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| April 20, 2006 | Thursday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 21, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Eight Pakistani troops killed in clashes with militants MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, April 20, 2006 (AFP) Militants ambushed a convoy of Pakistani troops Thursday, killing seven and wounding 22 in Sarobi village, 20 kilometres north of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, chief military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said. "This happened when security forces were moving and mounting routine security positions. The attackers used nearby heights and attacked the security forces," Sultan said. Sultan said troops were responding to the attack and had secured the area but did not confirm the militant death toll. An AFP correspondent said firing had stopped but soldiers were barring all vehicles from the area. Separately, a shootout erupted on Thursday when a suspected foreign militant refused to get out of a car at a checkpoint near Khar, the main town in Bajaur tribal region, Sultan said. "He started firing at the paramilitary forces. One (soldier) was killed and the suspect was also killed," he said. The suspect's body was undergoing tests to establish his identity. Also, five paramilitary soldiers were injured late Wednesday when a remote-controlled roadside bomb struck their vehicle in Spinwah village, 40 kilometres northeast of Miranshah, a security official said. Rockets were also fired at security forces in the nearby border town of Mirali early Thursday but caused no casualties.( First Posted @ 12:50 PST Updated @ 20:06 PST)
Musharraf for better relations between PML-PPP Patriot ISLAMABAD, April 20 (PPI) President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has directed that Pakistan Muslim League and its ally in the government Pakistan Peoples Party Patriot should give up their differences, and improve their relations. Federal minister for Kashmir affairs and a leader of PPP-Patriot Makhadoom Faisal Saleh Hayat told reporters after the meeting that prevailing political situation and all matters were discussed at length.(Posted @ 23:46 PST)
Iraqi parliament session cancelled after PM climbs down BAGHDAD, April 20, 2006 (AFP) A much-awaited session of Iraq's parliament was cancelled Thursday amid signs that a breakthrough on forming a government of national unity might be on the immediate horizon. The news came shortly after current Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari took a step back from his long insistence of staying on at the helm in the next government and put his fate in the hands of the dominant Shiite United Iraqi Alliance. "The leaders decided that the session be postponed until Saturday 3:00 pm (1100 GMT) so we can give more time for consultations and negotiations in order to overcome all the obstacles," acting Iraqi parliament speaker Adnan Pachachi told reporters.(Posted @ 21:56 PST)
Pakistan attaches great value to ties with South Africa: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, Apr 20 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Thursday said that Pakistan attaches great value to its relations with South Africa and is keen to further promote bilateral cooperation in wide-ranging areas including economic, diplomatic, defense and social sectors. Talking to Mluleki Editor George, Deputy Minister of Defence of South Africa who called on him at the Prime Minister house, he said the two countries share common interests. He also emphasized the need to hold the meeting of the Joint Economic Commission this year.(Posted @ 20:20 PST)
Indian army changes rules to prevent fake medal claims NEW DELHI, April 20, 2006 (AFP) India's army chief said Thursday that the military had taken steps to discourage officers from faking battle encounters in a bid to grab honours, adding that it would punish any violations. The announcement came days after a disgraced army officer told reporters that his top commanders had ordered him to claim killing Pakistani soldiers in Occupied Kashmir in an effort to earn regimental medals. "We want to stop this race for (fake) performance," Indian army chief J.J. Singh told reporters said, referring to a case in which a major was given a three-year jail sentence for staging battles to win medals during fighting with Pakistan for control of Siachen glacier. The sentence was overturned by a civilian court after Major Surinder Singh said he had been compelled to fake the two battles in Siachen in 2003 by his commander, Colonel K.D. Singh. That colonel in turn blamed his immediate superior, who has been dubbed "General Ketchup" by the Indian media.(Posted @ 20:12 PST)
Indian army against deal with Pakistan on Kashmir glacier NEW DELHI, April 20, 2006 (AFP) India's army chief Thursday ruled out any immediate troop withdrawals from the disputed Siachen glacier as part of ongoing talks with Pakistan. "We should not call it demilitarisation as it is a process and the first step will be disengagement and the next will be demilitarisation, but it is not immediately on the horizon as we see," Indian Army Chief J.J. Singh told a news conference. Any change in troop levels on the Siachen glacier would depend on the outcome of the ongoing talks between the two nuclear-armed rivals, Singh said, adding that the army opposes any quick troop withdrawal but instead wants a step-by-step reduction.(Posted @ 20:08 PST)
China's Hu pledges help on Iran, North Korea nuclear row WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged on Thursday that China was ready "to peacefully resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula and the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomatic negotiations." He spoke at an arrival ceremony at the White House standing next to President George W. Bush. Bush reaffirmed that the United States was committed to a "one China" policy. "We oppose unilateral changes in the status quo in the Taiwan strait by either side. We urge all parties to avoid confrontational or provocative acts and we believe the future of Taiwan should be resolved peacefully," Bush said.(Posted @ 19:42 PST)
Suicide attack wounds four in southern Afghanistan KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, April 20, 2006 (AFP) A suicide car bomber wounded four local employees of a US security company in an attack in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, an official from the firm said. The attacker rammed his explosives-laden Toyota station wagon into a US Protection and Investigations (USPI) vehicle on the main highway from Kandahar province to western Herat, the official said. Police did comment on the incident immediately.(Posted @ 18:02 PST)
India tells king quickly to restore democracy in Nepal KATHMANDU, April 20, 2006 (AFP) A special Indian envoy on Thursday told King Gyanendra of Nepal to restore democracy urgently, as police shot dead three protesters breaking a curfew in the capital. This would "overcome the crisis that Nepal is faced with," the Indian embassy said in a statement after senior diplomat Karan Singh was granted a royal audience at the Narayan Hiti palace in Kathmandu. The envoy also met leaders of major political parties to discuss the crisis that has caused "deep concern" in neighbouring India, the statement added. Asked if India has plans to send a peacekeeping force to the Himalayan kingdom, Prime Minister Singh said Wednesday night: "We have not reached that stage…It is a step-by-step process. The problems can be resolved by various Nepalese groups." (First Posted@ Posted @ 15:07 PST Updated @ 17:40 PST)
Pakistan culls 25,000 chickens in bird flu scare ISLAMABAD, April 20 (Reuters) Pakistan on Thursday culled around 25,000 chickens at two farms near the capital where bird flu was detected, officials said. Pakistan reported its first case of deadly H5N1 bird flu at two farms in North West Frontier Province in February and found the virus at another farm near Islamabad last week. Scientists detected a mild strain of bird flu, H5, in flocks at two farms near Islamabad on Thursday and suspected that two other farms might also be affected in the same area. "We have destroyed about 25,000 chickens at the two farms where the outbreak of H5 strain has been confirmed," Shamsul Hasan, director at the state-run Poultry Development Centre, said.(First Posted@13:30 PST Updated @ 17:36 PST)
Turkish, Pakistani foreign ministers call for diplomacy in Iran nuclear dispute ANKARA, Turkey (AP) The foreign ministers of Turkey and Pakistan said Thursday that diplomacy must be given a chance to solve the nuclear crisis over Iran, with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul adding that ``nobody wants war.'' ``Pakistan is against the use of force,'' Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri told reporters during a joint news conference. ``We do not wish to have an unstable border with Iran,'' adding that ``we prefer that diplomacy be given a chance.''. Gul said: ``Nobody wants war and especially not Turkey.'' Kasuri said as a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran ``has obligations and it also has rights.'' He suggested that there was still a chance for diplomacy because several people in the Iranian leadership regard nuclear weapons to be against Islam. ``We must try and find a way out and have an inspection regime ... whereby the concerns of the international community can be met and we have a peaceful and diplomatic resolution to the dispute,'' he said.(Posted @ 17:00 PST)
Pakistani official accuses U.S. of concealing information about Guantanamo inmates ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) A senior Pakistani security official on Thursday accused Washington of having concealed information about detainees at Guantanamo Bay, saying there were more Pakistani nationals held at the U.S. prison for terror suspects than previously thought. The Interior Ministry official, who is familiar with Pakistan's efforts to secure the release of its nationals from the U.S. military base on Cuba, said that as recently as last month, Pakistan thought just seven of its citizens were being held there. ``According to the latest information provided to us by America, 22 Pakistanis are still detained there,'' he said. ``It is a fact that they have been concealing information from us about our people detained at Guantanamo Bay.'' The new information was shared with Pakistan by U.S. officials this month, said the official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. It wasn't clear whether the additional inmates were detained more recently than the other seven.(Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Tight security as opposition strike hits Bangladesh DHAKA, April 20 (Reuters) Police fired teargas shells and used batons in sporadic battles with stone-throwing activists in the Bangladesh capital on Thursday as a daylong opposition-led strike gripped the country. Witnesses said clashes erupted in several city areas, including Bangabandhu Avenue, where the central office of the main opposition party Awami League is located. About 70 activists including women were injured, witnesses said. Police detained dozens of protesters. Most Dhaka streets were largely empty of vehicles, while schools and many offices were closed. Highway transport was not operating but trains and ferries were.(First Posted@10:04 PST Updated @ 15:06 PST)
51 killed as wedding party bus skids off road in India's northeast GUWAHATI, India, April 20, 2006 (AFP) At least 51 people were killed Thursday when a bus taking them to a wedding skidded off the road and slid into a pond in Indias northeast, police said. "We have extricated 51 bodies so far. There could be some more people in the pond and divers are at work," a police official said.(First Posted@10:23 PST Updated @ 15:06 PST)
Tamil Tiger rebels say they can't attend Geneva talks on April 24-25 KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka, April 20 (AP) _ Tamil Tiger rebels on Thursday said they can't attend talks in Geneva with Sri Lanka's government as scheduled on April 25-24. No new date was announced. The rebels' political wing leader, S.P. Thamilselvan, told reporters that he informed visiting Norwegian peace envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer that his group can't attend the talks on the scheduled dates because of escalating violence in Tamil-majority areas. At least 55 people, including 33 government troops, have been killed in a surge of violence since April 8.(Posted @ 13:30 PST)
Pakistan air force fighter jet crashes, pilot safely ejects KARACHI, Pakistan, April 20 (AP) _ A Pakistan air force jet crashed during a routine training flight in an open area on the outskirts of Karachi on Thursday, but no one was hurt, an official said. The French-made Mirage aircraft caught fire shortly after it went down, Squadron Leader Naeemul Haq said adding that the pilot ejected safely and there were no reports of any injuries or damage on the ground. Air force officials and fire fighters had reached the scene of the crash and an investigation had been ordered.(Posted @ 12:35 PST)
Gunmen attack Sunni mosque BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) _ Gunmen attacked a Sunni mosque in southern Baghdad, sparking clashes with guards and residents. Clashes erupted before dawn when gunmen attacked the al-Iktisadiyeen mosque in the district of Saidiyah. Mosque guards and residents battled the attackers for about an hour before police arrived and drove off the gunmen. There were no casualties, but the walls of the mosque and nearby houses were damaged, police 1st. Lt. Thair Mahmoud said. In the nearby Um al-Maalif district, gunmen killed two militiamen loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr in a drive-by shooting, police said. In other violence Thursday a roadside bomb killed an Iraqi policeman in Baqouba, east of Baghdad; a car bomb exploded near a British military patrol in Basra, wounding two Iraqi civilians; and five Iraqi policemen were wounded in a driveby shooting on their checkpoint in Baghdad's southern neighbourhood of Dora.(Posted @ 12:30 PST)
Singapore heads for elections as parliament is dissolved SINGAPORE, April 20 (AFP) - Singapore President S.R. Nathan dissolved parliament Thursday, a government statement said, setting the stage for general elections.(Posted @ 12:18 PST)
Four more killed in Sri Lanka violence COLOMBO, April 20(AFP) - At least four people were killed in Sri Lanka on Thursday as a Norwegian peace envoy held talks with Tamil Tiger rebels on saving the island's ceasefire, officials said. Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels shot dead a rival activist in Batticaloa on Thursday and fought a gun battle with government forces in the neighbouring district of Trincomalee, a defence official said. The body of a suspected Tiger rebel together was found with a hand grenade at Kinniya in the Trincomalee district, the official said, adding that a government soldier was wounded in the firefight. Two more dead bodies were found at Maharambakulam in Vavuniya district, the military said, but their identities had not been established.(Posted @ 12:17 PST)
Russian-built nuclear power station in Iran no threat: Moscow BISHKEK, April 20 (AFP) - A nuclear power station being built by Russia in Iran presents no threat, Moscow's top nuclear official said here Thursday following a US demand for the project to be shut down. "The building of the Bushehr nuclear power station does not threaten the non-proliferation regime," Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Rosatom nuclear agency, told journalists in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.(Posted @ 12:08 PST)
Two killed in occupied Kashmir ahead of polls SRINAGAR, April 20 (AFP) - Soldiers killed two Kashmiri youth in an area of revolt-hit occupied Kashmir where several state by-elections are due to take place next week, police said Thursday. They were shot dead late Wednesday during a so-called clash in northern Baramulla district where voting for three vacant assembly segments will take place next Monday. Separatists have urged voters not to cast their ballot as they fear elections boost India's hold over the disputed area. Meanwhile, police said three policemen were injured when freedom fighters hurled a grenade at their patrol late Wednesday in Srinagar.(Posted @ 11:56 PST)
Brent crude hits new record in London LONDON, April 20 (AFP) - The price of Brent North Sea crude oil climbed above 74 dollars per barrel for the first time, in trading here on Thursday. (Posted @ 11:23 PST)
Delegation arrives, to represent Pakistan at annual WB/IMF Spring Meetings WASHINGTON, Apr 20 (APP)- A high-powered Finance and Economic Affairs delegation of Pakistan, led by Dr Salman Shah, arrived here late Wednesday to participate in the important annual World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings. Besides attending the Spring Meetings, the delegation will have multilateral meetings with the G-24 Ministers', the IMFC's, and the Development Committee. It will also have bilateral meetings with the U.S.Treasury, USAID, U.S. Exim Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. (Posted @ 11:22 PST)
Iranian president says oil prices haven't reached true value TEHRAN, Iran (AP) _ Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that crude oil prices _ now at record levels _ still are below their true value. He also said developed countries are benefiting the most from the current high prices. ``The global oil price has not reached its real value yet. The products derived from crude oil are sold at prices dozens of times higher than those charged by oil-producing countries,'' state-run Tehran radio quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. ``The developed nations are the biggest beneficiary of the added value of oil products,'' he said stopping short of saying Iran would use oil as a weapon, a tactic much feared by his antagonists on the nuclear issue. Nor did he say what oil prices should be. Oil prices should be determined on the basis of market supply and demand, the Iranian leader said. ``Oil is the major asset of nations possessing it. Its price should not be lowered on the pretext that it will prove harmful to developing states, thus permitting the world powers to benefit the most from it,'' he added.(Posted @ 10:45 PST)
23 killed by floods on Indonesia's Java Island JAKARTA, Indonesia, April 20 (AP) _ Flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rain killed at least 23 people Thursday on Indonesia's main island of Java, state news agency Antara reported. Knee-high waters were hampering rescue work in the worst-hit district of Bendungan, Antara reported. ``Uptil this afternoon, we have recorded 23 deaths,'' local district chief Soeharto was quoted as saying.(Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Taliban chief warns Afghans not to work with the government DOHA, April 20 (AFP) - A Taliban leader, Jalaluldin Haqqani, on Wednesday warned Afghans not to work with the government or the Afghan army and "occupation forces" in an audio recording released on Al-Jazeera television.(Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Rocket hits TV station compound in Afghan capital, one injured KABUL, April 20 (AFP) - A powerful rocket exploded in a television station compound near the US embassy and NATO headquarters in the Afghan capital late Wednesday, injuring a Nepalese security guard, police said. The massive blast from the "very strong" rocket sent shrapnel flying hundreds of meters (yards) from the state-run Kabul TV and radio building, an official said. One foreign security guard, believed to be a Nepalese was injured by the flying debris. Separately on Wednesday, US forces shot dead a suspected suicide bomber who tried to ram his jeep into a coalition convoy in eastern Nangahar province, police said. "After American troops opened fire, the explosives-laden jeep blew up, which destroyed the vehicle," Abdul Jabar Durani, the chief of Ghanikhail district, said. Meanwhile two Canadian soldiers were wounded in roadside bomb blast in the province of Helmand.(Posted @ 09:53 PST)
China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, US executed most in 2005: Amnesty LONDON, April 20, 2006 (AFP) - China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States carried out nearly 94 percent of the 2,148 the world's executions in 2005, Amnesty International said Thursday as it released new figures on the use of the death penalty. Some 1,770 executions were reported in China, at least 94 in Iran, 86 in Saudi Arabia and 60 in the United States. Irene Khan, secretary general of the AI noted that in 1977, only 16 countries had abolished the death penalty for all crimes. By 2005, that figure had risen to 86.(Posted @ 09:44 PST)
Pentagon releases list of Guantanamo detainees WASHINGTON, April 20 (AFP) - The Pentagon on Wednesday released for the first time a list of names and nationalities of 558 "war on terror" detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The list was posted on a Pentagon website in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by the Associated Press. Those on the list came from 40 countries across the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and Europe. The largest number(130) was from Saudi Arabia. Afghans accounted for 125 detainees, followed by Yemenis who numbered more than 100. The list showed there were 25 Algerians, 22 Chinese and 13 Pakistanis. Smaller but still sizeable numbers of Libyans, Tunisians, Kuwaitis and Sudanese were among the detainees, and they came in ones and twos from as far away as Uganda, Azerbaijan, Russia and the Maldives. Among the detainees on the list is Canadian teenager, Omar Ahmed Khadr, accused of killing a US soldier in Afghanistan. At the top of the list is David Hicks, the Australian captured fighting alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan. He is one of 10 detainees who face trial by a special military commission.(Posted @ 09:25 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 27.64 points: KARACHI, Apr 20: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 12075.75 , up 27.64 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Apr 20: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.17 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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