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| May 1, 2006 | Monday | Rabi-us-Sani 2, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Militants kill 26 Hindus, 9 missing in occupied Kashmir JAMMU, occupied Kashmir, May 1(AFP) - Suspected militants killed 26 Hindus in Thawa village of Doda district and injured eight more people including a nine-year-old girl in another incident in the same village, police and witnesses said. "Ten to 12 militants dressed in army uniforms entered Thawa and told our chief to collect villagers for a meeting. When the people arrived, the militants separated the group and shot nine at one location and 11 at another," witness Sadiq Ahmad said. Two villagers later died from their wounds, Ahmed said as Hindus and Muslims staged a protest strike Monday in Doda. In a separate incident earlier Sunday, militants shot dead four persons after kidnapping 15 people from the garrison district of Udhampur, neighbouring Doda. "There is still no trace of the nine Hindus who were among those abducted from the village of Vasantgarh," an army official said. Inspector-General of Police S. P. Vaid said the 22 killed and eight wounded in Doda were mostly shepherds. For the last two weeks we have been intercepting radio messages to militants to force villagers to flee from the higher reaches of Doda, an intelligence officer said. (First Posted @ 09:15 PST; Updated @ 12:25 PST)
Iran complains to UN chief over threat of US attack TEHRAN, May 1, 2006 (AFP) - Iran has written to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to complain about the perceived threat of a United States attack, the state news agency IRNA said Monday.(Posted @ 20:30 PST)
Senior US official to join Darfur talks WASHINGTON, May 1, (APP/AFP) - Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick will travel Monday to Nigeria in a bid to nail down an elusive agreement to end the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, US officials said Monday.(Posted @ 22:02 PST)
Truck accident kills 20 in southern India HYDERABAD, India (AP) _ A truck carrying mangos toppled over in southern India on Monday, killing 20 workers who were riding on board to unload them, police said. Ten other workers, also traveling on the truck, were injured in the accident in the Krishna region of the southern Andhra Pradesh state, said Murgesh Kumar Singh, the district superintendent of police.(Posted @ 21:55 PST)
Uzbek President will pay official visit to Pakistan ISLAMABAD, May 01 (PPI) The President of Uzbekistan Mr. Islam Karimov will pay a two-day official visit to Pakistan from tomorrow (Tuesday). (Posted @ 21:48 PST)
Armed men kill 4, wound 6 in eastern Chad - UN N'DJAMENA, May 1 (Reuters) - Around 150 armed men on horseback attacked a village in eastern Chad early on Monday, killing at least 4 people and wounding six, two days before a presidential election, the U.N. refugee agency said. A UNHCR spokesman said the group which raided Dalola, not far from a camp housing Sudanese refugees, stole 1,000 head of cattle.(Posted @ 21:35 PST)
Afghan soldiers kill 3 Afghan militants, capture 3 in eastern Kunar province KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) _ Afghan soldiers killed three militants and captured three others in a clash in the eastern Kunar province, the Defense Ministry said Monday. Gen. Zaher Azimi said Afghan troops killed the militants during an operation Sunday in Kunar province's Pech district, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of the capital, Kabul. Three militants were captured with their weapons, he added. Azimi did not identify the militants but Taliban forces have been active in Kunar.(Posted @ 21:15 PST)
Girls' school set on fire in Afghanistan NANGARHAR, Afghanistan, May 1, 2006 (AFP) - Suspected Taliban rebels Sunday night set a girls' school on fire in eastern Afghanistan. About 650 girls were enrolled in the school in Mihtarlam village in Laghman Province.(Posted @ 19:52 PST)
Hurriyat condemns Doda incident in IHK: Mirwaiz ISLAMABAD, May 1 (APP): Chairman, All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Mirwaiz Omer Farooq has strongly condemned the incident in which nearly 24 persons were killed in Doda in Indian Held Kashmir. "Hurriyat strongly condemns the incident," he said and added perpetrators of the incident wanted to damage the environment of brotherhood which prevails in Doda amongst Muslim and Hindu communities.(Posted @ 19:34 PST)
Blast at Indian factory kills at least 15 LUCKNOW, India, May 1, 2006 (AFP) - At least 15 people were killed and hundreds hurt after a blast at a paper factory in northern India, police said Monday. "15 people have died so far. Hundreds of others are injured. We do not have the exact figure," senior police official Amit Kumar Sinha told AFP from Udham Singh Nagar in northern Uttaranchal state, about 287 kilometers (178 miles) north of New Delhi. Police said there was an explosion in the factory's sodium tank, which caused a fire.(First Posted @ 19:02 PST Updated @ 19:40 PST)
Rail track blown near Noshki QUETTA May 1 (PPI): A section of the Railway track near Noshki was destroyed. Some time on Monday. According to details, suspected insurgents planted six bombs along Quetta-Zahidan section of Pakistan Railways some 14 Km form Noshki. Two of the explosive devices went off blowing up a five feet line. Bomb disposal squad from Quetta was called to remove these devices from the track.(Posted @ 17:52 PST)
Three reported dead in Japanese avalanche TOKYO, May 1, 2006 (AFP) - Three mountain climbers died in an avalanche on a Japanese mountain Monday and two others were rushed to hospital, local media reported.(Posted @ 17:35 PST)
Alpine skiing-Former Swiss skier Rey-Bellet shot dead BERN, SWITZERLAND, May 1 (Reuters) - Former Swiss World Cup skier Corinne Rey-Bellet has been shot dead at her home by an unknown gunman, police said on Monday. Police in the Swiss canton of Valais said Rey-Bellet and her brother, Alain, were both killed in the attack which took place in the village of Les Crosets on Sunday night. Rey-Bellet's mother was injured.(Posted @ 17:10 PST)
2 killed in India as police open fire on rioting mobs of Hindus and Muslims AHMADABAD, India May 1, 2006 (AP) _ Police fired bullets and tear gas to disperse battling mobs of Hindus and Muslims, killing two people as hundreds rioted in western India after authorities demolished a small Muslim shrine, a police officer said. Police imposed a curfew in the Fatehpur neighborhood of the city of Vadodra as Hindus and Muslims burned at least four shops, Police Commissioner Deepak Swarup told The Associated Press. The city is in the state of Gujarat. At least 18 people were injured either by the gunfire from the police or stones hurled by rioters, he said.(Posted @ 16:30 PST)
Openness in South Asia can reduce trust deficit: PM ISLAMABAD, May 1 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Monday called for a "sense of openness" among the South Asian countries for sustainable peace and to swap the "trust deficit" with a sense of cooperation leading to the socio-economic development of the masses. Addressing delegates from the SAARC member states attending the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) moot here at a breakfast meeting at the Prime Minister House, he urged the leadership of the region to resolve disputes and work together for building a better future of the one-fifth of world's poorest.(Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Coalition forces kill 20 rebels in southern Afghanistan KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, May 1, 2006 (AFP) - Troops from the US-led coalition have killed between 15 to 20 Taliban insurgents in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, a statement said Monday. "A coalition patrol killed 15 to 20 Taliban fighters in Sangin district of Helmand late Saturday during operations to rid the area of enemy influence," the coalition forces statement said.(Posted @ 15:32 PST)
PAF to be provided all resources to ensure regional peace: PM ISLAMABAD, May 1 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Monday said all necessary resources will be provided to the Pakistan Air Force to guarantee peace in the region. He was talking to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmud Ahmed who called on him at the Prime Minister House Monday morning. The Prime Minister said the defence needs of the country would always remain a priority. (Posted @ 15:10 PST)
Rebels in India blow up two tour boats after freeing sightseers HYDERABAD, India, May 1 (AP) _ Suspected rebels in southern India hijacked two packed tour boats, let the 200 Indian sightseers get off and then blew up the boats, an official said Monday. Police killed four of the militants as they tried to flee. The tour boats were carrying tourists to an island in the Krishna River. The rebels have been fighting for more than two decades in several Indian states. Thousands of people have been killed. (Posted @ 13:05 PST)
Two bombs explode in Baghdad during national holiday BAGHDAD, May 1 (AP) _ Two roadside bombs targeting U.S. military convoys exploded in Baghdad on Monday, wounding two Iraqi civilians, police said. No American casualties were immediately reported, as U.S. forces closed off both areas near the convoys of Humvees, police said. The first bomb exploded at 8 a.m. in al-Mashtal district of eastern Baghdad, wounding two Iraqi civilians, while the other in central Baghdad exploded at 9:45 a.m. on a highway in the nearby district of Kamsara. No casualties immediately reported there. (Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Bangladeshi accused of human trafficking arrested in Morocco DHAKA, May 1 (AFP) - A Bangladeshi national accused of running a human trafficking network in north Africa has been arrested in Morocco, Bangladesh's Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Kamrul Islam. Mizanur Rahman allegedly ran a network that made millions of dollars by luring Bangladeshis to Morocco with the promise of smuggling them into western Europe. (Posted @ 12:45 PST)
Blast injures two coalition forces soldiers in Afghanistan KANDAHAR, May 1 (AFP) - Two soldiers from the coalition forces were wounded Monday when a bomb ripped through their vehicle on the main highway linking Kabul to Kandahar in Maywand district of Kandahar province, Canadian military spokesman Major Quentin Innis said. Innis could not confirm the nationalities of the two wounded soldiers, but an Afghan intelligence official said on condition of anonymity that they were Canadian soldiers and it was an apparent suicide attack. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
China begins construction of world's tallest television tower BEIJING, May 1 (AFP) - Construction on what is expected to be the world's tallest television tower got underway Monday in Guangzhou, capital of booming southern Guangdong province, state media reported. The 199.7 million dollar tower would stand at a height of 610 meters upon completion in 2009, the Guangzhou Daily said. The world record height included a tower 454 meters tall, and a 156 meter-high television antennae, it said. The Guinness Book of World Records names the 553.3 meter-high CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, which is also a TV tower, as the "World's Tallest Building and Free-Standing Structure". The online Wikepedia encyclopedia lists the 609.6 meter-high Liberman Broadcasting Tower in Sargent, Texas as the world's tallest radio tower. (Posted @ 12:30 PST)
Nepal politicians build new government to keep king in check KATHMANDU, May 1 (AFP) - Nepal's political leaders met Monday to thrash out the make-up of an interim government after taking the first step to reduce King Gyanendra's powers and asking Maoist rebels to renounce violence. Lawmakers on Sunday unanimously backed election plans for a new body to rewrite the 1990 constitution but set no date for the elections to a constituent assembly. (Posted @ 12:00 PST)
Bhutan gets first private newspaper GUWAHATI, India, May 1 (AFP) - The first edition of Bhutan's only privately-owned newspaper sold out within hours of hitting the stands amid ongoing constitutional moves towards democracy in the Himalayan kingdom. The weekly Bhutan Times went on sale Sunday and was snapped up rapidly. Until the Bhutan Times hit the stands, the government-controlled Kuensel was the only newspaper in the kingdom of about 635,000 people. (Posted @ 11:50 PST)
Thai court to consider scapping snap polls BANGKOK, May 1, 2006 (AFP) - One of Thailand's most powerful courts comprising 15 judges agreed Monday to consider a case calling for the nullification of last month's snap polls, raising expectations for new elections to resolve months of political turmoil. "The court has scrutinized the complaint, and all the judges agreed to accept the case," the Constitutional Court's spokesman told reporters. The 15 judges on the court agreed to consider claims that the April 2 election date was chosen unfairly and that the arranging of voting booths compromised the secrecy of the ballot. The court gave the Election Commission three days to respond to the charges. (Posted @ 11:50 PST)
Five dead in Sri Lanka mine blast: military COLOMBO, May 1, 2006 (AFP) - A Claymore mine exploded Monday in the northeastern Sri Lankan port of Trincomalee, killing five people and wounding eight others, local military officials said. The dead included four civilians and one sailor. Four sailors were critically wounded and four civilians also hurt when the mine, rigged up to a bicycle, exploded to target a navy foot patrol, they said. (First Posted @ 10:10 PST; Updated @ 11:40 PST)
Pakistani police suspect Qaeda claim about US consulate attack KARACHI, May 1 (AFP) - Pakistani police said Monday they would investigate a statement purportedly from Al-Qaeda which claimed a deadly suicide bombing in March that killed five people including an American diplomat, but seriously doubt its authenticity. Karachi police chief Niaz Siddiqui said the claim comes almost two months after the attack. "I seriously doubt the authenticity of the claim," he said adding that man investigation into the attack was continuing but no major clues had been yet found. "Investigators will look into the statement but serious doubts are there over its authenticity." (Posted @ 11:40 PST)
Four killed, five wounded in Taliban attacks in Afghanistan KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, May 1 (AFP) - A civilian was killed and two others wounded after their vehicle was ambushed by Taliban rebels in southern Afghanistan, officials said Monday. Three civilians and a police officer in civilian clothes were travelling in a car between Khan Sheen district of Helmand province and its capital Lashkar Gah on Sunday when Taliban rebels attacked them. The policeman survived the attack. A Taliban spokesman they were spies; we have taken their vehicle with us. In a separate incident on Sunday three Afghan soldiers were killed and three wounded when a roadside bomb ripped through their vehicle in the Girishk district of Helmand province. (Posted @ 11:30 PST)
Hail, rainstorms kill 12 in eastern China BEIJING, May 1, (AP) _ Hail and rainstorms killed 12 people, seriously injured 58 others and destroyed thousands of homes and caused millions of dollars damage in China's eastern Shandong province, Xinhua News Agency said Monday. The wild weather battered the Shandong cities of Heze, Linyi,Zaozhuang, Jining and Liaocheng from Wednesday to Friday last week. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
China successfully tests first indigenous maglev train BEIJING, May 1 (AP) _ China has successfully tested a locally-made magnetic levitation train, the first time the country has achieved the feat without using foreign technology, the official Xinhua News Agency said Monday. The test train _can hold 60 people and travel up to 160 kilometers per hour. Maglev technology uses powerful magnets to suspend a train above a track and propel it at high speeds. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Four killed in pirate attack on Chinese fishing boat in Spratly Islands BEIJING, May 1 (AFP) - Four Chinese fishermen were killed and three injured when they were attacked and robbed by pirates in disputed waters of the South China Sea, state press reported Monday. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Three killed as Egypt sweeps Sinai for bomb suspects CAIRO, May 1 (AFP) - Three Egyptians were killed Sunday in clashes that broke out when police raided northern Sinai to hunt down the group responsible for the deadly bombings in Dahab, security sources said. Armed clashes erupted in the Jabal al-Maghara region in northern Sinai as police encircled an area where they believed suspects were holed up, a statement said. Three suspects were killed during the day-long exchanges, security sources said. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
High gasoline prices here to stay: US energy secretary WASHINGTON, May 1 (AFP) - Soaring gasoline pump prices are here to stay for at least the next couple of years and the government can do little in the short term to mitigate it, US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Sunday. "Suppliers have lost control of the market," Bodman told NBC television. "We've got demand coming from China, from India, from the United States," reflecting strong economies, Bodman said. He also noted that conflict in Iraq tightened crude supplies. (Posted @ 09:52 PST)
Three earthquakes hit northern Chile WASHINGTON, May 1 (AFP) - A strong earthquake hit northern Chile near Copiapo on Sunday, the US Geological Survey reported. The 6.4 magnitude quake struck 55 kilometers northwest of the town of Copiapo or 724 kilometers north of Santiago, at 1917 GMT, the USGS reported. The tremor occurred six kilometers below the surface and was followed nine minutes later by a moderate, 5.2 magnitude quake at a depth of 10 kilometers and 710 kilometers north of Santiago, and a third two hours with a magnitude of 5.6, the USGS reported. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in the sparsely populated region. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Deadline for Darfur peace talks extended by 48 hours ABUJA, May 1 (AFP) - A deadline for a peace agreement in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region was extended by 48 hours early on Monday, the African Union's mediator Salim Ahmed Salim said. "We shall stop the clock for the next 48 hours to allow more consultations by the parties," he told a meeting of negotiators from the Darfur rebels and the Khartoum government after a midnight deadline set by the AU expired. "The agreement is in my office for any party to come and sign. If we walk away from here, without a peace deal, the world will not forgive us." The extention came at the request of the United States' ambassador to Sudan Cameron Hume, who made the request on Washington's behalf. (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
Rolling Stone Keith Richards still in hospital after tree fall WELLINGTON, May 1 (AFP) - Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards remained in a private hospital in New Zealand nursing a sore head Monday, five days after falling out of a coconut tree in Fiji. Richards and fellow band member Ron Wood, 58, were apparently climbing a tree at a resort in Fiji when Richards fell and hit his head. Some reports have said he was later involved in a jetski accident. In Auckland he had a brain scan to check for neurological damage but no information was available on his fall or condition. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Palestinian woman killed by Israeli troops: Palestinian source TULKAREM, West Bank, May 1, 2006 (AFP) - A Palestinian woman was killed by Israeli troops in the northern West Bank early on Monday, a Palestinian security source said. 41-year-old Eitas Youssef was killed and her two daughters, aged 22 and 20, were slightly injured when the Israeli troops opened fire as they surrounded a house in the town of Tulkarem, the source said. (Posted @ 09:20 PST)
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