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| April 30, 2006 | Sunday | Rabi-us-Sani 1, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Al Qaeda claims Karachi attack in internet statement PARIS, April 30 (AFP) - Al-Qaeda late Saturday claimed a suicide bomb attack in early March which killed five, including an American diplomat and a US consulate employee in the Pakistani city of Karachi just before US President George W. Bush visited. In the statement, whose authenticity could not be immediately verified, the organisation promised a "summer of hell" for US troops in Afghanistan. "Dozens of suicide operations have been carried out in Pakistan and Afghanistan within the large Al-Qaeda campaign against Zionists and crusaders, including the attack against the US consulate in Karachi a day before the arrival of the biggest crusader (US President George W. Bush)," the organisation said. The statement, signed "Al Qaeda, of the Afghanistan Jihad" vowed that 2006 "would be decisive and that this summer would be hell for crusader soldiers and their agents among the renegades". No organisation had previously claimed responsibility for the March 2 attack in which five people were killed and which happened two days before Bush visited Islamabad, the third stage of a tour of Southern Asia which also took him to Afghanistan and India. (Posted @ 09:02 PST)
Taliban claim to have killed Indian hostage in Afghanistan KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, April 30 (AFP) - A spokesman for Taliban militants who kidnapped an Indian engineer in southern Afghanistan said Sunday they had killed their hostage as he tried to escape. "The Indian engineer was in a room with one guard. He attacked the guard and punched him, went out of the building running as other mujahedin shot him dead," spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP by telephone. The hostage, Surya Narayan, working as a contractor for Afghan mobile telephone network, was abducted Friday in Zabul province on the main highway linking Kabul to Kandahar. Ahmadi said the Taliban's council of leaders was "saddened" by the incident, as New Delhi had shown its willingness to negotiate for Narayan's release. "We are sorry -- the leading council had decided to extend the deadline for another 24 hours since the Indian side had showed gestures that they were ready to negotiate," he said. On Saturday, the militants threatened to kill Narayan unless all Indian nationals and companies left Afghanistan within 24 hours. (First Posted @ 10:30 PST; Updated @ 10:45)
Afghan police find beheaded body KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, April 30 (AP) - Afghan police found an unidentified man's headless body in southern Afghanistan. Ghulam Nabi Malakhail, police chief of Zabul province, said a highway police patrol found the body of a man near the Hassan Kariez district of Zabul, the same area where Indian hostage K. Suryanarayana was abducted Friday. ``We are investigating whether the body is that of the Indian hostage,'' Malakhail said. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)
Nepal's premier sworn-in by king at palace ceremony KATHMANDU, April 30 (AFP) - Nepalese Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala was sworn in on Sunday morning by King Gyanendra, the man whose powers he has vowed to cut after weeks of violent protests. (Posted @ 09:44 PST)
ICC announces next three Cricket World Cup venues DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Cricket's world governing body announced the locations for the next three World Cups on Sunday. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will co-host the 2011 tournament, Australia and New Zealand have the 2015 edition, and England 2019. The 2007 World Cup was already set for the Caribbean, leaving the venues for 2011, 2015 and 2019 to be decided. The International Cricket Council was asked to vote on rival bids for 2011 at its meeting in Dubai, having scrapped its policy of rotating the World Cup between regions and clearing the four Asian nations to take Australia-New Zealand. After the Asian bid won, the ICC awarded the following World Cup to Australia-New Zealand, leaving England unopposed for the 2019 tournament. (First Posted @ 17:05 PST; Updated @ 18:00 PST)
Pakistan, Iran reaffirm to develop gas pipeline project by adopting international standards ISLAMABAD, Apr 30 (APP): Pakistan and Iran have reaffirmed to develop gas pipeline project by adopting international best practices and standards and to make immediate efforts for concluding the bilateral arrangements. It was told by the Secretary Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources Ahmed Waqar at a press conference on Sunday after the conclusion of the 7th meeting of the Iran-Pakistan Joint Working Group (JWG) on Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project held in Islamabad from April 28-30 April. (Posted @ 18:20 PST)
U.S. journalist freed from Afghan jail KABUL, April 30 (Reuters) - An American journalist was freed from jail in Afghanistan on Sunday after serving most of a two-year sentence for his involvement in running a private jail and illegally detaining men in a freelance war on terror. Emmy award-winning documentary maker Edward Caraballo, 44, from New York, was one of three Americans jailed in 2004 after they were convicted of running a jail and torturing some men. "He was released today under a presidential decree ... he's left the country," said Salaam Bakhshi, governor of the Kabul's Pul-i-Charkhi jail, where Caraballo and the other two Americans have been held. (Posted @ 20:25 PST)
3 Afghan soldiers killed, 3 wounded in roadside bombing KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) _ Taliban militants killed three Afghan soldiers and wounded three more with a roadside bomb in the volitile south on Sunday, an army chief said. The explosion targeted an Afghan army vehicle patrolling outside the Helmand provincial city of Grishk, local Afghan army commander Gen. Rahmattalluh Roufi said. Roufi blamed Taliban militants for the bombing, the latest in a series of deadly attacks carried out by remnants of Afghanistan's toppled hard-line regime. (Posted @ 18:30 PST)
Pakistan, Cuba to establish embassies KARACHI, April 30 (APP): Pakistan and Cuba would establish embassies in each others' capitals, said Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. He was speaking as chief guest at the launching of the study `Corporate Philanthropy in Pakistan: The case of public listed companies' here at Governor House on Saturday night. The Prime Minister particularly mentioned the role of Cuba towards the relief efforts in the wake of devastating earthquake on October 8, last year. (Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Baghdad minibus blast kills two BAGHDAD, April 30 (Reuters) - A bomb planted inside a minibus exploded in Baghdad's Shi'ite Sadr City neighbourhood on Sunday, killing at least two people and wounding six, police sources said. No further details were immediately available. Sunni insurgents have stepped up bombings of buses in recent weeks, stirring already high sectarian passions. A bomb inside a minibus in Sadr City earlier this week killed two people and wounded five. (First Posted @ 13:30 PST; Updated @ 17:00 PST)
Trapped Australian miners found alive after five days SYDNEY, April 30, 2006 (AFP) - Two Australian miners trapped underground for five days were found alive Sunday, national television reported. Little hope had been held for the survival of the two men who had been trapped by a rockfall since Tuesday after an earth tremor at the Beaconsfield Gold Mine in Tasmania, ABC said. The Australian Associated Press news agency quoted the company as saying that rescuers had located the two men and indications were that they were still alive. (Posted @ 16:00 PST)
Four killed in Italy landslide ROME, April 30, 2006 (AFP) - Four died Sunday in a landslide on the popular tourist island of Ischia off Naples, the Italian media reported. The bodies of the victims were pulled out from the rubble of a house which was engulfed when part of a hill overlooking the hamlet of Pilastri collapsed, Naples police said. Journalists at the scene said two other people caught up in the landslide were hauled to safety from the house where a family of six lived. (Posted @ 15:00 PST)
7 female religious pilgrims killed as truck collides with oil tanker in northern India NEW DELHI (AP) _ Seven women on a religious pilgrimage were killed Sunday when a truck they were traveling in collided with an oil tanker in northern India, media reports said. At least 20 other people were injured in the collision in the state of Haryana, the Press Trust of India news agency quoted local police as saying. The injured were taken to a hospital in the city of Hisar, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) northwest of New Delhi, PTI reported. (Posted @ 13:55 PST)
Death toll in China mine blast rises to 27 BEIJING, April 30, 2006 (AFP) - The death toll from a coal mine blast in northwest China rose to 27 on Sunday as more bodies were found, state media reported. The gas explosion rocked the Wayaobao mine in Zichang county of Shaanxi province shortly before 5 pm Saturday, Xinhua news agency said. At the time 39 miners were underground, and seven escaped with slight injuries, according to the agency. Five were still missing as of Sunday afternoon, but the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety said in a statement on its website there was "not much hope" of finding them alive. (First Posted @ 09:19 PST; Updated @ 13:00 PST)
Rampaging mob protests local election results in Java town JAKARTA, April 30 (AFP) - Thousands of people angered by the results of a local election in Indonesia's East Java province burned buildings, cars and motorcycles prompting authorities to impose a curfew, police said Sunday. "The situation is now under control but the curfew has not yet been revoked," said an police officer in Tuban district who gave the name Joko. He said 95 people had been arrested after the violence on Saturday that saw around 5,000 people torch seven buildings, damage two gas stations and damage or torch dozens of cars and motorcycles. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
S.Lanka Tigers say raid army-backed paramilitaries COLOMBO, April 30 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels said they raided camps belonging to renegade ex-rebels, the Karuna group, inside government territory on Sunday, killing 20 Karuna fighters. (First Posted @ 09:01 PST Updated @ 10:16 PST)
Seven injured in Papua Freeport mine violence JAKARTA, April 30 (AFP) - Seven people were injured and buildings and cars were vandalized as police and mine workers clashed near the giant Freeport MacMoRan-operated gold and copper mine in Indonesia's Papua province, a company spokesman said Sunday. "The cause of the violence remains unclear," he said. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Famed U.S. economist John Kenneth Galbraith dies at 97 BOSTON, April 30, 2006 (AP) _ John Kenneth Galbraith, the Harvard professor who won worldwide renown as a liberal economist, backstage politician and witty chronicler of affluent society, has died, his son said. He was 97. During a long career, the Canadian-born economist served as adviser to Democratic presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Bill Clinton, and was John F. Kennedy's ambassador to India. (Posted @ 09:49 PST)
Cyclone Mala destroys 200 homes in Myanmar, leaves one dead YANGON, Myanmar, April 30 (APP/AP) _ Residents in Myanmar were cleaning up Sunday from Cyclone Mala, packing winds as high as 240 kilometers an hour, that left one person dead, injured 21 and destroyed more than 200 homes and buildings, officials said. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)
Chinese president ends oil safari, to mixed reactions NAIROBI, April 30 (AFP) - Chinese President President Hu Jintao on Saturday wrapped up his trip to Africa after clinching oil deals that highlight Beijing's search for fresh energy sources to power its booming economy. Hu headed home after a five-nation tour that ended in Kenya. (Posted @ 09:17 PST)
Tens of thousands march in mass anti-war rally in New York NEW YORK, April 30 (AFP) - Tens of thousands of anti-war demonstrators marched in New York on Saturday, demanding the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq and vowing a summer of protests ahead of mid-term elections in November. The protesters included national figures like civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon and the prominent anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan. The mass rally was organised by a broad coalition of groups representing veterans, trade unions, military families, environmentalists and civil rights activists. The police declined to offer an estimate for the size of the protest, while organisers claimed the turnout was as high as 300,000. While the main focus of the march was Iraq, the rally was also aimed at protesting any plans for military intervention in Iran and at setting the domestic political agenda ahead of the congressional elections later in the year. (Posted @ 09:12 PST)
New series of quakes rock Russia's Kamchatka peninsula VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, April 30 (AFP) - A series of earthquakes measuring from 5.5 to 6.9 on the Richter scale rocked Russia's fareastern Kamchatka peninsula early Sunday, hitting the same spot where powerful tremors left hundreds of people without shelter last week, the Kamchatka seismological service said. The quakes damaged several buildings in Kamchatka's sparsely populated Koryakiya district but there were no casualties, an official said. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)
Security Council resolution on Iran 'dangerous': Chinese ambassador CHICAGO, April 30 (AFP) - It could be "dangerous" to introduce a UN Security Council resolution to force Iran to halt uranium enrichment activities, the Chinese ambassador to the UN said here Saturday. Ambassador Wang Guangya, who presides over the 15-member Security Council this month, would not comment on whether China would veto a Chapter 7 resolution, which Western diplomats have said they will introduce next week. "If you introduce a resolution not to reinforce the IAEA but to replace it, that is dangerous," Wang told reporters following a talk at the University of Chicago. "The Iranians are already saying that if this issue is being discussed under Chapter 7, they will drop the NPT like the North Koreans," he said. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)
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