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| December 16, 2005 | Friday | Ziqa’ad 13, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Greece, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan pledge to cooperate on human trafficking ATHENS, Dec 16 (AFP) Greece on Friday signed an agreement with Iran, Pakistan and Turkey to boost cooperation on fighting organised crime and the illegal traffic of immigrants and drugs. The agreement signed with the interior ministers of Iran, Pakistan and Turkey aims to strengthen border controls, boost cooperation between respective police forces and encourage information sharing. It also envisages the creation of an 'early warning mechanism' on migration waves, Greek public order minister George Voulgarakis said. The details on each initiative will be worked out at a later meeting between the four countries, he said. The four states pledged to hold regular talks on the issue, and to create a working group of senior officials, who will meet at least once a year to draft strategy. The next gathering will be held in Istanbul on a date still to be decided. The signatories also decided to invite Afghanistan in the next meeting, Voulgarakis added.(Posted @ 20:50 PST)
Dutch businessman jailed for nuclear exports to Pakistan THE HAGUE, Dec 16 (AFP) A Dutch court on Friday sentenced a Dutch businessman and friend of Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan to 12 months in prison for shipping equipment used for uranium enrichment to Pakistan between 1999 and 2002. Henk Slebos, who befriended Khan while they were students at Delft in western Holland in the 1960s, was convicted of illegally exporting strategic goods by a court in Alkmaar. He was also ordered to personally pay a fine of 100,000 euros and two of his companies were fined for at total of 97,500 euros.(Posted @ 20:46 PST)
Bulgaria begins withdrawing troops from Iraq SOFIA, Dec 16 (Reuters) Bulgaria has begun withdrawing its 334-strong light infantry battalion from Iraq following the war-torn country's parliamentary elections this week, Bulgaria's Defence Ministry said on Friday. Bulgaria's parliament approved the move in May due to strong public opposition to the war. Ukraine was also concluding the withdrawal of what was originally a 1,600-strong force in Iraq, and its defence minister has promised the troops they will celebrate the New Year at home. Meanwhile a senior commander with British forces in Iraq said on Friday that Britain will not significantly reduce its forces in Iraq until after provincial elections in early 2006.(Posted @ 19:56 PST)
Aziz calls upon the private sector to aid in rural healthcare KARACHI, Dec 16 (APP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz called upon the philanthropists as well as private sector to extend substantial assistance towards establishment and proper running of health care infrastructure in rural parts of the country apart from the urban areas. He was speaking at the inaugural session of the 17th Biennial Congress of Pakistan Cardiac Society, hosted by National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, here on Friday. Aziz announced that the federal government will provide maximum possible funding along with land for the construction of a "Heart House" in Karachi.(Posted @ 19:48 PST)
OPEC raises oil demand forecast for 2006 VIENNA, Dec 16 (AFP) The OPEC oil cartel raised Friday its forecast for growth in oil demand next year based on predictions of stronger-than-expected expansion of the world economy. World demand for oil will increase by 1.9 percent in 2006 to 84.9 million barrels a day, OPEC said in a report released in Vienna. China is to account for more than one fifth of the increase of 1.6 million bpd. For this year, the oil cartel lowered its estimate for demand to 83.3 million bpd, which represents an increase of 1.5 percent compared with demand in 2004.(Posted @ 19:12 PST)
Politician among nine killed in fresh violence in Occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, Occupied Kashmir, Dec 16 (AFP) Nine people including a pro-Indian politician were killed in fresh violence in Occupied Kashmir, police said Friday. The politician, Shaukat Bandey, was a key member of the youth wing of the regional Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and was seriously hurt in a late Thursday attack on his motorcade in Baramulla before he succumbed to his injuries late Friday, police said. A civilian was also killed there in the cross-fire, police said. In other violence, a 21-year-old woman was shot dead by unknown people in Anantnag late Thursday. Two men were also found shot dead in the districts of Baramulla and Kupwara, further north, police said. Meanwhile three suspected militants and a trooper were killed in two gun battles in Rajouri and Udhampur, two districts south of Anantnag, late Thursday, police added.(First Posted@ 16:11 PST Updated @ 19:08 PST)
Blasts heard near Interior Ministry in Baghdad BAGHDAD, Dec 16 (Reuters) A series of loud explosions which could have been mortar rounds was heard in central Baghdad on Friday near the heavily fortified Green Zone. Police said the blasts had occurred near the Interior Ministry but could not say if there had been any casualties. At least five explosions were heard the day after Iraqis voted in largely peaceful elections for their first full-term parliament since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.(Posted @ 18:16 PST)
Pakistan joins Greece in dismissing immigrant abduction claims ATHENS, Dec 16 (AFP) Pakistan's interior minister on Friday said there was no evidence to substantiate claims by Pakistanis living in Athens that they were abducted and interrogated after the July bomb attacks in London, an incident which Greece insists never took place. "Our embassy in Greece has not been informed by the plaintiffs or anyone on this issue," the Pakistani minister Aftab Ahmad Khan told reporters at the end of a two-day visit to Athens. Likewise, inquiries by Pakistan's ambassador to Athens had so far yielded "no response, which means that no such incident has happened," said Ahmad Khan, who was set to sign an agreement Friday with Greece, Turkey and Iran to fight organised crime and illegal immigration.(Posted @ 18:02 PST)
WTO protesters hit U.S., Korean consulates in Hong Kong HONG KONG, Dec 16 (Reuters) Hundreds of South Korean activists sprayed slogans on the walls of the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong on Friday and besieged a building housing the Korean consulate to protest against a meeting of world trade ministers in the city. More than 100 farmers, workers and unionists sprayed "Down, down WTO" in red across the U.S. consulate emblem and "No Bush" in black while throwing eggs at the building and waving banners.(Posted @ 16:30 PST)
UN criticises India for refusal to share data on low magnitude quakes HYDERABAD, India, Dec 16 (AFP) India said Friday it would not share information on earthquakes below the magnitude of six on the Richter scale due to security concerns, drawing criticism from the United Nations. Indian seismologists at an UN tsunami conference said sharing seismic data had security implications as seabed terrain could be mapped, possibly helping others learn about the nation's submarines and warships. "Only an earthquake with a magnitude of more than seven has the potential to generate a tsunami," G.D. Gupta, head of the seismology division in the Ministry of Science and Technology, said. Patricio Bernal, assistant director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), rejected India's argument saying "India is the only country which has put up such a request."(Posted @ 16:26 PST)
South Africa 38-0 versus Australia's 258 at stumps PERTH, Australia, Dec 16 (AFP) South Africa were 38 for none in reply to Australia's first innings total of 258 at stumps on the opening day of the first Test at the WACA ground here Friday. Scores: Australia 258 (R. Ponting 71, B. Hodge 41; Makhaya Ntini 5-64, Andre Nel 3-29); South Africa 38 for 0. (Posted @ 16:13 PST)
Suicide car bomb attack in Kabul KABUL, Dec 16 (Reuters) A car bomb exploded in the Afghan capital Kabul on Friday near a building where a new parliament was due to meet for the first time next week, killing a suicide attacker and wounding two passers-by, police said. The explosion on a road between the Kabul zoo and the former King's palace in the west of the city damaged a NATO peacekeeping vehicle, but initial reports suggested there had been no casualties among the soldiers, a spokesman for the peacekeepers said. (Posted @ 16:12 PST)
Pak-Saudi joint naval exercise concludes Karachi, December 16 (PPI): The Pak-Saudi joint naval exercise ‘Naseem-al-Bahr’ concluded with a comprehensive debriefing session at PNS Jauhar on Friday. Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Mohammad Haroon said that the exercise was conducted with an aim to enhance the level of interoperability between the two brotherly navies. In his remarks commander Saudi Task Force Rear Admiral Sami Bin Mansoor Al Rafae said that the exercise Naseem-al-Bahr had encompassed all major facets of maritime warfare. (Posted @ 15:28 PST)
Indian parliament evacuated after warning of bomb attack NEW DELHI, Dec 16 (AFP) India's parliament was evacuated Friday after intelligence agencies warned of a possible militant bomb attack on the heavily guarded complex, the government said. The two houses of parliament were adjourned "after intelligence agencies received a tip-off about some definite information about outfits planning to have bomb blasts," a spokesman for the ruling Congress party said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was in parliament, was immediately whisked away by security men to his office about a kilometre away. "We haven't found a bomb but to be doubly sure we are checking again," Home Minister Shivraj Patil said as bomb disposal experts combed the complex.(First Posted @ 11:32 PST Updated @ 14:50 PST)
Explosion near Russian nuclear plant -media reports MOSCOW, Dec 16 (Reuters) - A small explosion near a western Russian nuclear power station has injured three people, local media reported on Friday, but there was no radiation leak.The explosion happened on Thursday at a metals smelter near the Leningrad Atomic Power Station, where the second reactor has been under repair since July, reported RIA Novosti and Interfax news agencies.(Posted @ 11:57 PST)
Hamas defeats Fatah in local elections: source RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec 16 (AFP) - The radical Hamas movement broadly defeated Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas's ruling Fatah movement in Thursday's local elections in the major cities of the West Bank, a senior official from the electoral commission said early Friday. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official told AFP Hamas snatched the victory in Nablus, Jenin and Al-Bireh, while Fatah and a coalition of independent candidates won a majority in Ramallah in what was the fourth and final round of municipal elections across the West Bank.(Posted @ 11:55 PST)
US court orders Iran to pay 126 million dollars to Beirut bombing victims WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (AFP) - A US federal judge has ordered Iran to pay victims of a 1983 suicide bombing of the US embassy in Beirut 126 million dollars, lawyers for the victims said Thursday. Judge John Bates of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Iran supported Hezbollah militants in the April 1983 bombing, the first suicide attack ever against a US embassy.The embassy bombing killed 63 people, including 17 US nationals. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
China starts construction of 1,000 megawatt nuclear reactor BEIJING, Dec 16 (APP/AFP) - China has started construction of its first homegrown 1,000 megawatt nuclear power plant near the boomtown of Shenzhen in the southern province of Guangdong, state press said Friday. The project will comprise two generating units, each with an installed capacity of 1,000 megawatts, with the first unit scheduled to start operation in December 2010, Xinhua news agency reported. The second unit will go online in August 2011, the report said, (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
Blaze at Chinese hospital leaves 38 dead, 24 unaccounted for BEIJING, Dec 16 (APP/AFP) - A fire that swept through a hospital in northeastern China has left 38 people dead and some 24 others unaccounted for, state media said Friday, as officials launched a probe into the cause of the blaze. Rescuers found 24 bodies in the smoldering remains of the biggest hospital in Liaoyuan city, Jilin province, while 14 others later died of their injuries, a provincial official was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. Preliminary investigations revealed that the fire, which swept through four four-story buildings according to witnesses, began in a power distribution room, Xinhua reported. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 26.13 points: KARACHI, December 16:At the close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 9514.83, up 26.13 points from Thursday's close. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:45 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, December 16: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.2 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:45 PST)
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