|
|
| August 09, 2006 | Wednesday | Rajab 13, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Hizbollah vows Lebanon will be Israeli 'graveyard' BEIRUT, Aug 9 (Reuters) Hizbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Wednesday that Israeli attacks had not weakened its rocket capabilities and its fighters would turn south Lebanon into a 'graveyard' for invading Israeli troops. In a televised speech, Nasrallah called on the Arab residents of Haifa to quit the Israeli city to avoid being hurt by rocket fire. He said his group backed the army's deployment to the south but that Washington was trying to impose Israeli demands on Lebanon through a draft U.N. resolution. Nasrallah said that a seven-point plan presented by the Lebanese government was the least the country should accept as part of a draft resolution to end the fighting.(Posted @ 23:30 PST)
Water and electricity to all villages by 2007: Musharraf Karachi Aug 09 (Agencies) President General Pervez Musharraf said all villages in Sindh will get potable water and power by the end of 2007, while immediate steps will be taken for the provision of gas to villages as well within the same period. He was presiding over a high-level meeting held at the Chief Minister house here Wednesday to review the pace of work on several ongoing development projects in the province. Expressing his dissatisfaction over the contesting figures presented by the Sindh government and the WAPDA authorities with regard to the availability of electricity in villages, Musharraf directed the two sides to coordinate with each other and present a factual report on the issue within the next 15 days. He directed the officials of the SSGC officials to work to provide gas to the people at least till the district and sub-division level in the province. If gas was not directly provided to any area due to difficulties in installation of gas pipelines, then the availability of LPG gas be ensured there, he said. About a perpetual loadshedding and power breakdowns in Karachi, he said steps being taken by KESC regarding power generation would help ease the problem. He said Wapda had already been providing 250 MW more electricity to KESC than the allocated limit. He said that at least one water filtration plant would be installed at district and sub-division level by the end of 2007.(Posted @ 18:30 PST)
No confidence motion against PM Aziz on August 23: Opposition ISLAMABAD, August 9 (Agencies): Opposition parties announced Wednesday that a no confidence motion against the prime minister would be tabled on August 23 in the National Assembly, and an anti-government movement would be started by holding a public meeting at Minar-e-Pakistan on August 14. A combined opposition parties meeting decided here Wednesday at the parliament house. Giving details of the meeting, ARD chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim said a committee has been set up to work out a draft motion of the no-trust move. It was also decided that all opposition parties would join hands with each other in making it a success. Fahim said the names of the treasury members who would support the opposition in the no confidence motion would be kept a secret. MMA deputy secretary general Hafiz Hussain Ahmad said the public meeting to be held on August 14 would be organized jointly with the opposition parties. MMA agrees to the provisions of the charter of democracy including separation of army from power, holding of elections under an independent election commission and all others clauses which relate to restoration of democracy, he said.(Posted @ 18:55 PST)
Pakistani-born pilot sues JetBlue, claiming discrimination NEW YORK, Aug 9 (AP) A Pakistani-born pilot is suing JetBlue Airways Corp. for discrimination, claiming the airline rescinded a job offer and told him it was because of his background. Faisal Baig, a U.S. citizen who was raised in Yonkers, New York, claims in the suit that an airline manager told him in March that he was a ``security risk. The 40-year-old, a Muslim, had previously flown for Independence Air for nearly six years. A message left for a spokesman for the New York-based airline was not immediately returned Wednesday. Baig, whose suit seeks an unspecified amount of money, is now living in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he is continuing to look for work as a pilot.(Posted @ 22:00 PST)
Indian troops kill two in occupied Kashmir violence SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Aug 9 (AP) Indian security forced killed two men alleging them to be militants on Wednesday in separate incidents in Srinagar but protesters said that one of them was a civilian waiting for a bus. ``He was stopped for frisking. As he was being frisked, he took out a grenade and tried to throw it on them. One of the soldiers held him and the grenade fell into the water nearby,'' the army told reporters. He was identified by police as 20 year old Ghulam Mohammad Sheikh, from the town of Bandipore, and a student in an arts college. About two dozen women took to the streets soon after the shooting, shouting slogans against security forces and accusing the security forces of killing an innocent civilian waiting for a bus. They said he was shot to avenge the Aug. 1 killing of two CRPF soldiers in the same neighbourhood.(Posted @ 21:55 PST)
PM Aziz meets PML parliamentarians ISLAMABAD, Aug 09 (Agencies): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz called upon PML parliamentarians to complete the last phase of their party elections for the central leadership on August 12 in the same spirit as was witnessed at its provincial level elections. He was talking to a group of PML MNAs who called on him at his chamber in the parliament House Wednesday.(Posted @ 21:43 PST)
Natwar Singh criticizes Indian PM following suspension ISLAMABAD, Aug 9 (APP): Former Indian external affairs minister, K Natwar Singh, criticized the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, in remarks made to CNN-IBN TV broadcast Wednesday. Following his suspension from the ruling Congress party, Natwar said "It gives me no pleasure to say that he is a weak PM, unable to stand by his colleagues. He has no backbone". He added "I have worked with him for 40 years... he knew nothing of foreign affairs... when I am in difficulty he does not have the courage or camaraderie to say something in my favour."(Posted @ 21:35 PST)
3.5 million face flood risk in India AHMEDABAD, India, Aug 9 (AFP) Swirling floods intensified in parts of rain-lashed India Wednesday as the authorities warned that 3.5 million residents of the main diamond-cutting city of Surat were at risk from rising water levels.Troops backed by naval craft and heavy-lift air force helicopters were evacuating people from flooded homes in this western state of Gujarat as people perched on rooftops for protection. "80 percent of Surat is under water and the situation is likely to worsen with the high tide (in the Arabian Sea)," a senior official told reporters. India's petroleum firms also reported disruptions in production in Gujarat's gas fields due to the havoc. The military was also out in Andhra Pradesh, where six districts are under floodwater, an official said. In Maharashtra state, thousands of homeless in 15 of its 35 districts are living off food dropped by the air force.(Posted @ 21:31 PST)
Standard Chartered to buy 80 percent of Pakistan's Union Bank LONDON, Aug 9 (AFP) Standard Chartered, the Britain-based emerging markets bank, said Wednesday that it has agreed to buy 80.86 percent of Pakistan's Union Bank for 413 million dollars. "The acquisition of Union Bank will make Standard Chartered the sixth largest bank in Pakistan by market share of assets and will further extend Standard Chartered's business in a high growth market," the group said in a statement announcing the deal in London.(Posted @ 21:25 PST)
Canadian soldier dies in Afghanistan weapons accident OTTAWA, Aug 9 (AFP) A Canadian soldier died in a "weapons-related accident" on a highway west of Kandahar City on Wednesday, a defence department official said."We're investigating to try to determine the exact circumstances, but enemy actions have been ruled out," said a military spokesman.(Posted @ 21:20 PST)
Lebanon aid stalled, UN slams Israeli strikes on civilians BEIRUT, Aug 9 (Reuters) Aid agencies were unable to reach tens of thousands of people trapped by heavy fighting in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. Aid agencies said their efforts to get to southern Lebanon had stalled for a second successive day after Israel imposed an indefinite ban on movement south of the Litani river, saying it could attack any vehicle not in an approved convoy. The United Nations said two planeloads of supplies from Jordan had been delayed, but that seven aid flights from China, the UAE and Yemen had arrived at Beirut's airports. The relief group Mercy Corps said it was repositioning aid material closer to southern cities after having to call off convoys because their destinations were under attack. It said that aid groups had to switch from sending dry goods south because people had run out of cooking fuel. The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said that "When our teams visit villages…even if they look empty there's always civilians left -- 10, 50, or maybe 500 in bigger towns".(Posted @ 21:20 PST)
100 rockets strike northern Israel JERUSALEM, Aug 9 (AFP) Hizbollah fired some 100 rockets on northern Israel Wednesday, causing no injuries, police said. "Ninety-seven rockets had struck northern Israel by noon, causing no injuries," a police spokesman said, adding "seventeen of them landed in inhabited areas and at least one long-range rocket landed near Beit Shean in the north of the Jordan valley".(Posted @ 19:35 PST)
Lebanon offensive could last another month: Israeli minister JERUSALEM, Aug 9 (AFP) Israel's offensive in southern Lebanon could drag on for another month or more, Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai said Wednesday after the security cabinet agreed to expand operations. "It is believed that it will last another 30 days," Yishai told public radio after the six-hour cabinet meeting, adding “I fear it could last much longer".(Posted @ 19:30 PST)
No progress on UN resolution: Lebanese PM BEIRUT, Aug 9 (AFP) Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora said Wednesday that there had been no progress towards a new draft UN Security Council resolution to end the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. "There is no progress so far. We are still at the same place," he told reporters in Beirut after meeting visiting US Middle East envoy David Welch. Siniora said he did not "expect a Security Council meeting today or tomorrow" over a draft resolution being revised by France and the United States. Welch, on a surprise visit to Beirut, also held talks with parliament speaker Nabih Berri and Foreign Minister Fawzi Sallukh. (First Posted @ 15:50 PST Updated @ 19:30 PST)
Chechnya veterans among Israel's snipers in Lebanon: report JERUSALEM, Aug 9 (AFP) Israelis of Russian origin who served during Russia's war in Chechnya are among the Israeli army's snipers operating in southern Lebanon, the top-selling Yediot Aharonot daily reported Wednesday. An Israeli army spokesman refused to comment on the participation of the Chechnya veterans in Israel's operations in southern Lebanon.(Posted @ 19:30 PST)
Future of Palestinian Authority in doubt: Palestinian PM RAMALLAH, West Bank, Aug 9 (Reuters) Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh questioned on Wednesday whether the Palestinian Authority can continue to function with key lawmakers and ministers in Israeli jails. "All political elites, the presidency, the factions and the government are invited to discuss the future of the Palestinian Authority following this (Israeli) attack," Haniyeh said, referring to Israel's capture of parliament speaker Aziz Dweik last week. Haniyeh's suggestion drew support from some of Hamas's political rivals. "The continuation of the Palestinian Authority will acquit Israel from it's responsibility as an occupying power," said Salam Fayyad, an independent lawmaker and former finance minister.(Posted @ 19:17 PST)
Israeli ministers approve expanded Lebanon offensive JERUSALEM, Aug 9 (Reuters) Israel's security cabinet on Wednesday ordered an expanded ground offensive in Lebanon, the prime minister's office said. The decision by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and top ministers to send troops deeper into Lebanon, possibly as far as the Litani river, up to 20 km north of the border, would bring a major escalation despite U.N. diplomacy to end the war.Israel already has about 10,000 troops in southern Lebanon, and it was not immediately clear how many more would be deployed in the widened military campaign. Olmert's office said further details would be released in a separate statement.(Posted @ 19:15 PST)
Hizbollah kills 11 Israeli soldiers in Lebanon DUBAI, Aug 9 (Reuters) Seven more Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes with Hizbollah in south Lebanon, raising the death toll on Wednesday to 11 Israeli soldiers, Al Arabiya television reported. Arabiya earlier said four Israeli soldiers were killed in a rocket attack in the southern Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab. It said the other seven were killed in clashes in another village in the south, without giving further details. (First Posted @ 15:05 PST Updated @ 19:15 PST)
New U.N. rights body to meet Friday on Lebanon GENEVA, Aug 9 (Reuters) The U.N.'s Human Rights Council will meet on Friday at the request of Muslim states to discuss the war in Lebanon and Israel's role there, the U.N. announced Wednesday. A letter calling for the session presented by Tunisia said the 47-member body should take action "on the gross human rights violations by Israel in Lebanon" including "country-wide targeting of innocent civilians". Countries who backed the request for the latest session included Russia, China, Algeria, Bangladesh, Cuba, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan and South Africa.(Posted @ 18:00 PST)
60 percent Americans oppose Iraq war: CNN poll WASHINGTON, Aug 9 (Reuters) Sixty percent of Americans oppose the U.S. war in Iraq and a majority would support a partial withdrawal of troops by year's end, a CNN poll said on Wednesday. It was the CNN poll's highest number opposing the war since fighting began in March 2003, according to the Opinion Research Corp. survey conducted last week on behalf of the cable network. The poll showed 36 percent of respondents said they were in favor of the war -- half the peak 72 percent who supported the war as it began, said the poll of 1,047 Americans.(Posted @ 18:00 PST)
Former Pakistan pacer urges Inzamam to relinquish captaincy ISLAMABAD, Aug 9 (AFP) Former Pakistan fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz said Inzamam-ul Haq should step down as captain after England scored their first home Test series win against the South Asian team in 24 years. "In the best interest of the game, Inzamam should retire immediately and (vice captain) Younis Khan should be made the captain," said Sarfraz. "Inzamam is scared of short pitched deliveries, he cant even negotiate short balls by a spinner," he said. Sarfraz said poor team selection and a lack of team spirit were to blame for Pakistan's performance. Sarfraz said he had been asked by the sports ministry to prepare a report on the humiliating loss in England.(Posted @ 17:35 PST)
Israel changes top commander in Lebanon campaign JERUSALEM, Aug 9 (Reuters) Four weeks into an offensive that has failed to stop Hizbollah rocket attacks, the Israeli military has changed a top commander of its Lebanon war effort in a blow to the pride of the Middle East's mightiest army. Israeli military affairs commentators predicted Wednesday that the dramatic move would hurt morale in the army's highest ranks and on the frontline. The army's chief of staff appointed Major-General Moshe Kaplinsky "to coordinate operations in Lebanon" and serve as his "representative" in the headquarters of Northern Command chief Major-General Udi Adam. The naming of a fellow general to oversee the campaign was described in a headline in Israel's Maariv daily as "an effective dismissal". (Posted @ 17:10 PST)
Taliban kill two civilians in Afghanistan KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Aug 9 (Reuters) Taliban guerrillas killed an Afghan mother and her son in Helmand province after accusing them of spying for foreign troops in Afghanistan, an official said on Wednesday. Separately, Afghan and foreign troops rescued a Lebanese engineer the Taliban had kidnapped last month in the southern province of Zabul, the provincial police chief said. Taliban could not be contacted for immediate comment about either incident. (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Lebanon crisis threatens entire region: Chirac TOULON, France, Aug 9 (AFP) French President Jacques Chirac warned on Wednesday that the Israel-Lebanon conflict was a threat to the stability of the entire Middle East, following crisis talks with several key ministers. "Faced with this crisis, which threatens the stability of an entire region, France is fully mobilised... to secure a ceasefire and reach a durable settlement of this crisis," Chirac told reporters. (Posted @ 15:50 PST)
Another gas pipeline attacked in Balochistan QUETTA, Pakistan, Aug 9 (AFP) Tribal militants blew up another gas pipeline in Pakistan's Balochistan province on Wednesday, officials said. The pipeline was used to bring gas from a well to a purification plant in Sui. The blast has "partially affected" supplies to the main gas plant, a local administration official said. A day before another pipe near Sui was blown up. Military officials meanwhile dismissed a claim that five soldiers had been captured by the tribal militants. (Posted @ 15:35 PST)
Five killed, 20 injured in Baquba rocket-attack BAGHDAD, Aug 9 (Reuters) Five people were killed and 20 wounded overnight when a rocket hit three-storey building in the city of Baquba, 65 km north of Baghdad, police said. The building collapsed and witnesses said more may be trapped in the rubble. Three Iraqi soldiers were wounded by a roadside bomb beside their patrol on the main road between Hawija and Kirkuk, while a civilian was killed and another wounded by a roadside bomb near their car in the same area. The police found a beheaded body of a man in al-Zab, an area about 35 km southwest of Kirkuk. In East Baghdad a civilian was killed and another hurt by a roadside bomb targeting a U.S. patrol, while gunmen Gunmen killed Army Colonel Qasim Abdul Qadir on his way to work in Basra, the army said. Two bodies shot in the head and chest were found on Tuesday in the small town of Dour, near Tikrit, police said. (First Posted @ 12:25 Updated @ 14:05 PST)
Israeli air attacks kill nine in Lebanon TYRE, Lebanon, Aug 9 (AFP) Israeli warplanes killed nine people, including five children, early on Wednesday in raids on Lebanon. The military said its air force overnight carried out over 100 raids around Beirut and the south of Lebanon targeting what it called "Hezbollah buildings", destroying four rocket launchers and targeting several launch sites. Hassan Sader -- a political member of Hezbollah -- his wife and his five children died under the rubble when the four-storey building where they lived collapsed after a bombing raid by Israeli planes, police said. Two people were killed and 15 wounded in an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanon Palestinian refugee camp of Ain Al Hilweh, the first time Israel has bombarded the Palestinian refugee camp. The camp is the largest in Lebanon and home to some 50,000 people. Two shells fell near the home of Colonel Munir Maqdah, a military chief of the Fatah movement in Lebanon, Palestinian sources said. An army spokeswoman said 15 Israeli soldiers were wounded on Wednesday in southern Lebanon. Mostly the fighting was near the village of Taibe. Ten soldiers suffered injuries but the spokeswoman did not elaborate on the condition of the other five. (First Posted @ 10:55 Updated @ 14:00 PST)
US forces kill 12 Taliban in Afghanistan battle KABUL, Aug 9 (AFP) US-led soldiers and warplanes killed 12 Taliban militants who ambushed coalition forces in mountainous eastern Afghanistan, a US military spokesman said Wednesday. Two US soldiers and an Afghan soldier were wounded in Tuesday's battle in the remote province of Nuristan which borders Pakistan, Colonel Tom Collins told a press conference in Kabul. "There was a significant coalition engagement yesterday in Nuristan, in which enemy extremists attacked our forces with rockets and rifle fire," Collins said. "Through the actions of our forces on the ground and the use of air support we killed 12 enemy extremists," Collins said. He gave no further details about the wounded soldiers. (Posted @ 13:15 PST)
Fighters inflict casualties on Israelis--Hizbollah BEIRUT, Aug 9 (Reuters) Hizbollah said its guerrillas had inflicted casualties on Israeli soldiers and hit three tanks in battles in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. Hizbollah fighters confronted Israeli forces as they tried to advance on the outskirts of the village of Qantara, eight km from the border, and destroyed a tank there, a Hizbollah statement said. The group's al-Manar television said the guerrillas had killed or wounded 10 Israeli soldiers in the Qantara fighting. The Israeli army said there had been clashes around Qantara but gave no details of casualties. Hizbollah said it had also inflicted casualties on Israeli forces at the village of Debel, five km from the border, without saying how many. Al-Manar also reported that Hizbollah fighters destroyed two tanks in Burj al-Muluk and Tel al-Nahas. The Israeli army, which is trying to drive Hizbollah away from the border, says it has carved out a zone containing 20 villages up to seven km from the border. (Posted @ 12:50 PST)
US military says Marine helicopter crashed in Iraq BAGHDAD, Aug 9 (Reuters) A U.S. Marine helicopter carrying a crew of six crashed in the restive province of Anbar, west of Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Wednesday, adding that four crew members survived and the other two were missing. The military said the crash took place on Tuesday and it did not appear to have been as a result of enemy action. "We are using all the resources available to find our missing comrades," said Marine spokesman Major Riccoh Player in a statement. The military said the helicopter had been located and the four survivors were in a stable condition. (Posted @ 11:40 PST)
Two killed in Israeli strike on Jenin JENIN, West Bank, Aug 9 (AFP) Two Palestinians were killed Wednesday when an Israeli helicopter fired a missile on the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, Palestinian security sources said. The missile struck a house in the refugee camp. (Posted @ 11:30 PST)
Nine people died after Ecuadorean boat sinks QUITO, Ecuador, Aug 9 (Reuters) At least nine Ecuadoreans trying to reach the United States drowned after their flimsy craft sank in the Pacific Ocean, the Ecuadorean navy said on Tuesday. The bodies were found on beaches near the port city of Manta, located 160 miles southwest of the capital Quit. The navy was looking for survivors or more corpses. "Authorities don't know if there were more people on the boat because these types of craft can only take up to 20 people," the Navy said in a release. (Posted @ 10:45 PST)
Abbas says plight of Gaza as serious as Lebanon crisis TUNIS, Tunisia, Aug 9 (AP) The plight of beleaguered Palestinians is ``as grave'' as that of the Lebanese, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday after talks with Tunisian counterpart Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. He arrived in Tunis on Monday after visiting six Arab capitals plus Rome. (Posted @ 10:25 PST)
Sen. Joe Lieberman loses to anti-Iraq war challenger in key election test NEW YORK, Aug 9 (AP) Three-term U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman fell to anti-Iraq war challenger Ned Lamont in Connecticut's Democratic primary election, a race seen as a harbinger of sentiment over Iraq conflict. Lamont, a millionaire with virtually no political experience, ran on his opposition to the Iraq war. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Four killed in fighting between rival warlords in northwestern Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug 9 (AP) Fighting between warlords in northwestern Afghanistan killed four people and hundreds of villagers have fled the area, officials said Wednesday. Some 400 militants were involved in the clashes Monday in Pashtun Kot district of Faryab province forces loyal to rival ethnic Uzbek warlords Abdul Rashid Dostum and Abdul Malik, said Gen. Taj Mohammad, Afgan National Army Corps commander in northern Afghanistan. At least one civilian was killed as hundreds others fled the fighting, which initially started ten days ago in the area between commanders loyal to Dostum and Malik. (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
Five civilians killed in Israeli raid in east Lebanon BAALBEK, Lebanon, Aug 9(AFP) Five civilians were killed late Tuesday in an Israeli raid in eastern Lebanon, near the border with Syria, police said. Four other civilians were wounded when air strikes hit a convoy of trucks carrying fruits on a road in the Ersal area, they said. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)
Battle to save ceasefire plan as Israel presses Lebanon offensive UNITED NATIONS, Aug 9 (AFP) France and the United States battled Tuesday to revive a desperately needed UN Security Council resolution on the Middle East conflict as Israel pressed its four-week-old military offensive against Hezbollah. France said a new draft resolution was being prepared while an Arab League delegation warned the Security Council there would be civil war in Lebanon if Israel's troops did not leave Lebanon after any halt to the fighting. Russia called for the UN Security Council to pass a resolution calling for an emergency "humanitarian ceasefire" if a broader resolution including elements for a long term settlement cannot be agreed. Russia's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin said his country could not support a resolution that is opposed by Lebanon. (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 172.82 points: KARACHI, Aug 9: At close for trading, the KSE-100 index was at 10655.57, down 172.82 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Aug 9: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.57 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Editor: Abbas Nasir
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 |