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| October 04, 2006 | Wednesday | Ramazan 10, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
OIC states blast UN envoys' Lebanon report GENEVA, Oct 4 (Reuters) Arab and Muslim countries on Wednesday rejected a report by four U.N. human rights investigators on the Lebanon war, calling it biased and too soft on Israel. "The report is deferential to Israel, condescending towards Lebanon and accusatory towards Hizbollah," said Pakistan's ambassador Masood Khan speaking for the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) states."The OIC council members have decided to distance themselves from the conclusions of the report, which does not have any operative value," he told the United Nations' human rights watchdog, the Human Rights Council. Holding its second three-week session, the 47-state Geneva-based Council was debating the findings of the envoy's mission to Israel and Lebanon in mid-September.(Posted @ 21:50 PST)
Abbas holds press conference with Rice RAMALLAH, West Bank, Oct 4 (Reuters) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday held a press conference with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Rice promised Abbas to "redouble efforts to improve the conditions of the Palestinian people" and press Israel to ease a closure of Gaza border crossings. Abbas made clear his patience was running thin in efforts to persuade Hamas to soften its policy towards Israel and form a unity government with his Fatah faction. "If this doesn't happen in the near future, all options are open," he said, adding "But the only option I reject is civil war." (First Posted @ 17:00 PST Updated @ 21:45 PST)
Telecom a booming industry in Pakistan: Musharraf RAWALPINDI, Oct 4 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday said Pakistan has a great scope for investment in the field of telecom. He was talking to a delegation of a leading telecom company that had called on him here. Musharraf assured the delegation that the government was fully committed to facilitating all investors and would ensure every possible assistance and incentives to them.(Posted @ 21:30 PST)
Cricket-England asks Pakistan for compensation ISLAMABAD, Oct 4 (Reuters) The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has asked Pakistan to compensate it for the loss of revenues in the cancelled fourth test at the Oval in August, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman said on Wednesday. The spokesman said a meeting of the PCB's Ad-Hoc committee would contest the claim. "The Ad-hoc committee has decided to contest the claim legally as the Pakistan board was not responsible for the test not being completed," he said. An ECB spokesman said the board would not comment on the report. "There has been communication between the boards but we are not in a position to divulge it," he said. The PCB spokesman declined to give the amount the ECB had requested. The Ad-Hoc committee also confirmed Inzamam as captain for the home series against West Indies from Nov 7.(Posted @ 21:05 PST)
Ahmadinejad says wants more atomic talks TEHRAN, Oct 4 (Reuters) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday Iran wanted talks to continue to remove the West's concerns over its nuclear programme. "We are ready to talk to remove the concerns. We want talks to continue but if anyone thinks talks can be used to pressure us they are wrong," he told a rally in a town west of Tehran.(Posted @ 19:25 PST)
EU's Solana says no deal in Iran nuclear talks BRUSSELS, Oct 4 (Reuters) Iran has not agreed to suspend its most sensitive nuclear activities despite four months of intensive talks and time is running out to avoid sanctions, European foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Wednesday. "This dialogue I am maintaining cannot last forever, and it is up to the Iranians now to decide whether this time has come to an end. And if that is the case we will have to follow the second track (a U.N. sanctions resolution)," he said.(Posted @ 19:25 PST)
Indian airports step up security over hijack fears NEW DELHI, Oct 4 (Reuters) Security has been stepped up at a string of major Indian airports after warnings that a flight to or from Nepal could be hijacked, a security official said on Wednesday. "We have received a specific intelligence input that terrorists may plan to hijack a plane to or from Kathmandu in response to the hanging (of Kashmiri man Mohammed Afzal)," the official said.(Posted @ 19:25 PST)
Iraqi police kill 11 insurgents BAGHDAD, Oct 4 (Reuters) Iraqi police said they killed 11 foreign fighters, including nine Syrians, a Saudi national and a Sudanese man, in the town of Muqdadiya, north of Baghdad, on Wednesday.(Posted @ 19:20 PST)
Suicide truck bomber blows up outside Iraqi army HQ BAGHDAD, Oct 4 (Reuters) A suicide truck bomber blew up outside the Iraqi army headquarters in Ramadi Wednesday and many casualties were feared, police said.(Posted @ 19:10 PST)
Pakistan deeply concerned by North Korea nuclear test threat ISLAMABAD, Oct 4 (AFP) Pakistan said Wednesday that Pyongyang's threat to test an atomic bomb was of "deep concern". "The announcement by the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea regarding its intention to conduct a nuclear weapons test is a matter of deep concern for Pakistan," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "We urge the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea to desist from introducing nuclear weapons in the Korean peninsula which would be highly destabilising for the region." The statement said Pyongyang "must exercise restraint and return to the six party talks."(Posted @ 19:05 PST)
PM Aziz meets President Musharraf RAWALPINDI, Oct 4 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz met President General Pervez Musharraf in Rawalpindi today. During the course of their meeting the two leaders exchanged views on important national matters, and reviewed the geopolitical environment in the region.(Posted @ 18:55 PST)
Heavy firing in occupied Kashmir’s main city, four wounded SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Oct 4 (Agencies) Heavy firing broke out on Wednesday in Srinagar, witnesses said. The firing, believed to be an attack on a security camp by suspected militants, began at 11.30 a.m. in the heavily congested market area of Lal Chowk and wounded at least four civilians. Occupied Kashmir has seen almost daily street protests over the past week since a Delhi court fixed Oct. 20 as the date for hanging of Afzal Guru. (First Posted @ 11:40 PST, Updated @ 14:57 PST)
Seven killed in violence in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Oct 4 (AFP) Indian troops shot dead five suspected militants in two shootouts in the southern district of Anantnag and central district of Budgam in occupied Kashmir late Tuesday and early Wednesday, police said Wednesday. Meanwhile, residents of Ganganar village, also in Anantnag district, accused Indian soldiers of killing an 18-year-old boy and his 20-year-old sister late Tuesday. (Posted @ 11:40 PST)
12 dead as Iraqi minister escapes bomb attack BAGHDAD, Oct 4 (AFP) Iraq's industry minister escaped a bomb attack on his convoy Wednesday, which killed three of his bodyguards and nine others when three powerful blasts shook a Baghdad suburb, security sources said. At least 75 people were wounded in the blasts, police reported. (First Posted @ 14:20 PST, Updated@ 16:55 PST)
Kornberg of US wins 2006 Nobel chemistry prize STOCKHOLM, Oct 4 (Reuters) American Roger Kornberg won the 2006 Nobel prize for chemistry on Wednesday for describing the essential process of gene copying in cells, research that can give insight into illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. The work of Stanford University's Kornberg, 59, has "a fundamental medical importance", the Swedish Academy of Sciences said as it announced the award, worth 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.37 million).(Posted @ 16:35 PST)
66 illegal immigrants found hidden in truck in Greece THESSALONIKI, Greece, Oct 4 (AP) Police detained 66 illegal immigrants and arrested a Greek truck driver in northern Greece on Wednesday, authorities said.The immigrants from Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan were found hidden in the back of a truck during a routine roadside police inspection.(Posted @ 15:45 PST)
Cricket- Shiv Sena issues Champions Trophy threat over Pakistan MUMBAI, Oct 4 (Reuters) A powerful hardline Hindu political party, Shiv Sena,is threatening to disrupt this month's Champions Trophy if Pakistan is allowed to play any of their matches in India. "How can one allow Pakistan to play matches in our country when the Mumbai police have evidence of its involvement in theJuly 11 terror attack?" Uddhav Thackeray, the party's executive president, was quoted as saying in newspapers on Wednesday. Mumbai police joint commissioner said tight security would be provided before and during the matches in the city.(Posted @ 15:30 PST)
Iran goes back on offer for French role in nuclear work TEHRAN, Oct 4 (AFP) Iran went back Wednesday on its offer to allow France to monitor the enrichment of uranium on Iranian soil, saying the matter had yet to be decided. "No decision has been taken for the moment on how to form a consortium and the parties which will be invited to participate," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said in a statement. (Posted @ 14:50 PST)
Up to 90,000 Afghans said displaced by war KABUL, Oct 4 (Reuters) Fighting between NATO-led forces and insurgents across southern Afghanistan has displaced an estimated 80,000 to 90,000 people over the past few months, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said Wednesday. According to government figures, the fighting has forced 15,000 families from their homes in the three southern provinces of Kandahar, Helmand and Uruzgan, said a spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency, Nader Farhad. The newly displaced join some 116,000 people already uprooted by years of conflict and drought, bringing the number of internally displaced within the area to some 200,000, the UNHCR said. (Posted @ 12:55 PST)
Iran to open nuclear sites for tourists TEHRAN, Oct 4 (AFP) Tourists visiting Iran might be able to add an unusual stop-off on their itinerary, a trip to one of the country’s nuclear sites, state news agency IRNA reported Wednesday. "Foreign tourists can visit Iranian nuclear sites, after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issued an authorization ordering this organization to study ways to do so," the head of Iran's Tourism and Cultural Heritage Organization Esfandyar Rahim Mashaii said. (Posted @ 12:45 PST)
Indian PM tells Pakistan to prove itself on terror NEW DELHI, Oct 4 (AFP) Pakistan has to prove it is sincere about working with India to counter terrorism, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said. "Pakistan will have to walk the talk," to back up its promise to cooperate on terrorism, he said on Tuesday night in his plane home from South Africa. When asked how the proposed counter-terrorism mechanism would work with Pakistan, Singh said: "We have set up this mechanism. How else can we ask for information except through a mechanism like this?" (Posted @ 11:16 PST)
US diplomat favours political solution in Afghanistan WASHINGTON, Oct 4 (APP) A seasoned American diplomat Robert Jordan called for a political solution for long-term stability in Afghanistan on Tuesday, a day after US Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist supported efforts to assimilate the tribal leaders into a more representative government as a way to counter insurgency. Jordan also referred to Pakistan's arrangement with the tribal elders last month and saw some continuity in the effort on the Afghan side. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
US attorneys file appeal on behalf of former terror suspect WASHINGTON, Oct 4 (AFP) US attorneys announced Tuesday they had filed an appeal to contest the detention of Majid Khan, one of 14 purported Al-Qaeda officials transferred in early September to a CIA prison at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay. Khan, a Pakistani with several family members who moved to Baltimore, Maryland in the 1990s, was arrested in Pakistan in 2002. He is suspected of having taken part in planning an attack that was never carried out. Held at an undisclosed location for three years, Khan was sent to Guantanamo at the same time as alleged September 11 plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Khan has never been charged and has not officially been deemed an enemy combatant by the United States, according to the Center for Constitutional Rights, which is handling the defence for most of the detainees at Guantanamo. "Majid Khan had nothing to do with 9/11. Any allegations should be made in open court, where he has the chance to defend himself against evidence obtained through torture," said CCR Executive Director Vincent Warren. "We believe everyone deserves a trial. We are challenging secret CIA detentions, and we are challenging torture." (Posted @ 09:00 PST)
North Korea nuclear test would be "very provocative act": Rice CAIRO, Oct 4 (AFP) US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday that a nuclear test by North Korea would be a "very provocative act." "It would be a very provocative act by the North Koreans. They have not yet done it," Rice said while on a visit to Cairo. (Posted @ 08:55 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 151.95 points: KARACHI, Oct 4: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 10744.67, up 151.95 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 13:00 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Oct 4: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.65 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 13:00 PST)
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