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| March 23, 2006 | Thursday | Safar 22, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan protests to Afghanistan over civilian deaths ISLAMABAD, March 23, 2006 (Agencies) Pakistan lodged a strong protest with Afghanistan Thursday over the killings of 16 Pakistani civilians by Afghan soldiers, the foreign ministry said. "The Afghan ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Office here today and we have lodged a strong protest with him," ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said. "We have demanded an independent and thorough investigation into the incident and punishment for those responsible," she added. Meanwhile Assadullah Khalid, the governor of Kandahar province, said "we have sent a team to investigate the matter," adding "If what residents say is true, then the culprits will be punished." Earlier Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said those killed were Pakistanis visiting Afghanistan for a traditional new year holiday Nauroz. He said one of those killed was wanted by Pakistani authorities but added: "They were not Taliban". The bodies of 14 of the men were brought to the Pakistani town of Chaman where about 5,000 mourners gathered. Two bodies were buried on the Afghan side, a Pakistani official said. (First Posted@ 15:28 PST Updated @ 16:50 PST)
Bombing in southwestern Pakistan injures eight, including two children QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) _ A homemade bomb ripped through a town bazaar in restive southwestern Pakistan on Thursday, seriously injuring two boys and six other people, an official said. The bomb was hidden in a plastic shopping bag and planted near a public telephone booth in Kohlu, a town about 300 kilometers (186 miles) east of the Baluchistan provincial capital of Quetta, local government official Nasim Lehri said. No one claimed responsibility immediately for the explosion but Lehri blamed local tribesmen, who have been accused of rocket attacks on security forces and bombings targeting railroads and gas pipelines. Thursday's bomb went off in front of the telephone booth, shattering windows there and at a nearby bank in the main street in Kohlu, Lehri said. The two boys, 9 and 11, were being treated for serious injuries, he said. Separately, another bomb explosion ripped open a pipeline at a gas field in Dera Bugti, a tribal area 350 kilometers (220 miles) east of Quetta, but no one was injured, said Abdul Akbar Lasi, the top government administrator in the area. The explosion ruptured a 1.2-meter (4-foot) section of the pipeline taking gas from a well to a purification plant, disrupting supply, Lasi said. (Posted @ 12:39 PST)
Commonwealth Games boxing: Pakistani in final MELBOURNE, March 23(AFP) – Pakistan’s Mehrullah Lasi entered the Commonwealth Games boxing final when he defeated Aussie pugilist Luke Jackson by 20 points to 13 in the featherweight class here Thursday. (Posted @ 10:25 PST)
Musharraf asks people to reject extremism LAHORE, Mar 23 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf Thursday addressed a gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan to mark the Pakistan Day and PML's centennial convention. "I seek your support to make Pakistan a stronger, progressive, moderate and a truly welfare Islamic state as envisioned by our forefathers," he said. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, PML Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chief Ministers of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan, President PML NWFP, federal and provincial ministers, MNAs, MPAs and local bodies representatives attended the convention. He also regretted the incidents of ransacking and destruction of public and private properties in Lahore during protests against blasphemous sketches. "It is unfortunate that a few extremist elements exploit religion for their own vested interests," he said. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Thursday also addressed the convention and reaffirmed his strong pledge to further improve the national economy for the welfare of the poor strata of the society.(Posted @ 20:55 PST)
Afghan cop shoots dead police chief after row KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, March 23, 2006 (AFP) A policeman in southern Afghanistan Thursday shot dead his district police chief after an argument before being gunned down by his colleagues, officials said. However a purported spokesman for Taliban told journalists that they had killed both the policemen.(Posted @ 19:50 PST)
127 feared drowned as boat sinks off Cameroon YAOUNDE, March 23 (Reuters) Some 127 people were feared drowned after a boat carrying 150 passengers sank off the port of Kribi on Cameroon's Atlantic coast on Thursday, state radio said. The boat was discovered by a local fisherman who alerted his colleagues and people living in coastal villages who rushed to the scene and rescued 23 people, the radio said.(Posted @ 19:48 PST)
Assad appoints first woman as Syrian vice president DAMASCUS, March 23 (Reuters) Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday appointed former culture minister Najah al-Attar as a second vice president, the official news agency SANA reported. Attar is the first woman to hold such a high position in Syria.(Posted @ 19:28 PST)
Thousands protest over blasphemous cartoon issue in Pakistan RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, March 23, 2006 (AFP) Thousands of protestors condemned President Pervez Musharraf Thursday for not pressing Denmark to apologise over the blasphemous cartoons in a rally convened by Jamaat-i-Islami party in Rawalpindi. "Musharraf is an ally of (US President George W) Bush, we reject this alliance," party chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed said adding "we cannot tolerate this government, the country needs a revolutionary change."(Posted @ 19:25 PST)
24 killed in spate of Iraq attacks BAGHDAD, March 23, 2006 (AFP) At least 24 people were killed in insurgent attacks in Iraq Thursday, including 15 slain in a suicide car bombing at a Baghdad anti-terrorism unit. "A suicide car bomber drove into the entrance of the headquarters of this unit (in the Baghdad district of Wahda), killing 15 people including 10 police and wounding 30, mostly police" at around 11:00 am (0800 GMT), a security source said. Another attack in a market at the Al-Shorta al-Khamissa district on Thursday, apparently targeting security forces, killed five Iraqis, including a police commando, and wounded 22 others, a security source said. At least three other policemen were killed and five people were wounded in car bomb attack in the north of the city. A second car bomb attack in the centre of the capital wounded two civilians.(First Posted@ 15:48 PST Updated @ 18:05 PST)
Pakistani players out of CW Games table tennis competition MELBOURNE, Mar 23 (APP) Pakistani players made their exit from Commonwealth Games table tennis men's singles event when both Farjad Saif and Kashif Razzaq were beaten in the preliminary round matches here on Thursday. Farjad was beaten 4-1 by Nigerian Tajudeen Jegede. Kashif Razzq was beaten by Guyana's Idi Lewis 11-6,9-11,11-5,11-8,12-10. (Posted @ 16:00 PST)
India's Gandhi to quit parliament, contest again NEW DELHI, March 23 (Reuters) The chief of India's ruling Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, said on Thursday she would quit as member of parliament and a key advisory body after a controversy threatened to disqualify her from parliament. "I have decided to resign from the Lok Sabha and the national advisory council," Gandhi told a news conference, adding that she would contest elections again for her parliamentary seat. "For the last two days, some people in the country were trying to create an impression that parliament was being misused for my benefit," Gandhi said. "This has hurt me. I have said before that in my political and personal life, I have not wanted any private benefit," she added. (Posted @ 15:49 PST)
Troops free Canadian, British hostages in Iraq BAGHDAD, March 23 (Reuters) Three Western peace activists were freed from kidnappers on Thursday in an operation mounted by U.S.-led forces in Iraq, British officials said. The two Canadians and a Briton from the Christian Peacemaker Teams were snatched in Baghdad in November. The tortured body of their American colleague Tom Fox was found two weeks ago. Officials declined to say where in Iraq the operation took place or whether there were any casualties or arrests made. (Posted @ 15:49 PST)
Israeli army kills two Palestinians in central Gaza GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip, March 23 (AP) _ Israeli army fired missiles and killed Thursday two Palestinians who were allegedly planting a bomb along the Israel-Gaza border, Palestinian security officials and the army said. (Posted @ 10:34 PST)
Iraqi pilgrims ambushed, more bodies found BAGHDAD, March 23 (Reuters) - Gunmen in Baghdad killed at least 15 pilgrims and wounded dozens late Wednesday, when several vehicles were ambushed in Amriya districts, an Interior Ministry source said. Police also reported the discovery of six more bodies on the streets of the capital. (Posted @ 10:11 PST)
Australia grants interim visas to Papua boat people SYDNEY, March 23 (Reuters) - Australia has granted temporary protection visas to 42 asylum seekers from Indonesia's troubled Papua province despite Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urging Canberra to send them back. Yudhoyono had phoned Australian Prime Minister John Howard and said the group should not be given political asylum and should be returned to Indonesia. He had given an assurance they would not be prosecuted. A spokesman for Indonesia's Foreign Ministry warned in January that the issue could harm bilateral ties. (Posted @ 09:54 PST)
Bus accident in Chile kills 12 Americans, injures two SANTIAGO, Chile, March 23 (AP) _ A bus carrying tourists from a cruise ship plunged more than 100 meters (yards) into a mountain ravine in northern Chile, killing 12 U.S. citizens and seriously injuring two others, officials said. The Chilean bus driver and a guide were also injured in Wednesday's accident. ``We have confirmed that all the victims were American citizens,'' an official spokesman said. He said the bus had a capacity of 16 passengers and ``was totally destroyed as it fell more than 100 meters (yards).'' ( First Posted @ 09:18 PST Update @ 09:41 PST)
Muslim scholars gather to tackle cartoon row MANAMA, March 23 (AFP) - Some 300 Muslim scholars opened a two-day conference in Bahrain Wednesday to evolve strategy to prevent a repeat of the crisis sparked by the publication of the blasphemous cartoons. The gathering opened with an address by its chairman, influential Egyptian-born cleric Sheikh Yussef al-Qaradawi, whose International Union of Muslim Ulema is one of the conference's organizers. "It's a war that has been waged against us for no other reason but to insult Islam," said the hardline cleric who has opposed dialogue with Denmark before it issues an official apology for the cartoons. One of the gathering's other organisers, popular Saudi cleric Sheikh Salman al-Odah, commended the boycott and said Muslims must now think of ways to reduce their dependence on the West. The Manama gathering is expected to debate "the roots of Western views of Islam" and the "greatness and sacred status of the Holy Prophet." (Posted @ 09:33 PST)
Six months for US dog handler for Abu Ghraib abuse WASHINGTON, March 23 (AFP) - A US soldier convicted of abusing detainees with his guard dog at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq was sentenced to six months in prison on Wednesday by a court martial, a military spokesperson said. Sergeant Michael Smith, 24, "will be confined for 179 days and he will receive a bad conduct discharge," the spokesperson said. (Posted @ 09:19 PST)
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