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| February 15, 2006 | Wednesday | Muharram 16, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Three Chinese engineers, driver shot dead in Pakistan QUETTA, Pakistan, Feb 15, 2006 (AFP) Gunmen on motorcycles shot dead three Chinese engineers and their driver in Hub, a remote town near Quetta, on Wednesday, police said. "The Chinese engineers working for a cement plant were on the road when their vehicle was attacked by gunmen on two motorcycles," he said. "Two of the Chinese and their driver died on the spot while another died in hospital." No one claimed responsibility for the attack.(Posted @ 19:20 PST)
Three more killed in Pakistan's third consecutive day of protests PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) Protesters burned a KFC restaurant and movie theatres in Pakistan's biggest protest yet against the blasphemous cartoons on Wednesday. Three died and dozens were injured in protests in two cities, police and witnesses said. More than 70,000 people flooded into the streets of Peshawar, torching businesses and fighting police, who struck back with tear gas and batons, a police official said. About 1,500 students surprised police in Lahore by staging an unannounced rally outside Punjab University, the official added. A 30-year-old man was shot dead in the clash with police in Lahore. Two people were reported dead in Peshawar, including an 8-year-old boy shot in the face by a bullet fired by a demonstrator, police said. At least 45 people were being treated for injuries in Peshawar's state-run hospitals, witnesses added.(First Posted @10:45 PST Updated @ 14:48 PST)
Musharraf, Karzai agree to intensify bilateral bonds ISLAMABAD, Feb 15 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai Wednesday reaffirmed the resolve to strengthen bilateral economic ties and intensify counter-terrorism efforts. The two leaders in an exclusive meeting also exchanged views on regional and international issues of common concern. Musharraf said greater cooperation between the two countries would help them effectively combat the menace of terror which retards regional progress. Karzai agreed that extremism and terrorism must be addressed in the long-term perspective.(First Posted@16:30 PST Updated@ 19:35 PST)
Afghan police seize 250 kilograms of heroin KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Feb 15, 2006 (AFP) Police in southern Zabul province seized Wednesday more than 250 kilograms of heroin packed into a fuel tanker, a police chief said.(Posted @ 20:40 PST)
French court blocks asbestos ship's transfer to India PARIS, Feb 15, 2006 (AFP) France's highest court, the State Council, on Wednesday ordered Paris to suspend the transfer to India of the asbestos-lined decommissioned warship Clemenceau. The court issued a fast-track ruling in response to complaints by Greenpeace and three anti-asbestos groups fighting to block the ship's transfer to India as an environmental and health hazard.(Posted @ 20:40 PST)
Cricket-Pakistan's Asif fined for excessive appealing MULTAN, Feb 15 (Reuters) Pace bowler Mohammad Asif has been fined 10 percent of his match fee for excessive appealing during Monday's third one-day international against India in Lahore. Asif, who took two wickets in one over during the match, pleaded guilty an International Cricket Council (ICC) hearing, the ICC said on Wednesday. Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was fined 10 percent of his match fees and the team five percent for bowling one over less than required in the five-wicket defeat to India. India lead the five-match series 2-1. The next game is in Multan on Thursday.(Posted @ 20:30 PST)
'Large number' of Pakistanis and others arrested in Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) Security forces have arrested ``a large number'' of Pakistanis and others linked to a recent spate of suicide attacks, a government spokesman in Afghanistan said Wednesday. ``The terrorists who come here for suicide attacks are attending training bases in Pakistan and are getting all their equipment there,'' an Interior Ministry spokesman said. ``We've arrested a large number who are either Pakistani or came from Pakistan,'' he said adding that he was not sure about the exact number. The allegations come as Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in Islamabad for talks with his counterpart, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.(Posted @ 20:10 PST)
New Abu Ghraib abuse photos broadcast in Australia SYDNEY, Feb 15 (Reuters) An Australian television station on Wednesday broadcast what it said were previously unpublished images of physical abuse of Iraqi prisoners inside the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. The grainy still photographs and video images show prisoners, some blood-soaked or hooded, bound to various kinds of apparatus, sometimes pictured with a smiling guard beside them. Some of the video footage apparently shows one prisoner abusing himself by bashing his own head against a wall, while other photographs appear to show corpses. The programme said some prisoners at Abu Ghraib had been killed when U.S. soldiers ran out of rubber bullets as they tried to quell a riot at the jail, and resorted to using live rounds. The TV report also said some images featured prisoners in sexually humiliating acts that were deemed too graphic to broadcast.(First Posted@10:20 PST Updated@ 19:20 PST)
Two Russian soldiers killed, three wounded in Chechnya ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia (AP) Two Russian soldiers died and another three were wounded in armed clashes with freedom fighters in Chechnya, the local Interior Ministry said Wednesday. The militants managed to get away, according to the ministry. Meanwhile, in neighbouring Dagestan, security forces detained a suspected militant commander, identified as Isa Mazhidov, officials added.(Posted @ 18:05 PST)
Kashmiri leader accepts India's talks offer SRINAGAR, India (AP) Kashmir's top pro-independence leader on Wednesday accepted Indian prime minister's invitation for talks and said he would demand direct participation of Kashmiri representatives in India-Pakistan talks. The talks are scheduled for Feb. 17 in the Indian capital. ``After deliberations, the JKLF decided to accept the invitation,'' Yasin Malik, chief of the Jammmu-Kashmir Liberation Front, told reporters in Srinagar. ``I will urge the prime minister that Kashmiris (directly) should be included and engaged in the peace process between India and Pakistan,'' Malik said on Wednesday. ``I will try to convince him (Singh) for a tripartite process and not merely use us as political jokers for photo opportunities,'' Malik said.(Posted @ 18:05 PST)
Two Afghan intelligence agents abducted and killed KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) Suspected Taliban rebels abducted two Afghan intelligence agents in a western province and killed them, dumping their nearly decapitated bodies in the desert, officials said Wednesday. The men were kidnapped while riding motorbikes in the countryside in Farah province Monday and their bodies were discovered a day later.(Posted @ 18:00 PST)
German court scraps law on downing hijacked planes KARLSRUHE, Germany, Feb 15 (Reuters) A law allowing the German air force to shoot down errant planes to prevent a suicide attack is against the constitution and must be scrapped, the country's highest court ruled on Wednesday. The law was incompatible with human dignity and the basic right to life as the people in the hijacked aircraft would be used to save others and reduced to mere objects, it said.(Posted @ 17:28 PST)
Opposition strike shuts down Bangladesh DHAKA, Feb 15 (Reuters) Nearly 50 people were injured in clashes between police and activists in Bangladesh on Wednesday during an anti-government strike. The strike shut down schools, paralysed transport and closed shops and businesses in most parts of the country. The clashes came in the capital Dhaka, and several other places, witnesses and newspaper reporters said. Police were seen detaining some protesters. "Time is up for this government, they should allow free and fair election under an independent election commission," said Begum Matia Chowdhury, a leader of the main opposition Awami League, as she led a march to enforce the strike in the capital. (First Posted 11:40 PST Updated @ 15:00 PST)
Kyrgyzstan wants U.S. to pay more for military base ALMATY, Feb 15 (Reuters) Kyrgyzstan wants the United States to pay 100 times more for the use of a military base in the Central Asian country, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was quoted as saying on Wednesday. "Until today, the rent has been just over $2 million. According to our new calculations they will be paying $207 million," Bakiyev told Russia's Kommersant newspaper. (First @ 15:00 PST)
Israeli army kills Palestinian youth JENIN, West Bank, Feb 15 (Reuters) Israeli soldiers killed a 20 year old Palestinian man who had a toy gun with him during a West Bank raid on Wednesday in the village of Qabatiya, local residents said. (Posted @ 15:00 PST)
Two suspected militants arrested in Pakistani tribal area MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, Feb 15, 2006 (AFP) Two suspected militants of Central Asian origin were arrested at Khajuri checkpost in North Waziristan tribal district late Tuesday, intelligence officials said Wednesday. "They have Central Asian features and most probably belong to Uzbekistan. We are investigating their nationality and links with militants," the official added. (Posted @ 14:55 PST)
Security incidents in Iraq, Feb 15 Baghdad, Feb 15 (Reuters) Three children were killed when a roadside bomb went off near a primary school in an impoverished area of central Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said. The bodies of four people with hands bound and gunshot wounds to the head were found in the Shula district of the capital, police said. The bodies showed signs of torture, police added. A police captain was killed along with his driver by gunmen while he was heading to work in southern Baghdad, police said. Eight civilians were arrested by U.S forces in Duluiya, 40 km north of Baghdad, police said. Three others were arrested in Yathrib, near Balad, 90 km north of Baghdad. The U.S. military had no immediate comment. (Posted @ 14:20 PST)
Iran confirms date for Russian nuclear talks-Interfax MOSCOW, Feb 15 (Reuters) Iran has confirmed to Russia that a delegation will come to Moscow for nuclear talks on Feb. 20, an official at the Russian Embassy in Tehran said, the Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday. "The Iranian side has given an official notification of arrival on the 20th and it was accepted by the Russian side," said Vyacheslav Moshkalo, a counsellor at the Russian Embassy in Tehran, according to Interfax. (Posted @ 14:20 PST)
Indonesia trade group starts Danish product boycott JAKARTA, Feb 15 (Reuters) Indonesian importers started a boycott of Danish products on Wednesday in protest against the blasphemous cartoons originating in Denmark. "This boycott will end after the government of Denmark apologises to the Islamic community in Indonesia and the world," said Amiruddin Saud, head of the 7,800-member strong Association of Indonesian National Importers. Saud told a news conference that Indonesia imported Danish goods, mainly food products, worth $73.8 million last. (Posted @ 14:20 PST)
Israel threatens to cut all ties with Palestinians JERUSALEM, Feb 15, 2006 (AFP) Israel will immediately cut all contact with the Palestinian Authority if the next prime minister is affiliated to Hamas, Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said in an interview published Wednesday. "If the Palestinians choose a parliament speaker and prime minister who are affiliated with Hamas, Israel will immediately sever all contact with the Palestinian Authority," Mofaz told the Yediot Aharonot ahead of Saturday's inauguration of the new Palestinian parliament. (Posted @ 14:10 PST)
Three Iraqis working for British military kidnapped BASRA, Iraq, Feb 15, 2006 (AFP) - Three Iraqi employees of the British military base in Basra were kidnapped from their homes on Monday, a British official said Wednesday. (Posted @ 12:20 PST)
Taliban commander arrested, school torched in Afghanistan KABUL, Feb 15, 2006 (AFP) Afghan security forces have captured a mid-level Taliban commander after his men torched a school in southern Afghanistan, a government official said Wednesday. Mullah Shah Nazar, a district governor in southern Kandahar province during the Taliban's 1996-2001 rule, was arrested late Tuesday after his men set ablaze a school in Ghazni province, the interior ministry said. Villagers had been able to douse the flames at the high school but some classrooms were destroyed, it said. (Posted @ 12:20 PST)
Pakistan deports 562 Afghan illegal immigrants KARACHI, Pakistan, Feb 15 (AP) _ Pakistan on Wednesday released and deported 562 Afghans who had been jailed in Karachi for up to six months on charges of illegal immigration. The release came ahead of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's arrival Wednesday in Pakistan for a three-day visit. The Afghans were taken by 12 buses to the border, Karachi jail official said. They were escorted by police and Afghan diplomats. The Afghans were arrested in and around Karachi in the past six months as part of a crackdown on illegal workers. Afghan diplomat Abdul Muqtadir Frozenfur said only 17 Afghan children, aged 10-14, remained in custody in Karachi on visa offences. They were kept in a detention facility separate from the adult prison. Negotiations were continuing for their release as well, he said. Most Afghans released were men, he said. (Posted @ 11:40 PST)
Iraq: Homemade bomb near Baghdad liquor shop kills three BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb 15 (AP) A homemade bomb exploded near a Baghdad liquor shop on Wednesday, killing three passersby and wounding two, police said. The blast completely destroyed the liquor shop and damaged several other shops as well. (Posted @ 11:40 PST)
Denmark rejects Basra council call to leave Iraq COPENHAGEN, Feb 15, 2006 (AFP) - Denmark on Tuesday rejected a call by the city council in Basra, to withdraw its troops until Copenhagen apologizes for the publication in a Danish newspaper of the blasphemous cartoons. "The council's decision has no influence on our presence in Iraq," Defence Minister Soeren Gade told journalists before a meeting with the foreign affairs committee in the Danish parliament. The council's resolution came as thousands demonstrated in front of the British and US consulates in Basra. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen told journalists that it was up to Iraqi authorities to decide on the issue of Danish troops. "We would like, after what we've heard from the local authorities in Basra, a clear declaration from the Iraqi government that it still wants us to be there," Rasmussen said. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)
US Marine killed in Iraq's Anbar province BAGHDAD, Feb 15, 2006 (AFP) A US Marine was killed in the eastern part of Iraq's restive Al Anbar province by a roadside bomb which also wounded two other members of the patrol on Tuesday, a US military spokesman said. In a separate incident, another bomb injured four US army soldiers on patrol in the Baghdad neighborhood of Salam, he added. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)
Canadian PM laments publication of Prophet caricatures OTTAWA, Feb 15, 2006 (AFP) Prime Minister Stephen Harper lamented Tuesday a Canadian magazine's publication of blasphemous cartoons that have caused an uproar around the world. "Free speech is a right that all Canadians enjoy," Harper said in a statement. "Canadians also have the right to voice their opinion on the free speech of others. I regret the publication of this material in several media outlets." "While we understand this issue is divisive, our government wishes that people be respectful of the beliefs of others," he said. "I commend the Canadian Muslim community for voicing its opinion peacefully, respectfully and democratically." In Canada, only one Francophone, one Jewish and one student newspaper had published them. University officials quickly pulled the student tabloid off news stands. (Posted @ 10:45 PST)
Strong earthquake hits Mariana Islands region: USGS WASHINGTON, Feb 15, 2006 (AFP) An earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale hit the Mariana Islands region of the western Pacific Ocean Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said on its website. The "strong" quake struck at 1527 GMT Tuesday, about 625 kilometers north of the island of Saipan at a depth of 53 kilometers .There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Muslims burn Danish flags in Philippines over cartoons MANILA, Feb 15, 2006 (AFP) About 600 Filipino Muslims on Wednesday burned Danish flags in a noisy protest against controversial cartoons outside the Danish consulate in Manila. "Behead those who insult Islam," said one placard hoisted by the protesters as they burned or ripped apart at least four Danish flags. A small contingent of riot police watched the demonstration from a distance but did not intervene. Statements distributed at the rally condemned Denmark for not charging the newspaper publisher who was the first to print the caricatures last September. The protesters dispersed peacefully after more than an hour. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
US terror database contains 325,000 names: report WASHINGTON, Feb 15, 2006 (AFP) The US National Counterterrorism Center maintains a list of 325,000 names of alleged international terrorism suspects or people who aid them, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. Citing unnamed counterterrorism officials, the newspaper said the number has more than quadrupled since the fall of 2003. US citizens make up "only a very, very small fraction" of that number, The Post said, quoting an administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "The vast majority are non-U.S. persons and do not live in the US," the paper quoted the official as saying. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 339.23 points: KARACHI, Feb 15: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 11259.32, up 339.23 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:30 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Feb 15: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 59.95 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:30 PST)
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