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| June 10, 2006 | Saturday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 13, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan kills 15-20 militants in raid on camp ISLAMABAD, June 10 (Reuters) Pakistani security forces attacked a militant hideout near the Afghan border on Saturday, killing up to 20 militants, an army spokesman said. The compound, attacked with artillery and helicopters, was near Dattakhel village, in the North Waziristan region on the Afghan border, said the spokesman, Major-General Shaukat Sultan. An attack was launched before dawn on Saturday and about 70 percent of the compound was destroyed, he said. The militants at the camp were believed to be foreigners and their Pakistani allies, he said.(Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Gas pipelines blown up in Balochistan QUETTA, Pakistan, June 10, 2006 (AFP)Three natural gas pipelines were blown up by unidentified people in Balochistan province Saturday, disrupting supplies to several districts but causing no injuries, officials said. Two state-owned pipelines were blown up in Mastoong district, 28 kilometre south of Quetta early Saturday, a gas company official said. The third pipeline was bombed in the Dera Bugti district which disrupted supplies to the Loti Gas plant, he said. The official said that technical staff had been called in to repair the "badly damaged" pipelines so that supplies to thousands of consumers could be restored. Separately two bombs attached to an electricity pylon exploded but failed to bring down the line in Dasht area early Saturday, police said. Police defused 14 bombs attached to three other towers, police added. Rockets were also fired and shot at paramilitary troops guarding the Pirkoh and Loti gas fields late Friday but there were no casualties, a security official said. No one claimed responsibility for the attacks.(Posted @ 14:20PST)
Abbas announces Palestinian referendum RAMALLAH, West Bank, June 10 (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas set up a showdown Saturday with the governing Hamas movment by calling a referendum on a plan that would implicitly recognise Israel's right to exist. The referendum will take place on July 26, according to the decree signed by Abbas and read out to reporters by Tayeb Abdelrahim, secretary general of the Palestinian Authority. "The Palestinian people in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are asked to give their verdict in a referendum on July 26 on the document of national unity -- the prisoners' document," Abbas said in the decree.(Posted @ 19:05 PST)
Military says al-Zarqawi tried to get away from U.S. forces in his dying moments BAGHDAD, June 10 (AP) _ U.S. officials have altered their account of the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, saying he was alive and partly conscious after U.S. bombs destroyed his hideout, and an Iraqi man near the scene raised fresh questions Saturday about the events surrounding the end of Iraq's most-wanted militant. The man, who lives near the scene, claimed in an interview with Associated Press Television News on Friday to have seen U.S. soldiers beating an injured person who resembled Zarqawi until blood flowed from the man's nose. The Iraqi man, identified as Mohammed Ahmed, claimed that residents had put the man in an ambulance before U.S. forces arrived. The American military team then, Ahmed said, pulled the man from the ambulance and allegedly beat him after wrapping his traditional Arab robe, known as a dishdasha, around his head. The individual also gave a similar account to The Washington Post. ``A middle aged man with a beard, still alive and still breathing. We put him in the ambulance, the US forces came, got him out of the ambulance wrapped his dishdasha over his head battered him severely till he died and blood came out of his nose,'' he said, without saying how he knew the man was dead. No other witnesses have come forward to corroborate the account of a man resembling Zarqawi being beaten. U.S. officials have not indicated that there was any physical or verbal interaction with Zarqawi before he died, aside from saying he tried to roll off a stretcher. Asked about the new witness's allegations, military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said he would check. U.S. Pentagon spokesman Jeffrey Gordon said Saturday he was unaware of the claim.(Posted @ 21:14 PST)
One dead, eight injured in Indian army firing in Kashmir SRINAGAR, India, June 10, 2006 (AFP) - One person died and eight were injured Saturday when Indian troops opened fire on villagers protesting against the desecration of a mosque by soldiers in revolt-hit occupied Kashmir, police said. The troops started firing when several hundred protesters in northern Kupwara district attacked vehicles and marched towards an army camp, a police spokesman said. "The situation in the area is tense but under control," the spokesman said, adding police and paramilitary forces had been deployed to prevent further deterioration of the law-and-order situation. He said the crowd of mostly young Kashmiris tried to attack the army camp with stones and sticks, prompting soldiers to open fire. The protesters were angry at a raid on a mosque in the village late Friday by soldiers. Residents alleged the troops desecrated the mosque. No further details were immediately available and the army could not be reached for comment. More than 44,000 people have died since an insurgency against Indian rule erupted in 1989.(Posted @ 18:55 PST)
Palestinian parliament to convene emergency session Monday RAMALLAH, West Bank, June 10, 2006 (AFP) - The Hamas-dominated parliament said Saturday it would convene an emergency session Monday to discuss the legality of a referendum called by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.(Posted @ 22:04 PST)
Heat is on for England players FRANKFURT, June 10 (AFP) - The heat was to blame for England's lacklustre opening 1-0 win over Praguay in their Group B World Cup match here on Saturday, according to captain David Beckham. The 31-year-old Real Madrid star was one of the few lively England players on the pitch and his fourth minute free kick gave them the ideal start as it came off Paraguayan captain Carlos Gamarra's head and into the net. However that was as good as it got for England from then on as they produced a sluggish and uninspiring performance against an honest but not overly demanding South American side. Beckham, playing in his third World Cup finals, said: "I think it was hot for both teams. We were good at times but we gave the ball away too much. We let them pass the ball around too much, but exhaustion came into that." Beckham said that there was no need to push the panic button. "We will be alright. We know we can perform better. I don't think we lost our shape too much, South American teams play the ball well through the midfield. That played a big part." Fellow midfielder Frank Lampard said:"We started well with great intentions and we were upset we did not get another goal." "In the second half we tried to get another goal but the heat sapped us a bit. Once the dust settles we will realise we got a good result. We will get better and who wants to start a competition at your peak?"(Posted @ 21:50 PST)
2006 World Cup Goal Scorers Two Goals=Miroslav Klose, Germany, Paulo Wanchope, Costa Rica One=Agustin Delgado, Ecuador, Carlos Tenorio, Ecuador, Philipp Lahm, Germany, Torsten Frings, Germany Own Goal= Carlos Gamarra, Paraguay(Posted @ 21:20 PST)
Tunisia sapped by more injury worries SCHWEINFURT, Germany, June 10 (AP) _ Reserve defender Alaeddine Yahya has joined Tunisia's growing injury list after picking up a strain in training Yahya, who plays in France for Saint-Etienne, pulled out of training on Thursday and needs three days of rest, Tunisia spokesman Mondher Chaouachi said. Tunisia has already lost three players, including striker Francileudo Santos, to injury for their World Cup opener against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. Spain and Ukraine are also in Group H.(Posted @ 21:18 PST)
Two bombs target police patrols as attacks in Iraq kill at least 24 people BAGHDAD, June 1 (AP) _ Two bombs aimed at police patrols exploded Saturday in Baghdad as a series of attacks killed at least 24 people nationwide on Saturday. The first explosion missed the police patrol but struck the al-Sadriya market in central Baghdad, killing four people and wounding 27, according to police Lt. Ali Mitaab and Lt. Thaer Mahmoud. Hours later, a parked car bomb hit a police patrol elsewhere in Baghdad, killing five people and wounding 14. The explosion targeted the patrol in Karradah, a popular shopping area in downtown Baghdad, police said. Gunmen also stopped a minivan carrying passengers on the highway from Baghdad to Abu Ghraib, ordered them off the bus and opened fire, killing four and wounding another, police Capt. Jamil Hussein said. In other acts of violence three Iraqi soldiers also were killed late Friday when their patrol clashed with gunmen in the Baladroz district, some 30 kilometers northeast of Baqouba. The U.S. military Saturday said a roadside bomb killed a U.S. soldier and wounded another late Friday in northern Iraq. A gunfight broke out between Iraqi soldiers and gunmen in Mosul, leaving two people dead, including a Syrian truck driver caught in the crossfire. Gunmen in two cars also killed three butchers near a central bus station in Mosul.(First Posted @ 12:35 PST Updated @ 21:16 PST)
US military says two medical examiners flown in to carry out al-Zarqawi autopsy BAGHDAD, June 10 (AP) _ Two U.S. military examiners have been flown into Iraq to carry out an autopsy on Jordanian-born terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who died shortly after surviving an airstrike, a U.S. general said Saturday. The two men were flown in to determine the exact causes of al-Zarqawi's death in a Thursday airstrike, said Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a senior spokesman for the US-led coalition. Al-Zarqawi managed to survive the airstrike and died shortly after, the U.S. military said. ``The autopsy is going on right now as we speak,'' he said. ``We are doing the autopsy to see how he actually died. It will be completed by this evening and will be made public maybe as early as Monday.''(Posted @ 21:12 PST)
England beat Paraguay 1-0 off own goal in Group B opener FRANKFURT, June 10 (AP) _ England got the win, and didn't need to score a goal.Paraguay captain Carlos Gamarra headed in an own-goal in the fourth minute Saturday to give England a 1-0 win over the South Americans in their Group B opener. Gamarra inadvertently headed David Beckham's curling free kick past Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar. It got worse for Paraguay minutes later when Villar hurt his right leg while sliding forward to clear the ball and had to be replaced by Aldo Bobadilla. England dominated the first half but was lackluster in the second. Paraguay missed a chance to score when England goalkeeper Paul Robinson punched Carlos Bonet's cross back into play and Carlos Paredes volleyed the ball over the goal. England had several first-half chances to increase its lead. Bobadilla parried a long-range shot by Frank Lampard and Beckham hit an effort just wide. But Paraguay had a chance in first-half injury time when Nelson Valdez's shot went just wide. ``It was a very hot today but I'm nonetheless pleased with the result,'' England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said. ``We had problems keeping the ball. But anyhow, it's three points.'' About two-thirds of the stadium's 48,000 seats were filled with England fans. With Michael Owen lacking sharpness up front, Eriksson replaced him with winger Stewart Downing in the 56th minute. Joe Cole pushed further forward behind Peter Crouch until he was substituted for defensive midfielder Owen Hargreaves, leaving the 6-foot-7 Crouch isolated in the box. Lampard had two late chances. Bobadilla pushed the midfielder's first attempt over the crossbar with one hand and the second around the post. Paraguay brought on a third forward _ Nelson Cuevas _ in the 68th but it did not work.(Posted @ 21:10 PST)
Henin-Hardenne beats Kuznetsova for 3rd French title PARIS, June 10 (AP) _ Justine Henin-Hardenne won her fifth Grand Slam and her third at Roland Garros, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-4 in the French Open final Saturday. Seeded fifth, the Belgian became the first woman to win consecutive titles at Roland Garros since Steffi Graf in 1995-96, and the first to win three French Open titles in four years since Graf in 1993-96. Henin-Hardenne also became the first woman to win the title without losing a set since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in 1994.(Posted @ 21:08 PST)
Cricket: Pakistan to tour S Africa before World Cup 2007 Karachi, June 10 (PPI): Pakistan will play three Tests and five one-day internationals in South Africa as part of its final preparations before next year's World Cup, a Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman said Saturday. The tour begins in the first week of January and ends on Feb 14 with the fifth and final ODI at Durban.(Posted @ 19:50 PST)
Cricket-Test Series West Indies v India line-ups June 10 (Infostrada Sports) - Line-ups for the second Test between West Indies and India on Saturday in Gros Islet, St Lucia. India won toss and decided to bat. West Indies: Ian Bradshaw, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Daren Ganga, Chris Gayle, Brian Lara (capt), Denesh Ramdin, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor India: Mahendra Dhoni, Rahul Dravid (capt), Wasim Jaffer, Mohammad Kaif, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Virender Sehwag, Vikram Singh, Yuvraj Singh(Posted @ 19:45 PST)
Israeli killing of Palestinian civilians meets with world censure AMMAN, June 10 (AFP) - Israel faced international condemnation Saturday over the death of seven Palestinians, including three children, killed by shellfire on a Gaza beach.In Amman, the Jordanian government called Friday's killings by Israeli artillery fire a "crime". Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas has declared three days of mourning. The United States voiced "its regret for the killing and wounding of innocent Palestinians", while French government called the Israeli bombardments of Gaza a “disproportionate" use of force. "What happened was an unacceptable," a Russian foreign ministry statement said.Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora warned that verbal condemnation was not sufficient "in the face of continuing Israeli barbarism" and called for "the immediate opening of an international investigation into this crime which has no reason, logic or justification". Iran condemned "the savage Zionist regime's crime in killing innocent Palestinians," said foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi, calling on the United Nations to conduct a "serious" inquiry. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan also endorsed the need for an investigation, saying he was "deeply disturbed" over the killings, according to his spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Friday. From Turkey came the message to punish those responsible for the attack on Palestinian civilians.(Posted @ 19:00 PST)
Newly acquired ATR aircraft begin operations KARACHI, June 10 (APP): The newly acquired 45-seat ATR-42-500 aircraft, replacing the age-old Fokkers which served PIA for over four decades, Saturday started operating on Karachi-Gwadar-Muscat route. The inaugural flight was seen off at Quaid-e-Azam International Airport by PIA Chairman Tariq Kirmani who told newsmen that after the induction of seven ATR's, PIA will acquire two additional 76-seat ATR's.(Posted @ 17:35 PST)
Ruins of Zarqawi's house offer clues and hints HIBHIB, Iraq, June 10 (Reuters) - The ruins of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's house are strewn with a random jumble of wreckage-- magazines, a leopard-print nightgown, a religious slogan and a few hints at the violent career of Iraq's most wanted man. What is left of the "safe house" where the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq lived suggests that he and his companions lived there with few luxuries. At the site surrounded by palm groves, two thin foam mattresses were scattered across the rubble on Saturday, along with a small carton of pineapple juice with its straw intact. A leaflet lying in the rubble identified a radio station in Latifiya south of the capital as an apparent target. A few feet away was a magazine picture of former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Alongside the fractured concrete and twisted metal was a nightgown, other women's clothes and a white man's shirt. The house where Zarqawi last lived was extremely isolated. It was surrounded by thick palm groves that hid it from mud and cement houses a few hundred metres away. The site is also well hidden from the main road 400 metres away, which cuts through lush green flatlands. A torn page of what appeared to be the May 2 Arabic edition of Newsweek magazine lay in the rubble. A leaflet referred to the Mujahideen Shura Council, an alliance of al Qaeda in Iraq and other militant groups. "God is the light of the skies and the earth," read a large black plaque.(Posted @ 17:00 PST)
Two Kurdish militants killed in s.east Turkey DIYARBAKIR, June 10 (Reuters) - Two Kurdish rebels, one of them a senior field commander of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), were killed in a clash with Turkish troops in southeastern Turkey, military sources said on Saturday. One of those killed was a senior PKK guerrilla in charge of Silvan district in the Diyarbakir province, the sources said.(Posted @ 17:00 PST)
India, Bangladesh troops exchange heavy border fire KOLKATA, June 10 (Reuters) - Indian and Bangladeshi troops exchanged heavy fire, officials said Saturday, but the two sides gave different accounts of the clash. One man was killed and three seriously wounded in the firing, and hundreds of frightened villagers fled their homes, Bangladesh officials said. A top Indian official said the clash at the Gede-Nimatala frontier, about 140 km north of Kolkata, occurred after a Bangladeshi smuggler was shot dead by India's Border Security Force after he attacked an Indian soldier with a knife to evade arrest. Bangladeshi security officials said the clash erupted after Indian soldiers opened fire on a Bangladeshi patrol. "The unprovoked firing caught us off guard, but we returned (fire) immediately. A heavy exchange of machineguns and mortars continued until early Saturday," a BDR official said.Indian forces said they fired at BDR positions throughout Friday night, and into Saturday morning.(Posted @ 17:00 PST)
Sixteen die in Egypt road crash CAIRO, June 10 (Reuters) - Sixteen Egyptians died in a collision between a bus and a minibus on a road south of Cairo on Saturday, a security source said. Four other people were injured in the crash on the road between Cairo and the town of Fayoum, south of the Egyptian capital. Drivers of both vehicles were among the dead, the source said.(Posted @ 16:30 PST)
India to launch tender for 126 fighter jets NEW DELHI, June 10 (AFP) - India's air force will soon launch an international tender for the supply of 126 fighter jets (estimated cost nine billion dollars) to replace its ageing fleet of MiG-21s, air force chief S.P. Tyagi said Saturday. India will also buy 18 Russian-made Sukhoi-30 MKI jets off-the-shelf rather than upgrading a previous batch of Su-30s to MKI specifications, Press Trust of India reported, quoting Tyagi.(Posted @ 16:25 PST)
Thirteen family members killed in revenge attack in India HYDERABAD, India, June 10 (AFP) - Thirteen members of one family including five women and four children were murdered in southern India in a revenge attack for a murder two years ago, police said Saturday. "Two of the victims were hacked to death and the others were locked up in rooms and burnt to death by the assailants who wreaked vengeance due to previous enmity," a senior police official said. The attack took place in the village of Polkampalli, about 130 kilometers from Hyderabad. Police said relatives of a man killed two years ago attacked the family of the accused murderer who was recently released on bail.(Posted @ 16:00 PST)
Iran may offer own nuclear package TEHRAN, June 10 (AFP) - Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Saturday that Iran is examining the West's package of incentives to resolve the nuclear crisis and may reply with its own counter-proposals. "We have opened the package, and we are studying it, and afterwards we will officially reply to the Europeans," Mottaki said after a meeting with Palestinian foreign minister Mahmud al-Zahar, quoted by the Iranian media. "We hope ... a shuttle diplomacy will be started for the Islamic republic's proposals in the form of amendments or counter-proposals to be studied seriously by the Europeans," he added. "We are in favour of discussions which are fair, unbiased and without preconditions, that will result in an understanding satisfactory for all sides," he said. "We have not defined a deadline for our reply," Mottaki added.(Posted @ 15:52 PST)
Bomb hits Afghan intelligence official's convoy, three killed KABUL, June 10 (AFP) - A bomb struck a convoy carrying a top Afghan intelligence official, missing him but killing three men, while two policemen died in another attack on Saturday in the south of the country, officials said. The convoy carrying Kabul intelligence chief Humayoon Aini was struck by a bomb just outside the capital late Friday. Aini escaped unharmed but three of his fellow travellers, including a tribal chief, were killed in the blast which appeared to have been detonated by control. Two other men, including a district intelligence director, were wounded. Meanwhile, two policemen were killed and three others injured when their vehicle hit a landmine near Kandahar, said Daud Ahmadi, spokesman for the provincial governor.The policemen were escorting a district police chief to Kandahar when the bomb was detonated by remote control, said Ahmadi. In a separate incident, two Taliban were killed and two others captured Friday in fighting that erupted after the rebels ambushed an Afghan army patrol in Zabul province, General Rahmatullah Raufi said. The US-led coalition announced that more than 40 insurgents were killed in operations conducted by Afghan and coalition forces in the south in the past week.(Posted @ 15:50 PST)
Kuwait's emir starts Asian tour KUWAIT CITY, June 10 (AFP) - Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, embarked Saturday on a 12-day Asian visit to Bangladesh, Thailand, India and Pakistan aimed at boosting economic relations. The emir is heading a high-level delegation that includes the ministers of foreign affairs, energy and finance, as well as Kuwaiti businessmen. Planning Minister Maasouma al-Mubarak said the tour will focus on oil, financial and economic issues.(Posted @ 15:42 PST)
India asks music channels to apologise for 'indecent' videos NEW DELHI, June 10 (AFP) - The Indian government has ordered six music channels to broadcast an apology for showing "indecent" videos and pull them from their playlists, an official said Saturday. The US-based MTV and Channel [V] of the Hong Kong-based Star Group are among six channels subject to the order issued by the ministry of information and broadcasting. "The ministry has asked the six channels to run a scroll, effective June 11 (along the bottom of the screen) for three days to apologise for videos which violated the programming code," a ministry spokesman said.(Posted @ 15:40 PST)
Rebels blow up gas, oil pipelines in India's Assam GUWAHATI, India, June 10 (Reuters) Suspected separatist guerrillas in India's north-eastern state of Assam triggered four explosions, blowing up oil and gas pipelines, hours after a market-place bomb killed five people, police said on Saturday. The militants blew up a pipeline carrying crude oil from a drilling site in the state's Duliajan area, and a gas pipeline in the town of Digboi, 400 km east of Guwahati, the state's main city. They also hurled a grenade at a house of a local politician, hurting six people, including two children, officers said. No group has claimed responsibility for the explosions.(Posted @ 12:45 PST)
Two Taliban killed, five captured in southern Afghanistan attack KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 10, 2006 (AFP) At least two suspected Taliban militants were killed and five others captured in separate battles in southern Afghanistan, an official said Saturday. Afghan security forces and US-led coalition troops also detained three militants in Nawbahar district, an Afghan official said.(Posted @ 12:45 PST)
Attacks to intensify, Sri Lankan rebel front warns JAFFNA, Sri Lanka, June 10 (Reuters) A suspected Tamil Tiger front organisation vowed on Saturday to intensify attacks against Sri Lanka's military amid growing fears that the island is sliding back into civil war. The Tamil Resurgence Force said it would also attack Tamil government allies.(Posted @ 12:35 PST)
Hamas fires rockets at Israel GAZA, June 10 (Reuters) Hamas said it fired rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday for the first time since agreeing to a truce 16 months ago.Hamas announced it was renewing attacks on Israel after the Israeli military killed seven Palestinians relaxing on a Gaza beach on Friday. There were no immediate reports in Israel that said rockets had landed in its territory.(Posted @ 11:00 PST)
Indian soldier killed, two hurt in occupied Kashmir ambush SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, June 10, 2006 (AFP) An Indian soldier was killed and two others hurt when a patrol was ambushed Friday in the jungles of Chapra-Aragam in occupied Kashmir’s northern Baramulla district, police said Saturday.(Posted @ 10:45 PST)
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