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| December 26, 2005 | Monday | Ziqa’ad 23, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan, India to start third round of composite dialogue on Jan 17-18: FO ISLAMABAD, Dec 26 (APP): Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan and India will initiate the third round of the composite dialogue with a meeting in New Delhi on January 17-18 to work towards the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam told a weekly media briefing here Monday that "some progress has been made and we do maintain the hope that there would be further progress". Foreign Secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan will lead Pakistan's delegation at the two-day talks with his Indian counterpart Shyam Saran, which will focus on peace and security, withdrawal of troops from Siachin Glacier, and confidence building measures. About the issue of self-governance and demilitarization in Kashmir, the spokesperson without mentioning any details said "a number of ideas are being discussed as an interim relief measure for the Kashmiris". She denied that the matter of cross border infiltration as alleged by India was discussed during the visits of senior US leaders to Pakistan. About the presence of US troops in Pakistan, she said the government would decide how long they have to stay, keeping in view its requirements in the earthquake affected areas. Regarding former US President George W Bush's visit, she said it would help the country mobilize and sustain the assistance it was receiving for the earthquake affected areas. Regarding the visit of King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz to Pakistan, she said the dates were being finalized.(Posted @ 18:30 PST)
Eight Pakistanis repatriated through Wagah border Wagah (Amritsar), Dec 26 PPI: Eight Pakistanis, including two teenagers, were Monday sent back home via the Wagah-Attari joint check post here after being released from Indian jails.(Posted @ 20:32 PST)
Tribesmen hold demo against 'Balochistan operation' Hyderabad, December 26, (PPI): Hundreds of tribesmen from Bugti and Mari tribes living in Sindh held a protest demonstration here on Monday against the 'military operation' in Balochistan. The demonstration was led by Sindh Mari Ittehad Convener Ghulam Qadir Mari, who later addressed a press conference. He charged that the worst kind of operation was being carried out in Kohlu, Dera Bugti and Khetran areas in Balochistan where land and air attacks were being made. He also made the demand to scrap the Kalabagh dam.(Posted @ 20:28 PST)
Government decides to set up Federal Disaster Relief Management Agency: PM ISLAMABAD, Dec 26 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Monday said the government has decided to set up a Federal Disaster Relief Management Agency (FEDREMA) for better coordination in rescue and relief operations in the wake of any natural calamity. Talking to a select gathering of volunteers who worked in the quake hit areas, in particular the damaged Margala Towers, here at the Prime Minister House, he said, the newly established agency would have the capability and resources to provide immediate help in case of any natural disaster. Aziz said the agency, would coordinate with all agencies, departments, hospitals and NGOs. He later distributed shields and cash rewards to volunteers who helped in saving lives of people trapped in the rubble after the earthquake.(Posted @ 20:25 PST)
Musharraf says visit to Sindh helped create awareness on need for reservoirs RAWALPINDI, Dec 26 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf Monday said his recent visit to Sindh had been beneficial for creating awareness on the need for water reservoirs. Musharraf, who chaired a meeting on Water Management Vision, was giving his impressions on his visits to Sukkur, Hyderabad and Karachi. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz also attended the meeting. The President said he would visit NWFP and also revisit Sindh to share the government's strategy with regard to water management. In his remarks, Aziz said the report of the technical committee on water would be released to the public soon. He added that the report of the parliamentary committee on water would be placed before the senate in the near future and the recommendations of International Panel of Experts (IPOE) on Kotri would also be made public.(Posted @ 19:50 PST)
Al-Qaeda suspect wanted in Spain not held by Pakistanis: report MADRID, Dec 26 (AFP) The wife of suspected Al-Qaeda militant Mustafa Setmariam Nasar said her husband, who was supposedly arrested in Pakistan in late October, was being held by other forces and not the Pakistanis, according to an interview published in the Spanish daily El Mundo. "My husband is being held and interrogated by non-Pakistani authorities," said Elena Moreno, who according to the newspaper lives in a Middle Eastern country and claims to have her information from "a totally reliable source".(Posted @ 19:46 PST)
Pakistan to issue 8,000 visas to Indians for coming cricket series ISLAMABAD, Dec 26 (APP): Pakistan will issue nearly 8,000 visas to Indian spectators for the forthcoming cricket series between the two countries, an Interior Ministry official said Monday. A meeting chaired by Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah finalized matters related to the issuance of cricket visas. The Indian team, which is due to arrive on January 6, will play three tests and five one-day internationals during the tour. The first test will start at Lahore on January 14. The official said visa duration would be eight days for each test and three days for each one-day international.(Posted @ 19:42 PST)
15 killed in Burundi bus accident BUJUMBURA, Dec 26 (Reuters) Ten people were killed and seven injured in southern Burundi when a drunk driver plunged a bus into a valley on Christmas day, Burundian police said. Another five were killed and 21 gravely injured when a taxi rammed into a crowd of people coming out of Christmas mass in the southern province of Makamba, police said.(Posted @ 19:28 PST)
At least two killed in Baghdad market bombing BAGHDAD, Dec 26 (Reuters) A parked motorbike loaded with explosives blew up in a market in Baghdad near a funeral on Monday, killing at least two people and wounding 23 others, police said. Police had initially reported the explosion as a suicide car bombing. It was unclear if the attack was aimed at the funeral.(Posted @ 19:25 PST)
Sharon to undergo heart procedure after stroke JERUSALEM, Dec 26 (Reuters) Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will undergo a medical procedure to close a tiny holy in his heart that was discovered after his stroke last week, his doctors said on Monday. "This will be done to prevent future blood clots," the doctors said.(Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Suspected militants bomb government vehicle in northwest Pakistan DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan, Dec 26 (AFP) A remote-controlled roadside bomb Monday destroyed a Pakistani government vehicle in the country's northwest but failed to injure the officials travelling inside, police said. "A roadside bomb destroyed a government vehicle, but three officials travelling in it escaped unhurt," police said. The officials from South Waziristan tribal district near the Afghan border were looking for suspects in the killing of two paramilitary soldiers in Wana, some 200 kilometres west of here.(Posted @ 17:21 PST)
Israel plans 228 new homes in West Bank settlements JERUSALEM, Dec 26 (Reuters) Israel announced plans on Monday to expand two Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank despite a ban on such construction in a U.S.-led plan for peace with the Palestinians. The Housing Ministry published tenders inviting contractor bids to develop 150 plots for single family homes in Beitar Illit settlement. A further 78 plots were offered in Givat Zayit, part of the settlement of Efrat. "The Israeli government has suspended negotiations, contacts and the peace process. The only thing that is still allowed to go on is the settlement activities. This undermines the peace process," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said. The U.S. embassy spokesman could not be reached for comment. (Posted @ 16:33 PST)
Afghan roadside bomb wounds two NATO peacekeepers KABUL, Dec 26 (AFP) A roadside bomb on Monday wounded two Dutch soldiers serving with the NATO-led peacekeeping force and two civilians in northern Afghanistan, military and police officials said. Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on a convoy on a road between Pul-i-Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province, and Kunduz province, a NATO spokeswoman said. (Posted @ 15:39 PST)
US to reduce troop numbers in Afghanistan very soon KABUL, Dec 26 (AFP) The US military on Monday gave details of its planned troop reduction in Afghanistan, saying the total number would shrink by some 2,500 from the current 19,000 under a routine troop rotation due very soon. The US military spokesman said however that the 2,500-strong force from the 10th Mountain Division will remain on standby and can be deployed anytime if needed. (Posted @ 15:27 PST)
Guerrillas kill 10 Iraqi security force members BAQUBA, Iraq, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Guerrillas killed 10 members of the Iraqi security forces in separate attacks north of Baghdad on Monday, officials said. In an early morning attack in Buhriz, about 60 km (37 miles) from Baghdad, guerrillas opened fire on a checkpoint, killing five Iraqi policemen and wounding three others, police said. Six guerrillas were killed when police returned fire. In the village of Dhabab, some 100 km (62 miles) from Baghdad, five soldiers were killed by gunmen while leaving for work or during their morning routine, the army said. (First Posted @ 11:35; Updated @ 12:35 PST)
Cricket-Australia 239-8 v South Africa - close MELBOURNE, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Australia were 239 for eight at the close of play on the first day of the second test against South Africa on Monday. Scores: Australia 239-8 (Ponting 117, Hayden 65-- Andre Nel 4-58, Shaun Pollock 3-46). (Posted @ 12:30 PST)
Greenpeace, Japanese whalers still at sea -- and at odds SYDNEY, Dec 26 (AFP) - A Japanese whaling fleet suspended its work for the second day in stormy conditions Monday as environmental group Greenpeace defended its tactics in disrupting the controversial hunt. The whalers and two Greenpeace ships have been playing cat and mouse in the icy Southern Ocean for almost a week on account of a powerful storm . When conditions have permitted in the past week, protesters have placed their inflatable boats between the harpoons and the whales, prompting the Japanese to spray them with fire hoses. The International Whaling Commission imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986 but Japan says its whale hunts are carried out for scientific research. Critics say the program is a cover for commercial killing of whales for consumption in Japan, where whale meat is popular. (Posted @ 12:25 PST)
Sri Lanka braces for high-profile funeral amid more violence COLOMBO, Dec 26 (AFP) - Fresh violence claimed three more lives in Sri Lanka Monday as Tamil Tiger rebels prepared for the funeral of a key Tamil legislator gunned down during Christmas mass, police said. A police constable was killed when suspected rebels launched a pre-dawn rocket-propelled grenade attack on the Puttur police station in the eastern district of Batticaloa, where the lawmaker was murdered on Sunday, police said. Two civilians were also killed by unidentified attackers in the neighbouring Trincomalee district on Monday, police said. (Posted @ 12:13 PST)
U.S. eyes big Pakistan, India arms sales in '06 WASHINGTON, Dec 26 (Reuters) - The Bush administration is manoeuvring to balance possible big new U.S. arms sales to archrivals India and Pakistan in the new year. Islamabad will make up its mind in the coming year on a U.S. offer to resume sales of as many as 75 new F-16C/D models and 11 refurbished F-16s. In May, the Pentagon told Congress it was proposing to let Pakistan buy 300 AIM-9M-1/2 "Sidewinder" heat-seeking, air-to-air missiles and 60 Harpoon missiles with a combined value of up to $226 million. Separately, the United States is poised to push in the new year for major arms sales to India. The Bush administration is weighing, among other things, whether to let India buy a state-of-the-art radar system as part of a U.S. bid for a potential $5 billion contract to supply 126 multi-role fighters. India is widely said to be interested also in a range of U.S. arms, including P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft, PAC-3 anti-missile systems and electronic warfare systems. Analysts fear U.S. sales could fuel an arms race between India and Pakistan. (Posted @ 11:34 PST)
Australia's governor general says he had Christmas lunch in Iraq CANBERRA, Australia Dec 26 (APP/AP) _ Australia's governor general Maj. Gen. Michael Jeffery had Christmas lunch with Australian troops in Iraq, he revealed Monday. He also visited SAS troops in Afghanistan during a four-day tour of the region. While in the region, Jeffery said he also made state visits to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. (Posted @ 10:53 PST)
AF handed over 320 newly constructed houses to quake survivors: Shabbir PESHAWAR, Dec 26 (APP): The Alkhidmat Foundation (AF) has handed over 320 newly constructed houses to the earthquake victims and construction of 700 more housing units is in final stages. Briefing Senator Prof Ghaffor Ahemd and senator Prof Abrahim Khan at the camp office in Manshera on Sunday, provincial president of AF and MNA Shabbir Ahmed Khan also said that relief goods of Rs.2 billion have been distributed among the earthquake victims. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
China closes 2,400 coal mines to stem disasters BEIJING, Dec 26 (APP/AFP) - China has closed more than 2,400 coal mines that failed to meet safety standards in its latest bid to stem a wave of deadly accidents, state media reported Monday. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
Two US soldiers in Iraq killed on Christmas day BAGHDAD, Dec 26 (APP/AFP) - Two US soldiers were killed on Christmas day in separate separate road side bomb attacks on their patrols in Baghdad, according to the US military. The announcement of the second casualty came late Sunday night. (Posted @ 10:43 PST)
Bombs, protests as Iraq election mood sours BAGHDAD, Dec 26 (Reuters) - At least five Iraqis and a U.S. soldier were killed in violence in Iraq on Sunday as fresh street protests over election results kept up tension that has soured the mood after a ballot 10 days ago. An Abrams tank was left in flames after a dawn attack in eastern Baghdad. Witnesses said a roadside bomb blasted it. A U.S. military spokesman confirmed attack on a tank and the military said later a U.S. soldier had been killed when his vehicle was hit by an explosive device in Baghdad, though it was not immediately clear whether it was the same incident. Two car bombs, parked by the roadside, went off around lunchtime Sunday, wounding three Iraqi soldiers and a civilian in the city centre and three policemen in eastern Baghdad, police said. Two soldiers were killed and six wounded in a mortar attack on an Iraqi base at Mahmudiya, just south of the capital. In Kirkuk, a civilian was killed and seven wounded when a car bomb went off close to a police patrol. In Mosul, a roadside bomb killed a policeman when it detonated close to his patrol. Al Qaeda's wing in Iraq said in an Internet posting on Sunday it had abducted and killed three Arab women and an Arab man working for U.S. authorities and the Iraqi government. Anger flared round Mosul's university campus after the bullet-riddled body of the head of the student union was found on Sunday. Some 2,000 fellow students gathered at a mosque where the body was taken, and held protest rally. (Posted @ 10:40 PST)
Mexico's snowy 'smoking mountain' spits ash, rocks MEXICO CITY, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Mexico's giant Popocatepetl volcano threw up an ash column almost 2 miles (3 km) high and spat glowing rocks down its snow-clad slope in a three-minute exhalation on Sunday, but nearby towns were not affected, officials said. "The recent activity is within the expected scenarios and there is no evidence of a major risk in the following days," said the disaster prevention center. "No reports of ash fall have been received." (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Bahrain police break up sit-in over cleric's arrest DUBAI, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Bahraini police clashed with demonstrators holding a sit-in at the Gulf Arab state's airport on Sunday to protest against the arrest of a Shi'ite cleric as he returned from Iran, Al Jazeera television reported. Police dispersed the protesters demanding the release of Sheikh Mohammed Sanad, who an Interior Ministry official said was detained hours earlier on security charges as he flew back home after a visit to Iran, the television reported. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Five children killed in Guatemala Christmas blaze GUATEMALA CITY, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Five children from the same family died when a blaze started by a firework set off for Christmas ripped through their cardboard and plastic shack in Guatemala on Sunday, firefighters said. The five, aged between 2 and 13 years old, had been left alone in the house while their mother searched for three more siblings who had stayed out late in the neighborhood for Christmas celebrations. The sky over Guatemala City is lit up every Christmas with fireworks and fatal accidents are common. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Four killed, 33 injured in Japan as train derails in blizzard TOKYO, Dec 26 (AFP) - Rescuers on Monday pulled the body of a fourth passenger from the twisted and snow-blown wreckage of a train that crashed in northern Japan after derailing during a blizzard. Rescuers crawling through wrecked carriages during a severe snowstorm had found the bodies of three passengers by early Monday. They pulled out the fourth body shortly after 9:00 am (0000 GMT), some 14 hours after the accident. . Some 33 other passengers were injured in the accident. (First Posted @ 09:13 PST; Updated @ 10:07 PST)
Asia marks anniversary of tsunami disaster BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, Dec 26 (AFP) - Fighting tears of grief, mourners here held a minute of silence as the region marked the anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, one of the world's deadliest natural disasters ever. Survivors, families, and friends gathered at mosques, churches and beaches in remembrance of the more than 220,000 people killed, and the millions of lives shattered, in just a few fateful moments one year ago. The day's solemn commemorations began in Indonesia, where President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono led a ceremony at the exact moment the massive waves first smashed ashore, killing some 168,000 people in devastated Aceh province. The ceremony was held on the outskirts of Banda Aceh near the Ulee Lheu mosque, the only building left standing in the obliterated area. "May they rest in peace by God's sight," he said, sounding a wailing siren that forms part of an early warning system being set up to prevent a repeat of the tragedy. At Banda Aceh's Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, hundreds of white-clad Acehnese gathered and held an emotional mass prayer led by top preacher Muhammad Arifin Ilham, who wept as he spoke. In southern Thailand, mourning families and tsunami survivors gathered on beaches to remember the nearly 5,400 people who died. Sri Lanka will pay tribute to an estimated 31,000 people killed there by the tsunami with a two-minute silence and coast-to-coast candlelight vigils. President Mahinda Rajapakse was to lead commemorative ceremonies with an address in the southern village of Peraliya, where more than 1,000 passengers perished when their train was engulfed by the walls of water. In mainland India's worst-hit southern state of Tamil Nadu, candlelight vigils will be held on beaches. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is due to visit the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which bore the brunt of the killer waves in his country. (Posted @ 09:52 PST)
Top US commander admits Iraqis want US out 'as soon as possible' WASHINGTON, Dec 26 (AFP) - The top US military commander admitted Sunday that Iraqis wanted US and other foreign troops to leave the country "as soon as possible", and said US troop levels in Iraq were now being re-assessed on a monthly basis. "Understandably, Iraqis themselves would prefer to have coalition forces leave their country as soon as possible," Pace said in a Christmas Day interview on the Fox News Sunday show. "They don't want us to leave tomorrow, but they do want us to leave as soon as possible." Some US foreign policy experts have expressed concern that a new Iraqi government emerging from the December 15 parliamentary elections could ask American and other coalition troops to leave, but officials have dismissed that forecast as unrealistic. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Bar fire kills 25, injures 11 in southern China HONG KONG Dec 26 (APP/AP) A bar fire has killed 25 people and injured 11 in the southern Chinese city of Zhongshan, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Monday. The local government was investigating the cause of the fire, which broke out Sunday night, Xinhua said in a brief report. No other details were immediately available. (Posted @ 09:14 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 118.90 points: KARACHI, Dec 26: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 9372.57, down 118.90 points from Friday's close. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Dec 26: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 59.95 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Al Qaeda kills women, man working for US-Web DUBAI, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's wing in Iraq said on Sunday it had abducted and killed three Arab women and a man working for U.S. authorities and the Iraqi government in the high-security Green Zone in Baghdad, according to a Web posting. A statement posted on the Internet carried pictures of identity cards of three women and an Arab man and said it had carried out "God's judgement" against them. It was not immediately clear whether the four were Iraqis. One of the cards, apparently issued by a U.S. security contracting firm, said one the women worked as a translator. The statement could not be authenticated but it was posted on a main site used by insurgent groups and signed by al Qaeda's spokesman in Iraq.(Posted @ 23:30 PST)
Ugandan rebels kill UN peacekeeper in DR Congo KINSHASA, Dec 25 (AFP) - Ugandan rebels on Sunday killed an Indian UN peacekeeping soldier and wounded four others in an attack in Nord-Kivu province in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations said. "An Indian blue helmet was killed and four others wounded, one seriously" when their camp at a village in Nord Kivu "was hit by an RPG 7 rocket and came under heavy fire, to which they responded forcefully," a statement from the UN mission in the DRC, MONUC, said. The attack in the early hours of the morning (about 0330 GMT) was blamed on Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels opposed to President Yoweri Museveni's regime in Uganda, across the eastern border.(Posted @ 23:00 PST)
Quaid's Birth anniversary celebrated in Karachi in befitting manner KARACHI, Dec 25 (APP)- The 129th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was celebrated all over Pakistan and abroad, in a befitting manner. The day dawned with special prayers for the progress and prosperity of Pakistan. A smartly turned out contingent of gentlemen cadets from Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), Kakul, mounted the guard at the mausoleum of the Quaid-i-Azam in Karachi. The change of guard ceremony was followed visits by the Sindh Governor, Dr. Ishrat ul Ebad Khan, Chief Minister, Dr. Arbab Ghulam Rahim, members of the provincial cabinet, City Nazim, Syed Mustafa Kamal and other high officials who offered Fateha and laid floral wreaths. People from all walks of life visited the mausoleum to pay homage to the Father of the Nation. A number of educational, social,cultural, labor & political organizations held programmes to mark the occasion. The National Museum of Pakistan, Karachi, organised a special exhibition on this occasion.(Posted @ 21:10 PST)
Maoists kill four police in attack on Indian train HYDERABAD, India, Dec 25 (AFP) - Maoist rebels shot dead four railway police officials and wounded another two Sunday in an attack on a train in southern India, an official said. The incident took place in the Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh state when the train was on its way to neighbouring Orissa state. "The Maoists, numbering about 10, surrounded the train and indiscriminately opened fire. Some of the security personnel ... got off the train and retaliated," said Bhavana Saxena, the district superintendent of police.(Posted @ 21:02 PST)
One killed, 26 injured as train derails in northern Japan TOKYO, Dec 25 (AFP) - An express train derailed in a snowstorm in northern Japan late Sunday, killing one passenger and injuring at least 26 others when three of its six carriages came off the tracks, officials said. The train, carrying some 30 passengers, derailed at around 7:20 pm between Amarume and Sakata stations on the Uetsu Line, 350 kilometers (217 miles) north of Tokyo, police said.(Posted @ 20:55 PST)
Occasional aftershocks likely to continue for another two months ISLAMABAD, Dec 25 (APP): Occasional aftershocks of earthquake are likely to continue for another two months, Director General Met department Dr Qamar Zaman Chaudhary said Sunday. Talking to PTV he said, the frequency of aftershocks are likely to remain low on the Richter scale. As many as 1502 aftershocks having magnitude of more than three have so far been recorded by the met department after October 8 devastating earthquake, he added. Commenting on today's tremor he said, its magnitude was 5.2 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter lied near Mansehra.(Posted @ 20:50 PST)
Six militants killed planting landmine in southern Afghanistan: official KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Dec 25 (AFP) - Six suspected Taliban militants were killed when a landmine they were planting on a road exploded in Afghanistan's insurgency-hit southern province of Kandahar, officials said Sunday. The incident occurred on Saturday night in Maywand district, Kandahar police chief Abdul Malik Wahidi told AFP. Maywand administration chief Mohammad Nabi Idari said the men were planting the landmine on a road used by Afghan and US forces on patrol.(Posted @ 20:40 PST)
Two Afghan top officials sacked for spying: Karzai KABUL, Dec 25 (AFP) - President Hamid Karzai said Sunday he had sacked two "high-ranking" Afghan officials who were spying for foreign countries and warned he would spare no one found indulging in such activity. Karzai, who made the disclosure at a lunch meeting with newly sworn-in parliament members, did not name the dismissed officials nor indicate when he took the action. "Anyone found spying for foreign countries will be revealed and tried. In that regard we dismissed two people who were working in very high-ranking government positions," he told the lawmakers. Karzai said he punished the two officials on the basis of strong evidence.(Posted @ 18:20 PST)
Baghdad car bomb wounds 3 Iraqi soldiers, civilian BAGHDAD, Dec 25 (Reuters) - A car bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol in central Baghdad wounded three soldiers and a civilian on Sunday, police said.(Posted @ 17:20 PST)
Plane crash in Sudan's Darfur region kills two EL-GENEINA, Sudan, Dec 25 (Reuters) - A plane operated by the African Union crashed in Sudan's Darfur region killing two pilots, a Ukrainian and a Moldovan, the pan-African body said in a statement on Sunday. The crash, the first such incident for the force of 6,000 peacekeepers in the region the size of France, happened on Saturday after the plane took off from Zalingei, a town in central Darfur, the AU added. "The plane crashed near Zalingei airport and the two pilots were unfortunately killed," the AU said.(Posted @ 16:35 PST)
Moderate aftershock jolts Twin Cities ISLAMABAD, Dec 25 (APP): A moderate aftershock measuring 5.2 on the Richter Scale felt in Twin Cities including some northern parts of the country at 1:02 p.m. (PST) but there were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties. Jolts were also felt in Mansehra, Abbottabad, Peshawar and Lahore, Meteorlogical Department said. The epicentre was some 200 kilometres from north of Peshawar in Hazara Division. (Posted @ 14:00 PST)
27 missing after China bus plunges into icy river BEIJING, Dec 25 (APP/AFP) - Twenty-seven people were missing and feared dead after a bus plunged into an icy river in northern China on Saturday, state media said. Eight people were rescued after the accident in the Hanggin Banner area of autonomous Inner Mongolia, Xinhua news agency reported. Hope that the missing passengers will be found alive is "very slim", rescuers told Xinhua. (Posted @ 09:38 PST)
Qurie says returned to post as Palestinian PM RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Veteran Palestinian politician Ahmed Qurie said Saturday he would not run in parliamentary elections and had resumed his job as prime minister.It was not clear whether President Mahmoud Abbas had given Qurie permission to return to the job as prime minister from which he resigned on Dec. 15 -- as he was required to do by law in order to stand for parliament. Abbas's office made no immediate comment. (Posted @ 09:38 PST)
Jordanian's abductors want failed Iraq bomber freed DUBAI, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Abductors of a Jordanian embassy driver said they would kill him unless Jordan pulled its diplomats from Iraq and freed a failed woman suicide bomber held by in Jordan, Al Arabiya television said on Saturday. A video issued by the little-known group Falcons Brigade showed a man identifying himself as Mahmoud Saedat, the driver kidnapped in Baghdad on Tuesday, as three masked militants stood behind him, holding rifles and a grenade launcher. One pointed a gun at Saedat's head. The man appealed to Jordan to withdraw its diplomats from Iraq and free Sajida al-Rishawi, who said on Jordanian television last month that she had tried to blow herself up alongside her husband in hotel attacks in Amman. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)
Al-Arabiya airs alleged Zawahiri audio on Afghanistan DUBAI, Dec 24 (AFP) - The Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiya Saturday broadcast an audio recording purportedly from Al-Qaeda number-two man Ayman al-Zawahiri claiming that the Taliban still controls large parts of Afghanistan.However, Al-Arabiya said it was unable to determine the date of the recording, in which Osama bin Laden's right hand man "did not speak of recent events." The audio recording was aired two weeks after a competing station, the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera network, showed a videotape of Zawahiri claiming that bin Laden was still alive, a recording the network later said was three months old. "The Islamic administration is, thanks be to God, still present. It controls large parts of the east and south of Afghanistan and is waging a sustained guerilla campaign against the crusaders and apostates," said the voice attributed to Zawahiri in Saturday's Al-Arabiya broadcast. (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
Rebel-allied Sri Lanka MP shot dead at Christmas mass COLOMBO, Dec 25 (AFP) - A Sri Lankan legislator allied with Tamil rebels was gunned down during a Christmas mass by unidentified assassins in the latest of a series of recent attacks, police said early on Sunday. Tamil MP Joseph Pararajasingham, 71, was in his pew at St. Michael's Catholic church east of here when he was shot from behind at close range, they said. At least eight others, two women and six men, including Pararajasingham's wife were wounded in an exchange of fire between his police bodyguard and an unknown number of gunmen, who fled the church. (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
Pope pleads for Mideast peace at Midnight Mass VATICAN CITY, Dec 25 (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI made an impassioned plea for peace in the Middle East and for "the men and women who live and suffer there," as he celebrated the first Christmas mass of his pontificate early Sunday. (Posted @ 09:14 PST)
Muslim village guard, Buddhist villager killed in southern Thailand NARATHIWAT, Thailand, Dec 25 (AFP) - A Muslim village guard and Buddhist villager were killed by suspected Islamic militants in separate attacks in southern Thailand, police said Sunday. (Posted @ 09:12 PST)
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