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| December 27, 2005 | Tuesday | Ziqa’ad 24, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Strike shuts down Balochistan QUETTA, Pakistan, Dec 27 (Reuters) An anti-government strike shut down bazaars and brought road transport to a halt in much of Balochistan province on Tuesday, witnesses and political officials said. The strike was called by opposition parties to protest a security crackdown on tribal areas, launched this month, after a string of attacks by tribesmen. Organisers said the strike was also meant to oppose plans by the military-led government to create new army garrisons in the province and build a controversial dam. "It is a complete and historic strike throughout Balochistan; the people have given their verdict against the military operation and mega projects," Agha Shahid Bugti, secretary general of the Baluch nationalist Jamhoori Watan Party, said. The streets of Quetta were deserted and most other towns of the south-western province, where paramilitary forces backed by helicopter gunships launched an offensive on Dec. 18, were shut down. The head of Quetta's main traders' association, Abdur Rahim Kakar, said it had heeded the strike call "because it is a right cause", but some traders said they had closed their shops fearing attacks by opposition supporters. Baloch leaders said almost 200 people were killed in the military crackdown. The government has not commented on the casualties.(Posted @ 17:08 PST)
India watches with concern the situation in Balochistan-statement NEW DELHI, Dec 27 (AFP) On the eve of India-Iran gas pipeline project talks, the Indian government issued a statement Tuesday saying it had been "watching with concern the spiralling violence in Balochistan and the heavy military action" by Pakistan to quell it. The statement added that India hoped the Pakistani government would exercise "restraint and take recourse to peaceful discussions to address the grievances of the people of Balochistan." Analysts have expressed concern that the pipeline could become a magnet for tribal grievances in Balochistan. India has said before that strong security guarantees were needed for the project to get financing.(Posted @ 20:16 PST)
UAE President Sheikh Khalifa concludes visit to Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Dec 27 (APP): Pakistan and United Arab Emirates on Tuesday agreed to bolster trade and investment cooperation as President Pervez Musharraf and his counterpart Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan discussed ways to follow up efforts for revitalizing the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). The two leaders also discussed a wide range of regional and international issues of common concern at an exclusive meeting at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. As part of efforts to spur bilateral economic cooperation, the two sides decided to hold the joint ministerial commission meeting of the foreign ministers of the two countries in the next three months. The visiting UAE President expressed his sorrow over the October 8 earthquake tragedy and said the Emirates would continue to help Pakistan in their reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts. During formal talks, Musharraf again emphasized that the Muslim countries must contribute .05 of their GDP for the socio-economic betterment of OIC member sates. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz bid him farewell at Chaklala Air Base at the end of Sheikh Khalifa’s visit. (First Posted@15:16 PST Updated @ 18:55 PST)
Colombian rebels kill 24 soldiers on coca mission BOGOTA, Colombia, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Marxist rebels killed 24 Colombian soldiers sent to help destroy coca plants in the country's southern jungles on Tuesday in the worst blow against the military in at least three years, the army said.(Posted @ 23:50 PST)
Nine killed, 15 hurt in road accident in India NEW DELHI, Dec 27 (AFP) - Nine people were killed and 14 injured when a bus and a truck collided in southern India, police said Tuesday. Ten of the injured were taken to the Medical College Hospital in Kottayam district in southern Kerala state where the accident happened, the Press Trust of India reported. (Posted @ 23:45 PST)
Mass grave found in India ISLAMABAD, Dec 27 (APP): Relatives of victims of the 2002 communal violence in Gujarat on Tuesday claimed to have exhumed skeletal remains from a mass grave in Panchamahal district of those believed to have been killed in the post-Godhra riots. While police could not not give details of the incident, Teesta Setalvad, an activist who runs an NGO, Citizens for Justice and Peace, said the bodies might be of those who were killed during the post-Godhra riots in Pandharwada village. The grave is located near Panam river in Lunavada village, Indian daily the Hindustan Times reported.(Posted @ 23:20 PST)
Indian officials express satisfaction over security for ODI PESHAWAR, Dec 27 (APP): Chief of the Indian Security delegation Yashvardhan Azad has expressed full satisfaction over the security measures taken for the One-Day match scheduled to be played here between the two neighboring countries on February 6, 2006. Addressing a press briefing at Central Police Office (CPO) on Tuesday, Yashvardhan Azad, Inspector General of Security and leader of a five member Indian security delegation comprising Rajive Sena Director Ministry of Home Affairs India, Ranbir Singh Krishna, Additional Commissioner of Police, Security of Delhi, Professor R.S. Shetty, Executive Secretary BCCI, G.S Walia, Director Media, BCCI, said that they have special love for Peshawarites.(Posted @ 23:00 PST)
Shaukat Aziz chairs ERRA meeting Islamabad,December 27 (PPI) The Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority(ERRA) at a meeting here Tuesday decided to establish hubs of the construction material for quake affected areas to ward against its black marketting. The meeting was Chaired by the Prime Miister Mr. Shaukat Aziz and attended by the Chief Minister of the NWFP Mr. Akram Durrani and Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan, and Chairman ERRA Lt. General Muhammad Zubair.(Posted @ 22:50 PST)
Pakistan to continue its efforts against terrorism: PM ISLAMABAD, Dec 27 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Tuesday, Pakistan will continue its efforts to stamp out the scourge of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. He was talking to Spanish Defence Minister, Jose Bono who called on him here at the Prime Minister House this evening. Minister for Defence, Rao Sikandar Iqbal and Minister of State for Defence, Zahid Hamid also attended the meeting. The Prime Minister underscored the need to step up cooperation at the local, regional and global levels to combat the menace of terrorism effectively.(Posted @ 22:35 PST)
Poland says to keep troops in Iraq until end-2006 WARSAW, Dec 27 (Reuters) Poland's government decided on Tuesday to keep troops in Iraq until the end of next year, reversing the previous cabinet's decision to pull out early in 2006. "The government decided to ask the president to extend the deployment of Polish military forces as part of the international forces in Iraq from Jan. 1, 2006, until Dec. 31, 2006," Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz told a news conference. Poland, one of Washington's closest allies in Europe, has about 1,500 soldiers in Iraq.(Posted @ 20:44 PST)
Japan FM to visit India, Pakistan TOKYO, Dec 27 (Agencies) Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Tuesday he will visit India and Pakistan in January in a bid to strengthen bilateral ties with the South Asian nations. Discussions with Pakistan are expected to touch on anti-terrorism measures and aid efforts following the deadly October earthquake there. In the wake of the October earthquake that devastated Azad Kashmir, Japan offered 20 million dollars in aid and dispatched dozens of relief workers and a total of 120 Japanese troops to quake-hit areas. Pakistan’s Foreign Office confirmed that the Japanese minister will make his first ever visit to Pakistan between 4-5 January, during which he is expected to call on President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minster Shaukat Aziz apart from holding talks with his counterpart Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri.(First Posted @ 12:50 PST Updated @ 20:33 PST)
Spanish defence minister visits troops in Pakistan quake zone ARJA, Pakistan, Dec 27 (AFP) Spanish Defence Minister Jose Bono on Tuesday shared a Christmas meal with Spanish NATO troops undertaking reconstruction work in earthquake-ravaged Kashmir region. The minister visited the Bagh area and the Arja base of the 370 Spanish troops deployed with the Northern Atlantic military alliance's relief mission in the region where more than 86,000 people were killed by the October 8 quake. Bono met his Pakistani counterpart, Rao Sikander Iqbal, and was due to follow up with further talks with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz later in the day. He was due to leave the country on Wednesday as part of a tour of Spanish units in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Bono confirmed that the Spanish contingent, which arrived in the country last month, would begin pulling out in January.(First Posted@17:54 PST Updated @ 20:20 PST)
Cricket-Pakistani selectors recall Gul for India tour match KARACHI, Dec 27 (Reuters) Pakistan selectors have named a strong A side for a three-day tour match against India next month, recalling fast bowler Umar Gul after a long injury layoff. India are start their tour of Pakistan on Jan. 5 and are due to play three tests and five one-day internationals. Pakistan A squad: Hasan Raza (captain), Imran Farhat, Mohammad Wasim, Faisal Iqbal, Asim Kamal, Bazid Khan, Zulqarnain Haider, Mansoor Amjad, Mohammad Irshad, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Yasir Arafat.(Posted @ 20:08 PST)
Nearly 200 visitors hostage in Brazil prison SAO PAULO, Brazil, Dec 27 (Reuters) Convicts were holding nearly 200 visitors hostage in a remote prison in Brazil's Amazon on Tuesday and police said they were negotiating to end the rebellion without violence. Most of the hostages in the Urso Branco prison in Rondonia state were women, some of them pregnant.(Posted @ 20:05 PST)
Settlers build 13 West Bank outposts JERUSALEM, Dec 27 (Reuters) Jewish settlers set up 13 makeshift outposts in the West Bank on Tuesday, in a campaign to show their strength after Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, a spokeswoman said. Israel is meant to remove dozens of settler outposts in the occupied West Bank not formally authorised by the government under a U.S.-backed plan for peace with the Palestinians, but has failed to do so. Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said that "settlement activities severely hurt Palestinian efforts to maintain calm". He urged Israel "to cease these activities and uproot the outposts".(Posted @ 20:04 PST)
Militant arrested after killing five Saudi policemen RIYADH, Dec 27 (Reuters) Five Saudi policemen were killed on Tuesday during a shooting spree by a gunman whom security sources said was a wanted militant. An Interior Ministry statement, on the official Saudi Press Agency, said a man was arrested after shooting three policemen at a checkpoint in Qassim province, site of several shootouts with al Qaeda-linked militants. Earlier, the same gunman had killed two policemen on patrol near the northern town of Buraida. Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television named the man as Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Suweilmi and said he was on a list of 36 wanted militants linked to al Qaeda. It said Suweilmi was an Internet specialist who had helped the Saudi wing of al Qaeda post statements on the Web.(Posted @ 20:02 PST)
Sri Lankan president arrives in India, to discuss peace process NEW DELHI, Dec 27 (AFP) Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse arrived in India Tuesday for a four-day visit which he has said will aim to secure a greater role for India in the island's fragile peace process. "They are our closest neighbour and it is very important for me to have them involved in the process," Rajapakse told reporters in Colombo ahead of the visit. The president said he expects India to play a similar role to that of the four "co-chairs" -- the United States, European Union, Japan and Norway.(Posted @ 17:32 PST)
British NATO soldier among injured in Afghanistan road bomb LONDON, Dec 27 (AFP) A British soldier was among two NATO-led peacekeepers injured by a roadside bomb in northern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday, clarifying a NATO report from Kabul that said both were Dutch. Two civilians were also injured in the attack on Monday on an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) convoy on a road between Pul-i-Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province, and Kunduz province, Baghlan police said.(Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Mass grave found in Iraq KARBALA, Iraq, Dec 27 (AFP) The remains of women and children were found in a mass grave dug up by workers who were laying down pipes in Iraq's southern city of Karbala, a local official said Tuesday. Some 20 bodies have so far been recovered and taken to the local hospital for DNA testing, the official added. The mass grave was uncovered by chance on Monday some 500 metres away from Imam Hussein's mausoleum. The US-installed provisional authority suggested in 2004 that some 259 mass graves containing some 300,000 people had been discovered in the country since the fall of Saddam.(Posted @ 17:28 PST)
Lebanon detains Syrian suspect in Tueini's killing BEIRUT, Dec 27 (Reuters) Lebanon has detained a Syrian suspect in the killing of anti-Syrian lawmaker and newspaper magnate Gebran Tueni, judicial sources said on Tuesday. Abdel-Qadir Abdel-Qadir, a scrap dealer, was detained after questioning, a source said.(Posted @ 17:15 PST)
Iran says Russian atomic plan lacks detail-report TEHRAN, Dec 27 (Reuters) Iran said on Tuesday a Russian proposal aimed at resolving its nuclear standoff with the West lacked detail and could neither be accepted nor rejected, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. It was the first time Iran acknowledged receiving the proposal for it to enter a joint-venture to enrich uranium in Russia. The plan is aimed at easing international concerns that Tehran is trying to build a nuclear arsenal.(Posted @ 17:14 PST)
Bulgaria ends troop pullout from Iraq SOFIA, Dec 27 (Reuters) Bulgaria has withdrawn its entire 334-strong light infantry battalion from Iraq, in line with plans to end its military presence there by the end of the year, the defence ministry said on Tuesday. The withdrawal also coincides with a similar pullout by Ukraine, one of the largest contributors to the U.S.-led operation in Iraq.(Posted @ 17:12 PST)
Arab world's first parliament meets in Cairo CAIRO, Dec 27 (Reuters) The Arab world's first regional parliament held its inaugural meeting in Cairo on Tuesday but officials say it could be many years before the new institution gains enough clout to influence events in the region. The 88 members, four from the parliaments or advisory councils of each Arab League member, met at the league's Cairo headquarters for a session addressed by Secretary-General Amr Moussa and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Based in Syria, it will meet twice a year. Rawhi Fattouh, speaker of the Palestinian legislature, said at the meeting "it must be a monitor of Arab executive institutions, but if it is just a union of parliaments then it's not going to be important."(Posted @ 15:58 PST)
Thousands protest election results in Baghdad BAGHDAD, Dec 27 (AFP) At least 5,000 demonstrators rallied Tuesday in western Baghdad to protest alleged fraud in Iraq's December 15 general elections and demand a re-run of the poll as top politicians discussed the formation of a national unity government. "No democracy without real elections", "rigged polls", "down with the electoral commission" read a number of banners. The demonstration was called by the Maram alliance of some 42 parties, an Arabic acronym for the Conference Rejecting Rigged Elections which includes both Sunni Arab and secular factions. (Posted @ 15:11 PST)
Indian air force trainer crashes in Bangalore, no casualties BANGALORE, India, Dec 27 (AFP) An Indian air force jet trainer crashed into a field Tuesday on the outskirts of Bangalore but the two pilots bailed out safely and there were no casualties on the ground, police said. The Press Trust of India identified the aircraft as one of the air force's "Kiran" trainers. The Indian air force's aging fleet has been plagued by crashes, particularly of its Russian-made MiG-21s. (Posted @ 15:11 PST)
Suspected rebel attack kills 10 Sri Lankan soldiers COLOMBO, Dec 27 (Reuters) Fuelling fears of a return to civil war, suspected Tamil Tiger rebels killed 10 soldiers in the island's far north on Tuesday in the second mine attack in less than a week, the military said. "It was a claymore attack," a military spokesman said, referring to the claymore fragmentation mine used in the assault near the northern town of Point Pedro.Four other soldiers were admitted to hospital after the attack, some in critical condition.(First Posted @ 12:55 PST Updated @) 15:07 PST)
Philippines charges four U.S. soldiers with rape OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines, Dec 27 (Reuters) Philippine prosecutors charged four U.S. Marines on Tuesday with raping a 22-year-old Filipino woman in early November but cleared two other soldiers who had also been accused. Washington has not responded publicly to an earlier request by the Philippine foreign affairs department to transfer custody of the Marines to local authorities. A statement by the U.S. embassy, which has been holding the soldiers, made no mention of custody but said the United States would continue to cooperate with the Philippines on the case under the two countries' Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). (Posted @ 15:05 PST)
Israel strikes Gaza after threatening buffer zone GAZA, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Israeli warplanes hit targets in the Gaza Strip early on Tuesday after threatening to enforce a buffer zone to stop militants firing rockets at Israel from territory it evacuated three months ago. Helicopter gunships and fighter jets struck at least nine targets, cutting off electricity to a town in northern Gaza and blowing deep craters in half a dozen roads. Israeli army said it targeted two offices of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group from President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, and a bridge used to reach an area used to fire rockets at Israel. There were no casualties. (First Posted @ 09:26 PST; Updated @ 13:10 PST)
Kuwait sentences Qaeda-linked militants to death KUWAIT, Dec 27 (Reuters) - A Kuwaiti court on Tuesday sentenced to death six suspected militants linked to al Qaeda attacks in the country. The six were among 37 charged with links to militants in neighbouring Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Police said some had confessed to planning suicide attacks against U.S. military and Western targets in Kuwait. A Reuters reporter said some of the other suspects received jail terms of between four months to 15 years, one received a life term, and seven were acquitted. Prosecutors had demanded death penalty for about 20 suspects for four shootouts in January in which nine militants and four security personnel were killed. Eleven of the 37 suspects remain at large. (Posted @ 13:05 PST)
Security incidents in Iraq, Dec 27 BAGHDAD, Dec 27 (Reuters) - A policeman was killed and two others wounded when a makeshift bomb went off near their patrol on a highway near Mahawil, 75 km (50 miles) south of Baghdad, police said Tuesday. In Kirkuk, a civilian was killed and two employees were wounded on Monday when gunmen attacked a petrol station with rocket-propelled grenades in the northern oil city of Kirkuk, police reported Tuesday. A U.S. soldier died on Monday when his patrol vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, the U.S. military said Tuesday. Sultan al-Thabhawi, a member of Iraq's biggest Shi'ite party, the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, died of wounds sustained in an attack by gunmen on Monday, another member of the party said in Najaf Tuesday. (Posted @ 12:50 PST)
Cricket-South Africa 169-2 v Australia (355) - close MELBOURNE, Dec 27 (Reuters) - South Africa were 169 for two at the close of play on the second day of the second test against Australia on Tuesday. Scores: Australia 355 (Ponting 117, Hussey 122, Hayden 65; Andre Nel 4-84, Shaun Pollock 3-67); South Africa 169-2 (de Villiers 61; Herschelle Gibbs 54 not out). (Posted @ 12:15 PST)
Two US pilots killed in helicopter crash in Iraq BAGHDAD, Dec 27 (AFP) - Two US pilots were killed when their military helicopter crashed in west Baghdad Monday evening, the military said Tuesday. "There was no hostile fire involved," the military said in a statement. The military did not immediately identify the helicopter type, or give details on the cause of the crash. (Posted @ 11:40 PST)
Three killed in Nepal fighting as truce nears end KATHMANDU, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Two Maoist guerrillas and a soldier were killed in fierce fighting in western Nepal on Tuesday, the army and insurgents said. The gunbattle started on Monday after the rebels attacked an army patrol in the Maoist stronghold of Rolpa, 400 km (250 miles) west of Kathmandu. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 75.90 points: KARACHI, Dec 27: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 9447.42, up 75.90 points from Monday's close. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Dec 27: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.02 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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