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| January 30, 2006 | Monday | Zilhaj 29, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Sabotage likely caused Pakistan train plunge: Railways Minister DOMELI, Pakistan, Jan 30, 2006 (AFP) Pakistani investigators believe saboteurs tampered with a section of railway track, causing a train to plunge into a ravine and killing at least four people, a minister said Monday. Experts found nuts on the track had been unscrewed when they examined the site of Sunday's crash near the city of Jhelum in the eastern province of Punjab, Railways Minister Ishaq Khakwani said. Six carriages of the express jumped the rails and three fell into the 50-foot gully as it was travelling from Rawalpindi towards Lahore. The minister said "several elements" could have been involved, adding: "It could be internal, it could be external." The suspected sabotage was also in a "technically important" area. "Such a derailment in a hilly area could have caused greater loss but luckily there were not many casualties," he said. The death toll rose on Monday to four, two of whom were women, while 94 people were injured, 10 of them seriously, a railway police official said. The railways minister said repair work was underway and rail traffic was likely to resume Monday afternoon. President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, who expressed grief over the loss of lives, have ordered an inquiry into the crash.(First Posted @ 10:50 PST Updated @ 13:00 PST)
Trains resume on Jhelum-Pindi track RAWALPINDI, Jan 30 (PPI)Trains on main line between Jhelum and Rawalpindi Monday resumed their services. Railway Minister Mian Shamim Haider told newsmen here Monday that restoration work on the rail track damaged due to derailing of a passenger train at Domeli near Jhelum has been completed and trains have resumed services on the track.(Posted @ 23:55 PST)
Hamas military leader wounded in drive-by shooting GAZA, Jan 30 (Reuters) - A military leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas was wounded in a drive-by shooting in the Gaza Strip on Monday, local witnesses and medics said. Khaled Abu Anza, a local leader of Hamas's armed wing was seriously wounded in the attack in the town of Khan Younis, according to medics. Another man travelling with him was also hurt, the medics added. No claim was made for the shooting, but local Hamas leaders blamed rival group Fatah for the attack. Hamas and Fatah activists clashed last week after Hamas won the Palestinian parliamentary election by landslide ousting the ruling Fatah party by a winning a clear majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council.(Posted @ 23:45 PST)
Zawahiri says he escaped US raid: video DUBAI, Jan 30, 2006 (AFP) - Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri said he escaped a US raid targeting him in Pakistan, according to a video broadcast on the Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera. "US planes launched a raid against the village of Damadola... under the pretext of wanting to kill my frail self and four of my companions," Zawahiri said, wearing a white turban and shirt. "The entire world has discovered the extent of the American lies," he said.(Posted @ 23:40 PST)
Balakot to be partially relocated ISLAMABAD, Jan 30 (PPI)There is likelihood of possible limited relocation of parts of Balakot in accordance with seismic survey reports. The monthly meeting of Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) held here Monday under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was informed that Seismic Surveys of earthquake affected areas have been completed and ERRA has received three reports from Turkey, Norway and China. All other quake-hit areas visited by the teams have been declared presumably fit for reconstruction activity.(Posted @ 23:25 PST)
Troops martyr 3 Kashmiri youth in IHK ISLAMABAD, Jan 30 (APP):In occupied Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh acts of state-terrorism, martyred three more Kashmiri youth at different places. The troops of 3 Rashtriya Rifles, during a violent military operation destroyed a residential house at Laddi in Pahalgam area. Two dead bodies were recovered from a gutted house.Another youth was shot dead in a fake encounter at Manjhkot in Rajouri district, Kashmir Media Service reported. Dead body of a Special Police Officer (SPO) was recovered at Kanjikula in Islamabad district in IHK. Three youth, Farooq Ahmed, Sharif Ahmed and Tahir, were injured in a mortar shell explosion in Kandyari in Akhnoor area. Indian troops arrested during house raids fourteen persons, including a father and son, from Tral, Shopian, Kulgam, Islamabad, Qazigund and Bandipora areas.(Posted @ 23:02 PST)
King Abdullah to discuss wide range of issues ISLAMABAD, Jan 30 (APP): King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz will hold wide-ranging talks with the Pakistani leaders including the security situation, bilateral ties and regional situation during his two day State visit on Feb 1 and 2, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said Monday. King Abdullah will hold in-depth talks with President General Pervez Musharraf covering a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues of interest and concern to the two countries. A number of bilateral cooperation agreements are expected to be signed during the royal visit.(Posted @ 20:38 PST)
Ankara donates 1 million blankets for quake survivors ISLAMABAD, Jan 30 (APP): A five-member delegation of Ankara Greater Municipality led by Brig. (Retd) Atilla Basharan called on the President General Pervez Musharraf Monday and handed over a blanket to the President as symbolic handing over of one million blankets donated by the Ankara Greater Municipality to the earthquake survivors in Pakistan. Later the delegation also called on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. During stay in Pakistan the delegation visited Muzaffarabad and Balakot, held meetings with the ministers for Housing and Investment besides the Federal Relief Commissioner and Chairman Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction.(Posted @ 20:32 PST)
EU warns Hamas to renounce violence to secure aid BRUSSELS, Jan 30, 2006 (AFP) - The European Union urged Hamas on Monday to renounce violence and recognize Israel as key conditions for continuing to give aid to the Palestinian Authority.(Posted @ 20:26 PST)
Bomb hits Afghan police KABUL, Jan 30, 2006 (AFP) - A bomb struck a police and coalition patrol in insurgency-hit Kandahar province Monday, wounding eight people, while security forces found a minibus rigged up to be a car bomb, officials said. Two mines wired to detonators were meanwhile discovered and defused near the headquarters of the police's quick reaction force in Kabul, police said. "Coalition forces evacuated six Afghan National Police officers and two civilians wounded by an improvised explosive device in Kandahar province today for treatment," coalition spokesman Lieutenant Mike Cody said in Kabul. Elsewhere in Kandahar Monday Afghan soldiers at a checkpost found an explosives-filled minibus apparently intended to be used as a car bomb, an army commander told AFP. In Kabul, security forces found and defused Monday two mines near the headquarters of the police's quick reaction unit along the road to the city's main airport, police said. One was a landmine placed in a field behind the building and the other was fixed into a police radio unit about 200 metres away, interior ministry spokesman Yousuf Stanizai said. The building is about 800 metres from the US embassy in the heavily fortified capital, he said.(First Posted @ 19:40 PST Updated @ 20:22 PST)
Abbas urges international community to maintain aid RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan 30, 2006 (AFP) - Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas on Monday urged the international community to maintain its financial aid to the Palestinians and reiterated his commitment to pursuing peace talks with Israel."Our talks focused on the need to continue this aid so that our people can stand on their own feet," he told a joint news conference with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the West Bank town of Ramallah.(Posted @ 20:08 PST)
Nagaland rebels sound warning to New Delhi as talks falter GUWAHATI, India, Jan 30, 2006 (AFP) - Separatist rebels from northeastern Nagaland said Monday they would let a nine-year-old ceasefire collapse unless the Indian government gave them concessions, at the end of a third round of talks. "The talks have remained inconclusive for the third straight day and now we cannot really predict if the ceasefire would at all be extended," a senior rebel leader, who did not want to be named, said by phone from Thai capital Bangkok where the talks were held. "It seems they want us to extend the ceasefire just for the sake of extending. Nine years is a long time by any standards and it seems that the government is not taking our issue seriously," he said. The talks were extended into an unscheduled third day Monday after weekend talks in Bangkok failed to break the impasse. Rebels want a "Greater Nagaland" by slicing off parts of three neighbouring states of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh which have Naga populations to unite around 1.2 million Nagas.(Posted @ 20:04 PST)
Saudis say Hamas should moderate Israel stance RIYADH, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia believes militant group Hamas should moderate its stance towards Israel. A Saudi cabinet statement Monday said the international community should accept the results and pressure Israel to make peace. "The international community should respect the will of the Palestinian people," it said. But a Saudi official said Hamas would have to "meet the obligations of peace". "It's a democratic process that brought in a group of people who hopefully will have to adjust their direction and rhetoric in order to meet the obligations of peace," he told Reuters. Saudi funding for the Palestinian Authority would continue in accordance with international norms, he said. "We are guided by the United Nations. We don't give money to any group, just the Authority. It's all transparent," he added.(Posted @ 19:52 PST)
Pakistan calls on West to give Hamas a chance LONODN, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Hamas could help bring peace to the Middle East and the international community should give the group a chance, Pakistan's foreign minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri told the Institute for International Studies think tank Monday. He said the West had called for democratic elections in the region, so it should accept the choice of the Palestinian people. "You cannot have the cake and eat it too," he said. "I think something positive could come out of it. Much depends on the Israeli elections (in March)," he said. "I hope the extremists do not win in Israel."(Posted @ 19:45 PST)
Rescuers bring up 67 of 70 trapped miners in Canadian mine ESTERHAZY, Saskatchewan, Jan 30 (AP) _ Rescuers retrieved 67 western Canadian potash miners who had been trapped underground by a fire, but several more miners were still in subterranean emergency chambers on Monday waiting for help. Thirty-two miners were brought to the surface early Monday. Another 35 emerged a few hours later. No serious injuries were reported. The five remaining miners were safe and were expected to be brought to the surface shortly, officials said.(First Posted @ 9:55 PST Updated @ 19:30 PST)
Bomb blast at Turkish-American association injures three ANKARA, Jan 30 (AP) _ A bomb exploded Monday inside the Turkish-American friendship association premises , and four persons were injured, police said. The bomb was placed in the hall.(Posted @ 19:15 PST)
Danes face Muslim boycotts, anger in cartoon row COPENHAGEN, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Denmark warned citizens on Monday not to go to Saudi Arabia and Gaza gunmen said any Danes or Norwegians who came there would face attack, as Muslim fury mounted over blasphemous newspaper cartoons. Saudi Arabia has recalled its envoy from Denmark, Libya has closed its embassy, and thousands of Palestinians marched in protest on Monday. The Danish Foreign travel to Saudi Arabia and urged Danes to be cautious in other Muslim countries such as Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Algeria, Pakistan and the Palestinian territories. Danish Red Cross said it had pulled two employees out of Gaza and one from Yemen. Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), condemned the cartoons but called on Muslims to stick to peaceful protest. Many ordinary Saudis have started boycotting Danish products and across the Gulf, several supermarkets pulled Scandinavian foods off the shelves after consumers complained. Egypt is also considering recalling its Copenhagen envoy, Danish media quoted Egypt's ambassador saying.(Posted @ 17:56 PST)
Roadside bomb targets Danish-Iraqi military in southern Iraq, no casualties BAGHDAD, Jan 30 (AP) _ A roadside bomb targeted a joint Danish-Iraqi military patrol near Basra on Monday, causing no casualties, officials said. In Baghdad, bullet riddled bodies of two men were found Monday in different locations, police said. Gunmen attacked a construction team erecting a fence in western Baghdad's Amil district at 10 a.m., killing one worker and wounding four, said police Lt. Maitham Abdul-Razzaq. Coalition forces are investigating if there was any link between the attack and September's publication by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten of the blasphemous cartoons.(Posted @ 17:52 PST)
Police kill five militants in Dagestan MAKHACHKALA, Russia (AP) _ Police and security forces clashed Monday with militants in restive Dagestan, killing five, the Interior Ministry said. The clash occurred when law enforcement agencies surrounded a building near a highway leading from the city close to the border with Chechnya and tried to arrest them. Dagestan and other republics in Russia's North Caucasus region have been plagued by attacks by Chechen freedom fighters and local militants, as well as volunteers from abroad. (Posted @ 17:10 PST)
Death toll from Chinese New Year blast rises to 36 BEIJING, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The death toll from a Lunar New Year fireworks explosion in China's central province of Henan rose to 36 on Monday, the official Xinhua news agency said. Many of the victims were devout Buddhists burning incense and praying at a temple near a warehouse storing firecrackers which were ignited by fireworks. Eight others were listed in critical condition at local hospitals, while another 40 people were slightly injured, Xinhua said. (First Posted @ 10:15 Updated @ 16:50 PST)
Saudi king's Malaysia trip begins KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 (Reuters) - King Abdullah began on Monday the first visit by a Saudi monarch to Muslim Malaysia in 36 years. Wearing a traditional white headdress and brown robe, the monarch was given a royal welcome by Malaysian King Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail at parliament house on Monday. (First Posted @ 10:15 Updated @ 16:45 PST)
Hamas calls for dialogue with quartet, aid to continue GAZA CITY, Jan 30, 2006 (AFP) - Ismail Haniya, a senior Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Monday urged the Middle East quartet to hold unconditional talks with his radical Islamist group and continue financial aid to the Palestinians. "We call for dialogue without preliminary conditions and in a spirit of neutrality," Haniya told a news conference in Gaza City, reading out a message addressed to the European Union, Russia, United Nations and United States. (Posted @ 16:25 PST)
Four killed, 30 injured in train accident LAHORE, Jan 30 (APP): Four passengers were killed and 30 injured when the Lahore bound non-stop train derailed near Domeli station on Sunday night, says a Railways Press release. Four of its coaches including two AC parlour and two AC Lower overturned and four other coaches along with locomotive derailed. Two coaches of Rawalpindi bound Tezgam were detached at Domeli station and hauled to the site of accident to transport the passengers of the ill-fated train to Domeli station. All the passengers including the injured were brought to Jhelum station by the empty rake of Tezgam. The injured and dead were shifted to Combiuned Military Hospital ( CMH) Jhelum. Subuk Khuram which terminated at Jhelum, was started as Lahore non-stop (108-Down) from Jhelum at 01:25 hours on Monday, in which all the passengers were accommodated, the Press release said. The relief trains from Rawalpindi, Lahore, Kundian and Malakwal reached the site and started rescue and relief operation, it added. (Posted @ 16:10 PST)
India not sincere towards settlement of Kashmir dispute: JKDF NEW DELHI, Jan 30 (APP): Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Front (JKDF) Monday said that India was never sincere in resolving Kashmir issue through dialogue process. JKDF Secretary General Mrs Reshma Wazir said at a symposium here that President Musharraf had demonstrated Pakistan's sincerity and seriousness towards resolving vexed issue of Kashmir through peaceful means. The proposal of demilitarisation and self-rule have great merit and needed to be discussed for forward movement towards settlement of the dispute, she said and regretted that India "continues to pursue its vague and ambiguous policy on Kashmir issue". (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Two killed, 24 injured in road accident KHANPUR, Jan 30 (APP): Two persons were killed and 24 others injured when a tractor trolley overturned near Tranda Muhammad Pinah, some 40 kilometres from here Monday. Three tractor trolleys were carrying a marriage party from Mauza Sangla to Qadowali village when a trolley turned turtle in a bid to overtake another trolley. (Posted @ 15:50 PST)
Suicide bomber kills two policemen in southern Iraq KERBALA, Iraq, Jan 30 (Reuters) Two policemen were killed and 20 people were wounded when a suicide bomber in a car attacked barracks in the southern city of Nassiriya on Monday, police said. They said the wounded included soldiers and civilians. (Posted @ 14:15 PST)
Israel freezes funding to the Palestinian Authority JERUSALEM, Jan 30, 2006 (AFP)Israel has decided to freeze funds to the Palestinian Authority, fearing the money could end up aiding alleged terrorist elements, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced Monday. Two hundred million shekels (35 million dollars) were due to be handed over to the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday. The action came after Hamas group's stunning election victory in Palestinian legislative elections last week. Olmert made his statement following a meeting with German Chancellor Agela Merkel, who was on a two-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories. (Posted @ 14:15 PST)
Pakistani soldier killed, nine hurt by blast in tribal area MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, Jan 30, 2006 (AFP) A roadside bomb exploded Monday near a paramilitary convoy near the village of Mubarik Shahi, about 12 kilometres east of Miranshah, North Waziristan region, killing one soldier and wounding nine, officials said. One of the injured soldiers was in a critical condition, an official added. The official said the bomb was probably planted by "miscreants". (Posted @ 14:10 PST)
Three freedom fighters, one policeman killed in fighting in Occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, Occupied Kashmir (AP) Three freedom fighters and one policeman were killed Monday in separate clashes in Laddu, a village 95 kilometres south of Srinagar and a nearby village Chandyari in Occupied Kashmir, police said Monday. The police alleged that the fighters belonged to Hezb-ul-Mujahedeen. There was no independent conformation of this claim. (Posted @ 13:05 PST)
Palestinian police take over Gaza parliament GAZA, Jan 30 (Reuters) Palestinian police, angry at Hamas's election victory, took over the parliament building in Gaza on Monday, firing in the air, witnesses said. About 30 policemen entered the parliamentary compound, which police had briefly occupied on Saturday. Some took up positions on the roof and on top of a nearby building, the witnesses said. There were no reports of casualties in the latest move into the parliamentary complex in Gaza City. (Posted @ 13:05 PST)
India carries out third missile test in three days BHUBANESHWAR, India, Jan 30, 2006 (AFP) India Monday carried out its third test in three days of its surface-to-air Akash missile from the Chandipur-on-Sea testing site, 200 kilometres northeast of the Orissa state capital Bhubaneswar, a defence official said. The domestically developed missile was test-fired from rocket launchers and hit its flying target successfully, the official said. The 700-kilogramme (1,540-pound) Akash, which means "sky" in Hindi, can track 100 targets simultaneously with onboard radar, move at 600 metres (yards) a second and deliver a 55-kilogram warhead across 27 kilometres in 50 seconds. (Posted @ 12:50 PST)
Australia PM says no sign Iraq wheat deals corrupt CANBERRA, Jan 30 (Reuters) Australian Prime Minister John Howard asked the country's monopoly wheat exporter AWB Ltd to keep the government informed of its bid to retain sales to Iraq, but he said on Monday there was never a suggestion of corruption. Meanwhile, an inquiry lawyer on Monday said AWB paid US$12 million to an unnamed Islamabad agent over three years to 2000 to secure sales to Pakistan. The lawyer, who has been questioning AWB officials based on information from documents which the company has been compelled to provide to the inquiry, said that AWB's agreement with the agent was cancelled in 2000 with US$5 million still owing to the agent. The inquiry has been set up to examine whether AWB broke any Australian laws in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. The inquiry has already heard evidence that an internal audit by former accounting firm Arthur Andersen found AWB staff may have bribed the Pakistan government, and that the company gave its staff legal indemnity if payments were judged to be bribes. (Posted @ 11:30 PST)
Gunman kills 10 in clan war in southern Philippines MANILA, Jan 30 (Reuters) At least 10 people, most of them teenagers, were killed when a gunman opened fired at a packed billiard hall on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, police said on Monday. Police suspect the shooting in Balabagan town on Sunday could be part of a long-running clan war in the region. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
China's Lunar fireworks frenzy kills at least 16, injures hundreds BEIJING, Jan 30, 2006 (AFP) Fireworks explosions killed at least 16 people and injured hundreds more in China during Lunar New Year celebrations, state press reported Monday. In the most serious accident, 16 people at a temple fair in the central province of Henan were killed on New Year's Day Sunday when a nearby store room full of fireworks exploded, Xinhua news agency said. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 80.28 points: KARACHI, Jan 30: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 10527.84, up 80.28 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:30 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Jan 30: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 59.9 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:30 PST)
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