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| February 25, 2006 | Saturday | Muharram 26, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Resolution of Kashmir issue: "I have started to play a role:" says Bush WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (APP)- President George W. Bush Friday said he believed "a lasting solution" of the Kashmir issue "can be achieved." "I have started to play a role," he said when asked what role he could play in resolving this issue as a close friend of both Pakistan and India. In a 17-minute PTV interview, he referred in this context to his Wednesday's elaborate address before the Asia Society, where "I spoke out on the issue and encouraged the (Pakistan) President and the Prime Minister of India to continue down the road of solving the issue with a solution that's acceptable to all sides." "And that's very important. There's a temptation sometimes for countries to try to jump in the middle of dialogue," he stated. "I believe a lasting solution can be achieved," President Bush added. He said he would use his upcoming trip to urge the leadership "to continue solving this issue, with the idea that it can be solved."(Posted @ 13:55 PST)
India's Singh to look at releasing Kashmiri detainees NEW DELHI, Feb 25 (Reuters) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday his government would look into releasing detainees in Occupied Kashmir. Singh's comments came at the end of a day-long peace conference on Saturday with pro-India parties. However, the talks were seen as being undermined by a boycott by top Kashmiri leaders who said detainees should have been released and the number of soldiers in the region cut before the talks in order to build confidence. "I am requesting the home minister to form a high-level group of officials to examine all current cases of detention and see whether it is possible to release detenus (detainees) against whom there are no serious cases," Singh said in the conference. Singh said a second peace conference would be held in May in Srinagar and called on the leaders to join those talks. The discussions were clouded by the killing of four boys aged between eight and 18 this week by Indian soldiers. "Human rights violations and peace cannot go together," a senior leader Maulana Abbas Ansari said. A strike called by Kashmir's main alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), closed shops and businesses for the second day in Srinagar. Omar Abdullah, the president of the pro-India National Conference (NC) party admitted that APHC's boycott was a setback. "When there are incidents like what has happened in Handwara, it becomes very difficult and people lose faith in the government," Abdullah told reporters. (First Posted@ 12:50 PST Updated @ 21:15 PST)
US President's visit program WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (APP) President George Bush and President General Pervez Musharraf will discuss "strong relationship" both countries have, in a meeting they are to hold as the U.S. president arrives in Islamabad from New Delhi during his upcoming visit. The two leaders will hold a joint press conference, following their meeting. National Security Advisor Hadley, briefing newsmen on President Bush's trip to India and Pakistan, said growing trade and economic ties, war against terrorism, as well as a host of matters of bilateral interest will come up under discussion. President Bush would be accompanied by the U.S. First Lady, Mrs. Laura Bush. The U.S. President will attend a meeting on earthquake reconstruction effort, and will also participate in a roundtable to be organised by public and private sector. While in Pakistan, President Bush "will attend a cricket event" besides participating in an embassy event. While in India, President Bush will hold talks with prime minister Manmohan Singh, meet CEOs forum, and discuss promotion of trade. He will also meet diverse group on religious freedom, and leader of the opposition. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Two soldiers, one insurgent killed in southwest Pakistan QUETTA, Pakistan, Feb 25, 2006 (AFP) A paramilitary soldier and a suspected insurgent were killed in a clash in Dera Bugti in Baluchistan, officials said Saturday. The fighting started when an unspecified number of Bugti tribals attacked a security checkpost in Dera Bugti district, some 260 kilometres southeast of Quetta late Friday, regional administrator Abdul Samad Lasi told AFP. Separately, a paramilitary soldier was killed when he stepped on a landmine planted by insurgents near the Pirkoh gas field late Friday, Lasi said. Insurgents also fired rockets on security forces deployed in different parts of Dera Bugti district late Friday. However, that caused no casualties, he said. (Posted @ 12:55 PST)
Russian envoy injured in Afghan roadside mine explosion KABUL, Feb 25, 2006 (AFP) Two Russian envoys were wounded in Afghanistan Saturday when they stepped on an old Soviet land mine during a roadside 'bathroom break' on their drive home at the end of their mission, a town chief said. One of the men, the departing cultural attaché in the Russian embassy in the capital, lost a leg and a hand in the explosion near the town of Hairatan on the border with Uzbekistan, while the second man was slightly wounded.(Posted @ 23:46 PST)
Thousands of Kashmiris protest Iraq holy shrine attack SRINAGAR, Occupied Kashmir, Feb 25, 2006 (AFP) Thousands of Kashmiris held demonstrations for a third straight day Saturday in Occupied Kashmir to protest the bombing of a revered shrine in Iraq, witnesses said. The protests were held in Balhama and other parts of Srinagar.(Posted @ 21:50 PST)
Pakistan expresses concerns over border violations at Tri-Partite meeting ISLAMABAD, Feb 25 (APP): The Tripartite Commission, of senior military and diplomatic representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, held its 15th meeting in Bagram, Afghanistan on Saturday. Delegates included Lieutenant General Sher M. Karimi, Chief of Operations of the Afghan National Army, Major General Muhammad Yousaf, Director General of Military Operations of the Pakistan Army and Lieutenant General Kari W. Eikenberry, Commander, Combined Forces Command Afghanistan. NATO-ISAF also participated as an observer status. The Pakistani delegation presented a strategy in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas to create political dialogue, development aid and security operations. Pakistan raised serious concerns over all border violations and expressed the needs for observing sanctity of the international borders. The Tripartite Commission will meet again in April 2006 in Pakistan.(Posted @ 21:44 PST)
PM urges ulema to play effective role in promoting interfaith harmony ISLAMABAD, Feb 25 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Saturday said Muslims belonging to all schools of thought should forge even more unity in their ranks to frustrate the designs of anti-Islam elements. Talking to a delegation of Shia Ulema here at Prime Minister House, Shaukat Aziz condemned the recent incidents of damage to the holy places in Iraq and said Pakistan has also offered its assistance to repair the holy places in Iraq. He also condemned the publication of blasphemous cartoons but added that the protests should not be used for political benefits.(Posted @ 21:42 PST)
PM approves plans for Media Tower in Islamabad ISLAMABAD, Feb 25 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Saturday approved in principle plans for construction of a 26-storey Media Tower in the federal capital. Secretary Information said the Media Tower will have TV and radio studios, technical areas, auditoriums, conference halls, seminar rooms, corporate offices, government offices, business centres, IT centre, cafeteria, call centers, hospitality areas, warehouse, commercial and retail spaces.(Posted @ 21:38 PST)
Al Qaeda says it carried out Saudi oil plant attack ABQAIQ, Saudi Arabia, Feb 25 (Reuters) Al Qaeda claimed responsibility on Saturday in a statement posted on a website for an attack on a Saudi oil facility at Abqaiq, when security forces fired at suicide bombers trying to storm the world's biggest oil processing plant. The U.S. ambassador in Riyadh praised Saudi security forces for foiling the attack.(Posted @ 21:28 PST)
Iraq defence minister warns against civil war BAGHDAD, Feb 25 (Reuters) Defence Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi said on Saturday that civil war would never end if it erupts and that he was ready to put tanks on the streets to impose order. Saadoun al-Dulaimi also said the number of attacks on mosques had been exaggerated and urged the media not to fan the sectarian violence. Dulaimi said 21 mosques had been confirmed attacked rather than the 51 attacks that had been announced previously. Dulaimi added that 119 civilians had lost their lives in the wave of reprisal attacks sparked by Wednesday's attack on the holy shrine in Samarra. Iraq extended a security clampdown and ban on cars in Baghdad until 6 a.m. on Monday. The clampdown began on Thursday evening.(Posted @ 21:24 PST)
Sixteen killed in Bangladesh factory collapse DHAKA, Feb 25 (Reuters) At least 16 people were killed and 50 injured when a four-storey textiles factory collapsed in Dhaka on Saturday, witnesses and hospital officials said. The Phoenix mill came down at around 11 a.m. (0500 GMT) with some 150 workers inside. Army, police and fire brigade rescuers trying to find survivors said many could still be trapped under tonnes of concrete. Some of the injured were in a critical condition. The cause of the collapse was not known. Factory bosses were not immediately available for comment.(Posted @ 21:08 PST)
Road crash kills 24 in South Africa JOHANNESBURG, Feb 25 (Reuters) Twenty-four people were killed on Saturday when a mini-bus taxi, a truck and a car crashed in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, local media reported.(Posted @ 21:04 PST)
150 said to be detained in Pakistan ahead of protests LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb 25, 2006 (AFP) Some 150 people have been arrested in Pakistan on the eve of a major protest over blasphemous cartoons, Qazi Hussain Ahmed said Saturday. Hussain said Sunday's rally in Lahore would go ahead despite a government ban on protests. "The police have arrested some 150 of our workers from mosques, madrassas and homes after raids ahead of Sunday's protest rally in Lahore," said Ahmed, chief of the main opposition Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) alliance. Police contested the figure and said that only seven to eight people had been detained in connection with the rioting last week. Ahmed said he intended to lead Sunday's rally. "I am not detained or arrested and would go out to lead the rally," he said from the headquarters of Jamaat-i-Islami.(Posted @ 20:28 PST)
Bodies of 14 policemen killed near mosque found BAGHDAD, Feb 25 (Reuters) The bodies of 14 police commandos were found on Saturday near a mosque in Baghdad where clashes with gunmen took place overnight, police said.(Posted @ 18:42 PST)
Car bomb kills eight in market in Iraq's Kerbala KERBALA, Iraq, Feb 25 (Reuters) A car bomb exploded in a crowded market in Kerbala on Saturday, killing at least eight people and wounding 31, police said. The blast hit Kerbala soon after gunmen stormed a house near the city of Baquba north of Baghdad and killed 12 members of a family.(First Posted @ 15:40 PST Updated @ 18:35 PST)
Bush should press Musharraf to resign as army chief: HRW ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) A human rights group on Saturday urged U.S. President George W. Bush to use his visit to Pakistan next weekend to press the President Musharraf to resign as army chief and hold fair elections. The U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said a civilian government would best be able to protect human rights and allow more democracy. ``Turning a blind eye to Musharraf's ongoing power grab undermines the Bush administration's aim of fostering democracy in the Muslim world,'' Brad Adams, director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. ``President Bush must tell Musharraf that he can no longer count on U.S. support to subvert the Pakistani constitution and block genuine elections,'' Adams said.(Posted @ 17:42 PST)
WFP enlists mountain guides for Pakistan quake recovery ISLAMABAD, Feb 25, 2006 (AFP) The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has enlisted a team of 23 experienced international and Pakistani mountain guides to assess damage in the quake-hit mountainous areas of Pakistan. The guides, known as the Remote, Reconnaissance and Response team, would help the WFP prepare for the recovery phase of its operation, a UN statement said Saturday. The team consists of eight mountain guides from Canada some of whom have experience of altitudes of 8,000 metres (26,246 feet), and 15 Pakistani mountain guides from Hunza, the Pakistani hub for Himalayan hiking, it said.(Posted @ 17:24 PST)
Reconstruction in quake-hit areas to start next month: PM ISLAMABAD, Feb 25 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Saturday said the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure, government buildings and private houses in the earthquake-affected areas will be initiated next month. Talking to President of AJK Sardar Anwar Khan who called on him in Islamabad, Shaukat Aziz said the works will be undertaken by the governments of AJK and NWFP, adding that for the reconstruction of houses, the next instalment of Rs. 75,000 will be paid in March. He said these two instalments of Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 50,000 each which will be released after ascertaining that designs are in accordance with the approved building codes. The government will also ask banks to prepare packages of soft loans to rebuild the commercial enterprises.(Posted @ 13:50 PST)
Pakistan, China to set up JIC with initial capital of $500 million BEIJING, Feb 25 (APP): Pakistan and China will soon set up a joint investment company, with an initial capital of about $ 500 million. A decision to this effect was taken during the visit of President Pervez Musharraf to Beijing this week, a senior official saidSaturday. It was agreed to launch the joint investment company this year. This is aimed at ensuring China's participation in the economic development of Pakistan on a regular and long-term basis. Pakistan has similar arrangements with some other countries such as Saudi-Pak Investment Company, Pak-Kuwait Investment Company, Pak-Libya Investment Company, Pak-Oman Investment Company. Updated @ 13:20 PST)
Security man killed in Iraq funeral attack DUBAI, Feb 25 (Reuters) A security man was killed after gunmen opened fire on Saturday at the funeral procession in Baghdad of an Al Arabiya correspondent killed in Iraq. The satellite news channel said four people were wounded during the attack. (Posted @ 13:15 PST)
Gunmen attack house of Sunni figure in Iraq BAGHDAD, Feb 25 (Reuters) Gunmen attacked the house of the head of Iraq's leading Sunni Muslim religious organisation on Saturday, a spokesman for the Muslim Clerics Association said. He said gunmen arrived in cars and opened fire at the Baghdad house of Harith al-Dari in the morning. Security guards returned fire and the attackers fled from the scene. (Posted @ 13:10 PST)
Differences continue over U.S.-India nuclear pact NEW DELHI, Feb 25 (Reuters) The United States said on Saturday it still had differences with India on finalising a nuclear deal, but both sides were trying to sew up the pact before President George W. Bush visits New Delhi next week. The U.S. embassy statement came after Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns left New Delhi after three days of talks with Indian officials. "There are remaining differences but the U.S. hopes that they can be closed before the president visits India," the embassy in New Delhi said. (Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Three killed in plane crash in Indonesia's Java JAKARTA, Feb 25, 2006 (AFP) A small training plane crashed in a field Saturday in the town of Subang in West Java province, killing three people on board, the air force said. The pilots died on the spot while its mechanic died later at the local hospital. The fourth person was in critical condition. (Posted @ 11:30 PST)
13 Indian aircraft, 8 copters crashed, 14 killed in 13 months: Pranab New Delhi, Feb 25 (APP): As many as 13 aircraft and eight helicopters of the Defence forces crashed in last 13 months, killing 13 defence personnel and one civilian, Lok Sabha was informed by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee in a written reply. (Posted @ 11:30 PST)
Cricket-Cook, Anderson to join England on tour BARODA, India, Feb 25 (Reuters) Alastair Cook and James Anderson will join England's injury-hit touring party ahead of the first test against India in Nagpur on Wednesday. Arrangements had been made for Cook and Anderson to reach Nagpur by Sunday night, England's media manager, Andrew Walpole, told reporters on Saturday. Essex opening batsman Cook and Lancashire seam bowler Anderson were withdrawn from the 'A' team squad touring West Indies and flown back to Britain. (Posted @ 11:20 PST)
Cuba rolls out an army of flags next to US mission HAVANA, Feb 25, 2006 (AFP) President Fidel Castro on Friday led a protest outside the US diplomatic mission here, as more than 100 Cuban flags were raised to counter what Cuba slams as US provocations. The blue, white and red Cuban flags, which replaced black banners placed there earlier, block views of a huge electronic billboard on the US mission's facade. The billboard had irked Cuban authorities since it was set up on January 16 with messages promoting democracy and human rights. Hassan Perez, a communist student union leader, charged that Washington was plotting new wrongs against the Americas' only communist-ruled country. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)
Mullah Omar in Pakistan: Afghan official KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) President Hamid Karzai has handed intelligence to Pakistan that indicates Mullah Mohammed Omar and his key associates are hiding in Pakistan, a senior Afghan official said Friday. The intelligence was shared during a visit by Karzai to Islamabad last week. Afghanistan also provided information about the locations of alleged terrorist training camps along the border and in Pakistani cities, said the official on promise of anonymity. The other suspects believed to be in Pakistan, he said, included Mullah Dadullah, the Taliban's head of operations in southern Afghanistan; and Ahktar Mohammed Usmani, a former commander in Kandahar. The official refused to give details about where in Pakistan they were thought to be hiding. A senior Pakistani Interior Ministry official said it was easy to make the allegation, but asked, ``Do they have any evidence?'' He said Pakistan had also handed over intelligence reports to Afghanistan and expressed concern about weapons allegedly being smuggled from Afghanistan to militants in Baluchistan. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Bomb breaches fuel pipeline in northern Iraq BAGHDAD, Feb 25 (Reuters) A bomb tore open an oil products and fuel pipeline near the northern Iraqi refinery town of Baiji on Friday and was likely to disrupt supplies for about three days until repairs can be completed, an oil industry official said. The line hit did not carry crude and the sabotage would not affect crude exports from northern Iraq into Turkey, he added. (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
UK police find cash in van in big heist probe LONDON, Feb 25 (Reuters) Police investigating the robbery of up to 50 million pounds from a security depot in southern England found a quantity of cash in a van in a hotel car park on Friday, close to an international rail terminal. "We have found cash in that van," said Assistant Chief Constable Adrian Leppard of the county of Kent's police force. "I'm as keen as you to know exactly how much cash but we just do not know at this stage," Leppard told reporters. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Iraq to enforce new daytime curfew Saturday BAGHDAD, Feb 25 (AFP) The Iraqi authorities enforced a daytime curfew in the capital and three other provinces Saturday for a second day in a row to calm sectarian tensions, state television announced. "The curfew will be in force again Saturday until 4 pm (1300 GMT) in the capital and Salaheddin, Diyala and Babil provinces," the announcement said. (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
Al-Qaeda claims attempt to blow up Saudi oil processing plant RIYADH, Feb 25, 2006 (AFP) The Saudi branch of Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for Friday's foiled attempt to blow up a major Saudi Arabian oil processing plant. "The heroic mujahedeen of the squadron of Sheikh Osama bin Laden, god protect him, has successfully penetrated the oil and gas refinery in the town of Abqaiq... where two car bombs were able to enter," the 'Organisation of Al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula' wrote in a statement on its website overnight Friday. Saudi Arabia said earlier that it had foiled the attack and reassured that output was unaffected by the thwarted attack that left two security men and at least two assailants dead. (Posted @ 09:20 PST)
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