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| September 07, 2006 | Thursday | Sha'aban 13, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
President Musharraf rejects charge of aiding Afghan insurgency KABUL, Sept 7 (AFP) President Pervez Musharraf said Thursday Afghanistan must stop blaming his country for the Taliban-led insurgency. "I completely agree that Al-Qaeda and Taliban are doing activities both in Pakistan and Afghanistan," Musharraf told a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his most senior officials. But he added: "This is not sponsored by Pakistan. The Pakistan government or I or the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) are not -- I repeat not – behind anything happening in Afghanistan." "You blame us for whatever is happening in Afghanistan," said Musharraf, who left Kabul on Thursday afternoon after his first visit since 2002. "Every bomb blast -- Pakistan is doing it; every suicide bombing -- Pakistan is doing it," he said, calling for an end to the "blame game". Musharraf stressed that Pakistan was committed to fighting Taliban and Al-Qaeda. (First Posted @ 10:55 PST Updated @ 18:20 PST)
Rescuers find bodies of 30 killed in mine accident in India PATNA, India Sept 7 (APP/AP) _ Rescuers found the bodies of 30 miners who were killed following an explosion and gas leak in a coal mine in eastern India, an official said. Rescue workers were searching for 23 other trapped miners, but chances of finding any survivors are bleak, said Partho Bhattacharya, chairman of the state-owned Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. (First Posted @ 14:20 PST Updated @ 23:44 PST)
Four Palestinians killed in Israeli raid RAMALLAH, West Bank, Sept 7, (AFP) - Four Palestinians were killed and 10 wounded by Israeli fire during an army operation in the northern West Bank on Thursday, medical and security sources said. (First Posted @ 21:10 PST Updated @ 23:40 PST)
Al-Jazeera broadcasts Al-Qaeda video preparing 9/11 attacks DUBAI, Sept 7, (AFP) - The Arab television channel Al-Jazeera broadcast Thursday a video which it said showed leaders of the Al-Qaeda terror group preparing the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States. (Posted @ 23:34 PST)
Six world powers discuss 'next steps in Security Council' BERLIN, Sept 7, (AFP) - The six world powers meeting here on Thursday discussed "the next steps in the Security Council", a senior European diplomat said, a clear allusion to possible sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. "We had a first discussion of the next steps in the Security Council, following the lines of Resolution 1696," which calls for possible sanctions if Iran defies a call to suspend uranium enrichment, the diplomat said. (Posted @ 23:30 PST)
Iraq shuts down Arab television channel DUBAI, Sept 7, (AFP) - The Iraqi government has closed down Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiya for one month effective Thursday, a company spokesman said in Dubai. The spokesman said the decision, conveyed in a statement by Iraq's Council of Ministers, was taken because the channel had allegedly broadcast "imprecise information" and had promoted sectarianism. (Posted @ 23:26 PST)
Taliban will fail in Afghanistan: Bush ATLANTA, Georgia, Sept 7 (AFP) US President George W. Bush said Thursday that the Taliban militia was "desperately trying to retake control" of Afghanistan but promised that it would not succeed. The US president in a speech here defending his national security credentials said "they will fail because the Afghan people have tasted freedom. They will fail because their vision is no match for a democracy accountable to its citizens. They will fail because they are no match for the military forces of a free Afghanistan, a NATO alliance and the United States of America". (Posted @ 23:12 PST)
Pakistan-China relationship promotes regional stability: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, Sep 7 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Thursday said broad-based strategic relationship between Pakistan and China was a source of strength and stability for the region. The two countries are actively cooperating in political, diplomatic, social, economic, defence and security fields, he said. He was talking to Jin Zhuanglong, Vice Minister Commission of Science and Technology and Industry of National Defence (COSTIND) of China, who called on him along with a delegation here at the Prime Minister House. (Posted @ 22:56 PST)
Bugti’s son demands probe into father’s killing QUETTA, Pakistan, Sept 7 (AFP) The son of Jamhoori Watan Party chief, Nawab Akbar Bugti, ursday said that his father was “murdered” and urged the international organisations to probe the death. Jamil Bugti, 50, told a news conference here that "we call upon the international human rights commission and other organisations to take notice of Bugti's death and ensure a proper investigation". Jamil, who was accompanied by his brother Talal, said he would not lodge a complaint with Pakistani police because police would "not entertain" it. (Posted @ 21:22 PST)
Hockey-Pakistan beat Japan 4-0 MONCHENGLADBACH, Germany, Sept 7 (AFP) Men's World Cup field hockey tournament results here on Thursday: India 2 (S. Singh 28, Tirkey 66) England 3 (Tindall 53, S. Mantell, 57,61), Pakistan 4 (Abbas 10, 65, Butt 12, Abbasi 68) Japan 0. (Posted @ 21:15 PST)
Member of Saddam's legal team killed in Baghdad BAGHDAD, Sept 7 (AFP) An assistant to one of the defense lawyers in the trial of ex-president Saddam Hussein and six co-defendants has been found dead, a lawyer said Thursday. (Posted @ 21:06 PST)
Lebanese plane lands in Beirut as Israeli blockade lifted BEIRUT, Sept 7 (AFP) A Middle East Airlines flight from Paris landed at Beirut's international airport Thursday afternoon, just as Israel began lifting its blockade, a reporter said. The commercial flight of Lebanon's national carrier landed precisely at 6:00 pm (1500 GMT), the hour that Israel announced it was starting to lift the eight-week blockade. (Posted @ 21:04 PST)
Britain's Blair says to resign within a year LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Thursday he would resign within a year, after a week of turmoil in his ruling Labour Party, but rejected calls from former supporters to name an early departure date. "The next party conference in a couple of weeks will be my last party conference as party leader," Blair said in a televised statement. (Posted @ 19:22 PST)
Prime Minister Aziz meets PML parliamentarians ISLAMABAD, Sep 7 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Thursday that all laws passed by the government would be in conformity with Islamic injunctions. He was talking to a delegation of parliamentarians belonging to PML and allied parties in his chamber at the Parliament House. The Prime Minister said that the women rights bill was in consonance with the teachings of Quran and Sunnah and added that it will ensure quick justice and security to women and safeguard their rights. (Posted @ 18:22 PST)
US gives Iraq back command of its military BAGHDAD, Sept 7 (AFP) Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki took the first step towards recovering control of Iraq's own military, signing an accord with US officers at a ceremony Thursday in Baghdad. The handover will give Maliki operational control of Iraq's fledgling air force and navy, and begin the process of putting the army's 10 divisions under a newly-created joint headquarters, independent of US control. Maliki signed the handover with coalition commander General George Casey, who will initially retain direct control of the rest of the Iraqi army while the 8th Iraqi Army Division will come under the prime minister's command. (Posted @ 18:16 PST)
Iran unveils new fighter jet TEHRAN, Sept 7 (AFP) Iran announced on Thursday it has developed a new war plane -- named the "Azarakhsh" (Lightning) -- which it describes as similar to the American F-5. On Wednesday, Iran had announced the development of a war plane named "Saegheh" (Thunder), which it described as similar to the American F-18 fighter jet. (Posted @ 17:38 PST)
At least 44 killed in Iraq attacks BAGHDAD, Sept 7 (AFP) At least 44 people were killed across Iraq on Thursday, mostly in Baghdad. The US military also announced that one of its soldiers was killed on Wednesday in the western city of Ramadi while another died in the northern town of Hawija. In the deadliest attack Thursday, a suicide attacker killed 12 policemen and wounded 26, as well another 13 civilians, when he detonated a bomb-laden car near a police fuel depot in Baghdad's Karrada district, said interior ministry spokesman. Meanwhile, one police officer was killed and four wounded by a roadside bomb attack east of Kirkuk in northern Iraq. Gunmen clashed with a police patrol in the northern city of Tikrit, in which a police officer, a policeman and a civilian were killed, according to police. Northeast of Tikrit, gunmen in cars descended on a police patrol, killing three and wounded four. In the province of Diyala, north of Baghdad, three Iraqis were killed in separate attacks. A civilian died when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Balad Ruz, while two others were killed in separate shootings in the provincial capital of Baquba, where gunmen also set fire to 12 shops in a market, police said. (First Posted @ 10:57 PST Updated @ 21:22 PST)
Turkish soldier killed in Kurdish rebel attack DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Sept 7 (AFP) Separatist Kurdish rebels killed a Turkish soldier and wounded another in an armed attack in the south-eastern province of Siirt, the governor's office there said. The casualties came in an attack late Wednesday by rebels from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that targeted against a police post near the town of Eruh, the Siirt provincial governor's office said in a statement. (Posted @ 17:32 PST)
Cricket-ICC confirms Inzamam's hearing on Sept 27 and 28 MUMBAI, Sept 7 (AFP) The International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Thursday that Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq's hearing in the ball-tampering controversy will be held on September 27 and 28. The much-awaited hearing will be conducted by chief match-referee Ranjan Madugulle of Sri Lanka at a yet unspecified venue, ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed told reporters here. Speed, who regretted the delay in the hearing, clarified that it was not entirely accurate to say that Pakistan will be cleared of ball-tampering charges simply because there was no video evidence. "If video evidence was the only criteria, taking the analogy of crime, we would not be able to prove a lot of murders and half the jails would be empty," he said. (Posted @ 16:16 PST)
One-day strike hits Alitalia flights ROME, Sept 7 (Reuters) Alitalia workers held a one-day strike Thursday that was expected to force the cancellation of nearly 200 flights to and from Italy. The Italian flag carrier said it believed 179 flights would be affected, more than 50 of them at Rome's Fiumicino airport. The stoppage by ground and air crew began at midnight but the airline had said flights between 0500-0800 GMT, the peak morning period, would operate as normal and there was no disruption reported at that time. Flights in the busy evening hours between 1600-1900 GMT should also not be affected. The airline last faced stoppages, which weighed on its earnings, nine months ago. Unions blame management for the airline's financial troubles and want the government, which owns almost half of the company, to replace its CEO. (Posted @ 15:20 PST)
UK's Blair sets May 2007 as departure date LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) British Prime Minister Tony Blair will step down early in May next year after a revolt by former supporters, British media said Thursday. Sky Television, citing senior Labour Party members, said the premier would quit on May 4, 2007 after a decade in office. The BBC also said he would go in early May. Blair is expected to set out a timetable for his departure from office later Thursday in an attempt to defuse a leadership crisis which has engulfed his ruling Labour Party. (Posted @ 14:40 PST)
Policeman, two outlaws killed in southwest Pakistan QUETTA, Pakistan, Sept 7 (AFP) A senior police officer and two suspected outlaws were killed in an exchange of fire Thursday in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, police said, adding, that the killings took place in Lora Lai district, some 300 kilometres southeast of Quetta when police raided their hideout. Another officer was injured in the shootout. (Posted @ 14:30 PST)
Bangladeshi crew rescued from sinking ship COLOMBO, Sept 7 (AFP) Sri Lanka's navy rescued 34 Bangladeshi nationals Thursday who were aboard a crippled merchant vessel that sank off the island's southern coast, officials said. A navy spokesman said the vessel ran into difficulty and was being towed to the port of Galle, 112 kilometres south of here, when its hull broke. "We have taken on board 34 Bangladeshi nationals, including two children and two women," the navy spokesman said. "They are being taken to Galle port." No other details were immediately available. (Posted @ 14:26 PST)
Bangladesh jute workers clash with police, 100 hurt DHAKA, Sept 7 (Reuters) At least 100 people were injured when police fired teargas and rubber bullets to disperse thousands of Bangladesh jute workers in Khalishpur industrial area in Khulna district demanding their wages. Separately, hundreds of jute mill workers blocked a highway at Sitakunda, 250 km southeast of Dhaka disrupting communication between the capital and the country's main Chittagong port. They were also seeking payment of long overdue wages. (Posted @ 14:25 PST)
NATO commander seeks reinforcements in Afghanistan MONS, Belgium, Sept 7 (Reuters) NATO's top commander of operations, General James Jones, acknowledged on Thursday the alliance had been taken aback by the extent of violence in southern Afghanistan and urged allies to provide reinforcements. "While some of it (violence) is predictable, we should recognise we are a little bit surprised at the level of intensity, and (the fact) that the opposition in some areas are not relying on traditional hit-and-run tactics," he said. Several NATO soldiers have been killed in fierce fighting with the Taliban guerrillas since the alliance extended its peacekeeping mission to the south a month ago. (Posted @ 14:12 PST)
Four UN experts head for Lebanon in conflict probe GENEVA, Sept 7 (AFP) Four United Nations human rights experts will visit Lebanon and Israel from Thursday to carry out a probe into the recent conflict there, the UN's human rights office announced. The fact-finding mission, until September 13, will carry out an "impartial legal analysis of the persistent allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law" the UN said. (Posted @ 14:10 PST)
Russian foreign minister in Lebanon for talks BEIRUT, Sept 7 (AFP) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Beirut Thursday to discuss the UN-brokered truce between Israel and Hezbollah, and Russia's participation in reconstruction efforts. A Lebanese government spokesman said Lavrov would meet with President Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and parliament speaker Nabih Berri during his five-hour visit. (Posted @ 12:45 PST)
No serious talks on swap deal with Israel -Hamas BEIRUT, Sept 7 (Reuters) No serious negotiations have been held on swapping an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, captured by Gaza-based militants for Palestinian prisoners, Hamas's Damascus-based exiled political leader Khaled Meshaal said in remarks published Thursday. Meshaal, in an interview with Lebanon's al-Akhbar daily newspaper, reiterated that the Israeli soldier would only be released as part of a prisoner exchange deal. (Posted @ 12:10 PST)
Fire on Russian nuclear submarine kills two MOSCOW, Sept 7 (AFP) Two submariners have been killed in a fire aboard a nuclear submarine belonging to Russia's northern fleet, but there is no risk of radioactive contamination, Interfax news agency reported Thursday. (Posted @ 10:55 PST)
Gaza miserable and dangerous: UN relief chief GAZA CITY, Sept 7 (APP/AFP) Life in the Gaza Strip has become "miserable and dangerous" after six months of fiscal and political crisis, John Ging, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, told AFP in an interview. "Every day seems to get worse. The prospects are very bleak because we have seen nothing in six months but deterioration," he said. "All the elements of a civilised existence are falling apart: there is a lack of food, no electricity, no salaries, the public services are crumbling." (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
Japan to pick new PM on September 26 TOKYO, Sept 7 (APP/AFP) Japan's parliament will select its new prime minister to succeed Junichiro Koizumi on September 26, a ruling party official said Thursday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, a 51-year-old conservative, is considered all but certain to secure the position. (Posted @ 10:35 PST)
Arab League says members to seek nuclear energy CAIRO, Sept 7 (Reuters) Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said Arab countries decided at a meeting on Wednesday to seek nuclear energy. "The Arab states, as members of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, have decided to use the right granted them, and for which they entered the agreement, to use nuclear energy peacefully," he told reporters after an Arab League foreign ministers’ meeting and called on Arab states to begin creating the institutions and facilities necessary for nuclear research. (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
Cricket-New Zealand announce squad for Champions Trophy SYDNEY, Sept 7 (Reuters) New Zealand on Thursday announced the following 14-man squad for the 2006 Champions Trophy in India during October and November. Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, James Franklin, Peter Fulton, Mark Gillespie, Brendon McCullum, Hamish Marshall, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Scott Styris, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent. (Posted @ 09:51 PST)
Saudi Arabia to cover Lebanese annual school fees RIYADH, Sept 7 (AFP) King Abdullah has decided Saudi Arabia will pay all fees for state school students in Lebanon for the 2006-2007 academic year. "King Abdullah has decided that the kingdom will cover all school fees for students in Lebanese public schools at all levels," the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon Abdel Aziz Khuja said Wednesday, according to the official news agency SPA. "The aim of this initiative is to alleviate problems in Lebanese educational establishments so that no Lebanese student is deprived of a place or a schoolbook," Khuja was quoted as saying. Lebanon has nearly a million pupils of school age. Around 350 schools were destroyed or badly damaged during Israel's month-long offensive on Lebanon. (Posted @ 09:42 PST)
US Open results NEW YORK, Sept 7 (AFP) Collated US Open results on Wednesday (x denotes seed): Men (Quarter-finals): Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) bt Rafael Nadal (ESP x2) 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1, Andy Roddick (USA x9) bt Lleyton Hewitt (AUS x15) 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. Women (Quarter-finals): Amelie Mauresmo (FRA x1) bt Dinara Safina (RUS x12) 6-2, 6-3, Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL x2) bt Lindsay Davenport (USA x10) 6-4, 6-4, Maria Sharapova (RUS x3) bt Tatiana Golovin (FRA x27) 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/0). (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
Sprint star Jones cleared of postitive EPO test LOS ANGELES, Sept 7 (AFP) Triple Olympic champion Marion Jones has been cleared of potential doping charges for use of the banned endurance-boster EPO after the "B" sample analysis was negative, a statement issued by her attorney said Wednesday. (Posted @ 09:00 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 140.72 points: KARACHI, September 7: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 9927.98, down 140.72 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, September 7: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.57 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST)
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