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| February 3, 2006 | Friday | Muharram 4, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
No apology from Danish PM for blasphemous cartoons COPENHAGEN, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) - Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Friday the "Danish government can never apologise on behalf of a free and independent newspaper." He told reporters after an hour-long meeting with 76 foreign diplomats to discuss a swelling row over the cartoons that defending Press freedom was more important than defending his country's business interests. Rasmussen said it was in everybody's interest to reduce global tension over the cartoons, which have been picked up by other European newspapers and led to massive demonstrations against Danes and other Europeans. Danish flags have been burnt, ambassadors recalled, Danish products boycotted and threats made to Scandinavians in Muslim countries. "I think it's in our mutual interest to calm down the situation. If the protests in the streets escalate further, it may have unpredictable repercussions on all the effected countries, and then the problem can grow to a more global problem," Rasmussen warned.(Posted @ 18:12 PST)
Pakistan's Musharraf condemns blasphemous cartoons ISLAMABAD, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) - Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf Friday strongly condemned the publication of blasphemous cartoons saying they would stoke tensions between the Muslim world and the West. "They have inflamed our sentiments and in the strongest terms I condemn it," the official APP news agency quoted Musharraf as saying. "Any educated person who has any understanding of the situation around the world would not like to hurt the sentiments of the Muslims," he said. Pakistan's upper house of parliament also condemned the drawings on Friday amid mounting anger in Muslim countries. Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Pakistani cities for a second day Friday chanting "Death to Denmark, France and Norway" and demanding an economic boycott of the three countries.(Posted @ 18:04 PST)
Reproduction of cartoons 'insulting, disrespectful, wrong': Britain LONDON, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) - British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on Friday called the decision by certain media to reproduce blasphemous cartoons "insulting", "insensitive", "disrespectful" and "wrong". "There is freedom of speech, we all respect that," Straw said told a press conference in London with Sudan's visiting foreign minister. "But there is not any obligation to insult or to be gratuitously inflammatory," he said. "I believe that the republication of these cartoons has been insulting, it has been insensitive, it has been disrespectful and it has been wrong." Straw praised the British media for showing "considerable responsibility and sensitivity" in its approach to the issue. The British press opted against reprinting the pictures, which first appeared in a Danish newspaper last September and have prompted demonstrations by Muslims across the world, particularly after they were reproduced in many European papers this week. In editorials, British newspapers debated on Friday the conflict between upholding free speech and the uproar any publication of the cartoons would cause.(Posted @ 18:00 PST)
Pakistan's parliament condemns blasphemous cartoon ISLAMABAD, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) Pakistan's upper house of parliament Friday strongly condemned European newspapers for publishing blasphemous cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed(PBUH). Senators made speeches before passing a unanimous resolution condemning the drawings and urged the government to consider further economic and political action. "The Senate of Pakistan condemns in the strongest terms the deliberate and concerted actions on the part of European media in general and Danish daily Jyllands Posten in particular of publishing blasphemous and derogatory cartoons against the Prophet of Islam, which has hurt the faith and feeling of Muslims all over the world," the text of the resolution said. Senator Khurshid Ahmed of the Jamaat-e-Islami party also called for a change of attitude in European countries.(First Posted @ 12:55 PST Updated @) 15:40)
Iran's Rafsanjani calls for calm response to cartoons TEHRAN, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) - Veteran Iranian revolutionary leader Akbar Hashemi Rasfanjani on Friday condemned the European press for printing blrsphemous cartoons but urged Muslims to respond calmly."There are one-and-a-half billion Muslims, all of them furious," the former two-term Iranian president said in a Friday prayer sermon. He said European papers may have reprinted the cartoons "in the name of freedom of expression", but added that "if freedom of expression ends up with insulting the beliefs of a quarter of the world's population, all of them will react as they are doing now and the situation will get even worse. "Today they are drawing pictures of the Holy Prophet with a bomb as a turban to say that Muslims are terrorists. We need to put forward our calm and compassionate side, our gentleness. It is enough to look at the Holy Quran," he said. The sermon was followed by a large but calm march of thousands of people. The reaction to the cartoons has been generally calm in Iran, although the foreign ministry has summoned the ambassadors of Denmark, Norway and EU presidency holder Austria to pass on the regime's complaints.(Posted @ 18:46 PST)
Thousands of Palestinians in cartoon demo JERUSALEM, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) - Thousands of angry Muslims demonstrated at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound after Friday prayers protesting against blasphemous cartoons. Demonstrators raised slogans against Denmark, Norway and France, some of the countries in which the offending cartoons have been published. Scuffles erupted between the protesters and Israeli police stationed outside the mosque complex, but no injuries were reported. Police dispersed several groups of Palestinian youths seeking to form their own demonstrations outside Jerusalem's old city after Israeli authorities barred males under 45 from going to Al-Aqsa. Imam Mohammed Hussein had earlier denounced the caricaturessaying that “those who are behind this shameful act sought to spread hateful racism and start a war against the values of Islam and the Holy Prophet." Hussein welcomed a boycott of Danish products being observed in several Arab countries and called for Arab and Muslim governments to "re-examine diplomatic relations" with countries that published the cartoons.(Posted @ 18:02 PST)
Plot to kill Georgian president foiled: minister TBILISI, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) - A plot to kill Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili by shooting down his helicopter has been foiled, Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili said Friday. He said a portable Igla anti-aircraft missile and its launcher, attached to a tree and loaded, had been discovered. “For a reason that is not yet clear, technical or otherwise, the launcher did not work and remained attached to the tree," Merabishvili said. The Russian-made Igla surface to air missile is comparable to the American Stinger, using infra-red guidance which can be a threat to low-flying aircraft and helicopters.(Posted @ 23:15 PST)
Gulf clerics furious over blasphemous cartoons DOHA, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) - Clerics around the Gulf expressed fury Friday over the publication of blasphemous cartoons and mobilised Muslims to boycott the goods of European states where newspapers ran the caricatures. A senior Saudi cleric. Saleh bin Humaid, who is also head of the kingdom's Shura (consultative Council), delivering a sermon at the Grand Mosque in Mekkah broke down in tears for nearly five minutes while condemning the cartoons. Doha-based Egyptian cleric Yousef al-Qardawi urged Muslims to boycott products of the offending countries. In Kuwait, Imams at more than 1,000 mosques of the capital condemned the cartoons and called for a widening of the boycott campaign. In Bahrain, demonstrators including parliamentarians took to the street after the Friday congregations. In Dubai, Imams followed suit in condemning the cartoons. So also in other parts of the UAE.(Posted @ 21:20 PST)
Angry Muslims rally in London against blasphemous cartoons LONDON, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) - Hundreds of Muslim protesters, yelling threats, gathered outside the Danish embassy in London to rally against the blasphemous cartoons. The peaceful but noisy demonstration was one of several taking place around the world. Police surrounded the marchers while helicopters circled overhead.(Posted @ 20:58 PST)
Snow, cold kill 33 in northern Afghanistan KABUL, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) - At least 33 people have died in the past week in severe weather in Afghanistan's northern Badakshan province, including 15 villagers who were killed in an avalanche, a provincial official said Friday. The bodies of three people who had died from cold were recovered late Thursday. Another 15 people died from cold earlier in the week and the bodies of 15 more were recovered after an avalanche destroyed several homes in about five villages late Monday, he said. "Up to now we have received 33 bodies," he said, warning the figure could increase as information came in from parts of the province that were inaccessible.(Posted @ 20:52 PST)
Muslim envoys protest at reprinting of blasphemous cartoons in Bulgaria SOFIA, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) - Ambassadors of Muslim countries to Bulgaria denounced Friday the publication of the blasphemous cartoons in Bulgarian newspapers. The ambassadors of Arab and Islamic countries in a joint statement, after a meeting at the Iraqi embassy in Sofia, said they recognised the freedom of the press but called on the media to desist from offending the feelings of the Muslims.(Posted @ 20:48 PST)
US blasts blasphemous cartoons WASHINGTON, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) - The United States on Friday blasted the publication by European newspapers of blasphemous cartoons as "unacceptable" incitement to religious or ethnic hatred. "These cartoons are indeed offensive to the beliefs of Muslims," State Department spokesman Justin Higgins said when queried about the furore sparked by their appearance in a Danish newspaper. "We all fully recognize and respect freedom of the press and expression, but it must be coupled with press responsibility," Higgins told AFP. "Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is unacceptable. We call for tolerance and respect for all communities and for their religious beliefs and practices."(Posted @ 20:48 PST)
UN watchdog puts off decision on Iran VIENNA, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) - The watchdog UN atomic agency Friday put off a decision on whether to send Iran to the UN Security Council over fears it is developing a nuclear weapon, with an emergency session resuming Saturday, an agency spokesman said.(Posted @ 20:43 PST)
Egypt ferry with 1,400 aboard sinks in Red Sea CAIRO, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) - Scores of people were feared dead Friday after an Egyptian ferry with some 1,400 on board sank in bad weather in the Red Sea during an overnight crossing from Saudi Arabia to Egypt. Survivors were battling for their lives in lifeboats in heavy seas that were also complicating rescue efforts as dark began to fall, maritime sources said. Twenty-five bodies were recovered amid fears of a much higher death toll. "A helicopter has spotted lifeboats with people on board," said Red Sea port authority chief Mahfuz Taha. A port authority official speaking on condition of anonymity said at least 70 people were rescued alive. Maritime sources said at least 1,310 passengers were on board, mostly Egyptians but also almost 100 Saudis, two Sudanese, one Canadian and an undetermined number of Syrians. Among them were pilgrims returning from hajj and many Egyptians who work in Saudi Arabia, they said. Transport Minister Mohammed Mansur said 104 crew members were onboard.(First Posted @ 17:15 PST Updated @ 20:38 PST)
Musharraf on Balochistan Islamabad, Feb 03 (PPI) President Pervez Musharraf said today no military operation was going on in Balochistan and reports of any collateral damage were unfounded. Talking to newsmen he said the government believed in political solutions but will not allow anyone to challenge its writ in the province. He said political dialogue with the Sardars could only be initiated if they disband their private militias and surrender the weapons.(Posted @ 20:22 PST)
Tremors jolt Tharparkar district of Sindh Mithi, Sindh, Feb.03 (PPI): Mild tremors were felt in Tharparkar, the Southern desert district of Sindh, before dawn on Friday creating panic among the people. The jolts were felt at 5.55a.m in Mithi, the district headquarter town, Islamkot, Deeplo, Chhachhro, Nagarparkar, Dano Dhandal, Veera Wah, Qasbo, Chelhar and other towns of Tharparkar. No loss of life or property was reported from anywhere. The local Met. Office said that the magnitude of the tremors was 4.7 on Ritcher scale.(Posted @ 20:20 PST)
Geelani terms linking Kashmir with Indian borders as ridiculous Srinagar, Feb 03 (PPI) Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (G) Syed Ali Geelani has described as "ridiculous and unrealistic" the statement of Indian prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh that he has no mandate to change borders over Kashmir. In a statement from Saudi Arbia, he said linking Kashmir issue with Indian borders is ridiculous as also unrealistic. "This logic can be true with Punjab, Assam, Manipur and Tripura, but Kashmir is totally different. This region has its own history. This was never been a legal part of India", he said. Since 1947, this entire region continues to be a disputed area and the UN and the international forum has accepted time and again that the future of Kashmiris is yet to be decided. Geelani urged the leadership of India and Pakistan that solution of Kashmir dispute must be in accordance with the historic background and the sacrifices and aspirations of Kashmiris. He said Manmohan 's statement has proved that India has not yet given up its rigid stance over Kashmir.(Posted @ 20:18 PST)
Israeli plane bombs Lebanon after Hizbollah attack KFAR SHOUBA, Lebanon, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Israeli warplanes bombed a target on the Lebanese side of the border on Friday after Hizbollah guerrillas attacked an Israeli post in the area, witnesses said.(Posted @ 19:25 PST)
US soldier killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier was killed when a roadside bomb struck his patrol north of Baghdad on Thursday, the U.S. military said. A translator working with the U.S. army was shot dead by gunmen in Hawijah, 70 km southwest of Kirkuk, police said adding that a policeman and a civilian were also kidnapped by gunmen in Kirkuk.(Posted @ 19:22 PST)
Afghan, al Qaeda militants use sophisticated arms KABUL, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Al Qaeda and Taliban militants are coordinating attacks on Afghan government troops and foreign forces and using increasingly sophisticated, and deadly, weapons, Afghanistan's defence minister Abdul Rahim Wardak told Reuters in an interview on Friday but declined to speculate on where it was coming from. The equipment included high explosive used in roadside bombs and remote-control mechanisms to set off blasts, he said. "We don't have this equipment readily available in Afghanistan," Wardak said.(Posted @ 19:12 PST)
Western press split over blasphemous cartoons PARIS, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) - Western newspapers were split Friday over the blasphemous cartoons as several of Europe's top dailies reprinted the cartoons but others argued that the defence of freedom of speech could not justify such offence to Muslims. In Britain and the United States, longstanding defenders of freedom of speech, papers on both the political left and right opted out, saying the images crossed the bounds of taste and good judgment. Best-selling broadsheet The Daily Telegraph explained it preferred not to "cause gratuitous offence", and even the left-leaning Guardian said there were "limits and boundaries -- of taste, convention, principle or judgment". "This is a clear example where people would find those offensive so we don't see any particular reason to do it just for shock value," said Keith Richburg, the Washington Post's foreign editor. Peter Gavrilovich, foreign editor of the Detroit Free Press in Michigan, said: "I don't think we would run a cartoon in this newspaper that would be deemed offensive to any religious figure." In Germany, the Frankfurter Rundschau concluded that the cartoons were defamatory and not worth defending. "Whoever turns something like this into the salvation of freedom of the press ... is not really doing any favours to press freedom, because they are defending the misuse, rather than the sensible use, of press freedom," it wrote.(Posted @ 18:58 PST)
Australia beat South Africa by 80 runs in ODI MELBOURNE, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) - Australia beat South Africa by 80 runs in their triangular series one-day international at Melbourne's Telstra Dome on Friday. Score: Australia 281-7 (50 overs); South Africa 201-9 (50 overs).(Posted @ 18:50 PST)
India says latest nuclear missile ready for launch NEW DELHI, India, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) - India on Friday announced it had completed all tests and was ready to deploy its latest nuclear-tipped missile, capable of striking targets at a distance of 3,000 kilometres. "All technical parameters for the launch of the missile have been completed," M. Natarajan, head of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, announced at a news conference in New Delhi. "We are ready for the launch today.. it is now for political leadership to give the nod," he said of the missile codenamed Agni III.(Posted @ 18:18 PST)
23 killed in Afghan fighting, coalition planes bombing KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) - US-led coalition planes Friday bombed an area in Helmand province's Sangin district where about 20 Taliban-linked militants and three policemen had been killed in fierce fighting, an official said. The fighting erupted when police began a security sweep. Deputy provincial governor Amir Mohammad Akhundzada said 20 rebels and three policemen had been killed, while 20 insurgents and 10 policemen were also wounded. "The fighting is going on," he said. "The Taliban have hidden in villages; we're worried for the security of civilians," Akhundzada said adding that he believed the police were up against a force of around 200 to 300 men armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.(Posted @ 17:45 PST)
Danish paper must apologize clearly for cartoons: Egyptian ambassador COPENHAGEN, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) - A Danish paper has to issue a "clear apology" for publishing blasphemous cartoons for protesters in the Muslim world to be satisfied, Egypt's ambassador to Denmark said Friday. "I think they (the protesters) need a clear apology from the newspaper," Ambassador Mona Omar Attia told AFP after participating in a meeting with the Danish government on the cartoons.(Posted @ 17:44 PST)
ADB to loan $10 million for Karachi project MANILA, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Friday it would lend 10 million dollars to Pakistan for an urban renewal project in its economic capital of Karachi. An ADB statement said the urban infrastructure of the city had been neglected for two decades which has led to pollution, haphazard development and poor quality of life for some. "Infrastructure and services that are inadequate and unreliable are adding to business and household costs, harming Karachi's urban and natural environments, and decreasing the city's global competitiveness compared with alternative Asian mega cities," ADB urban development specialist Gulfer Cezayirli added. The soft loan would support improvements in city planning, management, and financing, as well as in applying commercial principles in the provision of infrastructure and services, ADB said. ADB's assistance, payable over 32 years with minimal interest, will cover 75 percent of the project cost of 13.33 million dollars. (Posted @ 15:45 PST)
UN seeks $100 million more to keep Pakistan quake relief flying ISLAMABAD, Feb 3 (Reuters) The United Nations said on Friday it needed more than $100 million to keep a fleet of helicopters assisting earthquake recovery operations in northern Pakistan flying for the rest of the year. A spokesman for the U.N. World Food Programme said it needed another $15 million to keep emergency relief flights in the air until the end of March then another $11 million a month from April to December. "The flow of money has been very slow," the spokesman said. "We are basically being paid cheque by cheque as the last one runs out," he added. U.N. organisations, aid agencies and Pakistan's Federal Relief Commission had asked WFP to keep its helicopters flying until December to facilitate reconstruction work. "These helicopter operations are vital. They are the backbone of the whole operation," he said. "Unless we get funds, we will be forced to ground them.” (Posted @ 14:15 PST)
Aftershock and mild quake jolt Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP)A moderate aftershock of last year's South Asian earthquake jolted northern Pakistan and a tremor hit the country's south Friday, but there were no reports of casualties or damage, officials said. The aftershock measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale was felt at 2:49 am (2149 GMT) in Islamabad and in the cities of Mansehra and Abbottabad, seismologists said. Pakistan's seismological department has said that aftershocks will continue to hit the country, but were unlikely to cause more damage. Separately a mild earthquake measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale hit the southern Pakistani desert districts of Tharparkar and Omer Kot at 5:54 am (0054 GMT) on Friday, but there were no reports of any damage.(First Posted @09:50 PST Updated @) 14:15)
Bush asks Congress to raise cap on visas for foreign professionals WASHINGTON, Feb 3, 2006 (Agencies) US President George W. Bush, in a bid to attract the world's brightest scientists and engineers, urged Congress to raise the limit on visas for highly educated foreign professionals. Bush said "the problem is that Congress has limited the number of H-1B visas," used by foreigners sponsored and employed in specialty fields, such as technology. Bush urged that Americans should not fear global competition from rising economic powers like China and India because as wealth spreads overseas, there will be growth in demand for U.S. products. (Posted @ 14:10 PST)
Bono asks Bush for billions to help poor WASHINGTON, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) U2 front man Bono, citing the holy Quran, the Bible and rock band Dire Straits, urged President George W. Bush on Thursday to boost US aid to the world's poor by about 25 billion dollars. "This is not about charity, it's about justice," the singer and activist told an annual US national prayer breakfast, where Bush, US lawmakers, and Muslim, Christian, and Jewish leaders were also present. Bush gave no sign he would meet Bono's request, but praised him as "a doer…(who)uses his position to get things done.” (Posted @ 14:10 PST)
Bomb explodes near Pakistani government official's home in Balochistan QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) A bomb exploded Friday in Hab, a town 700 kilometres southeast of Quetta, near the home of a government official supervising operations against Baloch tribesmen, officials said, adding that the blast damaged a wall and his kitchen but caused no injuries. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn attack apparently targeting Abdul Samad Lasi's house. The region's police chief said authorities were investigating. However Lasi blamed ``the men of Nawab Akbar Bugti'' for the attack. (First Posted @ 12:15 PST Updated @ 12:50 PST)
Chaos at Indian airports on third day of workers' strike NEW DELHI, Feb 3, 2006 (AFP) India's two main airports were hit with further chaos Friday as a workers' strike against privatisation went into a third day, with passengers forced to lug their own baggage amid piles of garbage and overflowing toilets. Television footage showed angry passengers wading through litter at the airports in New Delhi and Mumbai, as the 22,000-member Airports Authority of India Employees Union refused to call off the strike. Most flights, however, were running according to schedule since air traffic controllers have not joined the strike, airport officials said. (Posted @ 11:20 PST)
Bangladesh opposition begins long march to Dhaka DHAKA, Feb 3 (Reuters) Police in Bangladesh have detained hundreds of opposition activists in a countrywide crackdown trying to foil a "long march" planned to reach Dhaka on Sunday, opposition leaders said. "Police have detained up to 2,000 of our supporters since Thursday morning as they started to march towards the capital," Abdul Jalil, general secretary of main opposition party Awami League, said late on Thursday. Police said they would deploy tight security at all entry points to the capital to prevent mobs creating anarchy or damaging public property. (Posted @ 10:45 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 260.06 points: KARACHI, Feb 03: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 10726.46, up 260.06 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:10 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Feb 03: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 59.87 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 12:30 PST)
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