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| October 10, 2006 | Tuesday | Ramazan 16, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Musharraf meets NATO commander ISLAMABAD, Oct 10 (AFP) President Pervez Musharraf Tuesday assured NATO's commander in Afghanistan that his country fully backs the fight against the Taliban. British General David Richards met Musharraf for an hour of talks on security and cooperation at the Army House here, officials said. Musharraf told Richards that Pakistan was cooperating with Afghanistan in the "fight against terrorism and extremism," besides hosting over 2.5 million Afghan refugees, a Pakistan military statement said. Musharraf also defended a peace deal signed with tribal elders in North Waziristan, saying it "was aimed at checking the activities of terrorists and militant Taliban." The statement said that Richards had praised Pakistan's efforts and the "excellent cooperation being extended in the fight against terrorism." It quoted Richards as saying that "ISAF fully appreciates that a vast majority of problems of Afghanistan are emanating from within the country having deep roots due to the fact that the country had remained highly unstable for over two decades." NATO did not make any immediate comment following the meeting. Richards earlier denied a report in Britain's Sunday Times newspaper that he would confront Musharraf with evidence of the alleged support of Pakistan's intelligence agencies for Taliban. "That is not the reason for one moment that I came here," Richards told a local private TV channel in an interview recorded before the meeting. The general praised Pakistan's actions but added that it could still work harder. He also defended the North Waziristan deal, saying NATO had signed a deal of its own with tribal elders in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province. (First Posted @ 13:50 PST Updated @ 19:28 PST)
India to give Pakistan proof on Mumbai bombings: Singh LONDON, Oct 10 (AFP) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on a visit to London, reiterated Tuesday that New Delhi would provide Islamabad with evidence of alleged Pakistani involvement in the deadly Mumbai train bombings. Asked if India and Pakistan had agreed to set up a joint working group on Kashmir, Singh said: "You have to address the joint statement issued by me and President Musharraf after our meetings in Havana…We have reaffirmed out commitment to discuss and resolve all outstanding issues, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir…In addition, we have agreed to set up an institutional mechanism to deal with terrorist threats and that mechanism is now in the process of being worked out.” (Posted @ 21:26 PST)
Farmers will benefit from agriculture sector policy: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, Oct 10 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Tuesday said policies in the agriculture sector were aimed at increasing the income levels and living standards of farmers. He hoped that the decision to reduce fertilizer prices would lead to increase in productivity and per acre yield. Addressing the representatives of farmers from all the four provinces here at the Prime Minister House, he urged them to open up their minds and adopt latest farming technologies to catch up with the rest of the world in the agriculture sector. (Posted @ 21:10 PST)
60 Shell oil workers held hostage in Nigeria LAGOS, Oct 10 (AFP) Armed youths on Tuesday seized a Shell flow station and took 60 workers hostage in Nigeria's Niger Delta, the company said. (Posted @ 21:08 PST)
Blast kills 12, injures dozens in Philippines MANILA, Oct 10 (Reuters) At least a dozen people were killed and more than 40 were wounded when an improvised explosive device went off on Tuesday during a town festival in the southern Philippines, army and police officials said. Earlier on Tuesday, a powerful blast ripped through a public market in another town on the southern island of Mindanao, wounding four people. (Posted @ 20:24 PST)
Missile hits Bosnian mosque SARAJEVO, Oct 10 (Reuters) A missile fired from a hand-held launcher damaged a mosque in the southern Bosnian town of Mostar on Tuesday just before worshippers were due to gather for a pre-dawn Ramadan meal, officials said. Nobody was hurt in the attack, local police said. (Posted @ 20:18 PST)
Indian politician took "hefty" bribe on Israeli missile deal NEW DELHI, Oct 10 (AFP) The leader of an Indian opposition party was charged Tuesday with taking a "hefty" kickback as part of a multi-million-dollar defence contract with a state-run Israeli company, police and officials said Tuesday. The charges were levelled after India's Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) raided the homes and offices of defence agents in five cities in connection with four separate cases of illegal payoffs involving Israel, Russia and South Africa. CBI accused Jaya Jaitley, the president of the Samata (Equality) Party, of having received 20 million rupees to clinch the 11.5-billion-rupee deal for seven Barak anti-ship Israeli missiles. Jaitley used to work from the home of George Fernandes, a party member and defence minister in the former coalition government led by Bharatiya Janata Party. It was not clear if Fernandes was also facing charges. CBI added that Tuesday's raids had resulted in the seizing of documents and computer disks from various defence contractors suspected of acting illegally as middlemen. (First Posted @ 16:20 PST Updated @ 19:50 PST)
PM Singh rejects India, NKorea nuclear comparisons LONDON, Oct 10 (AFP) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday condemned North Korea's nuclear test and rejected any comparison between the blast and India's decision to go nuclear in 1998.The Indian leader made the comments after talks here with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. (Posted @ 19:34 PST)
Cricket-Hindu firebrand warns of 'ferocious' protest against Pakistan NEW DELHI, Oct 10 (AFP) Pakistan will face "ferocious" protests when they play in the Champions Trophy cricket tournament next week in India, a right-wing Hindu leader warned Tuesday. "Our opposition will be swift and ferocious if Pakistan dare to play on Indian soil," Jai Bhagwan Goyal, president of the New Delhi chapter of the Shiv Sena, said. Pakistan play their opening match in the Rajasthan city of Jaipur on October 17. "Pitches can again be dug up ... Many things can happen which we will not disclose now as it will alert the security agencies," Goyal said in an interview. (Posted @ 19:32 PST)
Hundreds protest in occupied Kashmir against Afzal Guru’s death sentence SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Oct 10 (AFP) Police in revolt-hit occupied Kashmir Tuesday baton-charged 1,500 students protesting against the death sentence of a Kashmiri man, Afzal Guru, convicted for plotting a 2001 attack on India's parliament. "A few students received minor injuries," a police spokesman said. Police also detained on Tuesday six members of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), as they took part in a separate protest in Srinagar. (Posted @ 19:22 PST)
PM vows Japan won't go nuclear TOKYO, Oct 10 (AFP) Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Tuesday that Japan would not develop nuclear weapons despite North Korea's first test of an atom bomb. "I want to state clearly that there will be no change at all in our three non-nuclear principles," he said. Abe was referring to Japan's four-decade-old policy against "possession, production and presence" of nuclear arms in its territory. (Posted @ 16:24 PST)
Don't delay our destiny: Kosovo premier PRISTINA, Serbia, Oct 10 (Reuters) Independence by the end of this year is the only acceptable outcome for the people of Kosovo, Prime Minister Agim Ceku said on Tuesday. Serbia must not be allowed to delay the process by creating doubt and division among major powers who drove its forces out of the province seven years ago, he said. If Kosovo is confronted with a delay, Ceku said there were options under discussion. He dismissed warnings that independence would lead on to demands for union with neighbouring Albania and stir separatism among Albanians in Macedonia, southern Serbia and Montenegro. "There is only one union we are looking for, and that is the European Union," he said. (Posted @ 16:18 PST)
Turkish PM raps French colonialism in Armenia row ANKARA, Oct 10 (Reuters) Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday called on France to look to its own colonial past in Africa instead of attacking Turkey over an alleged genocide of Armenians during World War One. "France must look at what has happened in Senegal, Tunisia, Djibouti, Guinea, Algeria ... I don't recall that these fanned anger which history covered with ashes," he said in a speech. Turkey made the statement in response to a French bill that will be debated in its parliament. If approved, the law would make it a crime to deny the genocide of Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks. (Posted @ 16:16 PST)
Indian militant escapes GUWAHATI, India, Oct 10 (Reuters) Indian police said they had launched a manhunt on Tuesday for a militant who escaped from custody Monday night seven years after being jailed for life for the 1994 kidnap of four Westerners. Nurul Amin was a close associate of a leading militant Omar Sheikh, and was jailed in 1999 for his role in helping Sheikh kidnap three Britons and one American five years earlier. (Posted @ 16:14 PST)
Boat sinks in southern Greece, 40 migrants missing ATHENS, Oct 10 (Reuters) A boat carrying illegal immigrants sank in bad weather off the coast of southern Greece on Tuesday and about 40 people were still missing, Greece's defence ministry said. (Posted @ 16:12 PST)
Qatar's Palestinian mediation fails: Abbas aide GAZA, Oct 10 (Reuters) Mediation by Qatar's foreign minister failed to resolve a row between feuding Palestinian leaders, bringing closer the possibility of fresh elections, a senior aide to President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday. "The differences on the core issues have remained ... It does not seem as if we are closer to an agreement," aide Yasser Abed Rabbo said after overnight talks in Gaza involving Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani. (Posted @ 16:10 PST)
Saddam expelled from court BAGHDAD, Oct 10 (AFP) Mohammed al-Oreibi al-Khalifah, the judge at Saddam Hussein's genocide trial expelled him from court Tuesday after a dispute erupted over Saddam’s attempt to read out a Quranic verse, and ordered the hearing to continue behind closed doors after an altercation between the two men. (Posted @ 14:58 PST)
Iraqi and coalition troops kill 11 militia fighters DIWANIYAH, Iraq, Oct 10 (AFP) Iraqi and US-led coalition troops killed 11 gunmen after coming under attack in Diwaniyah city’s Al-Shalabia district, the military said Tuesday. Two coalition soldiers were wounded during the fight. (Posted @ 14:45 PST)
Cricket-Pakistan rejects ECB compensation claim for Oval test KARACHI, Oct 10 (Reuters) Pakistan informed the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) that it has rejected a claim for compensation of around 800,000 pounds for loss of revenues in relation to abandonment of the Oval test in August. PCB director of cricket operations Saleem Altaf said Tuesday that the board had written to the ECB to confirm its stance: "We have said in our letter that the Oval test not being completed is a case of cause and effect…the 'cause' was when umpire Darrell Hair accused our team of ball-tampering and the 'effect' was our team refusing to play the match…the ECB should realise that we have been vindicated in our stand on ball-tampering which led to the effect. It should contact the person responsible for the effect," Altaf said. (Posted @ 14:15 PST)
Bomb blast kills three in Sri Lanka COLOMBO, Oct 10 (AFP) A powerful bomb ripped through a passenger van in Sri Lanka's Vavuniya district Tuesday, killing the driver and two others, police said. (Posted @ 14:10 PST)
World should be 'very worried' about NKorea nuclear test: Blair LONDON, Oct 10 (AFP) The world should be "very worried" about North Korea's claim to have successfully tested a nuclear weapon, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday. "We all should be very worried…we have been working on this for many years to try and make sure that nuclear weapons are not proliferated and they are doing this in complete defiance of all their international obligations…It is a very, very serious situation," he told BBC television. (Posted @ 13:55 PST)
China says NKorea nuclear test to hurt ties BEIJING, Oct 10 (AFP) China said Tuesday that North Korea's nuclear test would damage ties between the two countries although Beijing intended to maintain its friendly policy towards Kim Jong-II's regime. "This will no doubt have a negative impact on China and North Korea's relations," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said. "But China's consistent policy of developing a friendly, neighbourly policy towards North Korea remains unchanged." Liu said China would continue to pursue policies in both nations' interests that promoted stability on the Korean peninsula. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
Bangladesh police use tear gas to disperse striking workers DHAKA, Bangladesh, Oct 10 (AP) Bangladeshi police used rubber bullets and tear gas Tuesday to disperse thousands of stone-throwing textile workers demanding better wages during a strike in Uttara district, just north of Dhaka, an officer said. At least 11 police officers were injured but there were no immediate reports of injuries among the protesters and no arrests were made, police said. (Posted @ 12:35 PST)
Iraqi police find 60 bodies throughout Baghdad BAGHDAD, Oct 10 (Reuters) Iraqi police said on Tuesday they found 60 bodies across Baghdad in the last 24 hours, all with gunshot wounds with some showing signs of torture. (Posted @ 11:50 PST)
Small airliner on fire in Norway OSLO, Oct 10 (Reuters) A small airliner carrying 16 passengers was in flames after slipping off the runway at a western Norway airport, public broadcaster NRK said Tuesday. "There were 16 passengers on board," police said. "The cause and extent of the accident is still unclear." (Posted @ 11:40 PST)
North Korea can end nuclear plans if US acts SEOUL, Oct 10 (Reuters) North Korea is willing to end its nuclear programme and return to six-party talks on the issue if the United States reciprocates, Yonhap news agency quoted a North Korean official as saying on Tuesday. "We are still willing to abandon nuclear programmes and return to six-party talks. We can do that any time only if the United States takes corresponding measures," it quoted the unidentified official as saying in a report from Beijing. (Posted @ 11:10 PST)
Four dead in shootout in occupied Kashmir JAMMU, occupied Kashmir, Oct 10 (AFP) Three Indian soldiers and a suspected militant were killed in a shootout after rebels ambushed an army patrol in Poonch district, the army said Tuesday. "The soldiers were going for a military operation against the militants after a tip-off, but they were ambushed," defence spokesman said. Five soldiers also were seriously injured in the exchange of gunfire. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Bomb hits police bus in Afghan capital, wounds a dozen people KABUL, Oct 10 (AFP) A bomb struck a police van in Kabul on Tuesday, wounding about 10 policemen and at least two civilians who were travelling in a taxi behind them in the morning rush-hour, police said. The bomb was fixed to a bicycle and exploded as the police van passed on its way to the city centre, it added. (First Posted @ 09:00 PST, Updated @ 09:35 PST)
US soldier killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, Oct 10 (Reuters) A US soldier was killed when guerrillas attacked his patrol in eastern Baghdad on Monday, the US military said. (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
U.N. Security Council considers mission to show Afghanistan commitment UNITED NATIONS, Oct 10 (AP) The Security Council is willing to send a mission to Afghanistan in November to show its commitment to the country and review the worrying security situation there, the council said in a statement. The Afghanistan trip was announced after a council meeting where diplomats heard a briefing from Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special representative for Afghanistan, Tom Koenigs. In the press statement, council member said they remain concerned by security there, especially in the south and the east. They also expressed concern about reports of a recent rise in opium cultivation. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)
Syria can live side-by-side in peace with Israel: Syrian president LONDON, Oct 10 (AFP) Syria and Israel can live side-by-side, in peace and harmony, accepting each other's existence, Syria's President Bashar al-Assad told the BBC on Monday. He also added that an impartial arbiter was needed to mediate between the two countries, but said that the United States lacked both the will and the vision to fulfil that role. (Posted @ 08:57 PST)
Two Palestinians wounded in clash with Israeli troops GAZA CITY, Oct 10 (AFP) Two Palestinians were wounded in a clash with Israeli troops north of Beit Lahya in the northern Gaza Strip late on Monday, the Israeli army and witnesses said. (Posted @ 08:55 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 16.60 points: KARACHI, Oct 10: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 10959.35, up 16.60 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 13:00 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Oct 10: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.6 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 13:00 PST)
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