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| February 4, 2006 | Saturday | Muharram 5, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
One killed, 35 injured in Pakistan train derailment MULTAN, Pakistan, Feb 4, 2006 (Agencies) At least one person was killed and 35 others injured early Saturday when the Karakoram Express train derailed in Bahawalpur 100 kilometres south of Multan at around 3:30 am, officials said. "Eleven coaches of the Karakoram Express derailed apparently due to track problems," Pakistan Railways head Shakeel Durrani said. Around 600 to 700 people were on the train, which was en route from Karachi to Lahore, he said. Ambulances were sent to the scene of the accident. Hundreds of passengers had to make their way out of the derailed train by breaking window panes in the night. Edhi sources said 15 of the injured were shifted to Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur. According to Railway control room, the cause of accident was yet to be ascertained. According to Director casualties at B.V. hospital Bahawalpur one woman, Sabira W/O Nabi Bakhsh from Lahore died in the accident while Mustakim, Muhammad Aqil, Abdul Waheed, Ejaz, Zahid Abbas, Muhammad Akram, Muhammad Arshad, Ali Akbar, Shahid Ahmad, Shaheen, Hafsa, Rana Imtiaz, Muhammad Sarwar, Pervez Masih, Muhammad Yousaf, Shahid Yousaf, Shaheen Atique, Saeed Ghauri, Shaista Sajjid, Muhammad Arif, Imran, Kashif, Shahid Butt Naseer Ahmad, Zahid, Aslam, Ch. Bashir and Sohaib were being treated for injuries.(First Posted @10:10 PST Updated @ 12:30)
UN nuclear watchdog reports Iran to Security Council VIENNA, Feb 4, 2006 (AFP) - The UN nuclear watchdog voted Saturday to send Iran to the UN Security Council over concerns that Tehran is developing atomic weapons, a diplomat said. But the resolution, passed by 27-3, puts off any UN action against Iran for at least a month, to give time for diplomacy to work before the next meeting in Vienna in March of the IAEA. IAEA director general Mohamed ElBaradei will be filing a detailed report and assessment of the Iranian nuclear program for this March 6 meeting. The text is a compromise between the US desire for immediate Security Council action against Iran and Russia's demand for a delay for more diplomacy. The vote at was delayed Friday when Egypt insisted on adding a clause implying that Israel should give up its alleged atomic weapons. The United States said this was a separate issue from the Iranian problem but Egypt pushed for a reference to a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the Middle East to be included in the resolution in order to represent Arab concerns over Israel's alleged nuclear weapons capacity, diplomats said. The United States finally accepted a wording that stressed "weapons of mass destruction" instead of just nuclear arms, as this lifted the exclusive focus on Israel, a diplomat said.(Posted @ 16:38 PST)
President Musharraf's message on Kashmir Solidarity Day ISLAMABAD, Feb 4 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf emphasizing the need to end violence and human rights abuses in the Indian held Kashmir reiterated his proposal of demilitarization in the region to raise the comfort level of Kashmiris. In his message on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day being observed on February 5, the President said an enabling environment was necessary for the success of the peace process between Pakistan and India to resolve the Kashmir issue. "Rigidity and violence must give way to flexibility and positive engagement," he said. Musharraf further said: "We are engaged in a sincere and purposeful dialogue with India to resolve all outstanding issues for bold decisions and 'out of box' thinking to resolve this dispute. Given sincerity, courage and flexibility, we can work for a solution of the Kashmir dispute that is acceptable to all parties especially the Kashmiri people, Pakistan is prepared to show flexibility provided there is reciprocity from the other side."(Posted @ 18:14 PST)
Demonstrators burn Norway embassy in Damascus DAMASCUS, Feb 4, 2006 (AFP) - Angry demonstrators stormed the Norwegian embassy in Damascus Saturday and set it on fire after having earlier attacked the Danish embassy and done the same thing, an AFP reporter said. AFP ADDS - The Danish government on Saturday called on Danish nationals to leave Syria immediately, the Ritzau news agency reported after demonstrators stormed the Danish embassy in Damascus and set it aflame.(Posted @ 23:50 PST)
Iran denies report of order to resume atomic work TEHRAN, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Iran on Saturday denied a report carried by the Mehr news agency that the president had ordered the resumption of nuclear fuel work in response to Iran's case being sent to the U.N. Security Council. "President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has not taken any fresh measures today," said a spokesman for the presidential office. The spokesman added the letter carried by Mehr was written by Ahmadinejad late last year after parliament first passed legislation to resume uranium enrichment. He said this decree had not been issued to Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation.(Posted @ 23:40 PST)
List of injured people treated for first aid in train accident released Lahore, Feb 4 (APP): The following injured people in the Karakoram Express incident were discharged Saturday after provision of first aid: Muhammad Asif S/o Mukhtar Aalam, North Nazimabad, Karachi, (2) Kashif S/o Riaz Ud Din, Ghulistan-e-Johar, Karachi, 021-4014949, (3) Shahid Ahmed Butt S/o Rehmat Ullah, Shad Bagh Lahore 042-7280445, (4) Muhammad Nazir S/o Noor Muhammad, Housing Colony, Sheikhupura, 3784647 (5) Sohaib S/o Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Manzoor Colony Karachi No.44 (6) Zahid S/o Lal Khan, Manzoor Colony Karachi No.44 (7) Muhammad Aslam S/o Muhammad Musa, G.T. Road Muridke (8) Abdul Waheed S/o Abdul Qadeer, Karachi (9) Zahid Abbas S/o Muhammad Iqbal, Zila Kutchery, Malik Park, Lahore (10) Muhammad Yousaf S/o Abdul Ghaffar. (11) Ijaz Ahmed S/o Muhammad Ramzan, 220-C, Satellite Town Bahawalpur (12) Pervaiz Masih S/o Ghulam Masih, Sector 30-A, 690, Karachi 0300-2617164 (13) Muhammad Akram S/o Muhammad Akbar, Peoples Colony Gujranwala (14) Rana Imtiaz S/o Haji Nazir, Lahore (15) Ch.Bashir Ahmad s/o Muhammad Tufail,Muridkey (16) Hafsa d/o Muhammad Ilyas 27-5,Union ch. colony ,Samnabad ,Lahore (17) Muhammad Saeed Ghouri S/o Amtul Majeed, Lahore (18) Mrs. Shaheen Attique W/o Attique Ur Rehman, Azam Town, Mehmood Abad Karachi (19) Attique Ur Rehman S/o Idrees Ahmed, Azam Town, Mehmood Abad Karachi (20) Sahta D/o Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Manzoor Colony Karachi (21) Sajida W/o Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Manzoor Colony Karachi (22) Shahid Yousaf S/o Muhammad Yousaf, Scheme Mor Lahore (23) Imran S/o Muhammad Yousaf Khokhar, Manzoor Colony, Mehmood Abad Karachi.(Posted @ 12:35 PST)
Danish political right and left march over blasphemous cartoons COPENHAGEN, Feb 4, 2006 (AFP) - Danes on the far left and extreme right took to the streets on Saturday, adding a political dimension to a blistering row over blasphemous cartoons published in a Danish newspaper. A few hundred leftists gathered near the railway station of Hilleroed, some 30 kilometres northeast of Copenhagen. The marchers, many of them clad in black and bearing banners urging people to "Crush the Nazis", turned out to a peaceful protest against another march by the extreme-right grouping Danish Front, which started an hour later from the same spot. "We say no to the racist and ignorant Danish Front demonstration against Muslims in Denmark and in the world," Daniel Savi, a local secretary of march organizers SFU, the youth wing of the Socialist People's party, told AFP. Danish Muslims joined the left-wing demonstration "because we want to show the world that Muslims are not terrorists", one demonstrator said. In another demonstration Saturday, an initiative called "mutual respect" brought together 2,000 people in Frederiksberg, near Copenhagen, to march for "respect and dialogue", Danish media reported.(Posted @ 20:38 PST)
Demonstrators set fire to Danish embassy in Damascus DAMASCUS, Feb 4, 2006 (AFP) - Demonstrators angered over blasphemous cartoons in a Danish newspaper broke into the Danish embassy in Damascus Saturday, setting a fire that gutted it, an AFP correspondent said. The embassy is located on the first floor of a three-storey building that also houses the Swedish and Chilean missions.(Posted @ 20:23 PST)
Three Pakistani soldiers killed in blast near Afghan border WANA, Pakistan, Feb 4, 2006 (AFP) - Three Pakistani soldiers were killed and one injured Saturday when suspected militants detonated an explosive device in the rugged South Waziristan tribal area, bordering Paktika province in Afghanistan, officials said. The roadside device went off as a convoy of paramilitary Frontier Corps was returning to Wana, a security official said. The blast took place in Zarmilan town, some 40 kilometers southwest of Wana. Three soldiers were wounded and two of them with serious injuries later died in the hospital, officials said. Militants also blew up a Pakistani check post in the area late Friday, another official said Saturday. Armed men entered the check post in Musanika town some three kilometres from the Afghan border, briefly held its staff hostage and blew up the post. Before fleeing the area the assailants released the hostages unharmed, he said. Meanwhile, Pakistani troops Saturday seized "a large quantity" of arms and ammunition from a truck heading to Datakhel near Miranshah, the main town in the adjoining tribal region of North Waziristan, a military official said. The weapons including rockets, heavy guns, shells and landmines as well as sleeping bags, were concealed under timber loaded on the truck. The driver escaped.(Posted @ 20:15 PST)
Iran vows pipeline to Pakistan if India drops out TEHRAN, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Iran will press ahead with a contentious gas pipeline to Pakistan even if India does not meet a May deadline to join the project, an Iranian deputy oil minister was quoted as saying on Saturday. "We will enact the Iran-Pakistan natural gas purchase agreement and start building a pipeline without India if we do not reach an accord with the Indians by May," Iran's Deputy Oil Minister Mohammad Hadi Nejad-Hosseinian was quoted as saying by the Poul financial daily.(Posted @ 20:12 PST)
Indian airport workers call off anti-privatisation strike NEW DELHI, Feb 4, 2006 (AFP) - Indian airport workers on Saturday called off a four-day anti-privatisation strike that had created chaos at the nation's airports. The decision follows government’s written promise that none of the employees of state-run Airports Authority of India would lose their jobs in the privatisation of the New Delhi and Mumbai airports, said M.K. Ghoshal, head of the New Delhi branch of the union representing over 22,000 employees nationwide. Ghoshal made the statement after a 90-minute meeting between Aviation Minister Praful Patel and union leaders in New Delhi.(Posted @ 19:10 PST)
Vatican deplores blasphemous cartoons GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip, Feb 4 (AP) _ In its first official comments on the blasphemous cartoons, the Vatican, while deploring violent protests, said certain forms of criticism represent an ``unacceptable provocation.'' ``The right to freedom of thought and expression ... cannot entail the right to offend the religious sentiment of believers,'' the Vatican said in a statement. Meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinians turned out for protests again on Saturday. In Gaza City, demonstrators hurled stones at a European Commission building and stormed a German cultural centre, smashing windows and doors. Protesters also burned German and Danish flags, and called for a boycott of Danish products. At least 500 Israeli Arabs gathered peacefully in Nazareth for the first protest against the blasphemous cartoons on Israeli soil.(Posted @ 18:56 PST)
Blasphemous cartoons spark new demonstrations in Europe COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) Angry_ demonstrators took to the streets in Denmark and Britain on Saturday to protest against the blasphemous cartoons as European leaders tried to keep a wave of outrage from escalating further. In Copenhagen, about 300 Muslims demonstrated, some clashing briefly with police at the downtown train station after they were stopped from boarding a train to go to Hilleroed, 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of the capital, where a larger demonstration was planned later in the day. Some threw rocks and bottles at police but no one was injured, officials said. Two were detained. In London, about 700 demonstrators rallied outside Denmark's embassy Saturday, police said. In an attempt to cool the situation, European leaders made repeated pleas for dialogue and mutual respect. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she understood Muslims' were hurt over the cartoons. ``Freedom of the press is one of the great assets as a component of democracy, but we also have the value and asset of freedom of religion,'' Merkel told an international security conference. Poland's prime minister criticized a Polish newspaper for reprinting the images.(Posted @ 18:53 PST)
US troops to provide $ 6 m for quake relief RAWALPINDI, Feb 04(PPI) United States forces will provide to Pakistan over six million dollars for relief and rehabilitation of quake affected people Commander Disaster Assistance Centre, Rear Admiral Michael Le Fever, told a news conference Saturday. He said phased withdrawal of US military beginning this month will end on the 31st of next month. He said after this US support will continue in Pakistan through the USAID. Two US mobile surgical hospitals in Muzaffarabad and Shinkiari will be handed over to Pakistan. In Shinkiari area, twelve health care centers are functioning to full strength., while the US Navy Mobile Construction Battalion is working with their Pakistani military counterparts to hand over bulldozers, heavy dump truck and generators to help in relief and rehabilitation work.(Posted @ 18:24 PST)
Rail track repaired after Karakoram Express derailment ISLAMABAD, Feb 4 (APP): Railway track has been repaired and traffic restored between Lahore and Karachi after five hours of the derailment of Lahore-bound Karakoram Express. Eleven coaches and engine of the train had derailed near Samasatta in the wee hours of Saturday. Federal Minister for Railways Mian Shamim Hyder has ordered an inquiry and has also announced compensation of Rs. 2,00,000 for the family of deceased woman and Rs. 50,000 for each injured.(Posted @ 18:00 PST)
Ch. Shujaat, Mushahid meet Chairman ERRA ISLAMABAD, Feb 4 (APP): President Pakistan Muslim League (PML) Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Secretary General Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed called on Chairman Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) Lt. General Muhammad Zubair Saturday who briefed them about ongoing projects and the future strategy to reconstruct the quake affected areas. During the meeting, it was decided that widows living in Hatian Bala camp be given a monthly stipend of Rs. 6000 for a period of one year.(Posted @ 17:54 PST)
Kashmiris to always remember Pakistanis support after quake: Prof. Bhatt ISLAMABAD, Feb 4 (APP): The APHC leader Professor Abdul Ghani Bhatt said Saturday that Kashmir Solidarity Day being observed tomorrow (Feb 5) has gained additional significance after the October 8 earthquake. The world must know that Pakistan and Kashmir are one nation and cannot be separated by Line of Control far long, he said in an interview with APP. "Such unnatural lines will be erased from the map of the world like the Berlin wall", Professor Bhatt said. If the Kashmir dispute is not resolved through bilateral negotiations, according to the wishes of Kashmiri people, the entire South Asia region will be under the threat of destruction as both India and Pakistan have become nuclear powers, he warned.(Posted @ 17:50 PST)
Sultan urges President Bush to meet Kashmiri leaders ISLAMABAD, Feb 4 (APP): Leader of Opposition in AJK Legislative Assembly, Barrister Sultan Mehmood has urged US President George Bush to meet Kashmiri leadership living on both sides of Kashmir during his proposed visit to South Asia so that they could apprise him about true picture of Kashmir issue. In meetings with senior officials of the US State Department in Washington, he said the US should help resolve Kashmir issue as all disputes between India and Pakistan were resolved through mediation. He cited the examples of International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the World Bank (WB) which helped resolve issues of Run Kuch and distribution of water between the two nations. (Posted @ 17:35 PST)
UN urged to implement its resolutions on Kashmir ISLAMABAD, Feb 4 (APP): Parliament's Kashmir Committee Saturday presented a memorandum to UN officials demanding solution of the long-standing issue in accordance with UN resolutions. Minister Muhammad Nasir Khan Mengal, MNAs Raja NadirPervaiz,Raja Pervaiz Ashraf,Mushtaq Victor and Senator Mohim Khan Baloch presented the memorandum to UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan Jan Vandemoortele. They told him India has deployed over seven lakh troops in occupied valley which are involved in gross human rights violations. Jan Vandenmoortele said he was happy that Kashmir was on the agenda of comprehensive dialogue between India and Pakistan and stressed that flexibility by all parties is vital for the permanent solution of the dispute. The memorandum said that India has deployed over 7 lakh troops in occupied Kashmir, and over 90,000 Kashmiris have been martyred by the Indian occupation forces out of which 6,795 were martyred during custody. Pakistan proposals for demilitarisation and self-governance should be taken as initial steps to defuse a potentially volatile situation, the memorandum added. (Posted @ 17:25 PST)
Islamic militancy a 'war within Islam': Rumsfeld MUNICH, Germany, Feb 4, 2006 (AFP) - Islamic extremism around the world was the product of a war within the Muslim religion, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Saturday in a speech here that urged unity between Europe and the United States. "In this long war, the enemies try to cast the struggle as a war between the West and the Muslim world. In fact it is not, it is more a war within the Muslim world," Rumsfeld said at the Munich Conference on Security Policy. "We need to encourage the moderates in that religion," Rumsfeld said, citing a survey that he said showed increasing support for democratic government in the Middle East and growing opposition to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. "Most of the people in the Middle East do not share the violent ideology of Al-Qaeda and other violent extremists. They do not want the terrorists to prevail," he added. The speech harked back to Euro-Atlantic cooperation during the Cold War and appealed for greater unity in what he said was a war with Iraq as its central front. "It's important that our countries work from the same sheet of music," he told an audience of heads of state, defence ministers and high-ranking officials.(Posted @ 16:55 PST)
Iran to do full-scale uranium enrichment in response to IAEA vote VIENNA, Feb 4, 2006 (AFP) - Iran is to move ahead on full-scale uranium enrichment in retaliation for being brought before the UN Security Council over its disputed nuclear program, a senior Iranian official said Saturday. "Our government has to implement full-scale enrichment," Javad Vaidi, head of the Iranian delegation to an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting told reporters.(Posted @ 16:50 PST)
378 survivors in Egypt ferry tragedy SAFAGA, Egypt, Feb 4, 2006 (AFP) - Three hundred and seventy eight people have been found alive up until now out of the 1,400 people on board an Egyptian ferry that sank in the Red Sea, head of the Red Sea port authority told AFP Saturday without giving a toll for the number of dead.(First Posted @ 17:05 PST Updated @ 19:12 PST)
One thousand missing or dead in Egypt ferry tragedy SAFAGA, Egypt, Feb 4, 2006 (AFP) - Amid dwindling hopes of finding more survivors, rescuers scoured the Red Sea Saturday for the hundreds still missing after an ageing Egyptian ferry with over 1,300 passengers on board sank in one of the gravest maritime accidents in recent years. Maritime sources said 354 people had been pulled out of the sea alive but less than half that number were confirmed to have reached the shores safe and sound. On the other hand, a police official said late Friday that 185 bodies had been recovered, while only 145 survivors were brought to hospitals. An additional 40 survivors arrived early Saturday, an AFP correspondent said.(Posted @ 16:46 PST)
Afghanistan battle leaves 25 dead; six more killed KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Feb 4, 2006 (AFP) - Taliban rebels fleeing a major battle that left 25 dead in southern Afghanistan killed a district chief and two policemen, officials said. Elsewhere, two people were killed and three wounded in a bomb blast in a bazaar in Kandahar, while a Taliban commander was killed in a clash late Friday with police on the border with Pakistan, police said.Taliban militants retreating from the battle in Helmand province's Sangin district attacked the district headquarters in nearby Musa Qala late Friday, and killed district chief Abdul Qodus and one of his police guards. They also killed a policeman as they stormed through adjoining Nawzad district. The fierce battle in Sangin on Friday left around 20 Taliban fighters and five policemen dead. The Musa Qala battle had lasted four hours, ministry spokesman Yousuf Stanizai said, adding that five "enemy" fighters had been killed in the Nawzad fighting. A purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Mohammad Yousuf, confirmed the fighting in Helmand but said the clashes in Nawzad and Musa Qala did not involve fighters fleeing Sangin but rather reinforcements on their way to assist them. In other violence, a remotely detonated roadside bomb killed two people and wounded three others Saturday in a bazaar in Kandahar. Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility. And in Kandahar province's volatile Maiwand district, a landmine exploded under a taxi late Friday causing two people to lose part of their legs, district chief Mohammad Nabi Edari said. Also Friday, Taliban commander Mullah Samad, who had been leading dozens of men operating in villages in Kandahar province, was killed in fighting with police, a senior police official said on condition of anonymity.(First Posted @ 11:30 PST Updated @ 16:22 PST)
Sri Lankan President talks unity ahead of key talks COLOMBO, Feb 4 (Reuters) Sri Lankan President Mahinda made a firm stand against rebel demands for a Tamil homeland on Saturday as tanks and rocket launchers rolled along the capital's seafront in an Independence Day show of force. "This country belongs to Sinhala, Muslim, Tamil, everybody," Rajapakse said. "By dividing this country we cannot solve this problem. It would worsen the situation." (Posted @ 12:50 PST)
Tennis-Hingis stuns Sharapova to reach Tokyo final TOKYO, Feb 4 (Reuters) Martina Hingis stunned top seed Maria Sharapova 6-3 6-1 to reach the first final of her comeback at the Pan Pacific Open on Saturday.(Posted @ 10:42 PST)
Death toll in Manila stampede rises to 88, 3 hundred injured MANILA, Feb 4 (Reuters) The death toll in a stampede at a stadium in the Philippine capital Manila on Saturday rose to 88 & more then 3 hundred injured, Vice President Noli de Castro said on television. Most of the dead were elderly women. The stampede occurred as people scrambled to get tickets for a popular television game show. The victims were crushed against a closed steel gate at the bottom of a slope or trampled underfoot. (First Posted@10:00 PST Updated@ 16:55 PST)
Strong quake hits India's Andaman islands SINGAPORE, Feb 4 (Reuters) A strong earthquake measuring 6.0 hit India's Andaman islands early on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. The epicentre of the earthquake was located 45 km northwest of Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar islands, it said on its Web site There were no immediate reports of damage.(Posted @ 9:45 PST)
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