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| October 07, 2006 | Saturday | Ramazan 13, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Police find two rockets near ISI headquarters ISLAMABAD, Oct 7 (Reuters) Police found two rockets close to the headquarters of Pakistan's top spy agency in Islamabad on Saturday, the interior minister said, just two days after two rockets were discovered close to the presidency and parliament. The rockets were hidden in bushes on a hill close to the military's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), but Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao denied reports that the ISI headquarters was the target. "No it was not target," he said. "These were 107 mm rockets and they have been defused." On Saturday, the authorities created confusion when some officials said the police had planted dud rockets to test security after the scare two days earlier, while others said the rockets were live ammunition. (First Posted @ 12:05 PST, Updated @ 17:50 PST)
Cricket-Pakistan reappoints Younis, sacks assistant coach Mushtaq LAHORE, Pakistan, Oct 7 (Agencies) Pakistan reinstated Younis Khan as captain for the Champions Trophy on Saturday just hours before the team was due to leave for the tournament in India, said Naseem Ashraf, the new Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board. He told a news conference in Lahore that Younis had agreed to lead the side again and Yousuf would now be vice-captain. "Younis has agreed to lead the side again after I spoke to him and explained things to him," Ashraf said. He also said leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed had been released as assistant coach for the Champions Trophy. "We felt there is no need for an assistant coach with the team at this stage so Mushtaq has been released," Ashraf said. Younis said he had spent the last few days enduring great mental strain and had agreed to take the captaincy again as he had a lot of respect for Ashraf. "I just hope we can now put everything behind us and try to do well in the tournament," Younis said. "I know the last two days have also been hard on the people who wanted to know why I had left the captaincy," he said. (First Posted @ 13:50 PST, Updated @ 14:00 PST)
Cricket-Pakistan aim to put troubles behind them in India NEW DELHI, Oct 7 (Reuters) Pakistan were determined to put weeks of off-pitch drama and a damaging captaincy row behind them at the ICC Champions Trophy, stand-in captain Younis Khan said on Saturday. "What has happened has happened," Younis told reporters when the team arrived. "I was down in the last two days. But now my effort, whether we play four or five matches, would be to help my team fight till the last ball…It is a matter of pride to lead Pakistan. I'm here to lead from the front. You will see that in my body language." Younis said he was pleased to return to India. "We've come with a balanced side," he said. "Inzamam is not there which is a big loss. But we have the kind of all-rounders others don't have." Woolmer said his players would overcome the distractions. "It has been a dreadful month-and-a-half," he said. "But we will put all the baggage back, in the dustbin…I'll use this tournament to look at the strategies of the teams we will be playing at the (2007) World Cup," he said. "As our goal is the World Cup, it is an ideal place to make a start." Pakistan, who are in pool B with former winners South Africa and New Zealand, open their campaign against a qualifier on Oct. 17. (First Posted @ 19:54 PST Updated @ 21:34 PST)
PM Aziz calls for comprehensive Northern Areas development plan ISLAMABAD, Oct 7 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday asked the Northern Areas administration to prepare a comprehensive plan covering all sectors particularly education, health, tourism and hydel power to realize the full potential of these areas. He was talking to the six advisors of the Northern Areas, who called on him here at the PM House this afternoon. Aziz said the scenic northern areas were important not only for their immense tourism potential, but also for being the gateway to China. He said the Karakoram Highway would be expanded. (Posted @ 21:32 PST)
12 pilgrims die in northern Indian road crash LUCKNOW, India, Oct 7 (AFP) Twelve 12 Hindu devotees died Saturday in a road accident in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, police said. (Posted @ 21:28 PST)
Cricket-India's Harbhajan apologises for offending fellow Sikhs NEW DELHI, Oct 7 (Reuters) India off spinner Harbhajan Singh apologised on Saturday for offending his Sikh community by appearing in a liquor advertisement with his hair down. "I was not aware my keeping my hair out could lead to such a huge debate," Harbhajan told reporters. "I apologise to the entire Sikh community whose sentiments were hurt." (Posted @ 21:26 PST)
Fidel Castro believed to have terminal cancer: report WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (AFP) Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro is believed to have terminal cancer and is unlikely to return to power, Time magazine reported Saturday, citing US government officials. Time.com also noted in the report that the intelligence reports on Castro's health could be wrong. (Posted @ 21:24 PST)
Russian journalist who covered Chechen war found murdered MOSCOW, Oct 7 (AFP) A Russian investigative journalist known for her critical coverage of the war in Chechnya, Anna Politkovskaya, was found murdered in Moscow Saturday, Russian news agencies said. (Posted @ 19:32 PST)
10 killed, three injured in Chitral road accident CHITRAL Oct 7 (APP): At least 10 people were killed and three wounded in a road accident near Chitral region’s Bakarabad area, police sources said Saturday. (Posted @ 18:08 PST)
Rumsfeld admits progress in Afghanistan not all encouraging WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (AFP) US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld acknowledged Saturday that progress toward building a stable democratic society in Afghanistan was not all encouraging. "Not all the news about Afghanistan is encouraging," Rumsfeld wrote in an essay in The Washington Post. "There is, for example, the legitimate worry that increased poppy production could be a destabilizing factor. And rising violence in southern Afghanistan is real." "During the active combat or conventional phase of any war, there are clear signs of progress: battles won, key strategic points taken, enemy forces captured or killed," the defense secretary opined. "In the post-battle phase, however, the measure of progress is not as clear -- especially in a war such as the global war on terror, which relies so heavily on the development of civic institutions in places that have known little more than war and destitution." (Posted @ 18:06 PST)
Pakistan quake survivors stage anti-graft protest ISLAMABAD, Oct 7 (Reuters) Hundreds of survivors of last year's earthquake in Pakistan staged an anti-graft protest in the capital on Saturday, accusing reconstruction officials of corruption. Waving placards reading "Stop taking bribes", "Spend the winter with us" and "Build our homes before snowfall", the demonstrators marched from parliament to the office of the state Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA). "For the past four and a half months, I have received not a single penny," said Gohar Rehman, a father of five who had come from Muzaffarabad to the rally in Islamabad. Another 2,000 people staged a rally in Muzaffarabad to express their resolve to rebuild their devastated city. "The earthquake killed around 45,000 people in Azad Kashmir but thanks to Allah our people have not lost their courage and are determined to rebuild their lives," Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, prime minister of the region, told the rally. Earlier, another 200 students rallied to pay tribute to their colleagues who lost their lives in the earthquake. (First Posted @ 16:34 PST Updated @ 18:04 PST)
Suicide bomb kills 14 in northern Iraq TAL AFAR, Iraq, Oct 7 (Reuters) At least 14 people were killed, including 10 civilians, and 13 wounded on Saturday when a car suicide bomber hit an Iraqi Army checkpoint in the northern town of Tal Afar, police said. (First Posted @ 13:15 PST Updated @ 18:00 PST)
Two German journalists killed in Afghan attack KABUL, Oct 7 (Reuters) Unidentified gunmen shot and killed two German journalists overnight in northern Baghlan province on Saturday, Afghan officials said. Police said the two, a man and woman, were working on a documentary. (Posted @ 17:58 PST)
Britain tried to curb U.S. on Iraq: ex-minister LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) The British government tried to rein in U.S. policy in Iraq from the outset of the March 2003 invasion but found itself powerless to do so, a former cabinet minister was quoted on Saturday as saying. David Blunkett, Home Secretary at the time of the invasion, told newspapers that Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld could not be diverted from their goal of dismantling the Iraqi Ba'athist government system. "We did seek to influence them, but we were not in charge, so you cannot say that if only the government recognised what needed to be done, it would all have been different. The government did recognise the problem," Blunkett added. (Posted @ 17:56 PST)
Blair and Rice talk Middle East over breakfast LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met over breakfast on Saturday to discuss the Middle East after her tour of the region this week, a spokeswoman for Blair's office said. "It was a general discussion about the Middle East so Iran was not the main focus," the spokesperson said after the meeting at Blair's Chequers country residence. (Posted @ 17:54 PST)
Mullah Omar alive and in Afghanistan, says top aide KABUL, Oct 7 (AFP) Taliban's fugitive leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, is alive and leading the anti-government insurgency from inside Afghanistan, a top aide for the militant chief said Saturday. "Mullah Omar has been in Afghanistan and still is in Afghanistan and will remain here to lead the jihad (holy war) against the American troops," said Abdul-Hai Mutmaen in a satellite phone conversation from an undisclosed location. "Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar separated from each other. Each of them took their own destiny and have not seen each other since 2001," Mutmaen added. He also rejected claims by Afghan officials that insurgency-linked attacks in Afghanistan are carried out by insurgents trained in Pakistan with support from fundamentalist elements there. The fighters are based within Afghanistan and the Taliban considers Pakistan as "our second enemy," he said. "Pakistan, as an ally of the United States, is as bad as the Afghan puppet government. We are here and fighting here. No one is helping us -- it's an Afghan resistance," he said. (Posted @ 17:52 PST)
Pakistan arrests 45 Afghan Taliban QUETTA, Pakistan, Oct 7 (AFP) Pakistani police said Saturday they had arrested 45 suspected Taliban fighters in Balochistan province in raids carried out during the past 24 hours and at least one of the captives had injuries. Around 30 Afghan Taliban were arrested from Pashtunabad district in Quetta, the capital of the restive province, while 15 others were arrested from outside the city, police said. (Posted @ 16:36 PST)
US CENTCOM chief calls on President Musharraf RAWALPINDI, Oct 7 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf Saturday reiterated Pakistan's commitment to fighting terrorism, and stressed that joint strategies and close cooperation in the area of intelligence sharing was vital to the success of the ongoing anti-terror campaign. Musharraf made these remarks while talking to the Commander-in-Chief of US Central Command (CENTCOM), General John P. Abizaid, who called on him here. The president said the anti-terror efforts should take into account the ground realties and accordingly frame strategies to deal with the new environment. He added Pakistan fully understood the environment. During the call, they discussed the overall geo-strategic environment in the region and the ongoing cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries. (Posted @ 16:30 PST)
NATO soldier killed in Afghanistan KABUL, Oct 7 (AFP) A NATO soldier was killed in Kandahar province’s Panjwayi district early Saturday when a bomb struck a patrol and attackers opened fire on troops afterwards, the force said. (Posted @ 12:25 PST)
At least 54 combatants killed in heavy fighting in eastern Sri Lanka COLOMBO, Oct 7 (Agencies) At least 54 combatants, including 22 Tamil rebels, were killed in heavy clashes in eastern Sri Lanka’s Batticaloa district, the military said Saturday. (First Posted @ 11:20 PST, Updated @ 11:30 PST)
SKorea welcomes UN resolution on NKorea SEOUL, Oct 7 (AFP) South Korea on Saturday welcomed a UN Security Council statement that urged North Korea to drop plans to test an atomic bomb and return to six-party talks on ending its nuclear ambitions. Seoul said it would despatch its top envoy to Beijing to discuss ways to dissuade North Korea from following through with its threat, news reports said. "We support and welcome the UN Security Council statement on October 6," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement. (Posted @ 11:10 PST)
Four more killed in Bolivia mine clashes HUANUNI, Bolivia, Oct 7 (AFP) Rival miners groups battling for control of South America's biggest tin mine hurled dynamite and fought gunbattles for a second day Friday, killing four more people and throwing up a serious challenge to left wing President Evo Morales. Sixteen people have now been killed in two days of clashes, police said, and the government has sent 700 paramilitary forces to the Huanuni mine complex in a bid to restore order. But government spokesman Alex Contreras said a new truce had been agreed late Friday. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)
Annan welcomes Sudan's acceptance of UN help UNITED NATIONS, Oct 7 (APP) Secretary-General Kofi Annan Friday welcomed Sudan's positive response to the U.N.'s move last month to enhance its support of the African Union mission as it tries to maintain peace and security across the war-torn Darfur region. His reaction came as the Security Council voted Friday to extend the mandate of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) until the end of April 2007, expressing "grave concern" over Darfur's deteriorating humanitarian situation. (Posted @ 10:35 PST)
Landslide in northwest China traps 12 people BEIJING Oct 7 (APP/AP) A landslide in a rural community in northwest China has trapped 12 villagers and destroyed almost 100 homes, state media said Saturday. The Xinhua News Agency said 13 people were buried when the landslide occurred Friday in Gaolou near the city of Weinan in Shaanxi province. A child was rescued early Saturday, Xinhua said. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Polls open in Latvian general election RIGA, Oct 7 (AFP) Latvians began voting Saturday in the Baltic state's first election since joining the European Union two years ago. Nearly 1.45 million Latvians will elect the lawmakers for the 100-member. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)
Mild intensity earthquake jolts Balakot PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Oct 7 (APP) An earthquake of mild intensity measuring 4 on International Richtor scale jolted Balakot and Ghari Habibullah late Friday. According to Met office, the earthquake originated at 2139 hours PST and its epicenter was 200 kilometers north east of Peshawar in Hazara division. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Hockey-Golden goal puts Australia into the final MADRID, Oct 7 (Reuters) Australia clinched a place in the women's World Cup hockey final Friday after a golden goal from Suzie Faulkner earned them a 1-0 extra-time victory over hosts Spain. Earlier five-times winners Netherlands reached the final for the third time in a row, and the ninth time in total, after a comprehensive 3-1 victory over defending champions Argentina. (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
One dead, 25 missing in Japan shipping accidents TOKYO, Oct 7 (Reuters) One Indian sailor died and 25 people were missing off Japan's Pacific coast after two ships ran aground in high winds and heavy seas on Friday, a Coast Guard official said on Saturday. Seventeen others were rescued although one later died in hospital, the Coast Guard said. The crew consisted of 25 Indians and one Sri Lankan. Separately, rescuers were searching for all 16 crew members of a Japanese fishing boat who were missing after the vessel ran aground in Miyagi, some 300 km northeast of Tokyo. (Posted @ 09:15 PST)
4,000 Iraqi police killed in past two years, U.S. commander says BAGHDAD, Oct 7 (AP) About 4,000 Iraqi police have been killed and more than 8,000 injured over the past two years, the U.S. commander in charge of police training said Friday, but he said the force's performance was improving and authorities are working to weed out militia members. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)
Major powers agree to consult on Iran sanctions LONDON, Oct 7 (AFP) The six major world powers seeking to defuse the Iran crisis agreed Friday to consult on possible UN sanctions, voicing disappointment at Tehran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment. "We're deeply disappointed that ... Iran is not prepared to suspend its enrichment-related and reprocessing activities as required by the IAEA board and made mandatory in (UN) Security Council resolution 1696," said British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, speaking on behalf of her counterparts. "Accordingly we will now consult on measures under article 41 of chapter 7 of the UN charter as envisaged in that resolution," she added after talks in London. (Posted @ 09:05 PST)
Blair roasts critics five years into Afghanistan mission LONDON, Oct 7 (AFP) British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Saturday took a swipe at critics of the British military mission in Afghanistan, five years on from the start of operations to oust the Taliban regime from power there. He told the British Forces Broadcasting Service that British forces were facing a tough fight in tackling resurgent Taliban rebels. But insisted the mission by British and other NATO forces was vital to prevent Afghanistan falling back into the grip of the Taliban and the Al-Qaeda terror network, and becoming a terrorist training ground once again. (Posted @ 08:55 PST)
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