airport would also be constructed. On the need for new water reservoirs, Musharraf said Balochistan and NWFP were not getting their due water share. Balochistan will start getting its share after completion of Kachhi canal, he said. However, he added that additional water would be available only when new big dams would be constructed. He asked the people of Balochistan to highlight the urgency of new dams in a loud and clear tone so that those opposing it should know that their province was not against construction of new dams.(Posted @ 19:50 PST)
Greek police deny abducting Pakistanis after London blasts ATHENS, Dec 13 (AFP) Greek police on Tuesday denied involvement in the case of seven Pakistani immigrants who say they were abducted and interrogated in July following that month's bomb attacks in London. The announcement followed comments made by the Pakistani immigrants' Greek lawyer, Frangiskos Ragoussis, earlier Tuesday in an interview on BBC World television. Quizzed by reporters, Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis likewise said he was unaware of the case. The British embassy in Athens could not be reached for comment.(Posted @ 19:45 PST)
Pakistan arrests Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militant LAHORE, Pakistan, Dec 13 (Reuters) Security forces have arrested a militant wanted in connection with sectarian bomb attacks, police said on Tuesday.The suspect, Qari Ihsanullah, was arrested in Rahim Yar Khan city in the eastern province of Punjab on Monday, a police official said. "Qari Ihsanullah was involved in six cases of bombings which killed over a dozen people in several acts of terror," the official said, adding that "he allegedly masterminded a string of deadly suicide attacks on the rival religious sect." Ihsanullah, 35, was a member of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militant group, the officer said.(Posted @ 19:30 PST)
CIA could have abducted people in Europe: Council of Europe PARIS, Dec 13 (AFP) The CIA appears to have abducted people in Europe and illegally transferred them to other countries, according to the results of a Council of Europe investigation released on Tuesday. "Legal proceedings under way in certain countries appear to show that individuals were abducted and transferred to other countries without respect for any legal assistance procedures," Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty told a meeting of the body's human rights committee. The rapporteur "demands immediately that all member governments fully commit to uncovering the truth about flights and over flights on their territory in recent years, by aircraft transporting people arrested and detained outside of any legal procedure."(Posted @ 19:00 PST)
Pakistani cricketers arrive in Karachi for third ODI KARACHI, Dec 13 (APP): Pakistan cricket squad flew into the city from Lahore on Tuesday afternoon to play the third Day/night One-day International here at National Stadium on Thursday. The team will have a training session at NSK on Wednesday under the supervision of coach Bob Woolmer. Pakistan and England are tied 1-1 in the five match one-day series. England team is due to arrive here on Wednesday and will train under lights on Wednesday evening. A chaos was also seen at the NSK where cricket fans were seen struggling to buy tickets. Majority of them complained of hardships in securing the tickets. No booths were set up at NSK by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the fans said. All tickets were also sold out at the designated branches of Bank Alfalah within a couple of hours.io(Posted @ 17:50 PST)
Russia, ASEAN forge new partnership in historic first summit KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 (AFP) Russia and 10 Southeast Asian countries vowed Tuesday to work together in fighting terrorism and stimulating wealth as part of a new partnership signed at the first Russia-ASEAN summit. President Vladimir Putin held inaugural summit talks with his ASEAN counterparts for around 90 minutes.That meeting was capped by the signing of a joint 27-point declaration of "comprehensive partnership" between Russia and ASEAN along with a detailed action plan that officials described as a "road map" for the next 10 years."These documents will be used to steer ahead," the summit host, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, said. However Japan and ASEAN failed to break a deadlock in talks over a free-trade deal between them, officials said on Tuesday. The two sides pledged in a joint statement to "deepen and broaden the strategic partnership" between them and resolved to conclude the stalled talks. (Posted @ 17:35 PST)
Windows smashed in demo near Afghanistan's newest luxury hotel KABUL, Dec 13 (AFP) Protesting street vendors turned their anger on Afghanistan's newest luxury hotel, the Kabul Serena, in a demonstration in the capital Tuesday after police forced them to move their stalls. The vendors took to the streets after police forced them to stop hawking in the busy area, the government said. (Posted @ 17:29 PST)
Israel, Palestinian Authority pledge economic cooperation LONDON, Dec 13 (AFP) Israel and the Palestinian Authority undertook here on Tuesday to cooperate to create an economically and politically viable independent Palestinian state, aided by the private sector. "The government of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the international community have critical roles in achieving sustainable development in the West Bank and Gaza," said a joint Palestinian-Israeli private sector declaration presented at a conference hosted by the British government and the World Bank. Speaking at the London meeting, British finance minister Gordon Brown added: "this declaration shows a shared purpose to make concerted progress in the most important of areas…trade and economic cooperation are the economic foundation, not just for prosperity but for peace and security in this region." (Posted @ 17:28 PST)
Indian air force MiG-21 crashes, pilot bails out GUWAHATI, India, Dec 13 (AFP) An Indian air force MiG-21 fighter aircraft crashed Tuesday in the north-eastern state of Assam, but the pilot managed to bail out safely, an official said. An air force spokesman said the aircraft crashed on the outskirts of the Salonibari airbase near Tezpur, about 185 kilometers from Assam's main city of Guwahati. The Indian air force has been plagued by crashes of aircraft in its aging fleet, particularly Russian-made MiG-21s. (Posted @ 17:27 PST)
Cricket-Injured Pietersen to return home KARACHI, Dec 13 (Reuters) England batsman Kevin Pietersen was returning home on Tuesday after failing to recover from a rib injury. A Pakistan Cricket Board official said Pietersen was flying home but no replacement has been called up for the remaining three one-day internationals. (Posted @ 17:21 PST)
Cricket-Tight security for Pakistan v England in Karachi KARACHI, Dec 13 (Reuters) Stringent security measures are in place for the third one-day cricket international between Pakistan and England in Karachi. About 3,000 police and paramilitary forces will guard the National stadium and the teams' hotel. The teams will be provided with blanket security when travelling from the hotel to the ground. "We have made extremely tight security arrangements for the match," Major General Javed Zia, director-general of the paramilitary forces, said. PCB director Abbas Zaidi said "this match is even more important than the one we had against India last year. Because once this match is played successfully, other teams will also not hesitate to play here." (Posted @ 17:20 PST)
Twelve million southern Africans need food urgently: UN ROME, Dec 13 (Reuters) Some 12 million people in southern Africa, mainly in Zimbabwe and Malawi, need emergency food aid, the United Nations said on Tuesday, saying the situation in the region was serious despite South Africa's bumper harvest. "Cereal import requirements in sub-Saharan Africa in 2005/06 are expected to remain high," FAO said. Total food aid needs in 2004/05 were estimated at 3.3 million tonnes, about the same as in 2003/04. (Posted @ 17:18 PST)
Palestinian election offices close after violence GAZA, Dec 13 (Reuters) Palestinian officials ordered all election offices to close in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Tuesday after raids by Fatah gunmen."We have decided to close down all our offices in protest at the interference of gunmen who destroyed some of the offices," Ammar Dweik, head of the Palestinian Central Elections Committee, said. (Posted @ 17:17 PST)
Australian Guantanamo inmate wins UK legal battle LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) An Australian detainee in Guantanamo Bay, David Hicks, won a legal battle on Tuesday against Britain's failure to grant him UK citizenship. At the High Court in London the court ruled that there was "no power in law to deprive the claimant of his citizenship", and that he must therefore be registered as a UK citizen. (Posted @ 17:16 PST)
Cricket-Sri Lanka 123-5 & 230 v India 290 & 375-6 declared - close NEW DELHI, Dec 13 (Reuters) Sri Lanka were 123 for five wickets in their second innings at the close on day four of the second test against India on Tuesday. They were set a victory target of 436 runs. Scores: India 290 all out (Tendulkar 109, Muralitharan 7-100) and 375-6 declared (Pathan 93, Singh 77 not out). Sri Lanka 230 all out (M.Atapattu 88, A.Kumble 6-72) and 123 for five.(Posted @ 17:13 PST)
Two Palestinians killed in flare-up of violence NABLUS, West Bank, Dec 13 (Reuters) Israeli forces killed two Palestinian civilians on Tuesday in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the latest flare-up of violence, witnesses and medics said. They said troops shot dead a Palestinian bystander and wounded 12 people in fighting between soldiers and Palestinians during an Israeli raid in the West Bank city of Nablus. Israeli troops firing into the Gaza Strip also killed a Palestinian man near Gaza's boundary with Israel, witnesses said. The wounded included stone throwers and a gunman, the witnesses said. (First Posted @11:23 PST Updated @ 16:10 PST)
Iraqi president says will not seek re-election BAGHDAD, Dec 13 (Reuters) Iraqi President Jalal Talabani will not seek re-election after Thursday's parliamentary election because the new constitution has curbed his powers, his office said on Tuesday. "This position does not tempt me," Talabani told Arab satellite television al-Arabiya on Monday in comments later issued by his office. "I wouldn't want to be a president of protocol," he said.(Posted @ 16:07 PST)
Prominent politician shot dead in Iraq RAMADI, Iraq, Dec 13 (Reuters) A leading politician, Mizhar al-Dulaimi, head of the Free Progressive Iraqi Party, was shot dead on Tuesday while campaigning in the centre of Ramadi, capital of the restive Anbar province in western Iraq, police said. Three of his bodyguards were wounded.(Posted @ 16:05 PST)
British soldier killed, three hurt in Cyprus crash NICOSIA, Dec 13 (Reuters) A British soldier stationed in Cyprus was killed on Tuesday and three others injured when their military vehicle hit a tree and overturned, police said.(Posted @ 16:03 PST)
Four wounded in Afghanistan quake JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Dec 13 (AFP) Four people were hurt, one of them badly, when an earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale struck mountainous north-eastern Afghanistan early Tuesday, health officials said. The massive tremor, which hit in the early hours of the morning, also destroyed a house in the eastern city of Jalalabad, a doctor in the city's hospital said. The epicentre was in Afghanistan's Badakshan province in the Hindu Kush mountains. Officials in Badakshan could not be reached for information about the effect of the quake although reports cited officials saying there had been no serious damage. A government official in Kabul said earlier that preliminary reports indicated that no one had been hurt in any of Afghanistan's provinces.(First Posted @10:21 PST Updated @15:31 PST)
Bus from Lahore arrives in Amritsar; marks third bus link WAGAH, India, Dec 13 (AFP) A bus from Lahore arrived in Amritsar Tuesday, the third such service launched between the two countries as part of the peace process. The bus carrying Pakistani officials was greeted by Punjab taxation minister Sardool Singh at Wagah as it crossed into India. "The Lahore-Amritsar bus service will be enormously helpful in bringing the people of both nations closer together," Hasim Khan, who led the Pakistani delegation, said. Indian government officials made the first trial run from Amritsar to Lahore Sunday. The nine-member Indian delegation returned home on Monday, saying it was satisfied with the service. India and Pakistan will each run a bus across the border once a week. India and Pakistan were also poised to launch a fourth bus route connecting Amritsar with Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev, who founded the Sikh religion. Khan said the road service would be more effective if the two countries set up visa counters at the border so people did not have to go to the capitals, New Delhi and Islamabad, to get permission to travel to the other side.(First Posted@11:23 PST Updated@ 15:22 PST)
Fresh clashes in south Philippines, two troops die MANILA, Dec 13 (Reuters) Two Philippine soldiers were killed and 11 wounded in fresh fighting on the remote south-western island of Jolo with militants suspected to be linked to al Qaeda, an army general said on Tuesday. (Posted @ 15:15 PST)
Lok Sabha panel to probe MPs bribery scam constituted New Delhi, Dec 13 (APP): Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee Tuesday announced in the Lok Sabha the constitution of an Enquiry Committee to look into the expose on a TV channel regarding taking of bribes by some MPs for fielding questions in Parliament and asked to submit its report by December 21. The eleven MPs-- ten from the Lok Sabha and one from the Rajya Sabha -- shown accepting money on camera, have been asked to submit their individual statements/explanations before the Enquiry Committee by tomorrow, said a news report. The Speaker said that the allegations of improper conduct by the members concerned had been taken seriously and they had been asked to not to attend the House till further decision.(Posted @ 12:49 PST)
Seven hurt, 11 arrested in Sydney race violence SYDNEY, Dec 13 (AFP) - Eleven people were injured and seven were arrested in a second night of racial violence in Australia's biggest city, Sydney, police said Tuesday. Residents said around 30 to 40 cars full of young men armed with baseball bats and crowbars drove through the suburb, smashing shop windows and parked cars. Gunshots were heard but there were no immediate reports of any casualties. In the adjacent suburb of Brighton-Le-Sands, crowds threw rocks at police cars and passing motorists before dispersing as riot police converged on the area. In the mainly Muslim suburb of Lakemba, about 500 young people blocked roads near the local mosque after evening prayers, believing an attack was imminent. They later dispersed, some hurling rocks at police. More than 30 people were injured and 16 arrested on Sunday.(Posted @ 11:22 PST)
Top US official pleads guilty to giving secrets to Taiwan WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (AFP) - A top US State Department official, Donald Keyser, pleaded guilty Monday to giving top secret US documents to Taiwan, the Justice Department said. The former principal deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs also pleaded guilty to two counts of making false statements over an "undisclosed personal relationship" with a Taiwanese intelligence agent named as Isabelle Cheng, the department said.Keyser, 62, will be sentenced on February 24(Posted @ 11:19 PST)
Two Philippine troops dead, 11 hurt in clash with Islamic militants ZAMBOANGA, Philippines, Dec 13 (AFP) - Two Marines were killed and 11 other members of the military unit wounded in a clash with Islamic militants on the southern Philippine island of Jolo, the military said Tuesday. The unit was attacked near the town of Patikul early Monday as government forces mounted a sweep for the Abu Sayyaf organization. "We suffered two killed and 11 wounded but the Marines also inflicted heavy casualties," said Brigadier General Alexander Aleo, commander of an anti-terrorism task force in the south. The soldiers clashed with an Abu Sayyaf group of about 50 gunmen some 11 hours into the tropical jungle sortie, Aleo said. Military helicopters plucked the casualties from the combat zone. The fresh fighting raised the government toll to nine soldiers killed and 38 wounded since the military began the Jolo offensive on November 11.(Posted @ 10:26 PST)
Earthquake measuring 6.3 hits Fiji region WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (AFP) - An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale hit the Fiji region early Tuesday, the US government reported. The US Geological Survey said the tremor occurred at 0316 GMT. Its epicenter was located in the ocean 115 kilometers (70 miles) from the town of Sigave on Futuna Island. There was no immediate word of casualties or damage.(Posted @ 10:22 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 8.33 points: KARACHI, December 12: At close of trading , the KSE-100 index was at 9451.32 , down 8.33 points from Monday's close. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:30 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, December 12: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.14 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:30 PST)
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