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| February 20, 2006 | Monday | Muharram 21, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan committed to strong China ties: Musharraf BEIJING, Feb 20 (Reuters) President Pervez Musharraf voiced his nation's regret on Monday over the murder of three Chinese engineers in Pakistan and said his country was committed to strong relations with Beijing. The Feb. 15 attack in Karachi was the work of "a few who do not want to see the development of Pakistan and who do not want to see the increasing cooperation between Pakistan and China", Musharraf told Chinese President Hu Jintao at the start of talks in Beijing. "We regret this incident and we have a resolve to get to the bottom of the issue and bring all the culprits to book," he added. Musharraf met Hu in the Great Hall of the People after talks with Wu Bangguo, chairman of China's National People's Congress. Hu called Musharraf an "old friend of the Chinese people" and praised him for having made "an important contribution to the development of our relations". China presented its assurances on Monday in the form of 13 bilateral agreements covering trade, defence, energy and a $300 million loan from the Import-Export Bank of China, signed after Hu and Musharraf concluded their talks. Another agreement paved the way for Chinese assistance in rebuilding the Karakoram Highway in northern Pakistan. Pakistan and China aim to lift two-way trade to $8 billion by 2008, and are also discussing a free trade agreement. (First Posted @ 12:40 PST Updated @ 19:34 PST)
Iran-Russia talks end without deal, but set to resume MOSCOW, Feb 20, 2006 (AFP) Iranian and Russian officials wound up talks Monday on a Russian plan to resolve Iran's nuclear standoff without agreement, but promised to keep talking. "The talks at the Kremlin with the Iranian delegation have ended…Agreement was reached on continuing the negotiations," Interfax news agency quoted the Russian security council as saying. There was no immediate indication of when or where the talks might resume.(First Posted @ 12:40 PST Updated @ 23:40 PST)
Bosnia to kill 4,500 poultry after H5 virus confirmed SARAJEVO, Feb 20, 2006 (AFP) Bosnia on Monday ordered the slaughter of nearly 4,500 poultry after additional tests confirmed wild swans in a central region of the Balkan country had the H5 bird flu virus.(Posted @ 23:22 PST)
British historian Irving admits to denying Holocaust VIENNA, Feb 20, 2006 (AFP) British historian David Irving admitted in an Austrian court Monday to having denied the Holocaust in 1989 but said he no longer holds that view. "I acknowledge my guilt on this charge," Irving said, seated behind a witness stand facing the judge. Irving, who faces a possible 10 years in jail, said he now realized his statement that "there were no gas chambers in Auschwitz (was) false." Irving said he had changed his mind since 1989 after discovering documents, some of them from Adolf Eichmann who organized the Nazi genocide of the Jews, while on a trip in Argentina. (First Posted @ 10:20 PST Updated @ 22:42 PST)
Understanding Islam can lead to better interfaith harmony: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, Feb 20 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Monday said understanding of Islam can lead to better interfaith harmony, stemming recurrence of events like the publication of blasphemous cartoons. Talking to a nine-member delegation of British parliamentarians who called on him here at the PM house, he said he would discuss measures for interfaith harmony with the British Prime Minister Tony Blair when he meets him early next month.(Posted @ 22:15 PST)
Pakistan bans poultry imports from India, Iran, and France KARACHI, Feb 20, 2006 (AFP) Pakistan has banned all imports of poultry and live birds from India, Iran and France after the countries reported cases of H5N1 bird flu, officials said Monday. Authorities are to set up quarantine facilities on a newly opened rail link between India and Pakistan while 12 monitoring teams have fanned out across the country, officials said. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said that Pakistan had no plans to seal its borders with India or Iran and that it was ready to cooperate with other countries to check the spread of bird flu. "Of course we are very, very concerned because such deadly viruses do not recognise international borders and as we speak there are some meetings being held as to what steps we can take," she told reporters.(First Posted@16:00 PST Updated @ 22:10 PST)
Two suspected militants killed, tribesmen injured in North Waziristan MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan (AP): Two suspected Uzbek militants were killed in a clash with villagers Monday in North Waziristan tribal region, an intelligence official said. A tribesman was injured in the attack in the village of Sokhel.(Posted @ 22:05 PST)
UN faults Israel for halting funds to Palestinians JERUSALEM, Feb 20 (Reuters) The U.N. envoy to the Middle East raised objections on Monday to Israel's decision to withhold tax funds from the Palestinian Authority after a Hamas-led parliament was sworn in. Special Envoy Alvaro de Soto called the decision unhelpful and premature. "These are monies that belong to the Palestinians and should not be withheld," de Soto said. "…The formation of a new government and the approval of its programme should be awaited and that actions prior to that would be premature," he added.(Posted @ 21:56 PST)
Islamic Jihad rejects Hamas call to join government GAZA, Feb 20 (Reuters) Islamic Jihad turned down an invitation by Hamas on Monday to join the next Palestinian government, an Islamic Jihad leader said. "We will not participate in the government but we will stand beside Hamas in the project of resistance to protect the interests of our people," Islamic Jihad leader Nafez Azzam told reporters after talks with Hamas officials.(Posted @ 21:40 PST)
Protests against blasphemous cartoon in Afghanistan, Nepal JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Feb 20 (Reuters) Hundreds of Afghans protested Monday against the blasphemous cartoons in Jalalabad. The protestors demanded President Karzai to close the embassies of Denmark, United States and France and expel their forces from Afghanistan. In Nepal, about 5,000 people marched through the western town of Nepalgunj and presented a memorandum to the chief bureaucrat of the town.(Posted @ 21:35 PST)
Bombs kill 19 in Iraq BAGHDAD, Feb 20 (Reuters) Three bombs killed at least 19 people in Iraq on Monday. The bloodiest attack took place in the Kadhimiya district of central Baghdad, where a suicide bomber strapped with explosives climbed aboard a bus and blew himself up, killing at least 12 people, Interior Ministry sources said. In Mosul, a bomb planted inside a restaurant killed four civilians and one policeman, police said. A car bomb exploded near a local council building in southeast Baghdad, killing at least two people and wounding 11, police said.( First Posted @ 11:25 PST Updated @ 21:30 PST)
Pope condemns blasphemous cartoons VATICAN CITY, Feb 20 (Reuters) Pope Benedict, in a clear reference to the blasphemous cartoons controversy said on Monday that the world's religions and their symbols had to be respected. "…In order to promote peace and understanding between peoples and mankind, it is both vital and urgent that religions and their symbols are respected and that believers are not the object of provocations that wound their religious feelings," he said.(Posted @ 21:20 PST)
Four policemen killed by rebels in India's Manipur GUWAHATI, India, Feb 20 (Reuters) Four policemen and a civilian were killed on Monday in an ambush by separatist guerrillas in India's restive northeastern state of Manipur, police said.(Posted @ 21:18 PST)
Pakistan trying to find out to whom President Karzai gave the Taliban list: FO ISLAMABAD, Feb 20, 2006 (AFP) Pakistan on Monday said that it was trying to find out to whom Afghan President Hamid Karzai had handed over a list of Taliban figures sheltering in its territory. The list included "detailed information" about members of the ousted Taliban government, Karzai had said. When questioned during a weekly briefing, foreign ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said she could not confirm if the list had been received by any Pakistani official. "So far we have not been able to confirm to whom this list was handed over to and whether there was such a list," Aslam said. "This list was not handed over during President Karzai's meeting with (the Pakistani) president and prime minister and we have not been able to ascertain if such a list was indeed handed over to any other agency," she said.(Posted @ 21:04 PST)
MMA announces protest schedule ISLAMABAD, Feb 20 (Reuters) Qazi Hussain Ahmed, president of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), at a news briefing in Islamabad on Monday reiterated the resolve to continue the movement against the countries behind the publication of blasphemous cartoons. He called the publication a "part of the clash of civilisations”. MMA Secretary General Fazul-ur-Rehman said the alliance has planned a countrywide protest on Friday, another in Lahore on Sunday, and a nationwide general strike on March 3. He said other protests would take place in Karachi on March 5, and in Quetta on March 7.(Posted @ 21:00 PST)
Rebuilt Kashmir "peace bridge" opened KAMAN POST, Azad Kashmir, Feb 20 (Reuters): A reconstructed bridge that links Azad Kashmir with Occupied Kashmir across a Himalayan stream along the Line of Control(LoC) was thrown open on Monday. The 210-feet long Aman Setu or "Peace Bridge" was wrecked by last October's devastating South Asia earthquake. "The bridge is complete...I am sure within the next two months we should be ready for trade on both sides," Ghulam Nabi Azad, chief minister of Occupied Kashmir state said after inaugurating the white steel bridge. Some Pakistani officials and soldiers watched the inaugural ceremony from across the LoC on the other side of the bridge. No one crossed the bridge on Monday.(Posted @ 20:58 PST)
Kashmiri leaders reject Indian talk offer JAMMU, Occupied Kashmir, Feb 20, (Reuters) Kashmir's main political alliance on Monday rejected an invitation by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to attend a conference on Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said it will not attend as New Delhi had not taken any measures in Occupied Kashmir to ease the ground situation for Kashmiris that would have built trust ahead of dialogue. "The Hurriyat has decided not to participate in the conference as it opines that it would harm the peace process rather than benefit it," Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said in a statement from Srinagar. The alliance also said Singh had not invited Pakistan to the conference. It said it wanted Islamabad to be part of three-way talks between New Delhi, Islamabad and the alliance over the region.(Posted @ 19:42 PST)
Indian troops kill four more in Occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, Occupied Kashmir, Feb 20, 2006 (AFP) Security forces killed four more alleged militants in two gunfights in Occupied Kashmir, police said Monday. Two were shot dead in an alleged gun battle early Monday in Sagipora village of Northern Baramulla district, police said. Another two alleged militants were killed by security forces at a village in the Tral area of southern Pulwama district Sunday night. Police accused both the gunned down men to be affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammad. In another incident, a Kashmiri youth succumbed to his wounds Monday when he was hit by bullets on the outskirts of Srinagar on Sunday.(Posted @ 19:28 PST)
Hockey-Test match result: Pakistan 2, India 1 JALANDHAR, India, Feb 20, 2006 (AFP) Result from the field hockey Test match between India and Pakistan here on Monday: Pakistan 2 (Tariz Aziz 12, Mohammad Saqlain 31) India 1 (Tejbir Singh 27). Pakistan lead six-match series 3-0. Remaining three games to be played in Pakistan.(Posted @ 19:04 PST)
Aziz directs ERRA to submit resettlement plan in 10 days ISLAMABAD, Feb 20 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday asked the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) to submit a comprehensive plan for resettlement of earthquake affected areas focusing on housing policy, restoration of facilities of health and education so that construction activities can be initiated immediately. Chairing a third meeting of the ERRA Council here at the Prime Minister House, Shaukat Aziz asked the provincial governments to expedite the delivery of remaining instalments for the reconstruction of damaged houses. An amount of Rs. 25,000 has been paid to the affectees and the next installment of Rs. 75,000 will be paid in early March, followed by two more installments of Rs. 25,000 and Rs.50,000 each. Aziz was informed that ERRA has received seismic surveys conducted by the Norwegian, Chinese, and Turkish teams. However, ERRA has tasked NESPAK to re-evaluate these seismic surveys.(Posted @ 18:46 PST)
Denmark, Norway condemn blasphemous cartoon bounty COPENHAGEN, Feb 20 (Reuters) Denmark and Norway on Monday condemned as incitement to "murder" a Pakistani cleric's offer of a reward to anyone who kills any of the Danish cartoonists for drawing the blasphemous sketches. "It's murder and murder is also forbidden by the (holy) Quran," Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller told a news conference with his colleague Jonas Gahr Stoere from Norway. "Islam is also a religion of peace, mercy and forgiveness. That is why it is my opinion, but also the opinion of many Muslims, this is un-Islamic," he said.(First Posted@16:00 PST Updated @ 16:56 PST)
Belgrade, Pristina begin delicate UN-mediated Kosovo talks VIENNA, Feb 20, 2006 (AFP) Serbian and Kosovo Albanian leaders on Monday began their first face-to-face talks here under UN supervision over the sensitive issue of the future of Kosovo, the last major unresolved question from the 1990s Balkan wars. The closed-door session marked the start of complex negotiations expected to last at least until the end of this year under the chairmanship of UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president.(Posted @ 16:34 PST)
India, France sign "peaceful" nuclear cooperation declaration NEW DELHI, Feb 20, 2006 (AFP) India and France signed here Monday a declaration saying they wanted to pursue nuclear energy cooperation "exclusively for peaceful purposes. "They confirmed in the declaration they were in talks to strike "a bilateral cooperation agreement on the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, subject to their respective international commitments and obligations". The declaration was a highlight of Chirac's three-day visit to India which ends on Tuesday. (Posted @ 15:10 PST)
US should shut Guantanamo: Malaysian PM KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20, 2006 (AFP) Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Monday urged the US to shut down its offshore prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, because it is regarded as a torture centre. "It is the opinion of many people that the camp should be closed because of the photographs and stories about it showed that it is a prison where torture is carried out," Abdullah was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency. Abdullah, who chairs the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference, said it was "better for the United States" to close down the centre. (Posted @ 14:55 PST)
US warns against sectarian Iraq government BAGHDAD, Feb 20, 2006 (AFP) US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad on Monday warned his country would not fund Iraqi forces run by ministries with a sectarian bias, urging the formation of a government of national unity. His comments came against a background of increasing bickering between Iraq's factions as they seek to form a government in the wake of the December 15 general elections. "The fundamental problem in Iraq is one of sectarianism and ethnic conflict," Khalilzad told a news briefing. "This polarisation along ethnic and sectarian lines affects every aspect of what's going on. The various communities need to come together in a national compact and that can be achieved first through the establishment of a national unity government," he said. The United States is investing millions of dollars into the country's new security forces and "we're not going to invest the resources of the American people to build forces run by people who are sectarian," he said. (Posted @ 14:50 PST)
Rescuers dig for 65 trapped Mexican coal miners SAN JUAN DE SABINAS, Mexico, Feb 20 (Reuters) Rescue workers dug frantically on Monday to reach 65 miners trapped in tunnels underground after an explosion at a Mexican coal mine but there was little hope of finding them alive. Soldiers and civil protection workers had not yet been able to make contact with the miners and, one day after the gas explosion in a remote, semi-desert region, the workers' six-hour oxygen tanks had almost certainly run out. "There is an explosive mix of methane gas and it is very dangerous," said Sergio Robles, head of Coahuila's civil protection agency. (Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Nigerian militants blow up houseboat, pipeline LAGOS, Feb 20 (Reuters) Nigerian militants who have kidnapped nine foreign oil workers said they had blown up a military houseboat and an oil pipeline manifold on Monday, the latest attacks in a campaign that has cut exports by a fifth. In an e-mail, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta also threatened to attack any vessel trying to use Royal Dutch Shell's 340,000 barrel-per-day oil export platform, which the group bombed on Saturday. (Posted @ 12:50 PST)
Two kidnapped Macedonians released in Iraq BASRA, Iraq, Feb 20 (Reuters) Two Macedonian contractors kidnapped near the southern Iraqi city of Basra have been released, a British military official said on Monday. (Posted @ 12:50 PST)
President urges more Pak-China economic cooperation to match their political, diplomatic ties BEIJING, Feb. 20 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf Monday underlined the need for increasing economic cooperation between Pakistan and China to match their excellent political and diplomatic ties and asked Chinese entrepreneurs to benefit from the country's booming economy and increasing business activities. "We are making progress but the level of economic cooperation does not commensurate with political and diplomatic closeness the two countries enjoy," he told a high-level delegation of All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC). The head of ACFIC, Hu Deping highly appreciated the recent economic gains by Pakistan and informed the President that many of the forum's members have already lined up investment to be made in Pakistan. Chairman, Jiangsu Hongdou Industrial Company, Zhou Haijiang, Zhou Jaijiang told the meeting that his organization has already finalized plan to invest in Pakistan in a big way. Chairman, Yin Mingshan of Chongquing Lifan Industry, the biggest individually run motorcycle manufactures in China, said his group has already invested 400 million dollars in Pakistan. He indicated to set up a factory in Pakistan "very soon" that would involve substantial investment in the motor-cycle industry. (Posted @ 12:30 PST)
SCO Secretary General meets Musharraf BEIJING, Fer.20 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf Monday sought Chinese support for Pakistan becoming full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to enable the country play a pro-active role in the peace, stability and development of the region. In a meeting with SCO Secretary General Zhang Deguang, he said Pakistan is strategically located as a regional economic hub and the SCO member countries can benefit from its location. Zhang Deguang appreciated Pakistan's role in promoting and developing economic and cultural cooperation among the members of the region. He invited the President to attend the next SCO summit this year. (Posted @ 12:30 PST)
Blasphemous cartoons: thousands gather in Toronto TORONTO, Canada, Feb 20 (AP) An estimated 2,500 people gathered outside Ontario's capital building on Sunday to protest the blasphemous cartoons of the Prophet uhammad, but one Muslim group is calling for an end to the demonstrations. The large, diverse crowd ignored cold-weather warnings to attend the protest and grimaced through a bitter wind, waving flags and holding up placards for hours. They called for an end to the publication of the cartoons and respect for their religion and their people. Police said Toronto's protest was peaceful and without incident _ as was another on Saturday in downtown Vancouver. Meanwhile, the Muslim Canadian Congress said the time has come for the demonstrations to stop because they are inflaming tensions around the world. Congress spokesman Tarek Fatah said Muslims should follow the example of the Holy Prophet who urged restraint and calmness in the wake of provocation. (Posted @ 11:20 PST)
Arabs seek to meet money obligations to Hamas-led government CAIRO, Feb 20 (AP) Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa has said that foreign ministers from several Arab countries were meeting Monday in Algiers to examine a plan to send about $50 million a month to the Palestinian Authority. A final decision is not expected until Arab leaders meet in a summit next month in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. (Posted @ 10:25 PST)
India continues mass slaughter of fowl after bird flu outbreak NAVAPUR, India, Feb 20 (AP) Health officials slaughtered hundreds of thousands of chickens in western India for a second day Monday, hoping to prevent the spread of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus. More than 200,000 chickens have been culled since early Sunday in Navapur, a major poultry farming region, where the H5N1 strain of bird flu was found in some of 30,000 dead chickens, said Anees Ahmed, the Maharashtra state minister for animal husbandry. The government has said it plans to slaughter some 500,000 birds within a 3-kilometer (1.5-mile) radius. (Posted @ 10:25 PST)
Indonesian protesters torch Danish flag JAKARTA, Feb 20 (AP) Muslims angry at the publication of blasphemous cartoons torched a Danish flag Monday as demonstrations against the drawings continued in the world's most populous Muslim nation, police said. Around 100 people gathered outside the local parliament building in Lamongan, central Java province, raised slogans and burnt a Danish flag before dispersing peacefully. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Syria lashes out at Washington over opposition funding DAMASCUS, Feb 20 (AFP) Syria lashed out at the United States Sunday over its plans to allocate five million dollars to the Syrian opposition, announced last week. "This is meddling in Syria's internal affairs and we reject it," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem told reporters. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Blast rocks Philippines presidential palace MANILA, Feb 20, 2006 (AFP) A loud explosion rocked the Philippine presidential palace on Monday but the cause was not immediately known and there were no known casualties, witnesses said. ABS-CBN television reported from the scene that a device appeared to have exploded inside a garbage bin outside one of the buildings in the compound. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Military leader of Islamic Jihad killed in Nablus NABLUS, West Bank, Feb 20, 2006 (AFP) - The head of the armed branch of Islamic Jihad in the West Bank region of Nablus was killed early Monday by the Israeli army, Palestinian security sources said. Hamad Abu Sharif, chief of the Al Quds Brigades, was gunned down by troops in the old town of Nablus in the north of the West Bank, they added. An Israeli military spokesman confirmed the death saying: "Soldiers operating in the old town opened fire on armed men killing one of them." Two members of the Popular Resistance Committee were also killed in an Israeli air strike early Sunday. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Danish editor defends decision to print blasphemous cartoons WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (AFP) A Danish editor defended Sunday his decision to publish blasphemous cartoons, saying his goal was to defy a self-censorhip trend in Europe regarding Islam. In an opinion piece in Sunday's Washington Post, Flemming Rose, the culture editor of the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten, said his goal was to stir a debate about freedom of speech and not disrespect Islam. He refused to apologize for exercising his right to print offensive material, but he said the aim was not to instigate the violence that followed.(Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 90.72 points: KARACHI, Feb 20: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 11443.35, up 90.72 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:18 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Feb 20: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 59.95 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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