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| October 11, 2006 | Wednesday | Ramazan 17, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan ready to extend cooperation to India: FO ISLAMABAD, Oct 11 (APP): Foreign Office spokesperson, Tasneem Aslam, said Wednesday that Pakistan was ready to extend cooperation to India for investigations into Mumbai blasts. Talking to the state television, she said India was misusing the unfortunate incident and levelling irresponsible allegations against Pakistan. She said Indian agencies had forced the detained persons to give statements against Pakistan. To another question, she said, India has not to date provided any proof or evidence of any type to Pakistan. To a question regarding Indian Prime Minister's recent statement she said, "first of all, India will have to tell us what type of cooperation they want from us and on what basis." She said it was for the first time that the Indian leadership had acknowledged that Pakistan itself was victim of terrorism and, that we should cooperate against a common enemy. She further said that, "we too can get Indian cooperation if any terrorist act takes place in Pakistan."(Posted @ 19:45 PST)
Mega projects to improve Balochistan: Musharraf ISLAMABAD, Oct 11 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf Wednesday said the timely completion of development projects in Balochistan, worth billions of rupees, would bring the province at par with the developed areas of the country. He made these remarks while presiding over a meeting to review the situation in Balochistan. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz also attended the meeting, which reviewed the overall law and order situation and the development projects in Balochistan. Musharraf on the occasion also directed that steps should be taken to make Gwadar Port operational at the earliest. Aziz said that in addition to mega projects, the government was taking various measures to provide basic amenities of life, such as electricity, clean drinking water, gas and employment opportunities to the youth. The meeting decided to increase the provincial quota for Balochistan from 3.3 percent to 5 percent in accordance with the 1998 census.(Posted @ 19:30 PST)
All efforts focused on stopping rise of extremism: Musharraf Islamabad, Oct 11 (PPI): President General Pervez Musharraf warned Wednesday that the ``very future of Pakistan will be at stake if moderates do not win the war against extremists.'' Addressing editors and senior journalists at an Iftar dinner here, he said all his efforts were directed towards stopping the rise of extremism. In this respect he noted that the role of media was critical. ``This is the time when we can convince the world community to address political issues of the world to the advantage of Muslims. This will contribute to world peace and enhance Pakistan's image,'' the president emphasized.(Posted @ 22:30 PST)
Support voiced for Afghan-Pakistan tribal talks KHOST, Afghanistan, Oct 11 (AFP) More than 2,000 people voiced support here Wednesday for a government plan for talks between tribes on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border aimed at ending the Taliban insurgency. "We strongly support the proposal by Karzai to hold jirgas between tribes on the two sides of the border," read a declaration signed by tribal leaders at the meeting held in the eastern town of Khost.(Posted @ 21:00 PST)
Gaza "time bomb" on brink of social explosion: UN GENEVA, Oct 11 (AFP) The Gaza Strip is on the brink of a "social explosion" that could drive it even deeper into violence, UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland said Wednesday. Egeland said the on-off closure of the Palestinian territory by Israeli authorities due to security concerns was stifling the livelihoods of about 1.5 million, mainly young people, who live there. "You cannot have 1.5 million people feeling that they live in a cage like they do in Gaza, which is a small urban area," he said.(Posted @ 21:00 PST)
Bush urges serious repercussions for North Korea WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) President George W. Bush on Wednesday urged "serious repercussions" for North Korea's reported nuclear test, but said the United States remained committed to diplomacy and had no intention of attacking. "In response to North Korea's actions we're working with our partners in the region and the United Nations Security Council to ensure there are serious repercussions for the regime in Pyongyang," he said during a White House press conference. Bush ruled out holding bilateral talks with either North Korea or Iran over their nuclear programs. "I firmly believe that with North Korea and with Iran that it is best to deal with these regimes with more than one voice," he said, adding "bilateral negotiations didn't work". He also said that US would increase its cooperation with its allies on ballistic weapons defense systems, “including cooperation with ballistic missile defense to protect against North Korean aggression, and cooperation to prevent North Korea from exporting nuclear and missile technologies". (First Posted @ 20:15 PST Updated @ 20:55 PST)
655,000 Iraqis died as a result of US invasion: study PARIS, Oct 11 (AFP) US researchers estimate that 655,000 Iraqis, or around one in 40 of the Iraq population, died as a result of the 2003 invasion of their country, according to a study to be published on Thursday by the British journal The Lancet. Around 601,000 were due to violence; around half of the deaths in this category were due to gunfire. There was also the possibility that some deaths may have gone unrecorded, the study said. President George W. Bush Wednesday dismissed as "not credible" the independent US study’s claims. (First Posted @ 15:20 PST Updated @ 20:45 PST)
UN's Annan urges U.S. to talk directly to North Korea UNITED NATIONS, Oct 11 (Reuters) U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday urged the United States to talk directly to North Korea, which Washington has refused to do. "I've always argued that we should talk to parties whose behavior we want to change, whose behavior we want to influence," Annan told reporters. "And from that point of view, I believe that we should -- U.S. and North Korea should talk."(Posted @ 20:40 PST)
UK minister backs university ban on veils LONDON, Oct 11 (Reuters) A British education minister said on Wednesday he backed universities that banned Muslim students from wearing veils. Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell said many teachers felt "uncomfortable" teaching students who wore a full veil and said he supported London's Imperial College which had banned students wearing any garment that covered the face. "I'm not dictating hard and fast rules, as dress codes are a matter for university authorities," he added.(Posted @ 20:35 PST)
US troops protect ex-Iraqi minister after jail sentence BAGHDAD, Oct 11 (Reuters) U.S. troops took a former Iraqi electricity minister holding U.S. citizenship from a Baghdad court on Wednesday after he was sentenced to two years in jail for misusing public money, Iraqi officials said. An Iraqi government spokesman said Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government has demanded Ayham al-Samarraie return. The U.S. embassy declined official comment on the case.(Posted @ 20:30 PST)
Iranian president calls sanctions hollow threat TEHRAN, Iran, Oct 11 (AP) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday called possible U.N. sanctions against Iran an empty threat and said the Security Council has no right to intervene in the country's nuclear program. Ahmadinejad in a speech in a suburb of Tehran invited the West to adopt a friendly approach towards Iran. ``Hasn't the time arrived for you to be friends with the Iranian nation?...We are for dialogue and peace. We are not for waging war against anybody.'' Ahmadinejad reiterated that Iran's nuclear program is only for peaceful uses.(Posted @ 20:20 PST)
Violence out of control in Iraq: UN GENEVA, Oct 11 (AFP) Violence is spiralling out of control in Iraq, where an average of 100 people are being killed and 1,000 are fleeing their homes every day, UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland said Wednesday. "Sectarian violence and military operations have now resulted in the displacement of 315,000 people in these past eight months," Egeland told reporters. About 2,000 people are crossing the border with Syria every day, bringing the number of Iraqi refugees abroad to about 1.2 to 1.5 million, he said. Another 1.5 million Iraqis are now displaced within their own country, the UN estimates.(Posted @ 20:00 PST)
Court clips Indian president's powers of pardon NEW DELHI, India, Oct 11 (AFP) India's Supreme Court on Wednesday clipped the president's power to pardon convicts on death row. The ruling came in the midst of a national debate on the death penalty after the family of a Kashmiri man, Afzal Guru, sentenced to hanging for plotting a 2001 attack on parliament, appealed to President Abdul Kalam to spare his life. Powers to grant pardon were subject to judicial review if there was an "extraneous consideration in the exercise of that power", the court ruled according to a Press Trust of India report. "Undue considerations of caste, religion and political loyalty are prohibited from being grounds for grant of clemency," the ruling said, adding "the power to grant pardon is a prerogative power and not an act of grace".(Posted @ 20:00 PST)
Nine killed, 15 injured in road accident on Indus highway PESHAWAR, Oct 11 (APP): At least nine people were killed and 15 others wounded Wednesday in a road accident on Indus highway near district Kohat.(Posted @ 19:15 PST)
Saddam trial adjourned until next week BAGHDAD, Oct 11 (AFP) The judge in Saddam Hussein's genocide trial Wednesday adjourned hearings until next week after hearing three more witnesses to Iraq's 1998 campaign against the Kurds. "The court has decided to adjourn until October 17. Session adjourned," said Judge Mohammed al-Oreibi al-Khalifah, without giving a reason for his decision. (First Posted @ 13:40 PST Updated @ 18:35 PST)
Iraq approves law on autonomous regions BAGHDAD, Oct 11 (AFP) The Iraqi parliament on Wednesday approved a law which would allow the country's 18 provinces to hold referendums to merge themselves into larger federal regions with a measure of self-government. Lawmakers approved the law in a vote broadcast live on state television.(Posted @ 18:35 PST)
Japan approves new North Korea sanctions TOKYO, Oct 11 (AFP) Japan approved fresh sanctions against North Korea Wednesday in response to its declared nuclear test, including a complete ban on imports, visits by its ships and from North Korean nationals, a government spokesman said. (First Posted @ 11:40 PST Updated @ 18:10 PST)
Tamil Tigers kill 35 Sri Lankan soldiers, wound 200 COLOMBO, Oct 11 (AFP) At least 35 Sri Lankan troops died and another 200 were wounded Wednesday when they launched a major offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels in the island's north, military sources said. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) offered stiff resistance to the military push into territory held by the guerrillas on the Jaffna peninsula, the sources said. There was no immediate word of rebel casualties. (First Posted @ 10:06 PST Updated @ 18:06 PST)
Bangladesh railways paralysed by strike DHAKA, Oct 11 (AFP) Train services in Bangladesh screeched to a halt Wednesday as rail workers protesting against government restructuring plans went on strike for the first time since 1965. Thousands of workers representing nine trade unions put up barricades on railway tracks and stormed control rooms bringing almost the entire network to a standstill, said a spokesman for the state-owned Bangladesh Railway (BR). Under the government plan, BR would be restructured as an autonomous government company with the power to fix its own tariffs and expansion plans.(Posted @ 18:05 PST)
Fake US passports scam gang busted BANGKOK, Oct 11 (AFP) Thai and American authorities seized 500 fake US passports and arrested a Thai man and a Pakistani man in a joint sting operation, police said Wednesday. Intizar Hussain, 42, from Pakistan, and Thai Pradit Dubay were arrested in Bangkok Tuesday evening with 500 fake US passports and 432 fake US passport seals, used to cover the passport photo page. The men also confessed to falsifying passports from Singapore, Britain, France, Italy and Malaysia. Police said the gang hired various printing shops across Bangkok to produce the fake passports during the night.(Posted @ 18:00 PST)
Greek police detain 50 would-be migrants KOMOTINI, Greece, Oct 11 (AFP) Police in north-eastern Greece on Wednesday arrested two Greek men suspected of human trafficking, and detained 50 illegal immigrants hidden on board a trailer truck, police said. Each of the 50 would-be migrants from Pakistan, Iraq, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Somalia detained on Wednesday had paid 2,500 dollars to secure passage into Greece, police added.(Posted @ 17:50 PST)
Nine killed in French train crash PARIS, Oct 11 (Reuters) A passenger train collided with a goods train in north eastern France killing nine people and injuring an unconfirmed number, an official for the state SNCF railways said on Wednesday.(Posted @ 16:40 PST)
NKorea to take "physical" action unless US pressure ends SEOUL, Oct 11 (AFP) North Korea vowed Wednesday it would take "physical countermeasures" if the United States continues to pressure it, in a statement carried on its state news agency. "If the US continues to harass and put pressure on us, we will regard this as a declaration of war and will take a series of physical countermeasures," said a foreign ministry statement carried by the (North) Korean Central News Agency. (First Posted @ 12:20 PST, Updated @ 14:40 PST)
Four killed in Baghdad blasts BAGHDAD, Oct 11 (AFP) Three car bombs exploded in Baghdad Wednesday, killing at least four civilians, while one other was shot dead in front of his home, security and medical sources said. Two car bombs detonated almost simultaneously near the ministry of labour in northeastern Baghdad, killing two civilians and wounding 12 more. Another booby-trapped vehicle exploded in southeast Baghdad killing two bystanders and wounding 22 people, including eight policemen. Meanwhile, gunmen assassinated a religious leader in Suweira, 65 kilometres southeast of Baghdad, police said. In another incident, a roadside booby-trap exploded in the southern Kut city targeting a US patrol, but wounding three bystanders, police said. (Posted @ 14:10 PST)
N.Korea says more nuclear tests depend on US TOKYO, Oct 11 (Reuters) Pyongyang's No. 2 leader Kim Yong-nam said that whether North Korea conducts additional nuclear tests would depend on U.S. policy, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported Wednesday. North Korea's second-ranking leader made the remarks in an interview with Kyodo in Pyongyang. Kim also reiterated North Korea's position that it would return to stalled six-party talks on its nuclear programme if the United States ended the financial sanctions it has imposed on the North. (Posted @ 12:20 PST)
South Korea wants say in NKorea action SEOUL, Oct 11 (AFP) The international community must weigh South Korea's views when it decides on punitive sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear test, President Roh Moo-Hyun said Wednesday. "Coordination is necessary in the international community but South Korea also has its own voice to raise…when coordinated actions are being discussed, South Korea's opinion should be fully reflected and its position should be given top priority in interpreting and carrying out such actions,” Roh said at a meeting with government officials in charge of economic exchanges with the North. (Posted @ 11:55 PST)
Three U.S. Marines killed in western Iraq BAGHDAD, Oct 11 (Reuters) Three U.S. Marines were killed in action in Anbar province in western Iraq on Monday, the U.S. military said in a statement on Wednesday. Three U.S. soldiers were killed in Anbar on Sunday also. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Israeli strike hits home of Hamas lawmaker in Gaza GAZA, Oct 11 (Reuters) An Israeli missile hit the Gaza Strip home of a well known lawmaker Mariam Farhat, from the governing Hamas on Wednesday in what the army said was an attack on a weapons factory. There were no reports of casualties in the strike on the building of Mariam Farhat, better known as Umm Nidal, who has often voiced pride at the death of three of her six sons during a Palestinian uprising. In Nablus city, medics said a civilian had been shot dead during an Israeli raid. The army said it believed it shot a man who was planting a bomb. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
US arms dump in Baghdad catches fire BAGHDAD, Oct 11 (AFP) A fire erupted in an ammunition depot at a United States base in Baghdad on Tuesday triggering massive explosions that could be heard across. Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington said that military and civilian personnel had been evacuated from Forward Operating Base without injury but that the fire which started at 10:40 pm (1940 GMT) was still raging. The cause of the fire is not yet known, Withington said. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 72.93 points: KARACHI, Oct 11: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 10886.78, down 72.93 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 13:00 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Oct 11: 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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