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| April 24, 2006 | Monday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 25, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Twenty-two killed, 150 wounded in Egypt explosions CAIRO, April 24 (Reuters) Twenty-two people were killed and 150 wounded by three explosions that ripped through the Egyptian Sinai resort town of Dahab on Monday, a security official said. "It is twenty-two dead and 150 wounded ... There were three explosions," said the official, who did not want to be named. An official with the local ambulance service said many of the dead appeared to be foreigners. (Posted @ 23:40 PST)
UN Security Council to mull Chapter 7 resolution on Iran: US UNITED NATIONS, April 24, 2006 (AFP) The UN Security Council will consider a draft resolution that would legally require Iran to comply with demands that it freeze all uranium enrichment activities, US Ambassador John Bolton said Monday. Bolton told reporters the 15-member council would be discussing this week possible responses to a report by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Mohamed ElBaradei. (Posted @ 23:23 PST)
Nepal king revives dissolved parliament KATHMANDU, April 24 (Reuters) Nepal's King Gyanendra announced the reinstatement of the kingdom's dissolved parliament on Monday, meeting a key demand of anti-monarchy protesters who have brought the nation to a standstill. "We, through this proclamation, reinstate the house of representatives which was dissolved on May 22, 2002," he said on national television. (Posted @ 23:20 PST)
Iraq police find 32 bodies of security forces BAGHDAD, April 24 (Reuters) Thirty-two bodies of Iraqi police and security forces recruits were discovered in two areas of Baghdad on Monday, Interior Ministry sources said. All 32 were from the insurgent heartland of Anbar province, which is fiercely opposed to the government, the sources said. (Posted @ 23:20 PST)
Vast potential of cooperation between Pakistan, China: PM ISLAMABAD, Apr 24 (APP): Describing Pakistan and China as strategic partners, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Monday noted vast potential of cooperation between the two countries in wide-ranging areas. Pakistan and China enjoy a multifaceted relationship which covers a broad spectrum of areas including trade, investment, security, defence, health, education and diplomacy, he said talking to an eight-member Chinese delegation headed by Hu Deping, Head of All China Federation of Industry and Commerce. (Posted @ 21:00 PST)
Four UK soldiers tried for Iraqi death by drowning COLCHESTER, England, April 24 (Reuters) A British military court began hearings on Monday in the case of four soldiers accused of manslaughter for forcing an Iraqi prisoner into a canal in Basra where he drowned. The soldiers are accused of manslaughter in the death of Ahmed Kareem, a youth who was among a group of four Iraqis captured as suspected looters in Basra in May 2003. According to charges against the soldiers, they were on a patrol when they caught the Iraqis and forced them to swim in a canal. Kareem could not swim and drowned. (Posted @ 20:40 PST)
At least 5 dead after fishing boat capsizes in Bangladesh storms DHAKA, April 24 (AP) At least five people died in Jamalpur district in Bangladesh Monday after a fishing boat caught in seasonal storms capsized in Jamuna river, a news report said. Two people were missing. The boat was carrying about 30 passengers. Rescuers recovered the bodies of five people who all belonged to the same family, while most of the passengers swam to safety or were rescued by other fishing boats, reports said. (Posted @ 20:40 PST)
Five dead, five missing in Afghan plane crash KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, April 24, 2006 (AFP) Five people were killed, five missing and 10 injured after a plane leased to US anti-drugs agents crashed in south Afghanistan Monday, a spokesman for the military coalition said. Two of the 16 people on board the plane died and eight were medically evacuated by helicopter after the crash in Lashkargah, the capital of Helmand province, Canadian military spokesman Major Quentin Innis said. Another three people on the ground were killed and two were injured when the Antonov 32 transport plane ploughed into a nomad camp at the end of the runway, Innis said. Five people on the ground were still missing, he added. (Posted @ 13:20 PST Updated @ 20:30 PST)
Iran president threatens to quit NPT TEHRAN, April 24(AFP) Iran will quit the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if Western powers want to prevent the country from possessing nuclear technology, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned Monday. "Our policy is to work within the NPT and the Agency," he said. "But if we see that they don't want to accept our rights we will reconsider, and nothing important will happen," he told a news conference. "It is time for the agency to restore its reputation. They haven't done anything but cause nuisance," he said of the IAEA. (Posted @ 19:55 PST)
5 killed in gas explosionin Quetta QUETTA, April 24 (PPI): Five members of a family including two women were killed and three others including a woman were injured in an explosion caused by gas leak in a house in Quetta’s Baloch Colony Monday. The explosion blew off the roof of the house when the people were fast asleep. Two persons were killed instantly while three others succumbed to their injuries later. (Posted @ 19:40 PST)
India, Pakistan forces start joint patrol of International Border New Delhi, April 24 (PPI): The personnel of Indian Border Security Force and Pakistan Rangers have started joint patrolling of International Border in Rajasthan and Punjab sectors pursuant to a decision of bi-annual rangers conference held in Pakistan recently. "No decision has been taken with regard to joint patrolling of BSFand Pakistan Rangers in Jammu and Kashmir but joint patrolling along IB in Punjab and Rajasthan has been started," a PTI report said quoting Inspector General of BSF Jammu Frontier S C Vaid. (Posted @ 19:40 PST)
Seven dead, 51 injured in Philippine bus crash MANILA, Philippines, April 24 (APP/AFP) Seven people were killed and up to 51 injured when a commuter bus ran off the road and fell into a deep ravine south of Manila on Monday, civil defence and television reports said. (Posted @ 19:35 PST)
Pakistan, India to hold three-day talks on nuclear, conventional CBMs ISLAMABAD, April 24 (APP): Pakistan and India will begin three-day talks on nuclear and conventional confidence building measures (CBMs) from Tuesday as part of the ongoing composite dialogue process, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasneem Aslam told weekly briefing Monday. Pakistan has already tabled several proposals and "intends to have more proposals" during the discussion. She said technical level discussions focused on operational and logistic details of Muzaffarabad-Srinagar truck service and Rawalakot-Poonchh bus service would be held in New Delhi on May 2-3. Commenting on a reported statement by the Indian Prime Minister on Siachen dispute, she hoped the two countries would be able to have some forward movement in the Foreign Secretaries level talks. The spokesperson said Pakistan was in touch with the Indian authorities for consular access and subsequent release of Pakistanis in the their custody. She said there are 535 Pakistanis in Indian jails including 476 civilians and 59 fishermen. National status of 131 civilians has already been confirmed while 147 are awaiting consular access. Similarly, there are 614 Indians in Pakistani prisons including 109 civilians and 505 fishermen. National status of 300 has already been confirmed and consular accessed provided, she added. (Posted @ 19:20 PST)
Iran's Ahmadinejad says Israel 'cannot survive' TEHRAN, April 24, 2006 (APP/AFP) Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday that Israel "cannot survive", adding that migrants to the Jewish state should go back to where they came from. (Posted @ 18:45 PST)
Prophet cartoon offenders must be killed -bin Laden DUBAI, April 24 (Reuters) Osama bin Laden has called for people who ridiculed the Holy Prophet to be killed. "Heretics and atheists, who denigrate religion and transgress against God and His Prophet, will not stop their enmity towards Islam except by being killed," the Saudi-born militant said. Bin Laden's remarks were part of an audio tape which Al Jazeera television aired excerpts from on Sunday. The television station later published a full transcript on its Web site. (Posted @ 18:35 PST)
Seventh car bomb explodes in Baghdad, 8 wounded BAGHDAD, April 24 (Reuters) A seventh car bomb exploded in Baghdad on Monday, with the latest targeting an Iraqi police patrol and wounding at least eight people, police said. The explosion occured in Mansour district, home to some embassies and contracting companies. This raises the day’s toll to eight dead and nearly 90 injured in the Iraqi capital. (Posted @ 18:30 PST)
OPEC agrees to leave oil output unchanged-Venezuala DOHA, April 24 (Reuters) OPEC oil ministers have agreed to leave the group's 28 million barrels per day output ceiling unchanged, Venezuela's oil minister said on Monday, accepting there is little they can do to cool record high oil prices. Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said OPEC was powerless to defuse the global tensions that were the chief cause of crude prices topping $75 a barrel, which did not reflect the demand from oil refiners. (Posted @ 18:30 PST)
Pakistan takes command patrolling Straits of Hormuz MANAMA, April 24 (Reuters) Pakistan took command on Monday of a multi-national naval force patrolling waters around the Arabian Peninsula to stop terrorism and piracy, and search vessels suspected of smuggling arms or material used for making nuclear weapons. "We feel that the fight against terrorism in any of its forms is a noble act and we consider it our moral obligation to continue this war," Vice Admiral Muhammad Haroon, Vice Chief of Pakistan Navy, said at a ceremony in Bahrain to mark the transfer of the mission from Dutch command. "It's like searching a needle in a haystack -- we watch out for what ships are in the areas based on intelligence received from shore," Commodore Hank Ort of Royal Netherlands Navy said as he passed the command to Pakistan's Rear Admiral Shahid Iqbal. Pakistan Navy has assigned a destroyer, PNS Babur, to the task force. The United States, Britain, France, Italy Japan, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Pakistan all contribute to the maritime component of Operation Enduring Freedom. (Posted @ 18:00 PST)
4 killed in plane crash in southern Russia ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia, April 24 (AP) A small airplane crashed Sunday as it tried to land in southern Russia, killing four passengers and injuring one other, an official said Monday. The plane, used for crop-dusting, was approaching the runway when it apparently ran out of fuel, he said. (Posted @ 17:55 PST)
Six car bombs explode in Baghdad, corpses of 20 Iraqis found BAGHDAD, April 24 (AP) Six car bombs exploded in Baghdad Monday, killing at least six people and wounding dozens. Police discovered bodies of 20 Iraqis. Elsewhere, in Baghdad and other areas, three roadside bombs, five drive-by shootings and a mortar round killed a total of 12 Iraqis, police said. Baghdad's first car bomb Monday on a major street in the city centre near the Tigris river, close to a complex of government buildings, a hospital and a bus station occured during morning rush hour, killing three people and wounding 25, police said. Two hours later, bombs hidden in two cars parked near Mustansiriya University exploded, killing three civilians, including a 10-year-old boy, and wounding 22 people, including five policemen, said police Lt. Bila Ali. Around noon, a car bomb exploded in Karada, near a U.S. military convoy, wounding at least 11 civilians, including a young girl, and damaging shops. About 1:15 p.m., bombs in two cars parked about 100 meters apart exploded one after another near Iraqi police patrols, wounding three policemen and three civilians, said police Lt. Ali Abbas. Meanwhile, Police in Abu Ghraib, found a small truck containing the bodies of 15 men who had been tortured in captivity, Two other corpses were discovered in Dora, while three bodies were found in Mosul, including that of a university student who had been kidnapped hours earlier, police said. (Posted @ 14:20 PST Updated @ 17:51 PST)
Palestinian president warns Hamas he has power to remove government ANKARA, April 24 (AP) Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said in an interview aired Monday that he has the authority to remove the newly elected Hamas government from power, and warned the government that it had little choice but to negotiate with Israel.``The constitution gives me clear and definite authority to remove a government from power, but I don't want to use this authority. Everyone should know that by law this power is in my hands,'' Mahmoud Abbas said in an interview with CNN-Turk that was recorded before he arrived in Turkey on Sunday. (Posted @ 17:20 PST)
Chinese president concludes visit to Saudi RIYADH, April 24 (AFP) Chinese President Hu Jintao left Saudi Arabia Monday for Morocco after signing energy and defence deals with the oil-rich kingdom and discussing a proposal to set up a Saudi-fed strategic oil reserve in China. Hu is due to visit Nigeria and Kenya after Morocco. (Posted @ 17:20 PST)
Hamas PM calls for calm after Palestinian violence GAZA, April 24(AFP) Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya on Monday called for calm and vowed that his Hamas government would restore order following clashes between his faction and Fatah activists. "I call on the Palestinian people for calm and to respect the law," Haniya told a news conference at the health ministry in Gaza City, where clashes between Hamas and Fatah gunmen on Sunday left four people wounded. (Posted @ 17:20 PST)
Saddam trial adjourned to May 15 BAGHDAD, April 24 (AFP) The trial of Saddam Hussein on charges of crimes against humanity was adjourned Monday until May 15 after the prosecution presented a handwriting report that found the signatures of Saddam and seven other defendants matched documents linking them to the massacre of 148 Shiites in the Dujail village in the 1980s. (Posted @ 14:20 PST Updated @ 17:15 PST)
Bangladesh air force pilot dies in trainer crash DHAKA, April 24, 2006 (AFP) - A Bangladeshi fighter pilot died Monday after his aircraft nose-dived and crashed into a rice field in Kotchandpur, 200 kilometres west of Dhaka, police and armed forces officials said. (Posted @ 17:15 PST)
Shot Indian political leader still critical after second operation MUMBAI, April 24, 2006 (AFP) Pramod Mahajan, general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who was shot thrice by his brother at the weekend remains in critical condition following two operations, a hospital spokesman said Monday. "The condition remains critical. He is on ventilatory support. His kidneys continue to function poorly," Anupam Verma of Mumbai's Hinduja Hospital told reporters. "The heavy bleeding in his liver has now stopped," he said. (Posted @ 16:30 PST)
Five Maoists, soldier killed in attacks in Nepal's northeast KATHMANDU, April 24 (AFP) - Five Maoists and a soldier were killed during a seven-hour overnight rebel attack on government buildings in crisis-hit Nepal, an army official said Monday. Four civilians were also hurt as a "large number" of Maoists hurled home-made grenades at buildings including a telecoms tower, a police station, a post office and health centre, the official said. Maoists launched simultaneous attacks with guns and explosives late Sunday in Chautara, about 120 kilometres northeast of Kathmandu. "Five bodies of Maoists were recovered from the clash site Monday morning and one of our men also died," said the official from army headquarters.(Posted @ 16:25 PST)
Two killed, dozens injured as violence mars occupied Kashmir by-elections PALHALAN, occupied Kashmir, April 24 (AFP) - One person was killed Monday and 36 injured in grenade attacks on polling booths and a police vehicle during by-elections in revolt-hit occupied Kashmir, police and witnesses said. Three voters and an election official were injured in a blast at Palhalan, the witnesses said, adding that four policemen were injured afterwards by an angry crowd who blamed them for the grenade attack. Soldiers fired several shots in the air to disperse angry residents protesting the incident, an AFP correspondent said. Five voters were injured in another grenade attack on a polling station in Wagoora, further north of Palhalan, police said. In Srinagar, where there was no polling, a civilian was killed and 10 other people, including six policemen were wounded in a grenade attack on a police vehicle, police said. Voting for the four state assembly seats was held Monday amid tight security at 364 booths, but only 20 polling stations have been declared normal while the rest have been marked as "sensitive and hyper-sensitive" to violence, officials said. Three politicians have already been killed during campaigning and several candidates have escaped assassination attempts. Separatist politicians have urged people not to vote, saying the elections boost India's hold over Kashmir.(Posted @ 16:17 PST)
Iran to cancel 960 mln euro petrochemical deal TEHRAN, April 24 (AFP) - Iran is to cancel a 960-million-euro (1.19-billion-dollar) contract with companies from France, Germany and South Korea to build a new petrochemical plant, an oil ministry report said Monday. The ministry's Shana news agency said the decision was made because local firms were deemed capable of carrying out the work and at less the cost.(Posted @ 16:10 PST)
Iranian women allowed into stadiums, breaking long taboo TEHRAN, April 24(AFP) - Hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Monday that Iranian women can go to stadiums to watch sporting events, putting an end to a ban imposed after the 1979 Islamic revolution. "It should be planned in a way that women are respected and are given the best places to watch national and important games," the president was quoted as saying by state television.(Posted @ 16:05 PST)
Sri Lanka army kills two rebels COLOMBO, April 24 (Reuters) Sri Lankan troops shot dead two suspected Tamil Tiger rebels as they tried to set an ambush on Monday.(Posted @ 14:20 PST)
Pakistani troops, militants clash in South Waziristan tribal region DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) Suspected militants fired rockets, mortars and small arms at a security post in Hamrang, a village in the South Waziristan tribal area, early Monday triggering a gunbattle with troops that left one attacker wounded, an intelligence official said. The troops retaliated with artillery and small arms, forcing the assailants to retreat towards nearby hills after an hour-long gunbattle, the official said. The militants took away their wounded comrade and no Pakistani soldier was injured in the raid, the official added.(Posted @ 13:15 PST)
Afghan, Pakistan, US troops to hold joint exercise in border region KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) Afghan, Pakistan and U.S. troops will conduct a joint military exercise in the Afghan-Pakistan border region, the U.S. military said Monday. The operation, to be called Inspired Gambit, will be an ``air assault exercise'' involving a small contingent of Afghan soldiers and an unspecified number of Pakistani troops, a U.S. military spokesman said during a press conference in the Afghan capital, Kabul.(Posted @ 13:15 PST)
Gunmen torch newspapers in Pakistani tribal area MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, April 24, 2006 (AFP) Masked gunmen Monday set fire to dozens of newspapers in Pakistan's tribal belt bordering Afghanistan because the publications failed to describe them as holy warriors, officials said. Copies of Urdu-language dailies were torched at two stalls in a main market of Mir Ali, a town in North Waziristan tribal region, a local administration official said. The gunmen said they burned the papers because they were biased against them and had called them "miscreants", instead of "mujahedin" or holy warriors as they prefer, local residents said.(Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Dealing with Iran encourages its nuclear plan-U.S. DOHA, April 24 (Reuters) Conducting business with Iran encourages its nuclear ambitions, said U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodam on Monday when asked for his reaction to a gas pipeline deal between Iran, Pakistan and India. "Doing business with Iran, it seems to me, at a certain level encourages this," he told a news conference, referring to Iran's nuclear program. Bodman said he planned to meet with Indian oil minister Murli Deora, also attending the International Energy Forum in Doah.(Posted @ 12:40 PST)
Pakistan has no information on Osama bin Laden, minister says ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP)Pakistan has no information on where al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden could be hiding, Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said Monday. He also said that Pakistan's efforts to fight terrorism were not focused on just trapping bin Laden. ``It is not to arrest one particular person but to curb terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,'' Sherpao said.(Posted @ 11:40 PST)
Pakistan destroys 40,000 chickens after deadly bird flu outbreak ISLAMABAD, April 24, 2006 (AFP) Pakistan has slaughtered about 40,000 chickens after an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu at eight poultry farms in Sihala and Tarlai on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad, a spokesman for the Food, Agriculture and Livestock Ministry said. There have been no cases of infection among humans so far.(Posted @ 11:06 PST)
Bulgaria agrees to give US access to three military bases: report WASHINGTON, April 24, 2006 (AFP) Bulgaria has agreed to open three military bases to permanent use by 2,500 US troops who would be available for combat in the Middle East and other nearby regions, The Washington Times reported Monday.Citing unnamed US and Bulgarian officials, the newspaper said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will seal the deal when she visits the country this week. The final draft of the agreement, which was seen by The Times, allows the United States to deploy troops from the bases for missions in third countries without the specific permission of the Bulgarian authorities, the paper said. The possibility that US troops would use a country with a large Muslim minority as a base for an attack on a Muslim nation, such as Iran or Syria, has provoked vocal opposition in Bulgaria, The Times added.(Posted @ 11:00 PST)
Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian in Gaza GAZA, April 24 (Reuters) Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian man in an alleged exchange of fire along the Gaza-Israel border early on Monday, Israeli and Palestinian security sources said.(Posted @ 10:55 PST)
Japan, U.S. agree on funding for troop relocation TOKYO, April 24 (Reuters) Japan and the United States have reached an agreement on the touchy issue of funding the relocation of U.S. Marines to Guam, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said on Monday. The deal paves the way for wrapping up a plan to reorganise the approximately 50,000 U.S. military personnel in Japan. Japanese Defense Minister Fukushiro Nukaga and U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld clinched the deal after several hours of talks in Washington on Sunday. Japan will fund $6.09 billion, 59 percent of the total cost of moving 8,000 Marines from the southern island of Okinawa to Guam, Abe told a news conference.(Posted @ 10:50 PST)
US finds abuse at Iraqi detention facilities: report WASHINGTON, April 24, 2006 (AFP) The US military has discovered evidence of abuse of detainees at at least six more Iraqi detention centres run by the Iraqi interior ministry, The Washington Post reported Monday. Last November, US soldiers found 173 incarcerated men, some of them showing signs of torture, in a secret bunker in a ministry compound in central Baghdad. Since then, the newspaper said there have been at least six joint US-Iraqi inspections of detention centres. Two sources involved with the inspections said abuse of prisoners was found at all the sites visited through February, the report said. US military authorities confirmed that signs of severe abuse were observed at two of the detention centers, according to the paper. But US troops have not responded by removing all the detainees, as they did in November, the report said. Instead only a handful of the most severely abused detainees at a single site were removed for medical treatment, The Post added.(Posted @ 10:01 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 204.92 points: KARACHI, Apr 24: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 11802.68, down 204.92 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Apr 24: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.28 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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