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| February 26, 2006 | Sunday | Muharram 27, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Police arrest Islamic leader to foil anti-cartoons rally in Pakistan LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb 26, 2006 (AFP) - Pakistani police Sunday arrested a top Islamic leader and detained several other people including cricket hero turned politician Imran Khan for defying a ban on a rally over blasphemous cartoons, officials and witnesses said. Qazi Hussain Ahmed, chief of the six-party Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) alliance, was taken into custody after he emerged from his party's headquarters at Mansoora in Lahore. His supporters, shouting "We will protect honour and dignity of the Holy Prophet!", broke through a police cordon and snatched bamboo batons from them, witnesses said.(Posted @ 21:30 PST)
Police fire tear gas to stop Pakistan protest LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Police fired tear gas to disperse around 100 persons who tried to stage a protest over blasphemous cartoons. The government banned public rallies in Punjab following violent protests earlier this month in the provincial capital Lahore in which two people were killed. Witnesses said police fired tear gas as activists of the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, shouted "Death to America" and "Death to Denmark" as they gathered in Lahore to begin a march. Up to 70 protesters were detained. Earlier in the day, more than 100 activists of the main Islamist alliance, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), were detained in Lahore to prevent them from holding the rally, Amir Zulfiqar, a senior police officer said.(Posted @ 21:05 PST)
One killed, eight injured in rocket attack on home of Pakistani provincial minister QUETTA, Pakistan, Feb 26 (AP) Rockets were fired Sunday at the home of a Cabinet minister of Baluchistan province, killing a guest and wounding eight others, police said. Two rockets struck the home of Abdul Qudus Bezinjo, minister for livestock and dairy, after midnight in a western neighbourhood in Quetta, Baluchistan's capital, said Ghulam Mohamood Dogar, a senior Quetta police officer.The minister was not at home at the time of the attack. One rocket hit a perimeter wall at the minister's home while the second slammed into a guest room, killing a guest, Dogar said. The injured included some of Bezinjo's relatives and a private security guard, he said. No one claimed responsibility, but Dogar blamed renegade tribesmen who have been accused of small bombings and rocket attacks on security forces and gas fields in a campaign for increased royalties for resources extracted from their territory. (First Posted @ 10:10 Updated @ 10:35 PST)
70 arrested ahead of cartoon rallies in Lahore LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb 26 (AP) About 70 people, including clerics and religious schools administrators, were arrested Sunday ahead of a ban on rallies against blasphemous cartoons in Lahore, police said. The arrests were made in raids that began early Saturday, Lahore police chief Khawaja Khalid said Sunday. Qazi Hussain Ahmed, leader of a coalition of six Islamic parties Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) vowed in an interview with a private tv channel Sunday that supporters would defy the government ban on rallies in Lahore. (Posted @ 11:10 PST)
Afghan intel on Taliban leader is faulty, Pakistani security official says ISLAMABAD, Feb 26 (AP) Intelligence provided by Afghanistan on where Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and his associates might be hiding in Pakistan is unreliable and has yielded no results, a Pakistani security official said. He said President Hamid Jarzai had also claimed Osama bin Laden was in Pakistan, but gave no details on his whereabouts. ``Karzai's intelligence was kept secret, and we acted swiftly, but after thorough checks we found out that he had faulty, outdated and unreliable intelligence. It was quite frustrating that we found nothing after so much effort,'' said the official on condition of anonymity. He said the government had received Thuraya satellite phone numbers that Karzai said were being used my Omar and his senior associates, some addresses of hideouts and Pakistani mobile phone numbers. ``We found out that some of the Thurayas had been closed years ago and had not been used since then,'' he said, adding the mobile numbers were also unused for several years.``We found that no suspects had lived in those places mentioned by Karzai as Mullah Omar's possible hideouts,'' said official, who accused Afghanistan of sharing poor intelligence and ``throwing mud on Pakistan.'' He said Afghanistan gave the names of more than 30 people but claimed that about 100 to 150 other unidentified suspects were in hiding in Pakistan. (Posted @ 09:45PST)
Somali pirates seize another Indian dhow NAIROBI, Feb 26, 2006 (AFP) - Gunmen on Sunday hijacked an Indian dhow with 25 crew members in the high seas off Somalia's pirate-infested coastline, a maritime official said. "We do not know the exact location, but we suspect it was in northeastern Somalia," said Andrew Mwangura of the Seafarers' Assistance Programme in the Kenyan port town of Mombasa. Mwangura added that he was in touch with Indian maritime officials to get more information about the siezed cargo vessel and its crew.(Posted @ 23:55 PST)
Gunmen fire on teenagers playing soccer, two dead five injured BAQOUBA, Iraq (AP) _ Gunmen opened fire Sunday on a group of teenagers playing soccer, killing two and injuring five, police said. The attack occurred in the Mafraq neighborhood, a Shiite-Sunni mixed area of the city 55 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad and the sectarian breakdown of the victims was unavailable. Baqouba is the capital of Diyala province, one of three areas outside Baghdad which had been covered by a daytime curfew imposed after the bombing of a Shiite shrine Wednesday touched off a wave of Shiite reprisal attacks against Sunni mosques. But the curfew in Diyala and two other provinces was listed late Saturday. Early Saturday gunmen broke into a Shiite home in Diyala and massacred 13 members of a single family.(Posted @ 23:02 PST)
Bomb wounds two in Afghanistan, girls' school attacked KHOST, Afghanistan, Feb 26, 2006 (AFP) - A policeman and a civilian were wounded when a bomb exploded as it was being defused in eastern Afghanistan while suspected Taliban rebels bombed a girls' school, officials said Sunday. The roadside device, planted on the main highway between the capital Kabul and the eastern town of Khost, exploded Saturday as police were working on it, Khost province criminal investigation director Mohammad Yaqob said. "One police and one civilian passerby were wounded after the bomb defusing failed and promoted the explosion," he said.(Posted @ 22:45 PST)
Eight dead, 32 wounded in Baghdad mortar attack BAGHDAD, Feb 26, 2006 (AFP) - At least eight people were killed and 32 wounded Sunday when mortars fell on two Shiite neighbourhoods in southern Baghdad, an interior ministry official said. Eight mortars fell on two Shiite neighbourhoods, two on a vegetable market in Al-Saidiya and the rest landed on houses in Abuchir district in southern Baghdad, the official added.(Posted @ 21:55 PST)
Moscow will insist on keeping Iranian nuclear issue within IAEA MOSCOW, Feb 26, 2006 (AP) _ Russia's nuclear chief said Sunday that Moscow will insist on keeping the Iranian nuclear issue within the United Nations nuclear watchdog, RIA Novosti news agency reported. Russian Federal Atomic Agency chief Sergei Kiriyenko said after several days of talks with Iranian officials in Tehran that during the March 6 meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Russia would insist on resolving the Iranian nuclear crisis within the IAEA, RIA Novosti reported. The IAEA meeting could start a process leading to punishment by the U.N. Security Council, which has the authority to impose sanctions on Iran.(Posted @ 20:10 PST)
Three killed, three wounded in Kashmir car blast SRINAGAR, Feb 26, 2006 (AFP) - Troops martyred three freedom fighters in a gunbattle and two soldiers and a civilian were wounded in a car bomb blast in occupied Kashmir, the army said Sunday. The explosion happened when an army convoy was on the move near Srinagar, said army spokesman Vijay Batra. He said a lone militant parked a car packed with explosives on the roadside and fled into a neighbouring housing complex. "The army convoy immediately stopped and troops tried to follow the militant but he blew up the car with a remote (device), injuring two soldiers and a civilian driver," Batra said.(Posted @ 19:42 PST)
Bomb explodes in bus station south of Baghdad BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) _ A bomb exploded Sunday morning at a crowded bus station south of Baghdad, injuring at least five people, police and hospital officials reported. The device detonated as passengers were boarding a bus in Hillah, a predominantly Shiite city about 95 kilometers (60 miles) south of Baghdad, police Capt. Muthana Khalid said. The vehicle was destroyed in the blast.(Posted @ 17:45 PST)
Former general shot dead in western province BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb 26 (AP) _ Gunmen shot dead a former general in Saddam Hussein's army Sunday as he drove his car in the insurgent-infested city of Ramadi, his cousin said. Former Brig. Gen. Musaab Manfi al-Rawi, was rumored to be under consideration to become the army commander in Ramadi, his cousin, Ahmed al-Rawi said.(Posted @ 17:00 PST)
Bus plunges off road in Pakistan quake zone, 14 dead ISLAMABAD, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Fourteen people were killed on Sunday when a bus hit by a falling rock, triggered by a landslide, plunged off a road in an earthquake-devastated region in Pakistan, police said. The huge rock struck the bus just 2 km (1 mile) short of Balakot, a town flattened by last year's deadly earthquake. "Fourteen people died on the spot and four people, including two children, have been injured," Khalid Khan, a deputy superintendent of police, in Balakot told Reuters. Landslides are common in mountainous northern Pakistan where more than 73,000 people were killed and around 3 million left homeless by an Oct. 8 earthquake. (Posted @ 14:10 PST)
Iraqi police: Roadside bomb targets police patrol in Madain BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) A roadside bomb exploded Sunday near a police patrol southeast of Baghdad, killing one officer and injuring two others, police said. The blast happened in Madain, about 20 kilometers (14 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police Lt. Bilal Ali Majid said. The region had been under an extraordinary daylight curfew following the bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra on Wednesday and a wave of retaliatory attacks against Sunnis, but restrictions were lifted Sunday. (Posted @ 14:00 PST)
About 1,000 Muslims stage peaceful rally in Hong Kong against blasphemuos cartoons HONG KONG (AP) About 1,000 Muslims staged a peaceful rally in a downtown Hong Kong park Sunday to condemn cartoons of the Holy Prophet Muhammad printed by some Western newspapers that have triggered demonstrations around the world. (Posted @ 14:00 PST)
Yemen says 3 Qaeda inmates surrender after jailbreak DUBAI, Feb 26 (Reuters) Three al Qaeda inmates who were part of a group that tunnelled out of a Yemeni jail this month have given themselves up to the authorities, President Ali Abdullah Saleh said in remarks published on Sunday. Saleh told al-Hayat Arabic-language newspaper that security forces were also in contact with other fugitives among the group of 23 militants that escaped from a Sanaa jail in February. He did not give any details about the escapees that had Surrendered (Posted @ 14:00 PST)
Inmates riot at high-security prison in Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb 26 (AP) Inmates clashed with guards at high-security prison in Kabul and took control of parts of the prison, an official said Sunday. Abdul Salaam Bakshi, chief of prisons in Afghanistan, said that guards had been forced out of a block of Policharki Prison, housing 1,300 inmates including al-Qaida and Taliban convicts, in a riot on Saturday night. He said police were surrounding the prison and no inmates had escaped. ``All the problem is inside the prison. It's 1,300 people. We want to peacefully solve this problem,'' he said, accusing the al-Qaida and Taliban inmates of inciting other inmates. Mohammed Qasim Hashimzai, deputy justice minister, said about 100 of the prisoners had taken control of a women's wing of the prison. Hashimzai was part of a ministry delegation that was set to visit the prison Sunday morning. ``They have demands, we are going to listen to what they want,''he said, without elaborating. Bakshi said a group of inmates had attacked guards Saturday night and tried to force their way out but were blocked. Inmates had small knives and clubs fashioned from wrecked furniture, but none were armed, he said. No guards were hurt but there were unconfirmed reports that several prisoners were injured, he said. Policharki lies on the outskirts of the Afghan capital. Some wings of the prison are being refurbished to improve security and living conditions before some 110 Afghan terror suspects being held in U.S. military custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are sent back here later this year, Afghan officials say. Last month, seven mid-ranking Taliban inmates disguised themselves as visitors and escaped from the prison. (First Posted @ 10:10 Updated @ 10:30 PST)
UN agency starts long-term recovery effort for quake survivors UNITED NATIONS, Feb 26 (APP): Launching a two-year programme to help restore the livelihood of Pakistan's earthquake survivors, the World Food Programme has announced the formation of a team of 23 expert mountain guides to fully assess damage and needs. The Remote, Reconnaissance and Response team (RRR), attached to the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), is made of 8 mountain guides from Canada, some of whom have experience of altitudes of 8,000 metres, and 15 Pakistani mountain guides from Hunza, a UN press release said. The programme aims to assist the restoration of the livelihoods of the survivors, targeting food insecure families through food-for-work and asset creation projects, focusing on forestry, agriculture and road repair. Some 670,000 people will receive food rations while they rebuild their homes and community infrastructure. The RRR team will locate sites for food-for-work Projects and reach the most remote villages, some of them accessible only by foot. The team will also identify damaged roads, irrigation systems and houses of vulnerable families that can be rehabilitated through such projects and for sites to construct greenhouses, coordinating its efforts with the Government and the NGOs to initiate projects to help people regain self sufficiency faster when they return home. The food-for-work projects will be undertaken in remote villages where food production, access to markets, employment and credit facilities will continue to be hampered until basic infrastructure and trade are restored.(Posted @ 11:00 PST)
Bus accident kills 23 in China's Guizhou province BEIJING, Feb. 26 (APP): Twenty-three people were killed, as a bus plunged into 30 metres ravine in southwest China's Guizhou province on Saturday, Chinese media reported. The accident, which also injured more than 20 people, occurred when the bus ploughed through the highway's guardrail about 12 kilometres from the provincial capital Guiyang. (Posted @ 10:40 PST)
5.5 earthquake shakes northern Tibet BEIJING, Feb 26, 2006 (AFP) - An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter Scale shook an uninhabited part of China's Tibet region Sunday, the Tibet seismological bureau said. "The epicenter of the quake was in an area that is uninhabited" some 660 kilometers northhwest of Lhasa. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Khan wins sixth professional fight LONDON, Feb 26 (AP) Amir Khan continued the impressive start to his professional career with a third-round stoppage of Jackson Williams at London's ExCel Arena on Saturday night. Referee Dave Parris stopped the bout with Williams, now 12-4, wilting under the weight of Khan's body shots, having already fallen to the canvas twice in the round. The win gave Khan a record of 6-0, including five stoppages. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
UN, Arabs, Muslim body urge restraint in cartoon row OHA, Feb 26 (Reuters) The United Nations, Arab League and the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Countries called on Saturday for restraint and dialogue to ease tensions over blasphemous cartoons. A joint statement issued after a meeting in Qatar attended by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said: "We deeply regret the offence caused by the caricatures, as well as the loss of life and damage to property in several countries". "We urge everyone to resist provocation, overreaction and violence, and turn to dialogue. Without dialogue we cannot hope to appeal to reason, to heal resentment or overcome mistrust," said the statement. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Palestinian PM lists conditions for Israel recognition JERUSALEM, Feb 26 (Reuters) Ismail Haniyeh, the Palestinian Prime Minister Designate, said Hamas is "ready to recognise" Israel if it gives the Palestinian people their full rights and a state in lands occupied since 1967, including the West Bank and East Jerusalem. "If Israel declares that it will give the Palestinian people a state and give them back all their rights, then we are ready to recognise them," Haniyeh told the Washington Post in an interview posted on its Web site on Saturday. Haniyeh also said Hamas was ready to consider talks with Israel if the Jewish state withdrew from the West Bank and East Jerusalem and recognised the "right of return" for Palestinian refugees who fled in the 1948 war and their descendants. (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
Protest in London against civil war threat in Iraq LONDON, Feb 26(AFP) Several thousand people gathered in central London Saturday to protest against the attack on a Shiite mosque in the Iraqi city of Samarra and warned about the risk of civil war in Iraq. The protestors, carrying banners declaring "Iraqis stand united in Iraq", also held pictures of the mosque before and after the attack, as well as portraits of Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.The demonstration drew up to 15,000 people, according to organizers. Police put the number at 5,500.The London march was called after an emergency meeting of Muslim leaders at the offices of the al-Khoei Foundation, the largest Shia organization in the UK. Prominent scholars, both Shia and Sunni, attended, as well as Sir Iqbal Sacranie of the Muslim Council of Britain, calling for unity between Muslims. (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
Seven civilians killed in Colombia attack BOGOTA, Feb 26(AFP) Seven civilians were killed and 14 others injured Saturday in an attack on a bus attributed to leftist rebels in southern Colombia, a military source said. Insurgents shot at the bus, then opened fire on the passengers. Soldiers arrived and captured three insurgents. The army announced Friday that it would provide armed escort for convoys of vehicles in the region. The ill-fated bus however was not in a guarded convoy. The leftist rebels have stepped up its attacks to defend their countryside influence ahead of legislative and presidential elections later this year. (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
Soldier, militant killed in Thailand's restive south PATTANI, Thailand, Feb 26, 2006 (AFP) A soldier and a suspected Islamic militant were killed in a shoot-out in Thailand's restive south, an army officer said Sunday. A group of suspected militants opened fire at soldiers late Saturday in Pattani, one of three insurgency-plagued south provinces, killing one soldier, he said. In the ensuing 15 minute gun battle, one of the attackers was killed, he said. Thailand's south, where most of its minority Muslim population lives, has been hit by two years of unrest that has left more than 1,100 people dead in near-daily shootings, bombings and arson. (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
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