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| June 02, 2006 | Friday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 5, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
India, Pakistan conclude culture talks NEW DELHI, June 2 (Agencies): India and Pakistan on Friday agreed to enhance the number of religious places and pilgrims on both sides besides promoting exchanges in education, media, youth and sports. Talking to reporters at the conclusion of two-day talks on ‘Promotion of Friendly Exchange’ under the third round of the composite dialogue process, Secretary Culture Jalil Abbas described the outcome of parleys as "very satisfying and encouraging". A joint statement, issued at the end of the talks said "the two sides underlined the importance of interaction in the field of culture and related areas as part of efforts to expand people to people contacts and agreed to work on the modalities of proposals identified by them." Both sides discussed various proposals for cooperation in the fields of arts and culture, education, Ayurvedic and Unani medicine, archaeology, tourism, youth affairs, sports and media, added the statement. Abbas led the Pakistani delegation, while Indian team was headed by his Indian counterpart Badal K Das during the two-day talks. Responding to a question, Abbas said that the two sides moved forward in the area pertaining to visa policy for group tourism under separate category. The Indian side also showed interest in strengthening of district government and local government reforms in Pakistan, he added. New Delhi had been widely expected to push Islamabad to lift a ban on Indian films and television channels, however the statement made no mention of this. (First Posted @ 15:35 PST Updated @ 17:18 PST)
World Bank plans 6.5 billion dollar lending to Pakistan WASHINGTON, June 2(AFP) - The World Bank on Thursday unveiled a lending program of up to 6.5 billion dollars for Pakistan under a new four-year aid strategy showing a significant increase in funding aimed largely at beefing up the country's infrastructure. The 2006-2009 strategy's blueprint, discussed at the bank's board of executive directors on Thursday, envisaged "a flexible lending program of up to 6.5 billion dollars," the Washington-based institution said. Pakistan received about 2.73 billion dollars from the bank over the last four years, a bank spokesman said. Under the new strategy, the bank said it would place "immediate priority" on addressing the impact of an October 2005 earthquake. Up to one billion dollars will be used to support reconstruction and recovery efforts, with 840 million dollars already approved, it said. The World Bank also said that based on the Pakistani governments priorities for sustaining growth and poverty reduction, its lending increase would be primarily in infrastructure, including energy and transport. "The country has moved from crisis to growth, laying the groundwork for sustained economic growth and significant poverty reduction," said John Wall, World Bank country director for Pakistan. Around half of the bank's lending is to be channeled to provinces which bear most the responsibility for delivering public services such as irrigation, education, health, water supply and sanitation. In discussions to devise the aid strategy, the bank board also approved four new projects totaling 340 million dollars. They included reform, education, irrigation development projects in the largely conservative North West Frontier Province (NWFP), bordering Afghanistan, as well in Punjab.(Posted @ 09:40 PST)
Four Pakistani soldiers die in suicide car-bombing in tribal area MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, June 2, 2006 (AFP) Four Pakistani soldiers were killed and eight wounded Friday in a suicide car-bombing that targeted two military vehicles from a convoy that had stopped to deal with mechanical problems in North Waziristan’s Bacca Khel village, officials said. "It was a suicide attack. A white colour car came and rammed into the convoy of security forces," military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said. The injured soldiers were taken to a military hospital in the nearby garrison town of Bannu. Helicopter gunships and ground troop reinforcements had been moved into the area following the attack, a senior security official said. A man calling himself a spokesman for pro-Taliban militants in the region claimed the suicide attack and threatened further violence against troops in the region. (First Posted @ 13:00 PST Updated @ 20:55 PST)
Georgia planning armed conflict in breakaway South Ossetia: Lavrov MOSCOW, June 2, 2006 (AFP) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Georgia on Friday of building up a massive military force to retake control of the breakaway region of South Ossetia by force. Georgia "is planning to take the path of force to decide the South Ossetia problem," Lavrov was quoted by ITAR-TASS news agency as saying. "The facts of the purchase of a level of artillery armaments that is enormous for such a country cannot but arouse our suspicion," Lavrov said. "We see this and are doing everything so that if there are such plans, they are not put into action," he said.(Posted @ 21:44 PST)
Pakistan playing important role in UN reforms process: PM ISLAMABAD, Jun 2 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Friday said Pakistan was playing an important role in United Nations’ reforms to make it an effective, coordinated and responsive entity. He was talking to reporters after participating in a meeting of United Nation Secretary-General's High-level Panel through video conference. Aziz said that efforts were being made to bring about reforms in the world body that reflected priorities and concerns of the developing countries. During the discussion, Aziz said there was a need to increase coherence and coordination among UN agencies such as the ILO, UNDP, UNSECO, WFP, UNHCR etc. He said the UN should also prepare a country specific strategy and its development programme head in that country should have a coordinated role. Aziz proposed that the UN Secretary General should have a fund of about 500 million dollars in coping with calamities such as earthquakes.(Posted @ 21:42 PST)
Afghanistan 'suicide blast' kills three civilians KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 2, 2006 (AFP) Three civilian men riding a motorbike were killed Friday when a suspected suicide car bomb exploded outside Kandahar, police said. The bomb exploded about 15 kilometres northeast of the city on an empty stretch of highway, said police. There was no target in Friday's blast, suggesting the suspected bomber may have detonated his explosive early, police added.(Posted @ 21:30 PST)
Thousands of Somalis rally against US MOGADISHU, June 2, 2006 (AFP) Thousands of Somalis on Friday held anti-US demonstrations and protested US’s backing for the Alliance of Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism group in the region. Some 5,000 people rallied in southern Mogadishu as new fighting erupted between the alliance and gunmen north of Mogadishu, killing 11 people and bringing the death toll from three months of battles to 327 with more than 1,500 wounded.(Posted @ 21:28 PST)
No prison for US soldier over Abu Ghraib dog assault FORT MEADE, Maryland, June 2, 2006 (AFP) A US army sergeant convicted of using his dog to assault an inmate at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison on Friday escaped a prison term or expulsion from the military. A military jury sentenced Sergeant Santos Cardona, 32, to hard labour without confinement for 90 days, demoted him one rank to specialist fourth class and docked him 7,200 dollars in wages over the next year. The panel of four officers and three enlisted soldiers found he used his Belgian shepherd dog to commit an aggravated assault by threatening an inmate Kamel Miza'l Nayil between late 2003 and early 2004. He was also found guilty of dereliction of duty. But they acquitted Cardona, on seven other counts, including a more serious charge of using his dog to bite a second Iraqi prisoner. He was also cleared of using his dog to terrify inmates into defecating and urinating on themselves, for what prosecutors had argued was pure "entertainment."(Posted @ 21:26 PST)
World Bank's $6.5 billion lending to Pakistan "historic": PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, Jun 2 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Friday described as "historic" a decision by the World Bank to extend 6.5 billion dollars to Pakistan for development projects and reforms in the country. Aziz said the decision would provide a major boost to Pakistan's economy by providing resources for the infrastructure development, facilities of health, education and human resources development.(Posted @ 21:06 PST)
Pakistani police seize Afghan arms cache QUETTA, Pakistan, June 2, 2006 (AFP) Police have seized a large quantity of arms in Balochistan province and arrested a man who allegedly smuggled the weapons from Afghanistan, a senior official said Friday. The police chief in Quetta identified the man as Mohammad Azam and said the arms were recovered in a raid on his house on the outskirts of the city late Thursday. The police accused the man of selling arms to tribal militants involved in attacks on security forces and government installations in recent months. The cache included 125 rocket propelled grenades, nearly 150 tubes containing explosive materials and 30,000 rounds of ammunition.(Posted @ 20:48 PST)
Russia, China mulling joining Iran talks: Rice WASHINGTON, June 2, 2006 (AFP) Russia and China are considering entering talks on Tehran's dispute with the West, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday. "They certainly have expressed an interest in considering it, and I would hope that perhaps they would consider it favourably," she told NBC television in Vienna, where the major powers met Thursday. "But we will see. These are choices that China and Russia will have to make."(Posted @ 20:06 PST)
Italy, UK to discuss Italian pullout from Iraq ROME, June 2 (Reuters) Italy's Prime Minister Romano Prodi said on Friday the British and the Italian defence ministers would meet soon to discuss Italy's withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Prodi made the announcement to reporters after a working lunch with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Rome. A British official said the meeting would probably take place in a matter of days. Prodi said Italian troops in Iraq operated in an area under British command. "Our decision (to withdraw) has been taken," Prodi said. "The question is how to put this into effect so that the situation remains under control and we don't lose those elements of security that are so necessary in this situation," he said.(Posted @ 20:02 PST)
Turkish soldier killed in clash with Kurd rebels TUNCELI, Turkey, June 2 (Reuters) A Turkish soldier was killed on Friday during a military operation against guerrillas of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in southeast Turkey, security officials said. They said the operation, part of an annual Spring offensive spanning several provinces of the mountainous Kurdish southeast region, was proceeding at full force, backed up by helicopter gunships. Thousands of troops were involved in the operation and were meeting resistance from the guerrillas in some districts. It was not immediately known whether there were any other casualties, the officials said.(Posted @ 19:58 PST)
Thousands of Nepalis gather for Maoist rally KATHMANDU, June 2 (Reuters) Some 200,000 Nepalis gathered in the capital on Friday for the first Maoist rally in three years to build pressure for a constituent assembly to decide the country's future. Tens of thousands of people filled into a public ground in Kathmandu. "We will burn the crown and we will run the country," they shouted. Krishna Bahadur Mahara, the chief Maoist negotiator for talks with the government, told the rally on Friday that the new government had been slow in implementing a decision to hold elections for a special assembly that would draft a new constitution. He called for the formation of an interim government that would include the rebels and organise the assembly poll, and said his group was committed to peace talks.(Posted @ 19:56 PST)
Iran nuclear talks exclude use of force as solution: Russia MOSCOW, June 2, 2006 (AFP) Talks between six world powers in Vienna on the Iranian nuclear issue excluded all recourse to force as a method of solving the problem, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday. "All the agreements from yesterday's meeting in all respects exclude the use of military force" against Iran, he was quoted by RIA-Novosti news agency as saying. Also on Friday, the foreign ministers of Germany and Turkey urged Iran to study carefully a proposal aimed at halting work that could produce nuclear weapons, saying it was in Tehran's own interests to avoid confrontation. "A new opportunity is before us. We hope it will be assessed calmly. We urged the Iranian side to do so in our talks with them," Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told a joint news conference with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier.(Posted @ 19:55 PST)
Rumsfeld says probe will deliver answers on Haditha SINGAPORE, June 2 (Agencies) U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Friday expressed confidence in an investigation by U.S. Marines into the killing of Iraqi civilians at Haditha, saying "we will soon know the answers." Allegations that U.S. Marines rampaged through houses in the Iraqi town of Haditha on Nov. 19 and fatally shot two dozen civilians followed Rumsfeld as he travelled to Singapore to attend an Asian regional security conference. He also said United States is capable of meeting its security commitments in the Asia Pacific region regardless of the war in Iraq. He rejected a suggestion that the Iraq war has hampered Washington's ability to respond to emerging challenges in east Asia such as China's growing military might. Rumsfeld arrived here from Washington to attend the Shangri-la Dialogue, an annual gathering of defense and national security officials and experts from around the region.(Posted @ 19:50 PST)
Musharraf convenes meeting to discuss economic benefits for common man RAWALPINDI, Jun 2 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf Friday underlined the importance of poverty reduction, employment opportunities and easing inflationary pressure to transmit the benefits of economic growth to the common man. He was speaking at a top-level meeting convened to review economic initiatives at the grass roots level. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz also attended the meeting. "The best way to transfer economic gains to common man is to realize economic opportunities, and make him stand up on his feet; and I am confident that increased inflow of investment and launch of a series of projects would help achieve that objective," Musharraf said. Aziz observed that poverty reduction and employment generation were inter-linked. He said the government would encourage public-private partnership in meeting the goal of more job opportunities and said the government would offer incentives to the private sector to launch such initiatives.(Posted @ 19:10 PST)
Iran could develop nuclear weapons by 2010: US spy chief LONDON, June 2, 2006 (AFP) Iran appears determined to make nuclear weapons and could develop such an arsenal as early as 2010, US National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said in an interview broadcast on Friday. "We don't have a clear-cut knowledge but the estimate we have made is some time between the beginning of the next decade and the middle of the next decade they might be in a position to have a nuclear weapon, which is a cause of great concern," the US spy chief said. Asked about the intelligence mistakes made in the run up to the March 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq over Saddam Hussein's nuclear capacity, Negroponte said US intelligence operations were now much more integrated. He said going forward it was vital that all intelligence sources were properly verified and all assumptions checked. Quizzed about where he thought Bin Laden was, Negroponte said: "Our best estimate is that he must live somewhere in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area."(Posted @ 18:20 PST)
Russia plans to spend $186 billion on arms by 2015 MOSCOW, June 2 (Reuters) Russia will spend $186 billion on buying arms between next year and 2015, Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov was quoted as saying on Friday. He gave no further details.(Posted @ 18:18 PST)
Pakistan arrests top sectarian militant wanted for attacks QUETTA, Pakistan, June 2, 2006 (AFP) Pakistani police said on Friday they have arrested a top militant wanted for over 28 sectarian attacks that killed more than 100 people. Habib Ullah, a member of the banned extremist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, was arrested Thursday in Quetta, a police official said. Police said he masterminded the 2004 killing of 12 police cadets near Quetta and before that in a series of attacks on Shiites processions and meetings in the province. Police further said Habib Ullah was hiding in a rented house in the provincial capital and was captured without any resistance.(Posted @ 15:47 PST)
Police shoot, injure man in anti-terrorist raid: police LONDON, June 2(AFP) - A man was shot and injured by police in an anti-terrorist raid in east London early Friday, police said. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the man had been taken to a nearby hospital, but he refused to give any further details. Police officers in protective clothing were still on the scene at Forest Gate, where a number of cordons were in place.(Posted @ 13:05 PST)
Three killed in Russian helicopter crash MOSCOW, June 2 (Reuters) - At least three people were killed and seven others injured on Friday when a Russian transport helicopter crashed in Siberia, the Emergencies Ministry said. A ministry spokeswoman said the Mi-8 with 18 people on board crashed while trying to land at an airport in the regional centre of Kemerovo.(Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Pakistan sends field hospital to quake-hit Indonesia ISLAMABAD, June 2, 2006 (AFP) - Pakistan on Friday dispatched a 75-bed field hospital to Indonesia, where casualties were overcrowding hospitals following last weekend's earthquake, officials said. The hospital, flown in a C-130 aircraft, was equipped with an operating theatre, X-ray unit and field laboratory. It includes a team of 15 specialists and 49 paramedical staff to handle 300 outdoor patients daily. "The field hospital is equipped with a mobile surgical unit which is capable of undertaking 25 major surgeries in a day," a military spokesman said. The Pakistani medical team will utilize the experience they gained when confronted with a massive 7.6 magnitude quake in October last year that claimed more than 73,000 lives, seriously injured nearly 70,000 people and left 3.3 million homeless.(Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Two dead as Syria 'foils terror operation' DAMASCUS, June 2 (AFP) - Syria on Friday foiled a "terror operation" in Damascus, with security forces killing two people and capturing three others occupying buildings behind those housing state radio and television. "A source at the interior ministry said that three members of the terrorist group were captured, two were killed and one security guard was martyred," Syrian state news agency SANA said.(Posted @ 11:20 PST)
Four killed in twin bomb attacks on Baghdad animal market BAGHDAD, June 2 (AFP) - Four people were killed and 50 wounded in twin blasts targeting a Friday morning animal market in downtown Baghdad, police reported. The busy market was torn apart by bombs. Iraqis from all over the country gather at the historic Ghazal market on Friday mornings to sell pigeons, dogs and even snakes. A bomb also went off early in the morning in the southeastern suburb of Baghdad al-Jadeeda, killing one person and wounding four others. Separately, an Iraqi army colonel, assistant to the brigade commander of the unit protecting oil pipelines and fields in Kirkuk, was assassinated, together with his bodyguard, late Thursday as he headed home, said an official with the Iraqi army. Also on Thursday police reported the asssassination of a lawyer and former city council member working with US forces in the southern town of Samawa.(Posted @ 11:10 PST)
Israeli soldiers shoot dead two armed men at border with Egypt JERUSALEM, June 2, 2006 (AFP) - Israeli soldiers shot dead two armed men who crossed the border from Egypt Friday morning, an Israeli army spokeswoman said, without indicating the nationality of those killed. The third gunman escaped.(Posted @ 11:00 PST)
Nearly 1,000 people loot government warehouses in East Timor's capital DILI, East Timor, June 2 (AP) _ Nearly 1,000 people looted government warehouses in East Timor's capital Friday, stealing computers, office chairs and file cabinets, as the tiny nation continued its decent into chaos. Foreign troops deployed in Dili to restore order were nowhere to be seen. Many of those taking part in Friday's looting spree had been waiting for rice handouts, and became angry after realizing the warehouse containing food relief had been emptied overnight.(Posted @ 10:30 PST)
More inmates join hunger strike at Guantanamo camp WASHINGTON, June 2 (AFP) - More detainees held by the US military at the Guantanamo "war on terror" camp have joined a hunger strike, raising the number to 89 from 75, a military spokeswoman said Thursday. The military considers a detainee on strike if he refuses nine consecutive meals. Three of the detainees who have been on hunger strike since last August are force fed through a tube inserted in the nose, a technique that US officials call "safe and humane". Defence lawyers and human rights groups have condemned the practice as cruel and accused the medical doctors involved of violating their professional ethics. Only 10 inmates have been formally charged as terror suspects among the some 460 held there as "enemy combatants" since the camp opened after 9/11.(Posted @ 10:12 PST)
Afghan spring offensive stronger than expected: Dutch army chief THE HAGUE, June 2 (AFP) - The offensives against NATO forces in Afghanistan are particularly strong this spring, the commander of the Dutch armed forces said Thursday, shortly after Dutch soldiers were ambushed in the south of the country. "We were expecting a resurgence of offensives in spring, but not like this. However the attacks are not of such a nature that it will keep us from carrying out our mission," General Dick Berlijn said at a press briefing in The Hague. Earlier Thursday Dutch soldiers escaped unharmed from an ambush in the southern Uruzgan province where the troops are stationed as part of the NATO-led ISAF force in Afghanistan. "During the ambush Apache helicopters intervened. There were no casualties on the Dutch side and the attackers withdrew," General Berlijn said. General Berlijn warned journalists not to attribute every attack to the Taliban. "It could also be other groups who reject (Afghan President Hamid) Karzai or farmers upset that the convoys destroyed their field or even people who want to take our equipment," he said.(Posted @ 10:05 PST)
BBC airs footage of more alleged US massacre victims in Iraq LONDON, June 2 (AFP) - The BBC aired video footage Thursday of a number of dead adults and children whom Iraqi police allege were among 11 civilians rounded up and deliberately shot dead by US troops in March. The BBC said the evidence appeared to contradict the US version of events, namely, that four people died when US troops became involved in a firefight following raid on a house that collapsed under heavy fire, killing one suspected militant, two women and a child. However, a report filed by Iraqi police accused US troops of rounding up and deliberately shooting 11 people in the house, including five children and four women, before blowing up the building. The BBC aired video footage of several bodies, including those of three children, one of them covered in blood. The BBC's John Simpson said the images clearly show the dead adults and children suffered gunshot wounds.(Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 162.46 points: KARACHI, June 2: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 10346.23 , up 162.46 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:00 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, June 2: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.63 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16000 PST)
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