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| September 09, 2006 | Saturday | Sha'aban 15, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Surgery likely to control cancer spread: AQ Khan’s doctor KARACHI, Pakistan, Sep 9 (AP) Officials said surgery performed Saturday was likely to control the spread of cancer in Pakistani nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadir Khan. The prostate cancer surgery on Khan, 70, ``was a delicate operation,'' an army statement quoted Farhad Abbas, the doctor who performed the operation, as saying. ``After the operation, Dr. Farhat Abbas expressed his full satisfaction and confirmed the success of the operation,'' the statement said. (First Posted @ 11:21 PST Updated @ 19:46 PST)
Pakistan to send army engineer de-miners to Lebanon: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sep 9 (AP) Pakistan will send hundreds of army engineers to Lebanon to help the war-battered country clear land mines, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Saturday. ``The government of Pakistan today (Saturday) took a decision to send Pakistan army engineers to Lebanon on the request of the Lebanese Prime Minister, with whom I met during my recent visit to Beirut,'' Aziz told reporters. ``We are sending army engineers, they are in the hundreds, under the U.N. umbrella,'' Aziz said. Pakistan will also send two military C-130 transport planes containing relief goods to Lebanon's capital, Beirut, the prime minister said. ``We want to help them to avoid such casualties (from unexploded Israeli ordnance). There are land mines, there are booby traps, and I informed the Lebanese prime minister last night that you will see our army engineers de-mining and helping you,'' Aziz said. It was not immediately clear whether Israel would object to the deployment of Pakistani soldiers as part of the U.N. force. (First Posted @ 18:10 PST Updated @ 19:52 PST)
British Prime Minister Tony Blair lands in Israel to meet Israeli, Palestinian leaders JERUSALEM, September 9, (AP) _ British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived inIsrael Saturday to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Upon landing, Blair headed straight to Jerusalem for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The two were set to discuss a fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, the conflict with the Palestinians and Iran, officials said. (Posted @ 23:52 PST)
Sudan president rejects UN call for Darfur peacekeepers SYRTE, Libya, Sept 9, (AFP) - Sudan "categorically" rejects a UN resolution calling for the deployment of UN peacekeepers in Darfur, President Omar al-Beshir said during a visit to Libya on Saturday, an AFP correspondent reported. (Posted @ 23:38 PST)
World Cup hockey results MONCHENGLADBACH, Germany, Sept 9 (AFP) Men's World Cup field hockey tournament results here on Saturday: South Africa 1 (Symons 63) India 1 (I. Tirkey 14); Germany 2 (C.Zeller 44, Fuerste 55) Netherlands 2 (M.Brouwer 38, Reckers 43). (Posted @ 23:26 PST)
Pakistan denies news report that Mullah Omar in Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sep 9 (AP) Pakistan on Saturday denied an international media report that Taliban chief Mullah Omar is living in Pakistan. ``There has been no evidence about the presence of Mullah Omar in Pakistan,'' said a government statement released in Islamabad, shortly after the CNN reported that Omar was living in the country. The statement termed the CNN report as ``baseless'' adding it was a ``concocted story and nothing but mere figment of reporters' imagination.'' Quoting unnamed U.S. intelligence source, the CNN report said Omar is believed to be in Pakistan's south-western city of Quetta ``or its environs,'' while bin Laden was likely in Bajuar, a tribal region bordering Afghanistan. On Saturday, the Pakistani statement said if any intelligence agency had information on Omar's whereabouts, this should have been conveyed to the country through diplomatic channels. ``The fact that such sensitive information is on the media rather than being conveyed through official channels is a good enough indication that it is nothing but an effort to create sensation, and has no reality,'' the document said. (Posted @ 23:20 PST)
Traffic suspended as rains inundate Indus Highway TANDO MOHAMMAD KHAN, September 09 (Agencies): Road links between Hyderabad, Badin, Thatta, Matli, Talhar, Digri and Sajawal remained suspended here Saturday as a section of the Indus Highway was inundated after the torrential rains. Dozens of vehicles were trapped in water at many places. Meanwhile Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Saturday in a telephone call to Chief Minister Sindh, Dr Srbab Ghulam Rahim, inquired about the impact of rains in Thatta, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar and others parts of the province. He asked the chief minister to personally undertake tour of the affected areas to assess the damage and assured all possible help from the federal government in this connection. (Posted @ 23:16 PST)
Land dispute claims ten lives in Pakistan’s Shikarpur SHIKARPUR, Sept 09 (Agencies): As many as ten tribesmen were killed in a clash between two tribes over a land dispute in Pathan Wah in the jurisdiction of Shikarpur police station on Saturday. Seven tribesmen of the Marfani tribe and three men of Qambrani tribe were killed in the clashes. (Posted @ 22:28 PST)
Israeli forces kill Palestinian man in Gaza GAZA, Sept 9 (Reuters) Israeli troops clashed with Palestinians after intruding into a village in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, witnesses said. One Islamic Jihad gunman was shot and critically wounded in the clashes in the village of Khozaa, east of Khan Younis, medics said. Gaza business leaders, in their first joint statement, said the closures had paralysed industry, costing at least 30,000 Gazans their jobs. (First Posted @ 13:36 PST Updated @ 20:16 PST)
Sri Lanka army attacks Tigers, 11 soldiers killed COLOMBO, Sept 9 (Reuters) The Sri Lankan army said it had attacked and overrun several Tamil Tiger bunkers on Saturday, with at least 11 soldiers and many rebels killed. (First Posted @ 11:09 PST Updated @ 20:14 PST)
CIA terrorism detention program 'invaluable': Bush WASHINGTON, Sept 9 (Reuters) President George W. Bush said on Saturday a CIA detention program to interrogate terrorism suspects had been "invaluable" in efforts to prevent another attack on the United States. "Were it not for this program, our intelligence community believes that al Qaeda and its allies would have succeeded in launching another attack against the American homeland," Bush said in his weekly radio address. "And in the long run, defeating these enemies requires more than improved security at home and military action abroad. We must also offer a hopeful alternative to the terrorists' hateful ideology," he said. "By advancing freedom and democracy as the great alternative to repression and radicalism, and by supporting young democracies like Iraq, we are helping to bring a brighter future to this region -- and that will make America and the world more secure," Bush said. (Posted @ 20:12 PST)
Pakistan deal may offer Afghans hope: Britain ISLAMABAD, Sept 9 (Reuters) A peace deal between Pakistan and the local jirga in North Waziristan could serve as a model for neighbouring Afghanistan where the government and foreign forces are battling a resurgent Taliban, a British minister said. British Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Kim Howells said on Saturday the deal, under which tribal elders would take responsibility for security, could hold out some hope. "We'll have to see how it turns out. It's very much an experiment ... but it's got some interesting prospects," Howells told a news conference in Islamabad. "One wonders if it could be applied to the other side of the Afghan border," Howells said. "It's certainly worth looking at. There has to be consent among the local population if there is to be any progress made. There can't be only a military victory, it's impossible." (Posted @ 20:10 PST)
NATO troops kill about 60 insurgents in Afghanistan: officials KABUL, Sept 9 (AFP) NATO-led troops in a major offensive in southern Afghanistan have killed about 60 insurgents in the past 24 hours, officials said. The offensive, Medusa, has used air power, artillery and ground troops. It was launched a week ago to drive militants out of a stronghold in Kandahar. "Later in the morning ISAF lost one soldier killed in action," the alliance said in a statement. Afghan and NATO forces also destroyed "three insurgent positions, a bomb-making factory and a weapons cache," the statement said. (First Posted @ 10:58 PST Updated @ 20:08 PST)
Cricket-World Cup wide open says Woolmer NOTTINGHAM, England, Sept 9 (AFP) Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer has said next year's World Cup in the West Indies will be the one of the most open in the competition's history. "This World Cup in particular is going to be one of the closest World Cups of all time because there are so many sides at an even level," Woolmer said. "One-day cricket is a lottery, if a team gets on top it can lead to a situation like we had last (Friday) evening where one team wins quite easily," he said. Pakistan may be nearing the end of a lengthy tour but Woolmer said he expected his side to be sufficiently fresh for Sunday's Edgbaston climax. "This (defeat) might be a way of reminding them: we bowled badly, both sides of the wicket, either too full or too short and we didn't bat as well as we should have done." (Posted @ 20:02 PST)
Pakistan arrests wanted militant KARACHI, Sept 9 (AFP) Paramilitary forces Saturday arrested here a wanted militant involved in sectarian violence, officials said. Mohammad Rizwan, 32, was taken into custody during a pre-dawn raid in the eastern Shah Latif neighbourhood, a spokesman for the paramilitary forces said. "The arrested terrorist was affiliated with the banned religious outfit of Jaish-e-Mohammad and wanted in various acts of sectarian terrorism," a spokesman said. Initial investigations revealed Rizwan ran a network in the tribal area and sent weapons and explosives material to a banned group, a paramilitary statement said. (Posted @ 20:00 PST)
Police station attacked; four killed in occupied Kashmir JAMMU, occupied Kashmir, Sep 9 (AP) Militants raided a police station in occupied Kashmir’s Doda district, killing two officers and stealing more than a dozen rifles, police said Saturday. Also Saturday, security forces shot and killed a man in Dunaro village, 70 kilometres south of Srinagar, a police officer said. Separately, unknown gunmen killed a man early Saturday in Ahlan village, 90 kilometres south of Srinagar, police added. Also, two civilians were seriously wounded when gunmen opened fire in the main market of the town of Bandipore, said local police. (First Posted @ 11:18 PST Updated @ 19:56 PST)
Amendment to Hudood law bill to be passed: FO ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sep 9 (AP) Pakistan's government is ``very determined'' to get a bill passed to amend the Hudood Ordinance, a government spokeswoman said Saturday. ``What the government is trying to do is remove those anomalies in the law as it is exists, and to ensure there are sufficient legal provisions to make sure the law is not abused,'' Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said Saturday in a telephone interview. Aslam disagreed with those opposing the changes in the law as un-Islamic. ``As the law exists today, it is not in accordance with Quranic laws,'' she said. ``I would say the government is very determined'' to get the changes passed, Aslam said. ``There has been a debate in Pakistan on this issue over the last four or five months, and there is a broad consensus in our society'' that it must be amended. The proposed changes will ``keep it from being used against women,'' she said. ``Because these laws were made in the name of Islam they are bringing a bad name to Islam,'' Aslam said. ``They don't represent the Islamic spirit.'' (Posted @ 18:40 PST)
Government to tap all resources to increase power generation: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, Sept 9 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Saturday said the government would tap all possible sources to increase power generation and maintain the momentum of growth. Chairing a high level meeting at the PM House to review the demand and supply situation in electricity generation, Aziz said the demand of electricity has increased by 11% in the last year. He was informed that the total hydel production was 6740 MW, 1000 MW higher than last year while the total consumption and demand of electricity was 14,000 MWs. He reiterated the government's commitment to provide electricity to every village in the country by 2007. (Posted @ 18:06 PST)
CIA prisons not compatible with 'rule of law': German Chancellor BERLIN, Sep 9 (AP) German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized the United States on Saturday for maintaining secret prisons, saying such practices defied the rule of law, but she praised U.S. President George W. Bush for coming clean about them. ``Even in the fight against terrorism ... we must find an appropriate way to handle the terrorists without putting our fundamental principles and basic values on the line,'' Merkel said. (Posted @ 16:52 PST)
NATO military chief urges more troops for Afghanistan WARSAW, Sept 9 (AFP) NATO military chief General Ray Henault on Saturday pressed alliance member states to send men and equipment to Afghanistan. "I reiterated to nations to send all the people and the capability they agreed were necessary and that had been signed up to," Henault said at an annual meeting of NATO defence chiefs, held in the Polish capital. "We are currently at about 85 percent of the requirements and want the remainder," he told a press conference. "Afghanistan is the most complex mission NATO has ever undertaken," Henault said in Warsaw. (First Posted @ 14:30 PST Updated @ 16:48 PST)
Nine dead, 11 corpses found in Iraq BAGHDAD, Sept 9 (AFP) Insurgents killed at least nine people across Iraq on Saturday, while police found 11 corpses of men shot dead, security officials said. The US military also announced that three of its soldiers were wounded in a bomb attack in Baghdad. A string of explosions rocked Baghdad early Saturday killing at least four people and wounding dozens, security officials said. A large car bomb in Zayuna went off as a US patrol passed, but killed only two Iraqi bystanders, an interior ministry spokesman said. In the central Baghdad neighborhood of Waziriyah, a man attempted to ram his car into a police station and was shot, but not before he detonated the explosives in the vehicle, killing a policeman and wounding 10 other people. In the northern oil city of Kirkuk, twin blasts killed four people and wounded 16. (First Posted @ 13:11 PST Updated @ 16:21 PST)
Pakistani troops to remain in Waziristan despite truce with militants ISLAMABAD, Sept 9 (AP) Pakistan army troops will remain in Waziristan, a tribal region bordering Afghanistan, despite a recent peace accord with local militants allied to the Taliban and al-Qaida, government officials said Saturday. ``Nobody has talked about withdrawal of troops from Waziristan,'' Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said. (Posted @ 14:18 PST)
Iranian negotiator arrives in Vienna for last-ditch nuclear meeting VIENNA, Sept 9 (AFP) Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani arrived in Vienna Saturday for a last-ditch meeting with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana to avoid an escalation of the crisis over Iran's atomic ambitions, an Iranian official said. (Posted @ 13:40 PST)
Israeli forces clash with militants in south Gaza GAZA, Sept 9 (Reuters) Israeli troops clashed with Palestinian militants after entering a village in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, Palestinian witnesses said. One Islamic Jihad gunman was shot and critically wounded in the clashes in the village of Khozaa east of Khan Younis, medics said. (Posted @ 13:36 PST)
Suspected militants in Pakistan fatally shoot man for allegedly spying for US MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan, Sept 9 (AP) Suspected militants in Miran Shah, the main town in the northwestern region of North Waziristan, fatally shot a man for allegedly spying for U.S.-led coalition forces operating in neighbouring Afghanistan, an official said Saturday. The body of Rahim Jan, 70, was found Saturday, the intelligence official said on condition of anonymity. (Posted @ 13:27 PST)
Relatives bury dead after Indian mosque bombing MALEGAON, India, Sept 9 (AFP) Relatives buried their dead Saturday after three bombs outside a mosque and graveyard killed 37 people and injured nearly 300 in the predominantly Muslim town of Malegaon on Friday. The president of the ruling Congress Party Sonia Gandhi and Home Minister Shivraj Patil visited the site of the blasts and some of the 277 injured in hospital. Nobody has claimed responsibility for Friday's bloodshed, when an estimated 2,500 people had gathered in a square outside the mosque. (First Posted @ 10:15 PST Updated @ 13:16 PST)
Bush assures US hunting terrorists without respite WASHINGTON, Sept 9 (AFP) US President George W. Bush assured Americans Saturday that the United States was relentlessly hunting down suspected terrorists in order to avoid a new attack. In a radio address delivered two days before the nation was to mark the fifth anniversary of September 11, 2001, Bush said the country was safer now due to efforts undertaken by his administration. "America still faces determined enemies," the president said. "We must take the words of these extremists seriously, and we must act decisively to stop them from achieving their evil aims." (Posted @ 13:13 PST)
Strong quake rocks eastern Indonesia JAKARTA, Indonesia, Sept 9 (AP) A strong undersea earthquake of 6.2 magnitude rocked parts of eastern Indonesia on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage, and a tsunami alert was not issued. The quake struck deep under the Flores Sea, 205 kilometers northeast of Sumbawa island, the survey said in a statement. (Posted @ 11:29 PST)
U.S. aid volunteers die in Mexico plane crash TIJUANA, Mexico, Sept 8 (Reuters) Two U.S. medical volunteers and their pilot died on Friday when the small plane in which they were traveling crashed near Mexico's border with the United States, a police spokesman said. (Posted @ 10:36 PST)
U.N. General Assembly adopts new counterterrorism strategy UNITED NATIONS, Sept 9 (AP) The U.N. General Assembly Friday adopted by consensus a strategy to combat terrorism, though many nations lamented that it does not include a definition or say anything about states that commit terrorist acts. The issue of counterterrorism has been highly contentious at the U.N. because nations have been unable to agree on what exactly constitutes terrorism. Israel and the Palestinians, for example, both accuse each other of terrorist acts. Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari said later, the strategy, which is nonbinding, ``does not prejudice the right of people for self-determination and the struggle for independence.'' (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Sharapova to face Henin-Hardenne in US Open final NEW YORK, Sept 9 (AP) Terrific at the start and finish, Maria Sharapova shrieked her way past No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo 6-0, 4-6, 6-0 to end a Grand Slam semifinal jinx at the U.S. Open on Friday. The third-seeded Sharapova set up a final against No. 2 Justine Henin-Hardenne, who took the last 10 games against a collapsing Jelena Jankovic for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory. ``I came back from nowhere today,'' Henin-Hardenne said. ``I feel lucky to be in the final.'' (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Khatami urges U.S. Muslims to fight `Islamophobia' in their country ARLINGTON, Virginia, Sept 9 (AP) Iran's former president Mohammad Khatami decried a wave of ``Islamophobia'' being spread in the United States by fear and hatred of Islam. ``In the crime of 9/11, two crimes were committed,'' he said, ``one was killing innocent people. The second crime was masking this crime in the name of Islam.'' Speaking at a function sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, he said that in conditions that have followed the 9/11 attacks, American Muslims should show their countrymen by example that they, not terrorists, represent Islam. ``Demonstrate to others that whatever is said about Islam in the media is not correct'' and combat the ``wave of Islamophobia and hatred of Islam that we unfortunately are experiencing today,'' he added. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
World Cup hockey result MONCHENGLADBACH, Germany, Sept 9 (AFP) The following are the results of the matches played in Men's World Cup field hockey tournament on Friday: Spain 1 (Tubau 40) Argentina 1 (L Cammereri 50); England 0 South Korea 1 (Yoon 59); New Zealand 4 (Couzins 14, 36, Hopping 18, H Shaw 53) Pakistan 4 (Abbasi 9, Zubair 21, 65, Butt 42) (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Bush interested in 'learning more' about Iran WASHINGTON, Sept 9 (AFP) US President George W. Bush said, in an interview made public late Friday, that he was "interested in learning more" about the Iranian government. In a rare change of tone toward the Islamic state, Bush told The Wall Street Journal that he had personally signed off on granting a US visa to former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who made a series of speeches in the United States this week. "I was interested to hear what he had to say," Bush said. "I'm interested in learning more about the Iranian government, how they think, what people think within the government." (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
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