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| January 29, 2006 | Sunday | Zilhaj 28, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan passenger train derails, casualties feared ISLAMABAD, Jan 29, 2006 (AFP) - A passenger train derailed in northern Pakistan late Sunday and several of its coaches plunged into a ravine, railway officials said. Initial reports said six coaches had fallen into a ravine near Jhelum city, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Islamabad, the chief controller of Pakistan Railways, Abdul Rehman, told AFP. "There are fears of loss of lives, we are trying to get details," he said. Trains with emergency service personnel had been dispatched to the scene of the derailment from Lahore, Rehman added. The non-stop train was heading to Lahore from Rawalpindi. The cause of the derailment was not immediately known.(Posted @ 21:50 PST)
Three rescue trains sent to Domeli ISLAMABAD, Jan 29 (APP): Pakistan Railway has sent three rescue trains to Domeli to save the passengers of derailed Lahore Express here Sunday, Director Operation Pakistan Railway Nasir Zaidi said. One train each from Lahore, Rawalpindi and Kundiyan was immediately sent to the site of accident, he said. The passenger train, which derailed near Domeli, was heading to Lahore from Rawalpindi and carrying 621 passengers. Nasir said the cause of the accident was yet to be determined and added, it would be premature to assess the damage as well as the number of casualties. Rescue teams were evacuating the passengers from the bogies.(Posted @ 22:42 PST)
At least three dead in Pakistan train plunge ISLAMABAD, Jan 30, 2006 (AFP) - At least three people died and at least 30 were injured when several carriages of a Pakistani train plunged into a ravine Sunday, officials said, adding that the toll would likely rise. "According to our information three people have died and there are 30 to 40 injured," Major General Shaukat Sultan, President Pervez Musharraf's spokesman, told AFP. "I can't say what the final toll is, but if this is the final state of casualties then it is a miracle." Rescuers raced to the scene after six coaches with around 400 passengers on board derailed and hurtled into the ravine near Jhelum city, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Islamabad, officials said. Pakistan Railways transportation officer Hamid Rahi earlier told AFP that two bodies had been recovered and 20 people had been rushed to hospital.(First Posted @ 23:05 PST Updated @ 23:30 PST)
Pakistan Railways sets up helpline for derailed Lahore express ISLAMABAD, Jan 29 (APP): Pakistan Railways has set up a helpline to provide information about the dead and injured of the Lahore Express, which was derailed here Sunday evening. The helpline numbers are: 051-9270884, 051-9270981 and 051-5810329. Director Operation, Nasir Zaidi said that Pakistan Railways has sent three rescue trains to Domeli to save the passengers of derailed Lahore Express as the incident took place three kilometers off the national highway. One train each from Lahore, Rawalpindi and Kundiyan was immediately sent to the site of the accident, he said. The train carrying 621 passengers was heading from Rawalpindi to Lahore and derailed near Domeli due to unknown reasons. He said it was premature to assess the damage as well as the number of casualties. Rescue teams were evacuating the passengers from the boogies.(Posted @ 23:40 PST)
Troops sent to Domeli for rescue operation ISLAMABAD, Jan 29 (APP): The army from Jhelum and Kharian has been sent to Domeli to carry out rescue operation, following the derailment of Lahore Express on Sunday, ISPR spokesman said. 900 army jawans from Jhelum and Rawalpind were immediately sent to the scene of the accident to help in evacuation of the passengers from the derailed bogies, he said. Emergency was declared at CMH Jhelum and other nearby hospitals to save maximum number of lives, he said.(Posted @ 23:50 PST)
Suspected tribal rebels blow up gas pipeline in southwest Pakistan QUETTA, Pakistan, Jan 29, 2006 (AFP) - Suspected tribal rebels blew up a gas pipeline in the troubled southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan on Sunday, disrupting supplies to the main plant, officials said. "The miscreants planted explosives and blew up a stretch of pipeline connecting a gas well to the purification plant," local administration officer, Abdul Samad Lasi, told AFP. "The technical staff of the gas company has started the repair work and hopefully the supply would be restored by the evening," Lasi said.(Posted @ 23:30 PST)
Iran says kidnapped soldiers freed TEHRAN, Jan 29, 2006 (AFP) - A group of Iranian soldiers kidnapped near the border with Pakistan nearly two months ago was freed on Sunday, an interior ministry official told AFP. The source, who asked not to be named, gave no further details on the end to the abductions -- which Iranian officials had blamed on a hardline Sunni Muslim group operating in the unruly border area in Iran's southeast.(Posted @ 22:52 PST)
15 die in head-on collision between bus and truck in Bangladesh DHAKA, Bangladesh, Jan 29, 2006 (AP) _ A bus and a truck collided head-on in northwestern Bangladesh Sunday, killing at least 15 people and injuring another 25, a news agency said. The accident occurred in Natore district, 160 kilometers (100 miles) northwest of the capital, Dhaka, United News of Bangladesh reported, citing unnamed police sources. Twelve victims were killed instantly, while three others died on the way to a hospital, the report said.(Posted @ 22:50 PST)
12 couple tie knot in mass marriage function MIRPUR (AJK), Jan 29 (APP): 12 couple tied knot in mass marriage ceremony held at a camp set up for earthquake survivors here Sunday. The mass marriage ceremony was organized by a UK based NGO Mid International Aid Trust, as all the expenditures in this regard were born by the organization. The Pakistan Industrialists Group Dewan Suleman has set up camp for the survivors, the international volunteers working for relief works in the city also attended the mass marriage ceremony. The Mid International Aid Trust UK Chairman Kh.Muhammad Aslam provided all the couples household items including crockery, clothes, stoves, Cylinders, blankets and other necessary things.(Posted @ 22:15 PST)
Fireworks blast kills 16 in China BEIJING, Jan 29, 2006 (AFP) - Sixteen people were killed and several others injured when a storehouse full of fireworks exploded Sunday in central China, state media said, quoting local officials. The victims were attending a temple fair when the storehouse was ignited by fireworks, an official said, according to the Xinhua news agency. The explosion occurred between 4:00 and 5:00 pm (0800-0900 GMT) in Linzhou City in Henan Province. The number of injured was not immediately available.(Posted @ 21:45 PST)
Three killed, 17 wounded in seven bombings near Iraq churches BAGHDAD, Jan 29, 2006 (AFP) - Six co-ordinated car bombs and a roadside bomb went off Sunday near churches across the Iraqi capital and in Kirkuk, killing three people and wounding 17, police and interior ministry officials said. Four car bombs went off near four churches in Baghdad's Karada area, while two bombs went off near two churches in the northern city of Kirkuk. Three people died and 11 were wounded in the Kirkuk car bombs, police said. Six more people were wounded in the Baghdad car bomb blasts, while a roadside bomb also went off close to a church in central Baghdad, but there were no casualties. (Posted @ 21:25 PST)
US TV anchor, camerman wounded in Iraq BAGHDAD, Jan 29, 2006 (APP/AFP): Bob Woodruff, news anchor with US television company ABC and his cameraman were wounded in a bomb attack in Iraq Sunday, a US military spokesman and his media organization said. "The incident occured near Taji and the two are now in hospital," the spokesman told AFP. "We have no other details at the moment." ABC said the two were injured in an IED (improvised explosive devise) attack near Taji, just north of Baghdad.(Posted @ 20:52 PST)
Pakistan arrests suspected Turkish Al-Qaeda militant ISLAMABAD, Jan 29, 2006 (AFP) - Pakistani security forces arrested a suspected Turkish Al-Qaeda militant in a northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border, a security official said Sunday. The man, seized on Saturday, identified himself as Mohammad Yusuf and said he was a Turkish national, a security official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The 25-year-old was apprehended when security forces stopped a vehicle at a check point at Shah Alam, five kilometers (about three miles) from Wana, the main town in the South Waziristan region, he said. Pakistan has deployed thousands of troops into the tribal areas to hunt down Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants who crossed the border after Afghanistan's hardline Taliban Islamic regime fell in late 2001.(Posted @ 20:45 PST)
'Suicide bombers' among nine arrested in Afghanistan ISLAMABAD, Jan 29, 2006 (AFP) - Afghan security forces have arrested nine people, including would-be suicide bombers and two Pakistan nationals, for allegedly planning attacks, a provincial governor said Sunday. The nine were arrested in a series of search operations over the past few days in insurgency-hit southern Kandahar province, governor Asadullah Khalid said. "They were arrested with explosives and vehicles which they planned to use for attacks," Khalid said. "Among the nine are people who were suicide bombers."(Posted @ 20:15 PST)
Germany's Merkel leaves for visit to Middle East BERLIN, Jan 29, 2006 (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel left on Sunday for a visit to the Middle East that will make her the first Western leader to visit the Palestinian territories since Hamas' election victory last week. Merkel was due to meet with Israel's acting prime minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday at the start of her two-day visit to the region which will also include talks with beleaguered Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas. The German chancellor has however ruled out meeting with Hamas officials. A government spokesman said ahead of the trip that dialogue with Hamas would be possible only if the Islamist movement recognised Israel's right to exist, renounced violence, disarmed and agreed to honour commitments made in the context of the Middle East peace process.(Posted @ 20:13 PST)
Australia defeat Sri Lanka by six wickets PERTH, Australia, Jan 29, 2006 (AFP) - Australia beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in their triangular series limited-overs cricket match at the Western Australian Cricket Association Ground on Sunday.Scores: Sri Lanka 233-8 (50 overs); Australia 237-4 (41 overs).(Posted @ 19:05 PST)
Polish collapse death toll at 66 - president WARSAW, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Polish President Lech Kaczynski said on Sunday that 66 people were killed when the roof of an exhibition hall in southern Poland collapsed on Saturday and said the toll was not expected to rise. "According to current data, which should not change, there were 66 fatalities in the disaster, including two children and two foreigners," Kaczynski told a news conference carried live on television channel TVN 24.(First Posted @ 11:23 PST Updated @ 18:48 PST)
Polish rescue teams call off search for survivors WARSAW, Jan 29, 2006 (AFP) - Rescue teams called off their search for survivors from the wreckage of a Polish exhibition hall at midday Sunday and were preparing to clear the debris of the collapsed roof with heavy machinery, a rescue official said.(Posted @ 17:02 PST)
Iran to hold nuclear talks with Europeans Monday TEHRAN, Jan 29, 2006 (AFP) - Iran confirmed Sunday it was sending a senior delegation to Brussels Monday for talks with Britain, France and Germany on its disputed nuclear programme. Official media said the Iranian team would be headed by senior nuclear negotiator Javad Vaidi, but gave no details on the agenda for the discussions, which will come just days before an emergency meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog. (Posted @ 15:15 PST)
Judge appoints lawyers to defend Saddam BAGHDAD, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Court-appointed lawyers took over the defence of Saddam Hussein after the former Iraqi leader and his attorneys stormed out of the court to protest at proceedings shortly after the trial resumed. (Posted @ 15:10 PST)
Saddam walks out of trial, half-brother ejected BAGHDAD, Jan 29, 2006 (AFP) - The setback-plagued trial of Saddam Hussein hit fresh controversy under its new judge Sunday, as the former Iraqi president walked out from the court and his half-brother was ejected. Kurdish judge Rauf Rasheed Abdel Rahman, appointed from outside the chamber, attemped immediately to stamp his authority on the trial after the controversial resignation of his predecessor Rizkar Mohammed Amin. "I want to leave the court," Saddam told the judge, who replied that he could leave the court. "I led you for 35 years and you order me out of the court," retorted Saddam. "I am the judge, you are the defendant. You have to obey me," said the judge. After further verbal exchanges, Saddam walked out, escorted by guards. Amid scenes of chaos, Barzan Ibrahim Hassan al-Tikriti, half-brother of Saddam and one of the co-defendants in his trial, was physically ejected from the court by guards on order of the new judge. "Get him out," said the judge, ordering the guards as Barzan stood up to deliver a lengthy statement about his medical condition. The balding Rahman, dressed in a suit and his judge's robes, earlier leant back impassively in his chair as proceedings got underway and then put on spectacles to begin reading the opening statements (Posted @ 15:00 PST)
Six killed, eight injured in Thai road accident BANGKOK, Jan 29, 2006 (AFP) - Six people were killed and eight seriously injured Sunday in a pileup involving four pick-up trucks on a Bangkok highway, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Centre said. The accident, which happened early in the morning in Samut Prakarn province just south of Bangkok, was caused by speeding, it said. (Posted @ 13:45 PST)
Russian gas supply resumes to Georgia VLADIKAVKAZ, Russia, Jan 29, 2006 (AFP) - Russian gas supplies to neighbouring Georgia resumed Sunday, a week after being disrupted by sabotage explosions to the main pipeline, officials said. "Gas deliveries started shortly after 10:00 am (0700 GMT)," Vladimir Ivanov, spokesman for the emergency situations ministry in the Russian border province of North Ossetia, told AFP. (Posted @ 13:46 PST)
Rebels kill 16 in Iraq, including four near Saddam's village HILLA, Iraq, Jan 29, 2006 (AFP) - Sixteen Iraqis have been killed in a series of rebel attacks ahead of the resumption on Sunday of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein's trial, police said. In Tikrit early Sunday, Mahamud Daham Bidewi, an assistant to the city's chief of staff during Saddam's regime, was killed when rebels fired a rocket at his home, while separately a police captain was shot dead by gunmen in the northern oil refinery town of Baiji, police said. Elsewhere 10 Iraqis were killed and two others wounded by a roadside bomb in Eskandiriyah town, 65 kilometers (40 miles) south of Baghdad, a police officer from Hilla said. In a separate attack, a suicide car bomber blew himself up by an Iraqi army patrol, killing four Iraqi soldiers, near Saddam's native village of Ojah, located 180 kilometers north of Baghdad. Six other soldiers were wounded in the attack, said Khaled al-Jabouri, a police officer from Tikrit city. He said the US forces helped evacuate the casualties.(Updated @ 11:25 PST Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Asian elephant nations meet to discuss species' survival KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29, 2006 (AFP) - Thirteen Asian countries with wild elephants met as a group in Malaysia for the first time last week under the auspices of the IUCN to discuss the survival of the species as expanding human populations encroach on its habitat. "Just over five percent of the original Asian elephant habitat remains today, and its population has declined over the past half century to an estimated 30,000-50,000 animals in the wild," it said in a statement. This is just 10 to 15 percent of the African elephant population. Participants agreed that international cooperation was necessary to protect the creatures' dwindling habitat to secure the species' future. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
China marks Year of the Dog with a bang BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Jan 29 (Reuters) - China marked the start of the Year of the Dog on Sunday with fireworks and dumplings, as the biggest holiday in the Chinese world reached a crescendo. In Beijing, residents were allowed to set off fireworks and firecrackers in the city for the first time in 12 years, and in Shanghai, clouds of smoke and a rain of red wrappings obscured even the nearest buildings, while echoing explosions shook the windows. President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao spent the Lunar New Year in the countryside, chatting with peasants and discussing economic and healthcare issues. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Snow sweeping south raises winter death toll in Europe WARSAW, Jan 28, 2006 (AFP) - Frigid weather left more people dead and injured throughout Europe on Saturday, as snow sweeping south paralysed transport in France, Switzerland and Italy and caused a fatal crash in Spain besides killing at least 32 people and injuring more than 40 when the snow-covered roof of an exposition hall near the city of Katowice collapsed with as many as 500 people inside. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Khan makes it five out of five NOTTINGHAM, London, Jan 28, 2006 (AFP) - Britain's Olympic silver medalist Amir Khan made it five wins out of five since turning professional when stopping Belarus Vitali Martynov in the first round here on Saturday.This was the 19-year-old's first six-round fight but he stung the more experienced 22-year-old Martynov with a straight right after just 72 seconds. Referee Terry O'Connor stopped the contest after Martynov was only able to stagger shakily to his feet for Khan's quickest win. This performance against a fighter who had won all bar one of his previous 11 fights was the latest step on the road to Khan's ambition to become Britain's youngest world champion before his 21st birthday. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Flooding kills at least 9 in Rio de Janeiro area RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 29, 2006 (AFP) - Driving rains that sparked widespread flooding killed at least nine people in the Rio de Janeiro area, authorities said Saturday. Friday's rains, believed the worst in almost a decade, plunged the city into chaos. At least seven of those killed were drowned, most swept away by floodwaters, officials said. (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
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