|
|
| May 23, 2006 | Tuesday | Rabi-us-Sani 24, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan, China working towards expanding cooperation in peaceful use of nuclear technology: PM ISLAMABAD, May 23 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Tuesday said Pakistan and China were working towards further expansion of cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear technology for electricity generation. Inaugurating a seminar to mark the 55 years of Pakistan-China relations, the Prime Minister said: "Over the past 55 years, our all-weather and time-tested friendship has become higher than the highest mountains and deeper than the deepest oceans." He described Pakistan-China defence cooperation as factor for stability in the region. He also underlined the need for both the countries to redouble their efforts for the protection and promotion of international peace and security in a multi-polar system confronted with serious challenges such as terrorism, nuclear proliferation, regional conflicts, the energy crisis, environmental degradation.(Posted @ 16:24 PST)
India, Pakistan begin talks on troop pullout from Siachen glacier NEW DELHI, May 23, 2006 (AFP) Top officials from India and Pakistan launched two days of talks Tuesday on troop withdrawal from Siachen glacier, the defence ministry said. "Pakistani and Indian officials have started the talks on Siachen glacier. They will last for about two hours," an Indian defence ministry official said. Pakistan's defence secretary Tariq Waseem Ghazi and his Indian counterpart Shekhar Dutt, who led their delegations, were also to hold separate one-on-one discussions later in the day. The two sides will also hold another round of two-day talks from Thursday to demarcate Sir Creek, a narrow strip of marshland that separates India's western border from Pakistan.(Posted @ 11:05 PST)
Israeli troops capture Hamas's West Bank military chief: army source RAMALLAH, West Bank, May 23, 2006 (AFP) Israeli troops seized Ibrahim Hamed, the West Bank chief of the armed branch of Hamas, during an incursion into Ramallah early Tuesday, a military source said.(Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Thousands of textile workers burn more Bangladesh factories DHAKA, May 23 (AFP) - Tens of thousands of Bangladeshi textile workers demanding better pay torched 14 more factories Tuesday, the second day of violent demonstrations that spread to the capital Dhaka. The trouble spread to the country's biggest textile industrial belt covering Dhaka and its adjoining industrial towns of Ashulia, Savar and Tongi, police said. Some 50,000 protesters burnt 14 garment factories at Ashulia while more than 10,000 workers from Tejgaon industrial area and from the Mirpur, Uttara and Wari districts poured into the streets, torched and smashed dozens of cars and buses and stormed dozens of factories before blocking major roads and bringing city traffic to a virtual halt, Dhaka police control room said. "At least 10,000 garment workers demonstrated in the city's Kafrul area, ransacked several factories, broke vehicles and put blockades on the road," while hundreds of workers stormed factories in Tejgaon and Abdullahpur, and also ransacked several factories and torched vehicles in the neighbouring industrial town of Tongi. Monday's protests had left at least 30 factories ransacked and dozens of vehicles smashed. Manufacturers said at least 100 garment factories were ransacked on Tuesday. They suspected an international conspiracy.(First Posted @ 13:00 Updated @ 17:25 PST)
Bomb kills 11 outside Shiite mosque in Baghdad BAGHDAD, May 23, 2006 (AFP) - Eleven Iraqis were killed on Tuesday when a bomb planted in a motorcycle went off outside a Shiite mosque in north Baghdad, the defense ministry said. The bomb went off as worshippers were leaving the Imam al-Muntadher mosque following late night prayers in the Tunis neighborhood. The attack brought the number killed in violence Tuesday to 39 as the country experiences an upsurge of violence in the wake of the swearing-in of the new government on Saturday.(Posted @ 23:40 PST)
Iraq violence kills 2,500, displaces 85,000 in two months: UN BAGHDAD, May 23 (AFP) - Acts of violence have killed nearly 2,500 people and forced more than 85,000 to flee their homes in Iraq, the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq said Tuesday in a March-April report on the human rights situation "The Medico-Legal Institute in Baghdad issued 1,294 death certificates in March and 1,155 in April," the majority of which had been deaths caused by gunshot wounds, it said. "As a result of the pervasive violence, Iraqis continue to leave their areas of residence, either voluntarily or as a result of violence or threats by insurgents, militias and other armed groups," it said adding that 14,302 families had been displaced since the February 22 destruction of a Shiite shrine in Samarra that precipitated a rash of sectarian killing.(Posted @ 21:28 PST)
Pakistan accords priority to its trade with US: PM ISLAMABAD, May 23 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Tuesday said Pakistan accords high priority to its trade and commercial relations with the United States and finalization of the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), by providing an institutional framework for comprehensive economic partnership. Talking to Ms. Josette Shiner, US under Secretary of State for Economic, Business & Agriculture, he said the BIT will open doors for the Free Trade Agreements (FTA). He appreciated plans to set up Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) by US in Pakistan and said that ROZs will contribute to the overall economic uplift of the commercially depressed and less developed areas and also help the goods manufactured in the these areas to be exported to the US on preferential terms.(Posted @ 21:26 PST)
Kashmiri Pandits’ murder design frustrated: APHC ISLAMABAD, May 23 (APP): In occupied Kashmir, Indian troops in Mujahideen's guise last night made an attempt to carry out massacre of Kashmiri Pandits at Wahebugh in Pulwama district. However, this conspiracy failed when police reacted on time and succeeded in capturing them and identifying them as troops belonging to Rashtriya Rifles. A spokesman of All-Parties Hurriyet Conference said this was yet another proof that the Indian troops in disguise, periodically kill, members of the non-Muslim communities to malign the liberation movement.(Posted @ 21:24 PST)
Montenegro nears nationhood as Serbia accepts results PODGORICA, Serbia-Montenegro, May 23 (AFP) - Montenegro edged closer to full nation status Tuesday as completed results from a referendum confirmed its vote for independence and Serbian leaders said they accepted the outcome. Officials said a narrow majority of 55.5 percent of voters in the historic weekend poll had backed independence, scraping over the threshold and prompting messages of congratulations and support from the United States, Russia and China. Serbian President Boris Tadic told a news conference he accepted the results. (First Posted @ 13:02 PST Updated @ 20:04 PST)
Blasts rock Srinagar, 33 persons injured ISLAMABAD, May 23 (APP): In occupied Kashmir, thirty-three persons including 11 Indian troops were injured in separate blasts in Kathidarwaza Chowk, Barbarshah and FatehKadal areas of Srinagar areas, PTV reported. Eight policemen were injured when a speedy army vehicle of 30-Rashtriya Rifles hit a Police jeep at Handwara in Kupwara district. Unidentified gunmen killed bus driver Farooq Ahmad Reshi near Soura Srinagar, while two persons including a 9-year-old boy Faisal Ahmad Mir were reported missing from Kupwara.(Posted @ 21:18 PST)
One killed, 27 troopers hurt in suicide bombing in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, May 23 (AFP) - A suicide bomber was killed Tuesday when he rammed a car packed with explosive into a military bus in Srinagar, injuring 27 Indian soldiers a day before India's prime minister was due to arrive, officials said. The attack took place at Hyderpora along a key route leading to Srinagar's high-security airport, a spokesman for the paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) said. "A suicide bomber was blown into smithereens when he rammed a car laden with explosives into a BSF bus," he said. "Four of the (27) troopers (injured) are critical." Occupied Kashmir is in the grip of a 16-year separatist insurgency that has claimed 44,000 lives, by official count.(Posted @ 19:58 PST Updated @ 21:25)
Cricket: Pak squad leaves for Saudi Arabia to play against Asian XI KARACHI, May 23 (PPI): Pakistan cricket team Tuesday left for Saudi Arabia to play two exhibition matches against Asian XI on May 25 and 26 at Al-Ahli stadium in Jeddah. Inzamamul Haq will lead Pakistan team while the Asian XI will be led by Indian Test strar VVS Laxman and will include Ajay Jadeja and Sri Lankan batsman Roshan Mahanama.(Posted @ 19:24 PST)
Pakistan wants stable, strong and prosperous Afghanistan: PM ISLAMABAD, May 23 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Tuesday said Pakistan wants stable, strong and prosperous Afghanistan as it is in the larger interest of the people of Afghanistan, Pakistan and the region. Talking to newsmen at Prime Minister House he said over 1.5 billion dollars goods are being traded to Afghanistan from Pakistan annually, and in the event of any disturbance in the affairs of the two countries, the big loser will be the Pakistani traders. There are over three million Afghan refugees in Pakistan and they frequently move between the two countries and there has been no reports of any disturbance due to their movement. Also, there are over 60,000 Pakistanis working in Afghanistan. Thus, Pakistan’s stakes are high in stability, progress and prosperity of Afghanistan, he added.(Posted @ 19:10 PST)
Guard kills at least 10 at north Uganda camp KAMPALA, May 23 (Reuters) - A Ugandan guard shot dead at least 10 people and injured about 30 others at one of scores of settlements set up for villagers displaced by 20 years of war in the north of the country, an army spokesman said on Tuesday. The man, now in custody, had been drinking heavily before getting into an argument over a woman, local media reported. The killer then went from hut to hut, shooting sleeping residents with his assault rifle.(Posted @ 18:54 PST)
Pakistan delays hanging Briton; seeks blood money deal ISLAMABAD, May 23 (Reuters) - Pakistan postponed the execution of a British man for a month on Tuesday in order to give his family the chance to reach a settlement with the family of a taxi driver he was convicted of murdering 18 years ago. Mirza Tahir Hussain, who is of Pakistani descent, had been set to face the gallows in early June until President Pervez Musharraf's intervention following appeals from the British government, European Parliament and the convicted man's family. "The family of the victim sent an appeal to the President. He's given an extension for one month," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told Reuters. "During this time, they (Hussain's family) are to work out some mutually agreed arrangement with the family of the victim," she said, adding that the one month extension will start from June 1.(Posted @ 18:15 PST)
Afghan president to summon top US commander over civilian deaths KABUL, May 23 (AFP) - President Hamid Karzai will summon the top commander of US forces in Afghanistan Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry for an explanation of civilian deaths during a coalition air and ground attack in the south, his office said Tuesday. The president has also ordered Afghan authorities to investigate the incident, a palace statement said. Kandahar's provincial governor has said at least 16 civilians were killed in the operation that started late Sunday in Panjwayi district but villagers say the number of civilian dead is far higher. The statement noted that Karzai had "in past has also asked troops to be careful to avoid civilian casualties during combat operations."(Posted @ 17:52 PST)
At least 32 dead, 42 injured in Iraq drive-by shootings, bombings BAGHDAD, May 23 (AFP) - At least 32 people were killed & 42 injured Tuesday in attacks including a car bombing on a busy Baghdad street. The car bomb in Baghdad’s al-Jadeeda district targeting a police patrol killed five people and wounded seven, an interior ministry official said. In Mosul, a family of blacksmiths was targeted when gunmen drove up next to their car and opened fire, killing four and wounding one, police said. Also in Mosul, a former official of the Baath party was killed in a drive-by shooting outside his home. Three day labourers on their way to work were also killed when gunmen in a car raked their mini-bus with bullets on the road from Baquba to Khalis, police said. East of Baquba, in Balad Ruz, a bomb near the courthouse killed a 10-year-old boy and wounded two others. In Kirkuk, a member of President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party working for the city education department was gunned down as he drove away from his home. In west Baghdad, gunmen opened fire on three elderly men, one of whom was blind and another disabled, killing them all. In the city centre, a mortar round struck near the heavily fortified Green Zone administrative compound, killing one person and wounding four. In the restive Palestine Street district, technology professor Ali Hussein Ali and an industry ministry employee were killed in separate drive-by shootings. In Amiriyah on the capital's western outskirts, one person was killed and four wounded when a minibus hit a roadside bomb. Three corpses were found in Baghdad, one of them a 10-year-old boy, police said.(First Posted @ 13:00 PST Updated @ 17:42 PST; Updated @ 20:30 PST)
India to release 59 Pakistani fishermen NEW DELHI, May 23 (AFP) - India is to release 59 Pakistanis held for illegal fishing as a goodwill gesture, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. It said the men, rounded up by the Indian coastguard between September 2005 and February this year, would be sent back Saturday from Munabao by the Thar Express, the second rail link between the two countries.(Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Greek, Turkish jets collide over Aegean sea ATHENS, May 23 (Reuters) - A Greek and a Turkish fighter jet collided in midair above the southern Aegean island of Karpathos on Tuesday, a Greek defence ministry official said. "We don't know what has happened to the pilots yet," he said. Greece and Turkey regularly criticise each other for causing mock dogfights between warplanes over the Aegean sea.(First posted @ 15:40 Updated @ 14:05 PST)
Turkish pilot rescued after Greek jet collision-TV ANKARA, May 23 (Reuters) - A Turkish pilot has been rescued after Turkish and Greek warplanes collided over the Aegean sea, Turkish broadcaster NTV reported on Tuesday. NTV said the pilot, who used his ejector seat, was rescued by a Turkish commercial vessel some 100 miles off the Turkish coast.(Posted @ 18:50 PST)
Three police, 12 Taliban killed in new Afghan attack KANDAHAR, May 23 (AFP) - Three police and 12 Taliban were killed Tuesday in a gun fight that erupted after rebels ambushed a convoy of a provincial deputy governor and police chief in Helmand province's Baghran district in southern Afghanistan, an official said. Spokesman Muhaidin Khan said deputy provincial governor Amir Akhund and police chief Abdul Rehman Sabir were attacked while travelling back to the provincial capital after assessing the security situation in Baghran, he said. Reuter adds: According to a Taliban spokesman there were no Taliban casualties.(Posted @ 15:50 PST)
Amnesty accuses US, British governments of war on terror abuses LONDON, May 23 (AFP) - Amnesty International on Tuesday accused the United States and its main ally Britain of jettisoning human rights in the wars they have declared against terrorism.In its annual report, Amnesty lashed out at the US government for holding thousands of people without charge or trial in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba, since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States. On the other hand, in Britain "measures purporting to counter terrorism led to serious human rights violations, and concern was widepsread about the impact of these measures on Muslims and other minority communities," the report said. "The (British) government continued to erode fundamental human rights, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, including by persisting with attempts to undermine the ban on torture at home and abroad, and by enacting and seeking to enact legislation inconsistent with domestic and international human rights law," it said.(Posted @ 15:40 PST)
Pakistan postpones execution of Briton -officials ISLAMABAD, May 23 (Reuters) - Pakistan has postponed the execution of a British man due to be hanged early next month for the murder of a taxi driver 18 years ago, officials told Reuters.Mirza Tahir Hussain, from the British city Leeds and of Pakistani descent, was arrested in Rawalpindi in 1988 on charges of murdering and robbing a taxi driver who had reportedly tried to sexually assault him. "The president has postponed the execution and under the law the case would now be sent to the trial court," an officialof the President's Secretariat told Reuters.Hussain, who will be 36 on June 1, has spent half his life in jail. His brother, Mirza Amjad Hussain, told Reuters he had yet to meet President Pervez Musharraf but was informed by Pakistan's High Commissioner in London, Maleeha Lodhi, that the execution had been postponed.(Posted @ 15:10 PST)
Palestinian PM dismisses civil war fears GAZA CITY, May 23, 2006 (AFP) - Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya on Tuesday rubbished any prospect of civil war amid fighting that has dragged his Hamas faction into a deadly power struggle with the once ruling Fatah party. "The term civil war does not appear in the Palestinian vocabulary," he told journalists after talks with various faction representatives in Gaza City. "I assure all the Palestinian people that we are capable of overcoming these events," said Haniya, whose government has become embroiled in deadly clashes with Fatah-dominated security officers and faces a crippling Western boycott.
Peace will prevail if Israel ends occupation: Palestinian PM JERUSALEM, May 23, 2006 (AFP) The prime minister of the Hamas-led Palestinian government, Ismail Haniya, said peace would prevail if Israel withdrew from all the land it captured in 1967, in an interview published Tuesday. Haniya told Israel's Haaretz daily that "Our government is prepared to maintain a long-term ceasefire with Israel." He asked "why hasn't Israel responded to the Palestinian government's decision to conduct negotiations on day-to-day issues with Israeli representatives?"(Posted @ 13:05 PST)
Rights group blames terror fight for Asia abuses LONDON, May 23, 2006 (AFP) Nations across Asia used terrorism to justify curtailing human rights last year, watchdog Amnesty International said on Tuesday in a new report outlining abuses in the region. "Arbitrary arrests in the name of combating terrorism were reportedly made in Afghanistan, including by US and coalition forces, and in Pakistan by the security forces," the London-based group said. It said China carried out closed-door trials for those accused of terrorism and "state secrets" offences, while Australia introduced new counter-terror legislation allowing for detention without trial. "Men returning to Afghanistan from US custody in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, brought home gruelling accounts of torture and ill treatment which further fuelled local anger, anxiety and unrest," it added. Instability in Afghanistan had also set the stage for ongoing rights abuses. And even though China and India enjoyed healthy economic growth, this was not reflected in improved human rights, the report said.(Posted @ 12:15 PST)
Cricket-Injured Tendulkar ruled out of West Indies test series MUMBAI, May 23 (Reuters) India batsman Sachin Tendulkar has been ruled out of next month's test series in the West Indies as he has not recovered completely from shoulder surgery. "As far as the board is concerned, Sachin is not going to the West Indies as we feel he is not 100 percent fit," board secretary Niranjan Shah told reporters on Tuesday. "Sachin will go to London to consult with Andrew Wallace. He will continue with his rehabilitation," Shah said.(Posted @ 12:15 PST)
Large quake hits Russian far east VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, May 23, 2006 (AFP) Russia's remote far eastern region of Kamchatka was shaken Tuesday by an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale, a month after another quake caused severe damage and injuries, authorities said. The quake occurred in the sparsely populated Koryakiya region of northern Kamchatka at 0:15 am (1315 GMT Monday). Tremors continued at 10-20-minute intervals through the night, said a district official. No one was injured.(Posted @ 11:15 PST)
China key to resolving nuclear crises, Annan says BEIJING, May 23 (Reuters) China is crucial to the success of talks on reining in North Korea's nuclear programmes, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Tuesday as he urged Beijing to take a more active role in protecting human rights. In a speech to students at Peking University, Annan said he spent "a good deal of time" talking with Chinese leaders about the nuclear crises in Iran and North Korea and the importance of nuclear non-proliferation. "China's ongoing leadership will be essential to ensure that multilateral diplomatic efforts result in a peninsula free from nuclear weapons. We cannot allow the current stalemate to continue," he said.(Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Amnesty blasts US-Mideast secret prison partnership LONDON, May 23, 2006 (AFP) Growing evidence has emerged of a secret prison partnership between Western and Middle Eastern countries in the "war on terror," resulting in widespread human rights abuses, Amnesty International said Tuesday.The group also blamed US-led and Iraqi security forces for "grave human rights violations," with thousands being held without charge or trial in US detention centers in Iraq and reports of systematic torture by Iraqi forces. Around 14,000 people were being held as of November last year in four notorious US-run facilities including Abu Ghraib prison, Amnesty said. "There was increasing information to indicate that individuals suspected of terrorism by the US authorities have been secretly and forcibly transferred to others countries, including Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Syria, for interrogation," it said. It added that Britain had signed agreements with Lebanon, Libya and Jordan, noting a "further sign of close collaboration... under which they agreed to accept individuals whom the UK authorities wished forcibly to expel." In addition to alleged terror suspects, political dissidents landed in jail at alarming rates in Syria, Iran and Egypt, while Lebanon saw a spate of apparently targeted killings against opposition politicians and journalists. Amnesty accused the Israeli army of killing 190 Palestinians, including 50 children, last year. Members of Palestinian armed groups killed 41 Israelis in suicide bombings, shootings and mortar attacks, it said.(Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Rights abuses unpunished in Chechnya: Amnesty LONDON, May 23, 2006 (AFP) Human rights abuses by Russian forces in Chechnya continued to go largely unpunished in 2005, Amnesty International said Tuesday in a report that also slammed Russia's justice system. "Chechen security forces under the command of Ramzan Kadyrov, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya, and divisions of federal forces staffed by ethnic Chechens were increasingly implicated in arbitrary detention, torture and disappearances in Chechnya," the report said. Amnesty said that investigations into rights abuses in Chechnya had been "ineffective" and "flawed" and added that applicants to the European Court of Human Rights "faced serious reprisals including intimidation, death threats, killing and disappearance."(Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Israel turns blind eye to attacks on Palestinians: Amnesty JERUSALEM, May 23, 2006 (AFP) Israeli security forces and settlers are being allowed to perpetrate abuses against Palestinians with no real fear of being brought to justice, Amnesty International said in a report Tuesday. The failure of the authorities to bring prosecutions against Israeli citizens was in marked contrast however with the pursuit of Palestinians through trials which often failed to meet international standards, the London-based rights group charged.There was no immediate response to the report by the Israeli government. In a separate report on the performance of the Palestinian Authority which covered the time before Hamas came to power in March, Amnesty charged that the security forces were also being allowed to evade justice and its system of justice was riddled with problems.(Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Afghan rights undermined by insecurity, lawlessness: Amnesty LONDON, May 23, 2006 (AFP) The Taliban insurgency and security force response, influence of warlords and discrimination against women undermined human rights in Afghanistan last year, Amnesty International said Tuesday. "The Afghan state continued to fail to deliver safety, security and the rule of law to its people," the rights body said in its annual report. More than 1,000 civilians were killed in attacks by US and coalition forces and by armed groups, including the insurgent Taliban movement. US forces meanwhile "continued to arbitrarily detain hundreds of people beyond the reach of the courts and their own families," it said. There were also reports of coalition troops using excessive force and of torture and ill-treatment inside US facilities. Amnesty said a major source of insecurity was factional commanders responsible for human rights abuses who continued to wield power.(Posted @ 10:10 PST)
British troops clash with Taliban fighters in Afghanistan: report LONDON, May 23, 2006 (AFP) British troops in southern Afghanistan have clashed with Taliban fighters for the first time since deploying to the region earlier this year, a newspaper reported Tuesday. A senior British officer in Kabul told The Daily Telegraph that more than 100 troops have helped Afghan soldiers and police tackle attacks by hundreds of alleged Taliban fighters in Helmand province over the past five days. British Apache helicopters were also used in operations for the first time.(Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Israeli troops open fire near Palestinian leader's West Bank home RAMALLAH, West Bank, May 23, 2006 (AFP) - An Israeli army unit penetrated the West Bank town of Ramallah early Tuesday, opening fire on a target not far from the home of Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, an AFP correspondent witnessed. The troops opened fire on a building they had surrounded, around 200 metres (yards) from Abbas's house.The army unit included several jeeps and a bulldozer.(Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 2.02 points: KARACHI, May 23:At close of trading The KSE-100 index was at 10932.57 , up 2.02 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:00 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, May 23: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.45 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:00 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Editor: Tahir Mirza
The DAWN Group of Newspapers
Haroon House, Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed Road, Karachi 74200, Pakistan.
Phone:+92 (21) 111-444-777 Fax: +92 (21) 569-3995
webmaster@dawn.com
Make sure to reload these pages so you're viewing the current version.
|
|
|
Contributions |