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| January 18, 2006 | Wednesday | Zilhaj 17, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
India says Pakistan must do more to end alleged Kashmir militancy NEW DELHI, Jan 18, 2006 (AFP) India, after two days of peace talks with Pakistan, on Wednesday accused Islamabad of not doing enough to stem the flow of alleged militants into Occupied Kashmir. "While some steps have been taken…all steps (have) not been taken," Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran told reporters after talks with his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Mohammed Khan in New Delhi. "There is no end to cross-border terrorism," Saran said. "The infrastructure of terrorism is still in place." Saran warned that "there should be a serious attempt from Pakistan to bring terrorism under control," adding that any attacks would "impact on the process." Saran said Khan had assured India in the closed-door talks that Pakistan was "deeply committed in its struggle against terrorism." In positive developments, Saran added that a ceasefire enforced in November 2003 along the Line of Control, had held. "There is a scrupulous observance of the ceasefire, and this is a very positive development," he said, adding that aside from the thorny issue of alleged militancy, his talks with Khan had been fruitful. "I can say with some degree of optimism that we had a very successful second round of talks," Saran said.(First Posted@20:02 PST Updated @ 21:08 PST)
Prime Minister arrives in New York on week-long visit to US NEW YORK, Jan 18 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz arrived here Wednesday at the start of his week-long official visit to the United States. He was received at the Kennedy Airport by the Pakistani ambassador Jahangir Karamat and Pakistan's Permanent Representative at UN, Munir Akram.(Posted @ 21:05 PST)
President chairs meeting to review quake relief efforts RAWALPINDI, Jan 18. (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf has expressed the resolve to rebuild the quake-ravaged areas futuristically and said Pakistan would look forward to technical expertise from the world community to reconstruct houses and infrastructure on modern lines. He was chairing a high level meeting in Rawalpindi to review ongoing relief and reconstruction efforts in the quake zone. Musharraf reassured the quake survivors that the government would not only help rehabilitate their lives but also generate economic activity in the area.(Posted @ 21:05 PST)
U.S. upbeat on India nuclear deal despite problems MUMBAI, Jan 18 (Reuters) The United States is confident of reaching a deal with India on nuclear cooperation even though differences remain over plans to separate India's civil and military programmes, a top U.S. official said on Wednesday. "This is very challenging, and what we have embarked up on this absolutely unique venture in international diplomacy," U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns told a news conference in Mumbai. Burns will meet India's foreign ministry officials and atomic energy experts in New Delhi on Thursday in an attempt to push forward negotiations.(Posted @ 20:00 PST)
India needs decade to match Chinese incomes: Indian FM TOKYO, Jan 18, 2006 (AFP) India needs another decade for its people's incomes to match those now in China but it can achieve this by weaning its massive farm population off the land, the finance minister said Wednesday. The Asian giants are posting the highest growth rates among major countries but the average Indian last year earned 700 dollars compared with China's more than 1,000 in per capita gross domestic product. "Yes, China has a head start on India and I'm not denying that but we'll catch up," Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told a news conference on a visit to Tokyo. "But I expect that by the year 2015 we should reach per capita of 1,000 dollars," he added.(Posted @ 18:42 PST)
Three killed as protestors clash with UN troops in Ivory Coast ABIDJAN, Jan 18, 2006 (AFP) Clashes between UN troops and supporters of Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo left at least three Ivorians dead Wednesday as the political crisis worsened in the divided West African country. The clashes occurred at a UN base manned by Bangladeshi peacekeepers at Guiglo, 500 kilometres west of Abidjan. A United Nations military source said the Bangladeshi camp had been "attacked" overnight and there had been an unspecified number of casualties. He said the 300-strong Bangladeshi contingent had begun to pull out of the town.(Posted @ 18:40 PST)
UN reopens southwest Pakistan offices after threat QUETTA, Pakistan, Jan 18, 2006 (AFP) The United Nations said Wednesday it will reopen its offices in south-western Pakistan after a 48-hour shutdown caused by a threatening telephone call. The world body halted operations in Balochistan province on Monday when the UN High Commissioner for Refugees office in Quetta received the call. "We have contacted the authorities and had discussions and we will gradually resume our work," Jan Vandemoortele, the UN country chief in Pakistan, said. "People are going back to their offices and as of tomorrow, everyone will be back to normal. It was found not to be a credible threat," he added.(Posted @ 18:38 PST)
Pakistani soldier killed in mine explosion near Quetta QUETTA, Pakistan, Jan 18, 2006 (AFP) A paramilitary soldier was killed and two others were injured on Wednesday when an anti-tank device exploded as they were clearing mines in the Pirkoh gas fields, 220 kilometres southeast of Quetta, officials said. Officials also said a bomb explosion in a residential neighbourhood of Quetta Tuesday caused no damage or casualties. 20 rockets were also fired at paramilitary positions elsewhere in the province overnight.(Posted @ 18:36 PST)
UN aid helicopters resume flights in quake-hit Pakistan MUZAFFARABAD, Azad Kashmir, Jan 18, 2006 (AFP) United Nations helicopters resumed vital relief flights to quake-hit parts of Pakistan Wednesday after being suspended for three days by heavy rain and snow, officials said. Up to 18 helicopters would be flying extra sorties to make up for lost time and get supplies to cold and hungry survivors of the October 8 disaster, which killed more than 73,000 people in Pakistan, a UN spokesman said. Earlier group doctors from NATO closed their hospital in Kashmir and left Pakistan Tuesday, ahead of the military alliance's complete pullout of its 1,000-strong team in Pakistan by the beginning of February. Meanwhile, the government of Azad Kashmir said it was about to complete the registration of survivors in the camps in a bid to make sure that all were getting enough support and relief goods. Separately, a Turkish charity said it was providing folding beds to survivors so they can sleep off the ground when rain floods their tents.(First Posted@13:00 PST Updated @ 18:16 PST)
North Korea's Kim vows to advance nuclear talks in China SEOUL, Jan 18 (Reuters) North Korean leader Kim Jong-il returned home on Wednesday from a visit to China, where he told Chinese leaders he would work with them to overcome obstacles blocking nuclear talks, the official KCNA news agency said. The news agency confirmed Kim had paid an unofficial visit to China from Jan. 10 to 18 at the invitation of President Hu Jintao. The agency said Kim spoke with Chinese leaders of "difficulties lying in the process of the six-party talks" but that there was no change in the North's stand on denuclearising the Korean peninsula.(Posted @ 17:54 PST)
U.S. confirms holding eight women prisoners in Iraq BAGHDAD, Jan 18 (Reuters) U.S. forces in Iraq said on Wednesday they were holding eight women prisoners, after the abductors of an American journalist threatened to kill her if the authorities did not free all Iraqi women within 72 hours. "We have eight females. They are being held for the same reasons as the others, namely that they are a threat to security," a spokesman for the U.S. military detentions operation said. Some 14,000 men are held at Abu Ghraib and other jails.(Posted @ 17:48 PST)
Olmert fills out cabinet ahead of Israeli election JERUSALEM, Jan 18 (Reuters) Interim Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert filled out his cabinet on Wednesday, appointing members from his centrist Kadima party to top posts two weeks after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was incapacitated by a stroke. In the most high-profile appointment ahead of a March 28 Israeli election, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, widely seen in Israel as a rising political star, became foreign minister, replacing the Likud's Silvan Shalom.(Posted @ 15:356 PST)
Iran says stopped Iraq vessels in Gulf dispute BAGHDAD, Jan 18 (Reuters) The Iranian envoy in Baghdad said on Wednesday Iraqi vessels had encroached into Iranian waters and Tehran was investigating Iraqi accusations that Iran had kidnapped a coastguard patrol after a clash in the incident. Iranian officials on Tuesday denied the incident, which Iraqi officials said took place on Saturday or Sunday. The envoy declined to say whether Iran was holding nine Iraqi coastguards.(Posted @ 15:35 PST)
EU3 draft demands U.N. Council report for Iran BERLIN, Jan 18 (Reuters) A draft resolution to be submitted to the U.N. nuclear watchdog asks the agency to report Iran's nuclear programme to the U.N. Security Council, according to the text, dictated to Reuters by an EU diplomat on Wednesday. The resolution, drafted by France, Britain and Germany, asks Iran "to help the agency clarify questions regarding possible nuclear weapons activities" and calls on International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei "to transmit a copy of this resolution to the security council".(Posted @ 15:30 PST)
World pledges $1.9 billion to fight bird flu BEIJING, Jan 18 (Reuters) International donors have pledged $1.9 billion to support a global fund to combat bird flu, EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said on Wednesday after a conference in Beijing, exceeding an initial target. The World Bank had hoped the donors' conference would raise at least $1.2 billion. The United States responded with a pledge of about $334 million, saying in a statement the money would be mainly in the form of grants and technical assistance. The total EU pledge is nearly $250 million.(First Posted@12:00 PST Updated@ 15:30 PST)
Iraqi gunmen kill 10, kidnap engineer BAGHDAD, Jan 18 (Reuters) Gunmen ambushed a private security team in Baghdad on Wednesday, killing 10 Iraqi guards and kidnapping a Malawian engineer working for Iraqna mobile telephone operator, an Interior Ministry official said. The official said the team had been travelling in a convoy of three or four vehicles when the gunmen struck in the Nafaq al-Shurta area of Baghdad. Iraqna, part of Egyptian-owned Orascom Telecom, confirmed the attack but said its information was that two of its engineers were missing, and six guards had been killed and two seriously wounded. Also late on Tuesday, gunmen shot dead seven people who supply food to the Iraqi army in an attack in Baghdad, police said.(Posted @ 15:30 PST)
Aziz to hold wide-ranging talks with US leadership ONBOARD PM's SPECIAL AIRCRAFT, Jan 18 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Wednesday said he would discuss defence, security and peaceful nuclear cooperation, war on terror, and stronger economic ties when he meets US leadership during his first official visit to the United States of America.Talking to newsmen while flying over Kabul onboard special aircraft, he said the situation in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan-India ties and recent Bajaur incident would figure in talks, besides the issue of F-16 aircraft to Pakistan. "We have multifaceted relations, which we are trying to enrich in line with our national interests," he added. The Prime Minister is scheduled to meet US President George W. Bush at the White House on January 24. Aziz said he would also discuss Pakistan's desire for nuclear technology for peaceful purposes to meet the country's energy demand with the US leaders. He was also looking forward to enhanced cooperation with the US in textile sector and information technology.(Posted @ 15:25 PST)
Empty graves found at Pakistan airstrike site ISLAMABAD, Jan 18, 2006 (AFP) Pakistani investigators said Wednesday they had found two empty graves at the site of a controversial US airstrike, a day after officials said up to five foreign militants died in the attack. "The residents dug 18 graves but buried 16 people and two graves were left vacant before they covered them over," a senior security official said citing a report by intelligence officials in the region.(Posted @ 15:20 PST)
Soccer-India join bidding for 2011 Asian Cup KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 (Reuters) - India has confirmed it will challenge Iran for the right to stage the 2011 Asian Cup.The hosts for the event are expected to be announced at the end of the 2007 Asian Cup, which will be co-staged by Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Iran hosted the Asian Cup in 1968 and 1976, winning both times.(Posted @ 12:15 PST)
Israeli troops arrest 13 Palestinian activists in the West Bank JERUSALEM, Jan 18, 2006 (AFP) - Israeli troops arrested 13 Palestinian activists in the West Bank overnight, a military spokesman said Wednesday.Most of those arrested were members of Islamic Jihad, the spokesman said. Another Jihad activist was injured by Israeli army gunfire while troops exchanged fire with Palestinians in another arrest operation near the northern West Bank town of Jenin.(Posted @ 11:45 PST)
Mass grave uncovered near Iraqi holy city BAGHDAD, Jan 18, 2006 (AFP) - A mass grave containing the bodies of 22 people believed to have been killed during a failed Shiite uprising against Saddam Hussein in 1991 has been found near Najaf, one of Iraq's holiest cities, security officials said Tuesday. "The remains were found by accident at a building site in the Kifl region on the road between Najaf and Kerbala," one source said. "A search is ongoing to find other bodies," the source said. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Kidnappers threaten to kill US journalist in Iraq BAGHDAD, Jan 18, 2006 (AFP) - Arabic television Al-Jazeera said Tuesday the kidnappers of a US woman journalist in Baghdad had threatened to kill her if female prisoners in Iraq were not freed within 72 hours by US forces. The station broadcast a brief videotape of Jill Carroll, 28, a freelance reporter working for the Christian Science Monitor who was seized at gunpoint in a dangerous area of Baghdad 10 days ago. Carroll, wearing a grey sweatshirt with her long brown hair loose, was shown alone in the video and speaking but there was no sound. It was the first time she has been since since her disappearance on January 7. (Posted @ 09:23 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 69.26 points: KARACHI, Jan 18: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 10235.17 , up 69.26 points from Tuesday's close. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:35 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Jan 18: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 59.87 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:35 PST)
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