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| September 02, 2006 | Saturday | Sha'aban 8, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistani, Indian pilgrims killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Eleven Pakistani and three Indian pilgrims were abducted and killed in Iraq’s Anbar province while travelling to holy places in Iraq on Thursday, police said Saturday. An official at the al-Hussein hospital in Kerbala, where the bodies were taken on Friday, said the 14 men had their hands bound and had been shot in the head. Some had been tortured and one was partially decapitated. Indian junior Foreign Minister E. Ahamed said the 14 were part of a larger group of 40 people who had crossed into Iraq after touring holy sites in Jordan and Syria. To get to Kerbala they had to cross the western desert of Anbar province, where gunmen stopped the convoy, and separated the men from the women in the party, which included 14 Indians and 26 Pakistanis. Police found the bodies of the men in neighbouring Kerbala province the following day, he said. A morgue official at Kerbala hospital said the pilgrims would be buried in Kerbala. (Posted @ 19:52 PST)
Killed Pakistanis to be buried in Karbala ISLAMABAD, Sep 2 (APP): 11 Pakistani pilgrims killed by bandits in Iraq on August 31 would be buried in Karbala, Pakistan ambassador to Jordan Arif Kemal told PTV. He said the apparent motive of ambush was looting of the party which consisted of 41 pilgrims including 26 women. There were a total of 26 Pakistanis in the party including 11 men and 15 women, he said. Most of them belonged to Sahiwal and Layyah. Assailants targeted men only setting free women of the party after looting their belongings. The unfortunate incident happened at Ramadi near Najaf. All the 26 women of the group are safe in Karbala. Names of those killed are: 1. Farhat Abbas son of Tassaduq Hussain; Fazal Sherazi son of Abdus Samad; Malik Irshad Hussain son of Khadim Hussain; Mazhar Hussain son of Karim; Malik Imran Ali son of Muhammad Ali; Sadaqat Ali son of Bakhat Ali Khan; Muhammad Ramzan son of Ghulam Shabbir; Ghulam Shabbir son of Akhtar; Malik Ghulam Hussain son of Lal Muhammad; Imran Amjad son of Amjad Abbas; and Rab Nawaz Father's name not known. Further information can be obtained from Iraq on following telephone numbers: 06964-7801010592.
President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz have condoled the death of Pakistani pilgrims in Iraq. Pakistan embassy in Jordan is establishing contact with the survivors of the attack for their early evacuation, a foreign office spokesman said. (Posted @ 20:09 PST)
14 Britons dead in Afghan plane crash: defence ministry LONDON, Sept 2 (AFP) - Fourteen British armed personnel died when their aircraft flying a NATO mission crashed in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence in London said Saturday. Twelve were from the Royal Air Force, one was a Royal Marine and the last was a British army soldier, a spokesman said. The NATO aircraft came down in Kandahar province due to a technical problem, a spokesman said stressing it was not shot down. In a statement, Britain's Defence Secretary Des Browne said: "This is dreadful and shocking news”.( First Posted @ 19:19 PST Updated @ 20:53 PST)
Militants, government sign agreement for "permanent peace" in Pakistan tribal region MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan, Sept 2 (AP) _ Pro-Taliban militants encouraged by tribal elders signed an agreement with Pakistan's government Saturday to ensure ``permanent peace'' in this volatile northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border, intelligence officials said. Under the agreement, which is likely to be unveiled by the government next week, no militant will attack government officials or security forces, and in return the army deployed in North Waziristan ``will not carry out operations against them,'' said an area intelligence official on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. ``This is a good development because the Taliban have promised to stay away militancy,'' said the official, adding ``the Taliban have also agreed to distance themselves from foreign militants.'' (Posted @ 21:38 PST)
Iran offers cooperation on Israel-Hizbollah truce TEHRAN, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Iran's Foreign Minister offered U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan his country's full cooperation over a Security Council resolution on the truce between Israel and Hizbollah, a U.N. spokesman said on Saturday. "He (Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki) concluded by saying that we can count on his full cooperation" over resolution 1701, U.N. spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said after talks between Annan and Mottaki in Tehran. Fawzi said Annan had also held a telephone conversation with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prior to the Iran visit. “(Ahmadinejad) had told him that while he had some reservations over some articles in the resolution, he would nevertheless cooperate in its implementation," Fawzi said. After Mottaki, Annan held talks with Ali Larijani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator. The U.N. chief is also due to meet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday. "I have just had very good and constructive discussions with Mr Larijani. As you can imagine we discussed the nuclear issue and many other issues of concern to Iran and to the United Nations," Annan said after his meeting. "I found the discussion helpful and will come in handy as I move ahead with my work," he said in comments relayed to Reuters by Fawzi. (Posted @ 21:45 PST)
Asfandyar Wali on Akbar Bugti’s death QUETTA Sep 2 (PPI): Pakistan is passing through a most difficult period of its history such as it had not experienced before, President of Awami National Party, Asfandyar Wali Khan told newsmen at Quetta Press Club Saturday. Referring to events leading to death of Nawab Akbar Bugti’s death, he said rights of the provinces, provincial autonomy, sense of deprivation among the people were the pertinent questions and the issue was whether democratic and constitutional ways were open for protest and to express legitimate demands. He said no one knows what happened on Aug 26 when Nawab Bugti was killed. There were conflicting statements of Information Minister and the DG ISPR. They recovered items of their choice such as weapons and Pakistani and foreign currency but could not find the body of Nawab Bugti. He said the President is a non- politician, and the Prime Minister is a banker. “To whom one should talk to”, he wondered. Answering a question he said the political parties have diversified thinking but a time will come when they will unite on minimum common programme. He said an independent Election Commission and a national government consisting of judges who did not take oath under PCO should be constituted to hold fresh elections. Replying to another question he said civil disobedience movement was not discussed at the recent APC but we did talk about resignations. We would discuss the matter further at an appropriate time, he added. (Posted @ 20:48 PST)
Palestinians to announce unity government in 10 days GAZA CITY, Sept 2 (AFP) - A Palestinian national unity government is to be announced in the coming 10 days, a spokesman for president Mahmud Abbassaid Saturday following weeks of wrangling between the ruling Hamas movement and his Fatah party. "Meetings between president Mahmud Abbas and prime minister Ismail Haniya, including some which took place today, have been productive and positive," spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said. "We expect to announce a national unity government in the coming 10 days." (Posted @ 19:22 PST)
Iran vows will defend nuclear aims, warns on cooperation TEHRAN, Sept 2 (AFP) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Saturday vowed Iran would defend the aims of its nuclear programme during negotiations amid a new warning the country could reconsider its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog. "The people will not give in by one iota in their desire to use nuclear energy for peaceful ends and officials have the duty to defend these objectives with firmness during negotiations," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in West Azarbaijan province. (Posted @ 19:19 PST)
Pakistan team for World Golf Championship KARACHI, Sept. 02 (APP):- Pakistan Golf Federation (PGF) Saturday named a three-member squad for the World Team Golf Championship for "Eisenhower Trophy" in South Africa from October 26 to 29. It comprises Karachi's Muhammad Ali Hai, Vaqas Ahmed from Rawalpindi and Muhammad Safdar from Gujranwala. Tariq Mahmood (Pakistan Navy) reserve. Lt.Col (Retd) Zulfqar Ahmed, Secretary, Punjab Golf Association, will accompany the team as manager. (Posted @ 17:43 PST)
Prime Minister Aziz visits Lord's Cricket Ground LONDON, Sep 2 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Saturday went to Lord's cricket ground to witness the 2nd One- Day International being played between Pakistan and England. He met the members of the Pakistan team and stayed there for some time to watch Pakistan's bowling and fielding as England batted first. (Posted @ 17:43 PST)
Kurdish guerrillas kill 6 Turkish soldiers, wound 2 in attacks ANKARA, Sept 2 (AP) _ Kurdish guerrillas killed six Turkish soldiers and wounded two others in stepped-up attacks against military units along the Iraqi and Iranian borders, local authorities said Saturday. The guerrillas often stage hit-and-run attacks from Iranian or Iraqi soil. (Posted @ 17:14 PST)
Homemade bomb damages several music shops, injures one in Pakistan tribal region PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Sept 2 (AP) _ A homemade bomb exploded outside a video shop in Darra Adam Khel in a tribal region of northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, damaging several shops and slightly injuring one person, an official said. (Posted @ 17:07 PST)
Kofi Annan favours patience with Iran over sanctions PARIS, Sept 2 (AFP) - UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said patience will prove more effective than sanctions in persuading Iran to drop its uranium enrichment programme. "I do not believe sanctions are the solution to everything. There are times when a little patience is more effective. I think that is a quality we should exercise more often," Annan said in an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde to be published on Sunday. (Posted @ 16:54 PST)
Afghan, NATO forces launch major anti-Taliban offensive KANDAHAR, Sept 2 (AFP) - Afghan and NATO troops backed by warplanes launched Saturday their biggest joint operation against the Taliban in Kandahar's Panjwayi district after warning residents to leave the area. The operation involved "hundreds" of ISAF troops and a similar number of Afghan police and army soldiers, an ISAF spokesman said. "These operations were designed to drive the Taliban out so that all displaced residents can return to their homes and resume their lives," he said. Panjwayi has seen months of fighting, with ISAF officials saying it has one of the biggest concentrations of Taliban in southern Afghanistan. (Posted @ 16:52 PST)
Suicide bomb in Afghanistan as 14 killed in spate of attacks JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Sept 2 (AFP) - A suicide bomb near Jalalabad wounded three people including a foreign soldier on Saturday, while officials reported that 14 people were killed in a series of Taliban attacks on Friday, most of them including a district chief and six policemen, in southern Afghanistan. NATO's announced a British soldier was also killed in the area the same day. In Jalalabad, the attacker exploded a bomb-filled car near a convoy of the US-led coalition just outside the city, injuring a coalition soldier, an Afghan troop and an interpreter, police said. On Saturday a spate of attacks in Helmand province killed a British soldier and wounded another. Taliban fighters stormed a police post in Gereshk area late Friday. Three policemen were killed and two wounded. Also on Friday, rebels attacked the headquarters of the province's Garmser district. Four Taliban and a policeman were killed in a two-hour battle. In Ghazni province, the governor of Muqur district was shot dead Friday while four of his bodyguards wounded, a spokesman said. And in neighboring Zabul province, at least three Taliban were killed after attacking a police patrol, while two other policemen were killed Friday in an attack on a district headquarters in Day Kundi province, the interior ministry said.(First Posted @ 10:32 PST Updated @ 16:45 PST)
Six killed north of Baghdad BAQUBA , Sept 2 (AFP) - Insurgents killed at least six people, including three traffic policemen, in Baquba, police said. Three gunmen ambushed a traffic police patrol and killed three policemen, including a major, while in the city’s Yarmuk neighbourhood, gunmen killed two civilians. Another civilian was shot dead in Baquba’s Mualimin neighbourhood. In Yarmuk, gunmen attacked a police patrol and wounded four policemen, while a mortar attack on a house in the same neighbourhood left two women and two girls wounded. In another attack, gunmen wounded a civilian in the centre of the city, while another Iraqi was wounded in Baquba's western Mafraq area, police added. Two civilians were also shot and wounded in Abu Saida, northeast of Baquba. (Posted @ 16:23 PST)
Talks under way for Israeli soldier held in Gaza: Mubarak CAIRO, Sept 2 (AFP) - Talks are under way for the release of an Israeli soldier held by militants in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian women and children held in Israel, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told daily Al-Ahram. "The Israeli side is waiting for an initiative from the Palestinians regarding Corporal Gilad Shalit so that they can finalise a proposal for the release of Palestinian women and children held in Israel." In Israel, however, a spokeswoman for the premier's office denied any official talks were taking place. (Posted @ 16:23 PST)
Afghan opium cultivation soars to record level: UN VIENNA, Sept 2 (Reuters) Poppy cultivation will soar to a record level in Afghanistan this year and will yield 92 percent of the world's supply of opium, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODOC) said in a report on Saturday. The Vienna-based UNODOC said poppy cultivation would jump 59 percent in 2006 and was expected to bring a harvest of 6,100 tonnes of opium. In Helmand province, the area under poppy cultivation has risen by 162 percent since 2005. In other provinces, particularly in the northeast, opium production increases were driven mainly by weak governance, poverty and the sway of warlords, UNODOC chief Antonio Maria Costa said after presenting the report to Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul. "As a result, Afghan opium is fuelling insurgency in western Asia, feeding international mafias and causing 100,000 deaths from overdoses every year." He urged Karzai's government to crack down harder on corruption and arrest major drug traffickers and wealthy opium growers and seize their assets. (Posted @ 14:07 PST)
Top U.S. official warns drug trade could 'bring down' Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan, Sep 2 (AP) The booming illegal drug trade could ``bring down'' Afghanistan, Doug Wankel, director of the U.S. anti-narcotics task force in Afghanistan, said Saturday. He warned that the illicit trade in opium and heroin threatened the country's fledgling democracy. ``We have seen what can come from Afghanistan, if you go back to 9/11. Obviously the U.S. does not want to see that again,'' he said. (Posted @ 14:07 PST)
EU gives Iran two weeks to clarify nuclear stance LAPPEENRANTA, Finland, Sept 2 (Reuters) European Union foreign ministers agreed on Saturday to give Iran two more weeks to clarify its stance on halting nuclear work, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel told reporters. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana will meet Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, next week. (Posted @ 14:04 PST)
Car bomb kills three, wounds 14 south of Baghdad BAGHDAD, Sept 2 (Reuters) A car bomb near a police station in Mahaweel in Babil province, 75 km south of Baghdad, killed three people and wounded 14, police said. (Posted @ 14:04 PST)
US transfers control of notorious Abu Ghraib prison BAGHDAD, Sept 2 (AFP) The US military has transferred control of the Abu Ghraib prison to Iraqi authorities and the "prison is now empty of any detainees or prisoners", a government spokesman told reporters Saturday. "The prison witnessed violations of human rights during the former regime and also under the US forces," he said, adding Iraqi authorities will decide on what needs to be done with the facility in the future. (Posted @ 13:14 PST)
Bush: No civil war in Iraq WASHINGTON, Sept 1 (AFP) US President George W. Bush said Saturday that early results of a Baghdad security crackdown were "encouraging" and denied that Iraq was in the grips of civil war. "Our commanders and diplomats on the ground believe that Iraq has not descended into a civil war. They report that only a small number of Iraqis are engaged in sectarian violence, while the overwhelming majority want peace and a normal life in a unified country," he said in his weekly radio address. On Saturday, he praised a security crackdown in Baghdad by US and Iraqi forces, saying the operation “will expand throughout Baghdad -- until Iraq's democratic government is in full control of the capital.” (Posted @ 13:09 PST)
Israeli troops kill three Palestinians in Gaza GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip, Sept 2 (AP) Israeli troops killed three Palestinians in two separate incidents early Saturday in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian security officials said. The army confirmed it shot one man in central Gaza. Israeli troops raided Beit Hanoun, a border town in the northern Gaza Strip, on Saturday, killing two Palestinians and wounding two women from the same family, Palestinian security officials said. A tank shell hit a nearby house, injuring five people, the officials said. (Posted @ 13:09 PST)
Police arrest 14 men in UK anti-terrorism raids LONDON, Sept 2 (Reuters) Fourteen men were arrested in anti-terrorism raids in south and east London, police in the British capital said on Saturday. The police official said the raids had taken place late on Friday and early on Saturday. The spokesman said the 14 arrests were not linked to earlier arrests of more than 20 people in connection with an alleged plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners using liquid explosives. (Posted @ 13:08 PST)
Bombs kill three in Baghdad BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sep 2 (AP) Two near simultaneous explosions in Baghdad’s residential neighbourhood of Waziriyah Saturday killed three people and wounded 16. (Posted @ 10:32 PST)
Sri Lanka says 12 Tiger boats sunk in naval clash COLOMBO, Sept 2 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's navy sank 12 Tamil Tiger craft overnight in a fierce naval battle off the island's Jaffna peninsula, the military said on Saturday, adding it believed it had killed dozens of rebel fighters. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were not immediately available for comment. (Posted @ 10:32 PST)
Israel likely to reopen talks with Palestinians soon: Peres LONDON, Sept 2 (AFP) Israel is likely to reopen talks next year with the Palestinian Authority, Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres told the Financial Times newspaper in comments published Saturday, on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Workshop in Cernobbio, northern Italy. "We will start negotiations with the Palestinians in the very near future," he said, indicating that negotiations could recommence at the start of next year. (Posted @ 09:06 PST)
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