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| June 24, 2006 | Saturday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 27, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
U.S. releases 14 Saudi Arabians from Guantanamo Bay WASHINGTON, June 24, (AP) _ Fourteen Saudis were released on Saturday from the detention center at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and transferred back to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said. One was released because U.S. officials determined the detainee was no longer an enemy combatant. The other Saudis were released after an administrative review process determined they could be transferred. The releases bring to 310 the number of detainees who have departed Guantanamo to other governments, including those of Albania, Afghanistan, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden and Uganda.(Posted @ 23:28 PST)
9 passengers killed in Pakistan road accident KARACHI, Pakistan, June 24 (AP) _ A speeding bus overturned Saturday on a highway near Larkana, about 450 kilometers northeast of Karachi, killing nine passengers and injuring 36 others, police said. No other details were readily available.(Posted @ 21:56 PST)
Roadside bomb kills two policemen and wounds three others in Baghdad BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 24 (AP) _ A roadside bomb struck a police patrol Saturday in Baghdad, killing two policemen and wounding three others. Police also found an unidentified body of a man who had been handcuffed, bound by the legs and shot to death in northeastern Baghdad. A roadside bomb in western Baghdad hit an Iraqi army patrol, injuring two Iraqi soldiers and damaging one vehicle, police Capt. Jamil Hussein said. And a patrol was hit by a roadside bomb that wounded four policemen near a popular market in neighborhood of Dora in Baghdad, he said. Elsewhere, gunmen opened fire on a police patrol in Diwaniyah, 130 kilometers south of Baghdad, wounding two policemen,police Maj. Ali al-Jubouri said.(Posted @ 20:22 PST)
2 U.S. soldiers killed in Baghdad BAGHDAD, June 24 (AP) _ A roadside bomb killed a U.S. soldier in central Baghdad, while another soldier died in a ``non-combat incident,'' the U.S. military said in separate statements Saturday. One soldier was killed in an attack hours before clashes broke out on a volatile street near the heavily guarded Green Zone, prompting the Iraqi government to impose a curfew. Another died in a ``non-combat incident'' at about 5 p.m. Friday, the military said. (First Posted @ 16:30 PST Updated @ 20:20 PST)
4 Russian soldiers, 4 policemen wounded in Chechnya ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia, June 24 (AP) _ Four Russian soldiers and four policemen were wounded in separate incidents in the war-torn province of Chechnya, police said Saturday. In Grozny, four policemen sustained gunshot wounds Friday when they attempted to detain suspected militants holed up in a house sparking burst of gunfire from inside. The gunmen, believed to number between two and three, blew themselves upwhen they ran out of ammunition, the ministry said. Elsewhere in Grozny on Friday, two servicemen were wounded when an explosive device planted in a roadside garbage bin went off, and anothertwo suffered wounds when they came under fire from unknownassailants in the mountainous southern Vedeno district, the ministrysaid.(Posted @ 20:02 PST)
Violence in occupied Kashmir kills 5, injures 8 SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, June 24 (AP) _ A shootout, grenade attack and assault on a police motorcade killed at least five people in occupied Kashmir on Saturday, as hundreds of villagers blocked a highway to protest the killing of a student, officials said. The shootout started when government soldiers raided Ratnipora village, acting on a tip that suspected militants were hiding there, said police officer Imtiyaz Ahmad. Two suspected rebels and a soldier were killed in the ensuing exchange of gunfire, Ahmad said. Another soldier was injured in the fighting in Ratnipora, about35 kilometers southwest of Srinagar, Ahmad said. Also Saturday, a civilian was killed and seven others injured when suspected militants threw two hand grenades in a shopping district in Srinagar, said police superintendent Anand Jain. The grenades missed the intended targets _ two paramilitary bunkers _ and seriously wounded passers-by. No soldiers were injured and the attackers fled, Singh said. Separately, suspected militants fired on a top paramilitary officer's motorcade but he escaped unharmed, said police superintendent Juneid Ahmed. When his guards fired back, a teenage student walking by was hit and killed, Ahmed said. Nearly 150 women from Palhalan village, protesting the student's killing, tried to break into a paramilitary camp. A sentry fired at them, injuring four women, one critically. About 350 more villagers then joined the women. They blocked a highway, raised pro-independence slogans and demanded punishment for the guard who fired on the protesters.(Posted @ 19:54 PST)
Three dead, 15 hurt in occupied Kashmir violence SRINAGAR, June 24 (AFP) - Two militants and an Indian army officer were killed and 15 people hurt in fresh shootouts and a grenade blast in revolt-hit occupied Kashmir, police said. The deaths took place in the district of Pulwama early Saturday when the Indian army raided a rebel hide-out and the militants opened fire killing an army officer and wounding a soldier," the spokesman said, adding that two rebels were killed in the retaliatory action. Separately, in Srinagar, nine civilians and a policeman were hurt in a grenade attack Saturday by suspected rebels in a busy commercial street, police chief of Srinagar Syed Mujtaba said. "The grenade was aimed at police but mostly injured civilians," he said. Mujataba said one of the wounded was in critical condition. On Friday, 12 people were hurt in Srinagar in two similar blasts. Meanwhile, four people were injured when they were caught in crossfire between rebels and security forces in the northern town of Patan, a police spokesman said. Kashmir is in the grip of insurgency against Indian rule that has so far left tens of thousands dead. (Posted @ 15:40 PST)
Fire breaks out in Russian naval academy, killing 4 cadets and injuring 11 MOSCOW, June 24, (AP) _ A fire broke out Saturday in a naval academy dormitory in Russia's second biggest city, St. Petersburg, killing five cadets and injuring 10, the Emergency Situations Ministry said. There was no immediate information on possible causes of the fire, which was contained within about an hour.(Posted @ 19:42 PST)
Pakistan, US to hold energy dialogue this month ISLAMABAD, Pakistan,June 24 (AP) _ Senior officials from Pakistan are to hold talks in the United States on June 26 on how Washington can help the country meet its growing energy needs, the foreign ministry said Saturday. Mukhtar Ahmad, the prime minister's adviser on energy, will lead Pakistan's delegation at the talks, foreign ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told reporters. No other details about the talks were immediately available.(Posted @ 19:38 PST)
Bangladesh tanker crew jump for their lives after ship blaze CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, June 24 (AFP) - Navy rescuers Saturday plucked an entire ship's crew to safety after they jumped for their lives when flames swept through an oil tanker in the Bay of Bengal, officials said. All 44 crew leapt from the tanker anchored near Chittagong, said port chairman Shahadat Hossain. Firefighting navy vessels battled the blaze for three hours before it sank, he said.(Posted @ 19:36 PST)
Two soldiers killed, two wounded in Sri Lanka attacks COLOMBO, June 24 (AFP) - Tamil Tiger guerrillas gunned down two government soldiers Saturday while they were on patrol in Vavuniya district in northern Sri Lanka, defence ministry said. Two more soldiers were wounded in a similar ambush in the same area also on Saturday, a ministry spokesman said.(Posted @ 19:34 PST)
Four killed in shootout outside Indian court LUCKNOW, India, June 24 (AFP) - Four people were killed and three injured when two rival groups opened fire at each other Saturday outside a city court in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, an official said. The four died on the spot when the rival groups -- affiliated to the ruling regional Samajwadi Party and the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal -- fired at each other, said R.K. Tiwari, a spokesman for the home ministry in state capital Lucknow. The clash took place when supporters of rival contractors working for different government departments, accidentally came upon each other outside the court premises early Saturday, Tiwari said.(Posted @ 19:32 PST)
Iran wants talks on nuclear program 'without any preconditions' BERLIN, June 24 (AFP) - Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Saturday that Tehran wanted to resume talks on its disputed nuclear program but "without any preconditions". Mottaki told reporters after talks with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin that Iran was "by no means isolated" in its desire to pursue uranium enrichment, despite growing international pressure for it to abandon sensitive nuclear work. He said Iran was "very seriously studying" the package. Steinmeier said the international community needed clarity "very quickly" on Iran's intentions, adding that "the suspension of uranium enrichment would create an auspicious environment" for a return to the negotiating table.(Posted @ 19:30 PST)
Agassi calls time on glorious career LONDON, June 24, 2006 (AFP) - Andre Agassi will call time on one of the greatest careers in tennis after this year's US Open, the American star announced on Saturday as he prepared for what will now be his final Wimbledon. The 36-year-old, one of only five players to have won all four Grand Slam tournaments, has decided to quit because he feels he is nearing the point where his body will be unable to withstand the strain of performing to his own exacting standards.(Posted @ 19:30 PST)
Bomb kills Kirkuk intelligence chief -police KIRKUK, Iraq, June 24 (Reuters) - A roadside bomb killed the local intelligence chief and two of his guards in Kirkuk on Saturday, Kirkuk police chief Torhan Abdul Rahman said. Mousa Hachim, director of intelligence in Kirkuk's Ta'mim province, was killed instantly by the blast that targeted his car.(Posted @ 17:24 PST)
Saudi Arabia arrests 40 militants-TV RIYADH, June 24 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has arrested 40 suspected militants including 13 "involved in terrorism" in raids across the kingdom, the state television said on Saturday. It said four suspected terrorists including an Iraqi were arrested in a raid at their hideout in the northeastern town of Hafr al-Baten. The raid led to the arrest of "9 Saudis involved in terrorism," it added quoting an Interior Ministry statement. It said another 27 men were arrested across the vast desert kingdom, in Mecca, the Eastern Province and the northern border region, including 24 Saudis, two Somalis and an Ethiopian. The ministry of interior said the 27 men were involved in "suspicious activities" connected to radical Islamist groups. A security source said the arrests formed part of a wider cell of some 50 people which had been broken up, involving a shoot-out on Friday.(Posted @ 17:02 PST)
Cameroon road crash kills at least 34 - state radio YAOUNDE, June 24 (Reuters) - At least 34 people were killed in Cameroon when a bus ploughed into a truck laden with sand while overtaking it on a bend, state radio reported on Saturday. The accident happened on Friday near Ngomo, around 60 km from the capital Yaounde, the radio said.(Posted @ 16:54 PST)
Schwarzenegger rejects White House request for more troops along U.S.-Mexico border SACRAMENTO, California, June 24 (AP) _ Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this week rejected a request from the Bush administration to send an additional 1,500 National Guard troops to the Mexican border, the governor's office confirmed Friday. The National Guard Bureau, an arm of the Pentagon, asked for the troops to fill shortfalls for the mission in New Mexico and Arizona, but Schwarzenegger said the request would stretch the California guard too thin if an emergency or disaster struck.(Posted @ 16:42 PST)
Indian film stars cancel show in Pakistan over visa row NEW DELHI, June 24, 2006 (AFP) - A television show in Pakistan featuring top Indian film stars has been cancelled after Bollywood song writer Javed Akhtar said Saturday he was denied permission to enter the neighbouring country. Pakistan High Commission said Akhtar's visa had been cleared late Friday, but the songwriter said "it was too late". "The Pakistan High Commission is hiding behind the excuse of bureaucratic delay, but the fact is the visa was first issued, and then cancelled." "I found the entire thing in very poor taste," he said. More than 20 Indian film stars were to take part in the television show and a screening of a Bollywood film in Karachi on Saturday to raise funds for last year's massive earthquake. Indian team has "indefinitely postponed" the show after the episode. The writer, who often speaks out on public issues, hinted that the show may not be held at all, rather than just postponed till a later date. "To say it's indefinitely postponed is a polite way of saying we are not doing the show.” (Posted @ 16:05 PST)
Maoist rebels kill three in central India RAIPUR, India, June 24 (AFP) - Three people were beaten to death by suspected left-wing guerrillas in central Chhattisgarh state, police said Saturday. The rebels also attacked police when officials went to collect the bodies of the three in Dantewada district, 550 kilometers from state capital Raipur, said an official who did not want to be named. (Posted @ 15:50 PST)
Bangladesh accuses Indian border guards of killing four villagers DHAKA, June 24 (AFP) - Bangladesh officials claimed Saturday Indian border guards had killed four villagers in two separate shootings. Three Bangladeshis were killed Friday along the border in southwestern Satkhira district while a woman was shot dead in northwestern Chapai Nawabganj, the border officials said. "The situation is volatile," said Lieutenant Colonel Lutfar Rahman of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) border force in Chapai Nawabganj. "We have contacted the BSF to arrange a flag meeting to have the dead bodies handed over but so far they have not responded," said As-Adur Rahman of the BDR's Satkhira battalion. (Posted @ 15:46 PST)
Vietnam PM, president and assembly chief officially resign HANOI, June 24 (AFP) - Vietnam's national assembly Saturday confirmed the resignations of the prime minister, president and assembly chief, kicking off a political reshuffle in the communist nation, an assembly source said. (Posted @ 15:45 PST)
Hockey-Pakistan beats South Korea to clinch fifth in Azlan Shah Cup KUALA LUMPUR, June 24, 2006 (AFP) Former champions Pakistan clinched fifth place in the 15th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup after beating South Korea 4-1 in a play-off in Malaysia on Saturday. The Pakistanis, who dominated the match and were hardly troubled by the Koreans, scored two goals in each half to carve out a convincing win. They scored their first half goals through Shakeel Abbasi and skipper Mohamed Saqlain in the 14th and 23rd minutes from field attempts. In the 42nd minute the Koreans finally scored with Kang Seong-jung converting a chance after a penalty corner rebound. But they failed to capitalise on it and sank further behind when the Pakistanis hit back through Akthar Ali in the 46th minute and Waqas Sharif after 64 minutes. Pakistan coach Asif Bajwa said he was pleased at his team's control of the match. Earlier Argentina scored a golden goal in the 79th minute to take seventh place in the tournament after coming from behind to beat Malaysia 3-2 in a play-off match. (First Posted @ 09:30 PST Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Indian defence officials raided over leaks NEW DELHI, June 24, 2006 (AFP) India's top investigating agency has raided homes across the country of senior defence officials suspected of leaking classified military information, a statement said Saturday. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided 19 sites in four cities, including the premises of several serving navy and army officials, a statement posted on the agency's wesbite said. "Ongoing investigations indicate that ... there was also ... a larger ring of compromised officials who were giving sensitive information to the accused persons in exchange (for) gratifications," the statement said. (Posted @ 12:50 PST)
Spy plane crashes into Afghanistan village KHOST, Afghanistan, June 24, 2006 (AFP) A two-metre-long spy plane believed to belong to the US-led coalition crashed into a village in south-eastern Afghanistan but caused no casualties, police said Saturday. The unmanned aircraft plunged to earth Friday in eastern Khost province’s Ismail Khail district on the border with Pakistan, a provincial police spokesman said. US-led coalition forces retrieved it on Saturday, he said. The coalition could not immediately confirm the accident. (Posted @ 12:45 PST)
About 65 'extremists' killed in Afghanistan: coalition KABUL, June 24, 2006 (AFP) Afghan and coalition forces killed about 65 "extremists" in two separate battles in southern Afghanistan, the US-led coalition said Saturday. Around 40 were killed in fighting in Uruzgan province on Friday and another 25 were killed in Kandahar province the same day, it said in a statement. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup field hockey results KUALA LUMPUR, June 24, 2006 (AFP) Results from the 15th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup for fifth and seventh placing on Saturday: Pakistan 4 (Abbasi 14, Saqlain 23, Ali 46, Sharif 64) South Korea 1 (Seong-jung 42), H-t: 2-0; Argentina 3 (Paredas 32, Almada 49, Argento 79) Malaysia 2 (Boon Huat 20, Razie 27), H-t: 1-2. (First Posted @ 09:30 PST Updated @ 11:40 PST)
Bomb wounds three outside fruit shop in DG Khan MULTAN, Pakistan, June 24, 2006 (AP) A bomb wounded three people outside a fruit shop in central Pakistan on Saturday, police said. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack in Dera Ghazi Khan, a town about 100 kilometers west of Multan. Police said the bomb also damaged some nearby shops, which were closed. ``Luckily the bomb didn't cause heavy casualties because it went off at 6 a.m., and most shops were closed at the time,'' the official said. (First Posted @ 09:45 PST Updated @ 10:22 PST)
Computer expert tried to warn police about London bombers in 2003: newspaper LONDON, June 24, 2006 (AFP) A computer expert who worked with two of the London suicide bombers contacted police nearly two years before the attacks to warn them of their activities, The Guardian said Saturday. Martin Gilbertson, 45, said he produced anti-Western propaganda videos, secure web sites and encrypted emails for extremists who used a youth centre and a bookshop attended by Mohammed Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer. He told the newspaper he also set up security firewalls to protect both places from outside interference while assigned to work at a nearby community centre affiliated to both places. But he then became so concerned about what he was being asked to do, he contacted police about his concerns and posted them material, including a DVD and a list of names. Khan and Tanweer were both said to be on the list. London's Metropolitan Police declined to comment on Gilbertson's claims. (Posted @ 09:46 PST)
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