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| August 26, 2006 | Saturday | Sha'aban 1, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistani security forces kill Akbar Bugti QUETTA, Aug 27, (Agencies) - Pakistani security forces killed tribal chieftain Nawab Akbar Bugti in an operation in Baluchistan province, the country's information minister said Saturday. "I can confirm that Akbar Bugti was killed in the operation," Mohammad Ali Durrani said. "Further details are coming and we cannot confirm any other information." At least 25 commandos and more than 30 tribesmen were also killed in fighting near Dera Bugti town, close to a mountain hideout where Bugti was sheltering, security officials said. A top security official, who declined to be named, said at least 24 tribesmen were killed along with an unspecified number of Pakistani security forces. The official said the operation targeted between 50 and 80 of Bugti's supporters at Karmu Wadh in the district of Kolhu on Saturday evening who were tracked down by the intercept of a satellite phone call.(Posted @ 00:30 PST)
At least nine killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, Aug 26, (AFP) - Insurgents killed at least nine Iraqis Saturday, including four members of a family fleeing their home after threats and a woman working for the US government, police said. Police also found seven bullet-riddled corpses of men killed in apparent attacks. Two children and a woman were among those killed as they fled their home in the city of Baquba, north of Baghdad, police said. (Posted @ 23:52 PST)
Pakistan government not colluding with Taliban: top US general BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Aug 26, (AFP) - The Pakistan government is not colluding with the Taliban, although some rebels come from across the border to fight in Afghanistan, the US commander for the region said Saturday. General John Abizaid, head of the US Central Command that covers parts of Africa and the Middle East, was speaking during a brief visit to the main US base in Afghanistan at Bagram, 50 kilometres north of Kabul. (Posted @ 23:36 PST)
Landslide kills 10, injures four in Nepal KATHMANDU, Aug 26, (AFP) - Ten people were killed and four others injured Saturday in a landslide triggered by torrential monsoon rains in far west Nepal, police said. "The landslide struck two houses belonging to the same family," said Assistant Sub Inspector Jit Bahadur Deuba from Baitadi district, about 640 kilometres west of the capital Kathmandu. (Posted @ 23:20 PST)
NATO soldiers shoot dead Afghan cop, wound five mistakenly KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Aug 27, (AFP) - NATO troops in southern Afghanistan shot and killed a plainclothes policeman and wounded five other Afghans on Saturday, mistakenly thinking they were attackers, the force said. (Posted @ 23:00 PST)
I am not scared of opposition's no-confidence move: Aziz SHANKIARI/MANSHERA, August 26 (Agencies): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Saturday that he was not scared of the no-confidence motion against him. Addressing a public rally in Manshera after the inauguration of Hazara University there, he said instead of negative politics, opposition should participate in constructive politics for country's interests. He said the government would continue to assist in the rehabilitation of quake-affectees in NWFP and Azad Kashmir. He announced the launch of a programme worth Rs 3 billion in nine districts of the quake-affectees rehabilitation and said that the project would be helpful in the economic revival of 100,000 quake-hit families. He said that the affected parts of Karakoram Highway would be repaired. He also announced a grant of Rs20 million for district Manshera. (Posted @ 20:46 PST)
Musharraf regrets Indian refusal to accept three options for Kashmir solution ISLAMABAD, Aug 26 (Agencies): President General Pervez Musharraf reiterated Saturday that peace and stability cannot be restored in region without a sustainable solution of Kashmir dispute in accordance with aspirations of Kashmiri people. Talking to the newly elected President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Raja Zulqernain on Saturday in Rawalpindi, Musharraf regretted India’s refusal to accept his three proposals of demilitarization, self-governance and joint control for the solution of Kashmir dispute. Reiterating his condemnation of Mumbai bomb blasts, he said that Pakistan sincerely took steps for peace talks with India but no progress was made in this regard and now the process was stalled after Mumbai bomb blasts. (Posted @ 20:40 PST)
Iraq tribal chiefs sign 'pact of honour' to halt bloodshed BAGHDAD, Aug 26 (AFP) The leaders of Iraq's powerful tribes on Saturday signed a solemn "pact of honour" vowing to to support a government-backed peace process. Reading the charter, Sheikh Faal Namah said he and his colleagues vowed "to preserve our country, stop bloodletting and displacement among Iraqi people and halt the activities of takfiris (insurgents)". (Posted @ 20:20 PST)
Katrina revealed inadequate response, poverty: Bush KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine, Aug. 26 (Reuters) Nearly one year after Hurricane Katrina created a humanitarian and political crisis, President George W. Bush said on Saturday the storm showed the government was unprepared to respond to a disaster of that magnitude. "Unfortunately, Katrina also revealed that federal, state, and local governments were unprepared to respond to such an extraordinary disaster," Bush said. "And the floodwaters exposed a deep-seated poverty that has cut people off from the opportunities of our country." Bush issued a proclamation declaring Aug. 29, the anniversary of the storm, as a "National Day of Remembrance of Hurricane Katrina" that Americans should mark with appropriate observances. (Posted @ 20:02 PST)
Saudi says 34 militants seized in al Qaeda swoop RIYADH, Aug 26 (Reuters) Four militants arrested in the Saudi city of Jeddah this week were part of a group of 34 men rounded up in an effort to prevent a resurgence of al Qaeda violence, the Saudi interior ministry said on Saturday. "Security work led to the arrest of 34 people of different nationalities in Mecca, Medina, Riyadh and Jeddah because they belonged to the 'deviant group' and had links to escapees from the Malaz prison," a statement on official news agency SPA said. Saturday's statement said weapons and locally-made explosives were found in the Jeddah apartment. (Posted @ 20:01 PST)
Four killed in protest at Bangladesh coal project DHAKA, Aug 26 (Reuters) At least four people were killed and 100 injured when police opened fire on thousands of Bangladeshis trying to storm an office of British coal miner Asia Energy Plc on Saturday, witnesses said. They were protesting against an open pit coal mine project Asian Energy is planning at Phulbari in Dinajpur district, in the country's northwest. Police fired hundreds of shots and nearly 50 teargas shells to disperse the crowds, the witnesses said. The protesters, who are backed by various rights groups, say the project would displace hundreds of families and cause serious damage to the environment. (Posted @ 20:01 PST)
Indian, Pakistani leaders to talk at non-aligned meeting in Cuba: report NEW DELHI, Aug 25 (AP) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Gen. Pervez Musharraf will hold talks on the sidelines of a summit meeting of the Non-aligned Movement to be held mid-September in Havana, Cuba, The Indian Express said Saturday. India's external affairs ministry spokesman said Saturday he could not confirm reports about the Singh-Musharraf meeting in Havana. ``I have no information as yet about this,'' said Navtej Sarna. (Posted @ 19:20 PST)
Pakistan deports 50 Afghans QUETTA, Pakistan, Aug 25 (AP) Pakistani officials on Saturday deported 50 Afghan nationals after holding them for a month on charges of staying in Pakistan without valid travel documents, police said. The men, who were arrested last month in separate raids in the city of Quetta, were handed over to Afghan authorities in Chaman, a key crossing point on the Pakistan-Afghan border, a senior police official said. (Posted @ 19:18 PST)
Cricket-Inzamam hearing pushed back again LONDON, Aug 26 (AFP) Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq's hearing on charges of ball-tampering and bringing cricket into disrepute must wait until the end of next month. International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Malcolm Speed said Saturday that earlier reports had falsely suggested a hearing was set for September 15. "When we met with the lawyers for the (Pakistan Cricket Board) PCB yesterday - which was a very amicable meeting - we suggested that the hearing happen on the 14th and 15th, bearing in mind that the one-day series finishes the previous Sunday," Speed said. "That date did not suit them for one reason or another and they asked for it to be put back. We are looking now for a date that suits the key participants so at this stage we are looking at the last week in September." (Posted @ 19:16 PST)
Palestinian teenager killed in Israeli West Bank incursion NABLUS, West Bank, Aug 26 (AFP) A Palestinian teenager was killed by Israeli fire Saturday after troops mounted an incursion into the main northern West Bank city of Nablus, security and medical sources said. (Posted @ 15:04 PST)
85 dead, 50 missing in floods in Indian desert state BARMER, India, Aug 26 (AFP) At least 85 people were dead and another 50 missing in massive floods that have swamped the normally drought-prone desert state of Rajasthan, officials said Saturday. Navy divers and army troops had been called in to rescue around 200 people who had taken shelter atop houses, vehicles and sand dunes after the unusually heavy rains in the desert region, an official said, adding that around 47,000 animals were also found dead. (Posted @ 15:01 PST)
Fatah agrees to national unity government with Hamas AMMAN, Aug 26 (Reuters) Leaders of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement endorsed on Saturday a national unity government with the rival Hamas group to end feuding they say Israel has exploited to stall on Middle East peace pledges. Veteran Fatah leader Nabil Shaath said at the end of three days of talks in Amman that the 17-member Central Committee: "Palestinian blood is sacred and we will not allow any infighting and have agreed to work towards a national unity government". (Posted @ 15:00 PST)
Ahmadinejad inaugurates heavy water plant ARAK, Iran, Aug 26 (AFP) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad opened a heavy water plant Saturday that will feed a new research reactor under construction, just five days before a UN Security Council deadline to suspend sensitive nuclear fuel cycle work. "No one can deprive a nation of its rights based on its capabilities," he said in a speech, adding that "Iran is not a threat to anybody, not even to the Zionist regime." (First Posted @ 11:28 PST Updated @ 14:57 PST)
Road collision kills 17 in southern China BEIJING, Aug 26 (Reuters) A bus collided with a stationary truck on a highway in southern China on Saturday, killing 17 and injuring 33, the Xinhua news agency said. The truck driver pulled over on the highway near the city of Shaoguan in Guangdong province to repair a tyre but apparently failed to deploy a warning sign, the official agency said. Fifteen people were killed on the spot and two died in hospital. (Posted @ 14:54 PST)
Pakistan releases 10 tribesmen in North Waziristan MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan, Aug 26 (AP) Pakistan on Saturday freed 10 tribesmen, who were among dozens of militants captured in the past year in North Waziristan, ``as a gesture of goodwill,'' a deputy administrator in the region said. They were handed to tribal elders who assured Pakistani authorities that militant suspects based there will extend a cease-fire in North Waziristan. (Posted @ 14:35 PST)
Saudi favours 'moderate' oil prices: king RIYADH, Aug 26 (AFP) Saudi Arabia favours "moderate" crude prices, King Abdullah said in remarks published Saturday. "The kingdom's petroleum policy is moderation in prices. Despite the benefits that the increase in prices brings us, we advocate moderation in oil prices," he told the Saudi-owned pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat. "Petroleum production is plentiful. That's why I am surprised by ... the unjustified rise in prices," he said. The Saudi monarch did not say what he would consider a moderate price. (Posted @ 14:27 PST)
British forces kill seven in Afghanistan airstrike KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Aug 26 (AFP) British forces killed about seven insurgents and destroyed seven vehicles in an air strike on a convoy preparing to attack NATO forces in Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement Saturday. Police in Helmand confirmed the strike, saying they believed 10 vehicles were destroyed in the convoy and all of the occupants had been killed. A purported Taliban spokesman said fighters with the movement had not been planning an attack in the area. (First Posted @ 12:52 PST Updated @ 14:23 PST)
Six Bangladeshi peacekeepers killed in Ivory Coast accident DHAKA, Aug 26 (AFP) - Six Bangladeshi peacekeepers were killed and 12 seriously injured in a road accident in Ivory Coast, the country's armed forces said Saturday. The peacekeepers were travelling to the capital Abidjan when their military truck spun out of control, causing the casualties. (Posted @ 13:07 PST)
Taliban storm two Afghan districts, six rebels killed KANDAHAR, Aug 26, 2006 (AFP) - Taliban attacked police and government offices in two Afghan districts in Ghazni and Zabul provinces but were repelled in five hours long battles that left six rebels and a government worker dead, officials said Saturday. A purported spokesman for the Taliban said the fighters had briefly captured the two districts in southern Afghanistan in the attacks but government officials rejected the claims.Late Friday, insurgents stormed a government building in Moqur district of Ghazni province, in which a secretary of the district court was killed, two police were wounded and three cars were set ablaze. Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi said the fighters had held the district headquarters overnight. In a separate incident, the Taleban attacked police posts in a remote district of Zabul province. "Three police posts were overtaken by Taliban and after hours of battle police retook control of the posts," provincial police chief Noor Mohammad Pakteen said. "Six Taliban were killed, 12 were wounded," he said. A policeman was wounded and two were missing. Ahmadi claimed it had captured the district, called Arghadab, and said Taliban fighters had captured the district police chief and a policeman. (Posted @ 13:01 PST)
6 soldiers killed, 4 wounded in blast in northern Sri Lanka COLOMBO, Aug 26 (APP/AP): Six soldiers were killed and four wounded in a blast in northern Sri Lanka on Saturday, the military said, blaming separatist Tamil Tiger rebels. (Posted @ 12:52 PST)
Free legal service for children launched KARACHI, Aug 26 (APP): Chief Justice of Sindh High Court, Mr Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed Friday launched a free legal assistance service for children in detention in Karachi. The service, named `Project Advocate' is part of a project in Pakistan managed by the Law Society of England and Wales in partnership with the British Pakistan Law Council. The project will establish a network of lawyers in Karachi and Lahore working pro-bono, meaning for the public good, to provide legal assistance to children in detention. It has received international support from the European Commission under the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights, and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office under the Global Opportunities Fund. (Posted @ 12:46 PST)
Indians involved in mid-air panic say all well now MUMBAI, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Twelve Indian Muslims who caused panic aboard an India-bound U.S. airliner returned home Saturday, saying they were not ill-treated by the Dutch authorities and requesting the matter be considered closed. Air marshals arrested the men on Wednesday on a Northwest Airlines flight which was escorted back to Amsterdam by military planes after they behaved suspiciously – exchanging seats and mobile phones in flight. "Yes we had exchanged seats," said Mohammad Iqbal Batliwala, a garment trader in his mid-40s. "We were in a group; so we were adjusting seats among ourselves. They misunderstood and thought we were going to do something to the plane. They did not ill-treat us ... It has been sorted out," he added. (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
U.S. forces damage mosque BAGHDAD, Aug 26 (AP) _ U.S. forces fired tank rounds at Al Qadir Al Kilami mosque in Ramadi and exchanged heavy fire with militants inside, the U.S. command said. One U.S. soldier was lightly wounded and three people were reportedly killed inside the mosque Friday, while five people were killed elsewhere in Iraq. ``The mosque suffered serious structural damage to the dome and minaret,'' it said adding that the attack occurred at about 12.30 p.m., a little before Friday prayers were due to start. It was not known if any worshippers were already inside. Ramadi police reported that three people were killed and 23 were wounded. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
At least two wounded in Israeli air strike in Gaza GAZA CITY, Aug 26 (AFP) - At least two Palestinians including an activist from the ruling Hamas party were wounded late Friday in an Israeli helicopter targeted his house in Jabalya refugee camp in the north of Gaza City, a Palestinian security source said. (Posted @ 09:34 PST)
Two French soldiers killed in Afghanistan: defence ministry PARIS, Aug 26 (AFP) - Two French special forces soldiers were killed Friday during armed combat with Taliban militants in eastern Afghanistan, the defence ministry in Paris said. Two other air force non-commissioned officers were wounded in the operation, it said. (Posted @ 09:29 PST)
Four killed in southern Philippine clash MANILA, Aug 26(AFP) - Three communist rebels and one soldier were killed in a two-hour gunbattle Friday near Tacalogon town in southern Philippines after the guerrillas ambushed a military convoy, the military said Saturday. (Posted @ 09:27 PST)
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