|
|
| August 19, 2006 | Saturday | Rajab 23, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Israeli commandos raid Lebanese village BAALBEK, Lebanon, Aug 19 (AFP) - Israeli commandos staged Saturday an airborne operation deep inside eastern Lebanon and suffered casualties as they clashed with Hezbollah guerrillas on the sixth day of a UN-brokered ceasefire deal. The Israeli army confirmed that one of its officers was killed and two soldiers were wounded. The operation, it said, was meant to prevent arms being delivered to Hezbollah by Iran and Syria. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and Foreign Minister Fawzi Sallukh said they had complained to visiting UN envoys who pledged to ask Israel to stop violating Lebanese territory. Lebanese military and Hezbollah spokesmen said the commandos clashed with Hezbollah guerrillas for about an hour before heading out of the region. Under the cover of mock raids by Israeli jets, helicopters landed two Hummer vehicles in the mountainous region of Afqa, about 30 kilometers east of Baalbek, Lebanese military source said. Israeli forces then drove eastward to the nearby village of Buday where they clashed with Hezbollah guerrillas. The Israeli soldiers attacked a school in Buday, as helicopter gunships strafed the area with machine-gun fire and warplanes bombarded Hezbollah positions in the area. Two helicopters came back to retrieve the Hummers. "The Israeli soldiers left six large pools of blood," he said. A Hezbollah spokesman said the Israelis had tried in vain to take the school, and "we forced them to retreat after inflicting losses on them." A Hezbollah source said the commandos were wearing Lebanese army fatigues and a resident said the same thing. (First Posted @ 11:40 PST Updated @ 16:30 PST)
Israel nabs Palestinian Hamas deputy PM RAMALLAH, West Bank, Aug 19 (AFP) Israeli troops early Saturday morning arrested Palestinian deputy prime minister and Hamas member Nasseredine al-Shaer in the latest move against Hamas, Palestinians reported. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)
Indian Thar Link Express train reaches Zero Point with 582 passengers MIRPURKHAS, Aug 19 (APP)- Indian Thar Link Express train arrived at Zero point Railway Station Saturday from Jodhpur via Munabao carrying 582 passengers at 4.45 p.m. while Thar Express had already reached at Zero Point Railway Station with 380 India-bound passengers from Karachi, Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas. According to a private tv channel the immigration process and other travel formalities were suspended because of electricity breakdown owing to heavy downpour in the area.(Posted @ 20:20 PST)
Rains in Sindh claimed 60 lives KARACHI, Aug 19 (APP)- Sindh Cabinet was informed on Saturday that rains lashing Karachi and interior of Sindh from June 28 to August 17 claimed 60 lives, including 32 in Karachi which included 25 deaths due to electrocution alone. Advisor Information Salahuddin Haider told newsmen the cabinet expressed displeasure over so many deaths by electrocution and resolved that KESC will be asked to pay compensation to the families of deceased.(Posted @ 20:10 PST)
Mine blast kills local police commander; spiritual leader wounded in southern Afghanistan KANDAHAR,Aug 19 (AP) _ A mine blast in Sori district of Zabul province killed a local police commander, while an ambush left Mrich Agha, a spiritual leader, wounded in Kandahar province, officials said Saturday. Agha's driver was killed in the ambush on the main Kandahar-Herat highway.(Posted @ 20:00PST)
Lebanese defense minister threatens to halt army deployment after Israeli commando raid BEIRUT, Aug 19 (AP) _ Lebanon's defense minister Elias Murr threatened Saturday to halt the Lebanese army's deployment in south Lebanon if the United Nations does not intervene after an Israeli commando raid near Baalbek.``If there are no clear answers forthcoming on this issue, I might be forced to recommend to the Cabinet early next week the halt of the army deployment in the south,'' he told reporters after a meeting with U.N. representatives. ``We will not send the army to be prey in an Israeli trap,'' he aded.(Posted @ 19:50 PST)
Four foreign soldiers killed in Afghan clashes KABUL, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Four foreign soldiers were killed in two separate clashes in Afghanistan on Saturday, officials said. Three soldiers with U.S.-led coalition forces were killed in a clash in the province of Kunar and a soldier with NATO troops, as well as an Afghan one, were killed in a gun battle in the province of Uruzgan. Three other NATO soldiers were wounded in Uruzgan's incident, a spokesman said. The identities of the victims were not known immediately. It was also not clear if there were casualties among the Taliban combatants.(Posted @ 19:40 PST)
Pak oarsmen win 4 silver medals in rowing COLOMBO, Aug 19 (APP): Pakistan won four silver medals on the opening day of the rowing competition of the 9th South Asia Games here Saturday. India maintained its hold in rowing winning all four gold. Pakistan had won 6 gold and one bronze in rowing in the last Games in Islamabad.(Posted @ 18:30 PST)
1st gold of South Asia Games in weightlifting COLOMBO, Aug 19 (APP): Pakistan's weightlifter Usman Akbar led the country to its first gold medal in the South Asia Games here on Saturday. Usman claimed the top place in the 56 kgs category ,lifting overall weight of 231 kgs -- 101.0kgs in snatch and 130.0kgs in jerk.Sri Lanka’s Emil lifted 220 kgs to win silver, and Akramul Haque of Bangladesh won the bronze lifting 218 kgs.(Posted @ 18:15 PST)
10 dead, 40 missing as immigrant boat sinks off Italy ROME, Aug 19 (AFP) - At least 10 people were drowned and some 40 were missing after a boat crammed with African illegal immigrants sank off southern Italy on Saturday. Seventy passengers were rescued and the bodies of four women and six men were recovered, but survivors said the death toll was sure to mount.(Posted @ 17:40 PST)
Cricket-Pakistan's Shoaib Malik fit for England one-dayers KARACHI, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik has been declared fit for the five match one-day series against England, chief selector Wasim Bari said on Saturday.(Posted @ 17:30 PST)
12 killed in Baquba BAGHDAD, Aug 19 (Reuters) Gunmen killed at least 12 civilians in Baquba and nearby towns including two university professors, students and farmers, a security source in the town said. It was not clear whether the attacks were co-ordinated. A roadside bomb targeting the Iraqi army convoy of Brig-Gen Jamil al-Haji, killed two of his bodyguards and wounded three others in Diwaniya, 40 km ) south of Baghdad, police said. Haji escaped unhurt. In another incident, several mortar rounds targeted a market in the town of Mahmudiya, just south of Baghdad, wounding 10 people, police said.(Posted @ 17:15 PST)
Palestinian militants shoot, kill Israeli soldier in West Bank< JERUSALEM (AP) A Palestinian gunman attacked and killed an Israeli soldier in the West Bank on Saturday, before being shot and killed himself, the army said. (Posted @ 16:50 PST)
Suspected militant arrested in Pakistan MULTAN, Pakistan, Aug 19 (AFP) - Police have arrested a suspected militant wanted for the murder of an anti-terrorism court judge after a raid on a house in Bahawalpur city, officials said Saturday. Mehmood Ahmed, an activist of the outlawed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, was picked up when he came hometo meet his family late Friday, senior police official Ghulam Haider Marth said. Ahmed is wanted in connection with the 1998 bombing of a car which killed a judge and another citizen, Marth said. (Posted @ 16:40 PST)
Bush says Middle East in the 'pivotal moment' in history CAMP DAVID, Maryland, Aug 19 (AFP) US President George Bush said Saturday that the Middle East was in a "pivotal moment" in its history as it tries to make a choice between democracy and extremism. Speaking of the war in Lebanon, Bush said in his weekly radio address that the conflict in Lebanon "is part of a broader struggle between freedom and terror that is unfolding across the region." "It is no coincidence that two nations that are building free societies in the heart of the Middle East, Lebanon and Iraq, are also the scenes of the most violent terrorist activity," he continued.(Posted @ 14:00 PST)
About 50 French peacekeepers arrive in southern Lebanon NAQOURA, Lebanon, Aug 19 (Reuters) About 50 French peacekeepers arrived in southern Lebanon on Saturday, the first reinforcements for a U.N. force charged with helping the Lebanese army take over the area, witnesses said.(Posted @ 13:45 PST)
Sri Lankan air force says rebel sea base destroyed, some Tamil Tigers killed COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Aug 19 (AP) Sri Lankan air force planes destroyed a strategic Tamil Tiger sea base in the north in overnight strikes, killing a number of insurgents, the military said Saturday. Military spokesman said Tamil Tigers have been using the base to launch attacks on government positions in Jaffna Peninsula. A pro-Tamil Tigers Web site, Tamilnet, said the air force dropped four bombs on a site used to build boats as part of a civilian tsunami reconstruction project, and that two workers were wounded in the attack. (First Posted @ 09:25 PST Updated @ 11:55 PST)
Four killed in Thailand's Muslim-majority south NARATHIWAT, Thailand, Aug 19 (AFP) Four people have been gunned down by suspected insurgents in the Thai provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, police said Saturday. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
ABC News says Pakistanis arrest al Qaeda commander WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) ABC News reported on Friday that Pakistani officials have arrested a top al Qaeda commander who could provide clues on the whereabouts of militant cells worldwide and Osama bin Laden. The television network said Pakistani police arrested Matiur Rehman based on leads in the investigation of a foiled plot to bomb U.S.-bound airplanes from London. U.S. law enforcement officials have been notified by the Pakistanis that Rehman is in custody, according to ABC. No independent confirmation of the report was immediately available. U.S. intelligence officials say they cannot confirm his arrest and remain skeptical of the reports, ABC said. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Terror plot investigators find martyrdom videos on suspects' laptops LONDON, Aug 19 (AP) Several martyrdom videos were reportedly discovered on at least six laptops owned by some of the 23 suspects being questioned in the foiled terror plot to bomb as many as 10 jetliners bound for the U.S. The BBC, citing an unofficial police source, said Friday that several videos of the type that suicide bombers sometimes leave had been found as part of the intense investigation into the alleged plot. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
U.N. chief urges Israel to immediately lift air and sea blockade of Lebanon to speed aid to the needy UNITED NATIONS, Aug 19 (AP) U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged Israel to immediately lift the air and sea blockade on Lebanon so hundreds of thousands of Lebanese caught up in the 34-day Israeli-Hezbollah war can quickly receive aid. Annan echoed the appeal earlier Friday by U.N. deputy humanitarian chief Margareta Wahlstrom who told the U.N. Security Council that the enormous damage to roads and bridges leading to southern Lebanon required the immediate lifting of the blockades. (Posted @ 09:15 PST)
US warns Sudan of consequences if it rejects UN peace force for Darfur WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (AFP) The United States warned Sudan Friday of potential consequences if it continued to resist UN peacekeepers in Darfur, hinting of stepped up moves for an international probe on alleged war crimes in the region. Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir has warned that his country would confront any UN-sponsored forces sent to Darfur, which he said would become a "graveyard" for the blue helmet peacekeepers. Beshir's threat came as the United States and Britain presented a draft resolution to the United Nations outlining the deployment of 17,000 peacekeepers to Darfur despite his opposition. (Posted @ 09:10 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 |