|
| January 3, 2006 | Tuesday | Zilhaj 2, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Up to 35 children die of pneumonia in Pakistan GILGIT, Jan 3 (Reuters) Up to 35 children have died of pneumonia in three mountain villages in Azad Kashmir since last week after heavy snowfalls in which temperatures plummeted as low as minus 30 Celsius, a local official said on Tuesday. Regional health director Hasan Khan Abacha said 28 children had died in the remote Gultari area on the Line of Control, about 300 km northeast of Islamabad. Fida Mohammad Nashad, who represents the Northern Areas regional council, put the number at 35 and appealed for help. Abacha said deaths occurred in three villages, Matayal, Karbosh and Bunyal, after heavy snow that cut all road links and prevented helicopter flights. He said medicines were available in the area's main town, Skardu, but these could only be carried by helicopter. Skardu district health officer Iqbal Beg said there had been a rush of pneumonia patients at the government hospital there and he called on authorities to send specialist doctors for children as well as blankets to Gultari.(Posted @ 18:22 PST)
Quake aid flights grounded for third day in Pakistan MUZAFFARABAD, Azad Kashmir, Jan 3 (Reuters) Relief flights were grounded for a third straight day in northern Pakistan's earthquake zone on Tuesday and aid workers scrambled to help cold, wet survivors after two days of heavy snow and rain. British aid group Oxfam said survivors were facing the desperate decision of whether to abandon their mountain homes and seek shelter at lower, warmer altitudes and immediate steps had to be taken to help those with inadequate shelter. The weight of snow brought tents crashing down in the mountains and the heavy rains triggered fresh landslides that have again blocked roads. Snow has also blocked roads. A hazy sun broke through the fog and cloud over Muzaffarabad intermittently on Tuesday and several helicopters took off. But all air aid operations were off, the army said. The U.N. refugee agency said many children had inadequate clothing, some with no shoes. "We feel that the situation is desperate; there is a serious need to winterise the tents," said Farhana Farooqi Stocker, Oxfam's country representative. In so-called spontaneous camps that sprung up in valleys across the region, many shelters were flooded. U.N. and other aid workers have been touring the camps handing out plastic sheets, while the World Food Programme distributed high-energy biscuits for people unable to cook outside because of the rain.(Posted @ 20:38 PST)
World realizing Kashmir is more human than political issue: Mirwaiz MUZAFFARABAD, Jan 3 (APP) Leader of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said here Tuesday that Kashmir was more a human than a political issue and that the world was realizing this truth. He was speaking here on the occasion of a meeting with AJK Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan. The APHC leaders, including Professor Abdul Ghani Bhat and Bilal Ghani Lone, came here to meet quake survivors and expressed solidarity with them. Mirwaiz Farooq said that Kashmiris were unlucky people who had been divided by an unnatural and artificial Line of Control that recently prevented them to come together for relief and rescue when the massive tragedy struck the region. He expressed the confidence that the artificial division would end one day and the people of Kashmir would be united. "Kashmiris are grateful for this tremendous support for relief, rescue and rehabilitation," he said. "We are inseparable components of the same body and have the same sentiments and are together in pain and happiness," Professor Ghani Bhat said. Lone said the devastated Muzaffarabad would one day emerge as a modern and developed city.(Posted @ 20:22 PST)
President Musharraf chairs Corps Commander Conference ISLAMABAD, Jan 3 (APP): The 94th Corps Commanders Conference was held at the General Headquarters on Tuesday. President General Pervez Musharraf presided over the conference that was attended by all corps commanders and principal staff officers. The participants of the meeting reviewed the internal and external security situation, operational preparedness, training and other matters of professional interest. Musharraf apprised the participants of the Water Vision 2020. He talked at length on the impact of water on Pakistan and its dire need for cheap electricity. He also affirmed that the action by paramilitary forces against miscreants would be taken and writ of the government would be restored where challenged. He added the government would ensure protection of important national installations and continue with the development activities. The participants were also briefed on the ongoing relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation works in the earthquake hit areas.(Posted @ 20:32 PST)
Pakistanis say they were abducted and beaten in Athens after London attacks ATHENS, Jan 3 (AFP) Three Pakistanis at the centre of an alleged detention case that embroils Greece and Britain Tuesday insisted that they were abducted, interrogated and mistreated by men claiming to be Greek police after last year's London Underground and bus attacks. Muhammad Munir, Azhar Mahmood and Shoukat Nawaz told a press conference that up to a dozen plainclothes men arrived at their apartment in the Athens district of Petralona on July 15, eight days after the London blasts. "They told us they were police, but did not show us any identification," Munir said through a translator. "They asked for my cellphone, and when I told them I didn't have one, they took me to a side room, handcuffed me and began to beat me." The three men said they were interrogated at two unidentified locations somewhere in the capital for up to a week, before being released. The Pakistanis' Greek lawyer, Frangiskos Ragoussis, has pressed torture charges against the abductors. "It is clear that the Greek government and the public order minister lied on this issue," said Petros Constantinou, an activist with the British-based Stop The War Coalition anti-war organisation, which organised Tuesday's press conference. Stop The War has called a protest march on the issue on January 21.(Posted @ 20:52 PST)
Pakistan Uzbekistan agree on full economic potentials Tashkent, Jan 03 (PPI) Pakistan and Uzbekistan have agreed on greater inter-action between the private sectors of the two countries to exploit their full economic potentials. This was decided at the second session of Pakistan-Uzbekistan Joint Economic Commission in Tashkent.(Posted @ 23:20 PST)
Pakistan denies new nuclear reactors plan Islamabad, Jan 3 PPI: Pakistan Tuesday categorically denied a Financial Times newspaper report that it was in talks with China to buy between six and eight nuclear reactors in a deal worth up to US$10 billion. "As our economy is expanding we require more energy and we remain interested in acquiring safe nuclear energy," Ms Tasneem Aslam spokesperson of Pakistan’s Foreign Office told the BBC in Islamabad. "But the report about Pakistan's talks with China regarding six to eight nuclear reactors is baseless,” she said.(First Posted@09:57 PST Updated @ 21:58 PST)
Mirwaiz visits tent village Muzaffarabad, Jan 03 (PPI) A three member APHC delegation led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq visited a tent village set up for the earthquake affectees at Thurri in Muaffarabad today. Addressing the earthquake affectees, Mirwaiz Farooq lauded the victims for their unprecedented courage and determination in putting up with the catastrophe. He told them that the people of occupied Kashmir were concerned about them and the purpose of his delegation’s visit was to convey their heart felt sentiments. APHC leader Professor Abdul Ghani Butt in his remarks appreciated the services rendered by the people of Pakistan to mitigate the sufferings of the earthquake affectees.(Posted @ 21:54 PST)
Egypt to expel 645 Sudanese refugees - ministry CAIRO, Jan 3 (Reuters) Egypt plans to repatriate 645 Sudanese refugees, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Tuesday, despite contrary assurances to the United Nations. Fatma el Zahraa Etman said the Sudanese refugees will be expelled by boat on Thursday. Earlier in the day the United Nations' refugee agency said it had received assurances from Egypt that Sudanese refugees would not be deported to Sudan.(Posted @ 21:50 PST)
Pakistan wants to live in peace with India: Aziz KARACHI, Jan 3 (APP) Pakistan wants to live in peace with neighbouring India, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Tuesday. In an interview aired by a local TV channel, he said "it is our desire to improve our ties with India so that there may be peace in South Asia which will lead to development and prosperity”. Talks on the Kashmir issue were going on through the diplomatic channel as well as the "back channel", he said. "Our suggestion is that both the countries should pull back their troops and the security could still be maintained in the area through police and other organizations," he added. Aziz said Pakistan had presented these suggestions with an open mind, adding that both Pakistan and India would have to exhibit magnanimity, flexibility and courage to resolve the dispute. On the opening of five crossing points on the Line of Control in Kashmir, he said it was a positive development, but acknowledged that these points were not functioning as effectively as they could have.(Posted @ 21:43 PST)
Government committed to development of Sindh: Aziz SUKKUR, Jan 3 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Tuesday said the government was committed to the development of Sindh and improving the quality of life of its people. He was talking to the Minister of State for Industries Sardar Ali Nawaz Khan Mahar who called on him at Khan Garh near Sukkur and discussed matters relating to various on-going development schemes in the district. He reiterated the government's firm commitment to the development of Sindh and said a record amount of Rs. 21 billion for Sindh was allocated this year under the federally funded schemes principally for infrastructure development and projects pertaining to health and education in addition to clean drinking water.(Posted @ 21:13 PST)
Blasts rock Nepal after rebel ceasefire ends KATHMANDU, Jan 3 (Reuters) Two fresh bomb blasts hit the tourist town of Pokhara in Nepal on Tuesday, following a series of overnight explosions in the Himalayan kingdom, which came just hours after Maoist rebels called off a four-month truce. There were no immediate reports of casualties in Tuesday's blasts in Pokhara, 200 km west of Kathmandu. The United Nations expressed its concern over the prospect of an escalation in fighting. It said it regretted that many appeals from the people of Nepal and the international community for an extension of the truce had gone unheeded.(First Posted@11:50 PST Updated @ 21:03 PST)
France lifts emergency measures imposed in riots PARIS, Jan 3 (Reuters) France's conservative government lifted a state of emergency on Tuesday that was introduced last November to help quell rioting by youths in rundown suburbs that was the worst violence in the country in nearly 40 years. The decision was made after calmer than expected New Year celebrations that officials had feared might trigger new violent protests against racism and unemployment by youths of African and Arab origin, as well as whites living in the poor areas.(Posted @ 19:25 PST)
Israel halts Palestinian campaigning in east Jerusalem JERUSALEM, Jan 3 (AFP) Israeli police stopped two leading candidates from canvassing in occupied east Jerusalem on the first day of the Palestinian election campaign Tuesday, prompting new threats to cancel the whole ballot. Mustapha Barghuti, runner-up in January's presidential election, and the former peace negotiator Hanan Ashrawi were both attempting to defy a ban on any election activity in the eastern half of the city which was occupied and then annexed by Israel after the 1967 Six Day War.(Posted @ 19:22 PST)
Iran to resume suspended nuclear research TEHRAN, Jan 3 (AFP) Iran announced Tuesday it will resume nuclear fuel research activities in the next days after a suspension of over two years, risking further strains with European atomic negotiating partners. "In a letter, the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) has been informed that Iran will start research on the technology of nuclear fuel in a few days, with the cooperation and coordination of the agency," the deputy head of Iran's atomic energy agency, Mohammad Saidi, told state television. He made clear that the decision was not linked to the production of nuclear fuel. Also a foreign ministry spokesman said "a Russian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister (Sergei) Kisliak, is due to come on January 7 to discuss the Russian proposal".(Posted @ 17:40 PST)
Cricket-Sarfaraz to help Pakistan's Shabbir before ban appeal KARACHI, Jan 3 (Reuters) Former Pakistan test bowler Sarfaraz Nawaz will work with Shabbir Ahmed before the paceman's appeal against a one-year ban for an illegal action is heard on Jan. 19. "Sarfaraz will work with him and then prepare a video of his modified action which we will submit at the hearing," Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official Saleem Altaf said Tuesday.(Posted @ 17:35 PST)
Indian protesters block highway after police shoot dead 12 tribals BHUBANESHWAR, India, Jan 3 (AFP) Hundreds of protesters, some armed with bows and arrows, blocked a highway Tuesday in eastern India to protest the police shooting of 12 tribals who were seeking to block the construction of a steel plant, witnesses said. State opposition leaders condemned the killings. "It's brutal murder of innocent tribals in the name of boosting mindless industrialisation," said Congress opposition party leader J.B. Patnaik. "The chief minister must step down." Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik called the situation "unfortunate" and said the government was awaiting an official inquiry report. The tribals said the government was stealing their land and that they were receiving no benefits, such as jobs, in return.(Posted @ 17:33 PST)
Greenpeace members held in India after "toxic" ship protest NEW DELHI, Jan 3 (Reuters) Indian police detained around a dozen Greenpeace activists on Tuesday during a protest over plans to scrap in India a French aircraft carrier which they said contains tonnes of highly toxic material. Environmental group Greenpeace, which organised the protest outside the French embassy in the Indian capital, urged Paris and New Delhi not to allow the Clemenceau to reach a scrap yard in the western Gujarat state next month without first being decontaminated in France. The French embassy in New Delhi did not immediately comment on the Greenpeace allegations.(Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Israel orders Jewish squatters evicted from Hebron HEBRON, West Bank, Jan 3 (Reuters) Scores of Jewish settlers threw eggs at Israeli soldiers and police who served them notices on Tuesday to leave Palestinian-owned buildings in a market in the heart of the West Bank city of Hebron. Several settler families had moved into shops in Hebron's main market five years ago after merchants abandoned the stalls amid Israeli-Palestinian violence. Israel's High Court declared their presence illegal, opening the way for security forces to deliver eviction notices. Eight settler families had been served with eviction notices and had until Jan. 15 to comply, an official said. (Posted @ 15:58 PST)
Sharon's son quits Israeli parliament in funds case JERUSALEM, Jan 3 (Reuters) Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's son Omri resigned his seat in the Israeli parliament on Tuesday after being convicted in a long-running party funding scandal, officials said. The 41-year-old former lawmaker gave up his parliamentary immunity last year after being charged with funnelling foreign donations, in violation of Israeli election law, to Ariel Sharon's 1999 race to head the Likud. He was convicted in a plea bargain and awaits sentencing. (Posted @ 15:53 PST)
UK bombings cost just a few hundred pounds: BBC report LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) The London bombings last July which killed 52 commuters cost no more than several hundred pounds to carry out, the BBC said on Tuesday after an investigation. "If you look at 9/11, which cost only $500,000 to execute, and then you look at all the subsequent attacks that have taken place, going from Bali to Istanbul to Madrid to London, we actually see that the cost of the attacks is decreasing," Economist Loretta Napoleoni, an expert on financing terrorism, told the BBC World Service. British police said on Tuesday they would not comment on the BBC report. (Posted @ 15:51 PST)
Cricket-Rashid cracks ton as Pakistan Veterans take series 3-1 KARACHI, Jan 3 (APP): Skipper Rashid Latif blasted an unbeaten ton to enable Pakistan Veterans to win the four match friendship series 3-1 when they whipped host India by 116-runs in the last match at Kochi, according to message received here Tuesday. Pakistan Captain Waqar Younis took four wickets for 26 runs in six overs. Scores: Pakistan Veterans 289 (Rashid Latif 124 not out, Naveed Anjum 48, Manzoor Elahi 30, Shujaat Ali 20), Indian Veterans 173 (Rajesh Chauhan 53, Venkapati Raju 33; Waqar Younis 4-26, Mohsin Kamal 2-33). (Posted @ 15:46 PST)
US air raid kills 14 in Iraqi family TIKRIT, Iraq, Jan 3 (Reuters) A U.S. air strike killed 14 members of one family in the oil refining town of Baiji in northern Iraq, an Iraqi security force spokesman said on Tuesday. The air raid destroyed one house, killing the 14 people inside, said the spokesman for the Joint Coordination Centre. Another four houses were hit and three people were injured in the raid on Monday night, he said. The U.S. military had no immediate comment. (Posted @ 15:40 PST)
Iran says abducted border patrol members in Pakistan TEHRAN, Jan 3 (AFP) Iran's foreign ministry said Tuesday the members of a border patrol abducted in the southeast of the country were in neighbouring Pakistan. "It is said they have been transferred to Pakistan and we are talking to the Pakistanis, using all in our power to return them safe and sound," a foreign ministry spokesman told reporters. According to a by Dubai-based television Al-Arabiya, on Saturday, a spokesman of Jundallah (Soldiers of Allah), claimed the movement had kidnapped nine Iranian soldiers in the Saravan region. The spokesperson did not specify who the kidnappers were, but said "interior ministry forces were also pursuing the issue". The group has demanded the release of 16 of its members held by the Iranian authorities, according to the Al-Arabiya report. (Posted @ 15:35 PST)
Suspected militant held over killing of Indian professor BANGALORE, India, Jan 3 (AFP) Police in southern India said Tuesday they have arrested a suspect with alleged links to a militant group in Occupied Kashmir for an attack at a science conference in which a professor was killed. Abdul Rehman was arrested in Andhra Pradesh's Nalgonda district Sunday for his alleged involvement in a shootout at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore on December 28, a police official told a press conference. "Initial interrogation of Rehman has revealed his links with Lashkar-e-Taiba," the police official said. The official alleged that Rehman had visited Pakistan and Saudi Arabia "which could have been for training in arms". (Posted @ 15:32 PST)
Three Indian troopers die in accidental blast in Occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, Occupied Kashmir, Jan 3 (AFP) Three border guards were killed and five injured when a mortar bomb exploded accidentally in a southern district of Occupied Kashmir, a police spokesman said Tuesday. He said the guards were carrying out practice firing late Monday when a mortar bomb exploded inside their camp on the outskirts of Jammu. (Posted @ 15:27 PST)
Cricket-NZ win series against Sri Lanka WELLINGTON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Nathan Astle crafted an unbeaten 90 to anchor New Zealand's successful run chase of 256 for five for an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match one-day series against Sri Lanka on Tuesday. Chasing 255 for seven in the third match at Christchurch, Astle scored his 38th one-day international half century while Lou Vincent smashed 46 off 44 balls to give the New Zealand run chase the necessary momentum at the top of the order. Earlier, Tharanga scored his second one-day international century to anchor Sri Lanka's total, and combined with Sangakkara (36) in a 109-run second-wicket partnership. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
Russia agrees to dish out fuel for India's Tarapur Nuke plant: report NEW DELHI, Jan 3 (APP): Russia has agreed to release low-enriched uranium for the Tarapur nuclear plant of India in the first half of this year with last minute negotiations still on to ink the deal. According to the daily "The Asian Age", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had raised this issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow. A positive decision to this effect is expected by March, said the report. The Tarapur plant is at present functioning on what experts describe as a blend of India MOX fuel and Russia's LEU fuel supply that had last been released in 2001 in the face of strong criticism from the Nuclear Suppliers Group. (Posted @ 12:35 PST)
Cricket-Australia lose quick wickets in reply to 451 SYDNEY, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Australia were 54 for three in their first innings, replying to South Africa's 451-9 declared, at the close of play on the second day of the third and final test on Tuesday.Ricky Ponting was unbeaten on 13 after South African paceman Charl Langeveldt had bowled Matthew Hayden for four and Justin Langer for 25 and Andre Nel dismissed Brad Hodge in the last over before stumps. The tourists had declared in the final session after Ashwell Prince and Jacques Kallis both completed centuries in a record fourth-wicket partnership of 219. Prince scored 119 to register his third test century while Kallis made 111 to chalk up his 23rd test hundred despite needing pain killers for an elbow injury that has put him in doubt for the one-day series. (Updated @ 12:20 PST)
Severe cold snap forecast for quake-hit Pakistan MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan, Jan 3 (AFP) - Earthquake survivors in Pakistan face a severe cold front in coming days, forecasters said Tuesday as bad weather disrupted relief operations for a third straight day. "The strong system which brought rain and snow is gradually weakening, but a severe cold wave is expected to follow it later this week," an official at the Met Office said. The minimum temperature in high-altitude villages is expected to drop as low as minus 14 degrees Celsius (6.8 Fahrenheit) this week, he said. Meanwhile, army officials said helicopter flights were due to resume later Tuesday for the first time since the weekend.Heavy fog grounded them in the morning. Most roads in the area have been blocked by snow and landslides, but military officials said it would not affect food and medicine supplies to survivors as sufficient reserves had been stored in remote hilly areas. Army officials overseeing relief work told AFP that soldiers and aid workers had been sent to survivors' camps to distribute more blankets and plastic sheets. "We are replacing leaking and collapsed tents and providing additional blankets to the survivors," the military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. (Posted @ 12:17 PST)
Americans topple Russia in Hopman Cup PERTH, Australia, Jan 3 (AFP) - The United States bested top seeds Russia to stay on course for the final of the Hopman Cup mixed teams tennis tournament with a 2-1 win in their Group A tie here on Tuesday (Posted @ 11:57 PST)
Six rockets fired at Israel from Gaza: army JERUSALEM, Jan 3 (AFP) - Six rockets were fired towards Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip overnight, without causing any casualties or damage, a military spokesman said Tuesday. The home-made rockets were launched from the northern Gaza Strip towards the town of Siderot where an alert system is in place, the spokesman added. The attack came just hours after three Palestinian militants were killed in an Israeli aircraft strike on their car in the Jabaliya refugee camp of the northern Gaza Strip. (Posted @ 10:55 PST)
Two militants caught ahead of PM's visit to southern India NEW DELHI, India, Jan 3 (AFP) - Police in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad said they had arrested two suspected militants carrying explosives hours ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit here Tuesday. Hyderabad Police Commissioner A. K. Mohanty told reporters late Monday the two suspects -- identified as Shakeel and Syed Haji -- were captured in the city with 14 kilograms (31 pounds) of powerful explosives. Two bombs with an intricate detonation device capable of being activated by cell phones and causing considerable damage were also recovered, newspaper reports said. The militants planned to target Hyderabad police headquarters and the Hitec City complex at Madhapur which houses units of many IT companies, Mohanty said. (Posted @ 10:55 PST)
Major earthquake hits between Fiji and Tonga WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (APP/AFP) - A major earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale hit the Fiji region of the south Pacific early Tuesday, the US Geological Survey reported on its website. It said the tremor occurred at 10:13 am (2213 GMT Monday) some 335 kilometres (around 200 miles) northwest of Tonga's Nuku'Alofa. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 94.43 points: KARACHI, Jan 3: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 9766.90, up 94.43 points from Monday's close. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Jan 3: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 59.95 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Editor: Tahir Mirza
The DAWN Group of Newspapers
Haroon House, Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed Road, Karachi 74200, Pakistan.
Phone:+92 (21) 111-444-777 Fax: +92 (21) 569-3995
webmaster@dawn.com
Make sure to reload these pages so you're viewing the current version.
|
|
|
Contributions |