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| October 21, 2006 | Saturday | Ramazan 27, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Mortar attack on Iraqi market kills at least 30, injures 52 BAGHDAD, Oct 21 (Agencies) _ A least 30 people were killed and dozens injured in a mortar attack on a crowded outdoor market in the city of Mahmoudiyah on Saturday, police said. At least 12 mortar rounds rained down soon after a bomb attached to a bicycle ripped through the market, said army Capt. Oday Abdul Ridha. Lt. Hayder Satar of Mahmoudiyah police said the number of dead was likely to rise given the nature of some of the injuries. He said 52 people had been wounded. (First Posted @ 21:52 PST Updated @ 22:04 PST)
PM: Govt invites Opposition to develop code of conduct for elections ISLAMABAD, Oct. 21 (PPI) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Saturday said the government has decided to invite the Opposition to develop a code of conduct in order to ensure free, fair and transparent elections in the country. The decision was taken at a meeting with PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. The two leaders also reiterated their commitment to hold the elections on schedule. Chaudhary Shujaat endorsed the idea of developing a unanimous code of conduct and said that the coalition between the PML and its allied parties will contest the next general elections on the basis of performance in office. (Posted @ 21:48 PST)
Federer, Gonzalez in Madrid Masters final MADRID, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Roger Federer will meet Chile's Fernando Gonzalez in the final of the Madrid Masters after the two players notched up emphatic victories in their respective matches on Saturday. Federer overwhelmed Argentine David Nalbandian 6-4 6-0 while Gonzalez romped to a 6-3 6-1 victory over Tomas Berdych. (First Posted @ 18:58 PST Updated @ 21:16 PST)
Govt to continue to pursue reform agenda expeditiously: PM ISLAMABAD, Oct 21 (APP): Reiterating the government's resolve to continue to pursue the reform agenda expeditiously, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Saturday said ensuring water, energy and food security, infrastructure strengthening and human resource development will be the priority areas of the government during the next 5-10 years. Talking to Mr Graeme Wheeler, Managing Director, World Bank, the Prime Minister appreciated the technical and financial assistance provided by World Bank in implementation of the reform agenda. Graeme Wheeler said Pakistan has an impressive record in terms of growth, development and poverty alleviation. He said the pace of implementation of reforms is extraordinary and it is heartening to note that inflation is coming down. The Prime Minister said Pakistan because of its geo-strategic location serves as a bridge between three important regions of Asia and the government is working to leverage this position to promote regional trade. He said Pakistan's vision of building trade, energy and transportation corridors has been well received by various countries of the region. (Posted @ 21:10 PST)
Justice Riaz Akhter Chaudhry appointed as Chief Justice of AJK Supreme Court MIRPUR, Azad Kashmir, Oct 21 (APP): Mr. Justice Muhammad Riaz Akhter Chaudhry, Judge, Azad Jammu Kashmir Supreme Court, has been appointed as Chief Justice of the AJK Supreme Court, says a notification issued on Saturday.He succeeds Mr. Justice Khawaja Muhammad Saeed who retires from the office on October 26. (Posted @ 21:02 PST)
Supreme Court cancels land quota to parliamentarians, others in Gwadar QUETTA, Oct 21 (APP) A division bench of Supreme Court has observed that the Balochistan Government is not competent to allocate land quota in Gwadar for allotment and ordered cancellation of all the land quota, whether industrial or residential, allocated to MNAs, MPAs, senators, ministers and other VIPs in Gwadar. The bench also ordered cancellation of the 50 plots allocated for allotment to serving and retired members of judiciary in Sanghar Housing Scheme Phase-V in Gwadar. The bench comprised Mr Justice Javed Iqbal and Mr Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed (Posted @ 20:52 PST)
Bush meets top generals on Iraq strategy WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (AFP) - President George W. Bush met Saturday with his top military commanders to mull possible changes to the US strategy in Iraq in the face of unremitting violence in the country, the White House said. A Bush spokesman confirmed the talks began Saturday morning but did not immediately offer any other details. Expected to join Bush in his war consultations were Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, national security advisers Stephen Hadley and Steven Crouch, General John Abizaid, the top commander in the Middle East, General George Casey, the US commander in Iraq, and US ambassador in Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad. Casey and Khalilzad were to join in via a video hook-up from Baghdad, the spokesman said. In his weekly radio address Saturday, Bush rejected the idea that the United States was considering withdrawing from Iraq but added that it was "constantly adjusting" its tactics. "There is one thing we will not do: We will not pull our troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete," Bush said. "We will continue to be flexible, and make every necessary change to prevail in this struggle," he added. (Posted @ 20:34 PST)
Iraq interior minister praises militia head after calm in clashes NAJAF, Iraq, Oct 21 (AFP) - Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani visited Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday in the wake of serious clashes between militias and his police forces. "There were some regrettable events and now the situation has changed and is under control," he told journalists in Najaf after his meeting with Sadr. At least 24 people died in the clashes which had hundreds of Iraqi soldiers pouring into the city to restore order, a ministerial delegation rushing down from Baghdad, and even calls for calm from Sadr himself. (Posted @ 20:14 PST)
Mehdi malatia clash with police again in Iraq BAGHDAD, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Around 150 gunmen loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr battled police in Suwayra, 45 km south of Baghdad, in clashes that left eight gunmen dead and two civilians wounded, said Police Lieutenant Ali Naamah. A spokesman for Sadr's office in Suwayra said the attack was a response to an earlier raid by U.S. military forces, backed by helicopters, on a Sadr office, that killed six people.In other incidents on Saturday, a car bomb in central Baghdad targeting a police patrol killed one civilian and wounded another three, police said. The U.S. military said troops killed a senior al Qaeda in Iraq leader in Ramadi, and seven more suspects were detained. In Kirkuk, one policeman was killed when gunmen opened fire on his vehicle, while two Iraqi soldiers were killed and one wounded in Al Hawija, police said. A car bomb in northern Baghdad wounded four people, and another car bomb in Amel district of Baghdad wounded two people, the Interior Ministry said. Also in Baghdad, a blast on a minibus killed four people and wounded 15 as it was crossing a bridge into the western Al Karkh district, police said. (Posted @ 19:04 PST)
Pakistan lodges protest with India over detention of embassy driver in New Delhi ISLAMABAD, Oct 21 (AP) _ Pakistan on Saturday lodged a strong protest with India after a driver for the Pakistan embassy in New Delhi was detained by Indian security agents. The Foreign Ministry in a statement accused India of the ``illegal detention and manhandling'' of Mohammad Farooq, a driver at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. Farooq was briefly detained on Friday, but was subsequently released. The statement did not say why he was detained but said the ``harassment'' of a Pakistani official by Indian security agents was a ``violation of international conventions as well as the diplomatic norms.'' Indian officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Separately, in India, Anil Kumar, a corporal working with an army services department, was arrested late Friday while allegedly handing over some documents to a Pakistan embassy official, Press Trust of India quoted Alok Kumar, deputy commissioner of police, as saying. Recently, the two countries had expelled each other's diplomats amid allegations of spying. (Posted @ 17:24 PST)
Russia warns against Iran 'regime change' through UN MOSCOW, Oct 21(AFP) - Russia would oppose any effort to use the UN Security Council to promote a change of regime in Iran, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview published Saturday. "We cannot support and will actively oppose any attempt to use the Security Council to punish Iran or to use Iran's nuclear program in order to promote the idea of regime change" in Tehran, Lavrov said in the transcript of an interview with the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA, released by the Russian foreign ministry. (Posted @ 17:26 PST)
Seven militants killed in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Oct 21 (AFP) - Indian troops killed seven suspected militants during separate operations in Doda, Baramulla and Kupwara districts during Friday night, a police spokesman said. Police claimed one of the slain militants was functioning as "sectional commander" of Hizbul Mujahedin. The 17-year-old freedom movement has left more than 44,000 people dead by the official count. (Posted @ 17:22 PST)
Akhtar, Asif appear at Pakistan doping tribunal LAHORE, Pakistan, Oct 21 (AFP) - Suspended Pakistani pacemen Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif appeared Saturday before a tribunal probing their doping case, and were asked to submit written statements, an official said. Barrister Shahid Hamid chaired the tribunal which also included former captain and coach Intikhab Alam. Third tribunal member Waqar Ahmed, a doctor and doping expert, could not attend the meeting as his flight was delayed. "The hearing lasted around four hours as we had to do some initial work and then heard Akhtar and Asif. We have given them reports of their tests and have asked them to submit their written statements in the next hearing," Hamid told reporters. The next hearing is on October 26. "Both Akhtar and Asif have been told about the procedure of the doping matters and have also been advised that if they want they can also bring their lawyers in the next hearing," said Hamid. (Posted @ 17:20 PST)
All 7 foreign hostages freed in Nigerian delta ABUJA, Oct 21 (Reuters) - All seven foreign hostages who were being held in Nigeria's southern oil producing Niger Delta have been released and are in good health, police said on Saturday. The men were four Britons, one Romanian, one Malaysian and one Indonesian. They were kidnapped on Oct. 3. (Posted @ 20:18 PST)
Georgia denies planning attack on separatist regions TBILISI, Oct 21 (AFP) - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili qualified as "absurd" on Saturday a claim by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Georgia was preparing military action to gain control of two separatist regions. (Posted @ 20:10 PST)
15 tons of drugs seized in Afghanistan KABUL, Oct 21 (AFP) - Afghan authorities said Saturday they had seized about 15 tonnes of drugs, including one tonne of heroin, across Afghanistan in the past 10 days. More than a dozen men were also arrested while transporting the drugs, deputy interior minister General Mohammad Daud Daud told reporters. (Posted @ 19:00 PST)
Pakistan bomb blast death toll rises to nine PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Oct 21 (AFP) - The death toll from a bomb blast in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar rose to nine Saturday, after two more injured people died in hospital, police said. (Posted @ 16:42 PST)
Rice doubts North Korea nuclear pledge, sees 'escalation' MOSCOW, Oct 21 (AFP) US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cast doubt Saturday on a reported apology by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il for carrying out a nuclear test and said North Korea wanted an "escalation of tensions." "I don't know whether or not Kim Jong-Il said any such thing…but the Chinese, in a fairly thorough briefing about the talks, said nothing about such an apology for having launched a test…the North Koreans would like to see an escalation of tensions rather than the kind of matter-of-fact, effective implementation of the resolution that has the potential to have a real effect on their activities," Rice told journalists accompanying her on a flight from Beijing to Moscow. (Posted @ 14:30 PST)
Sri Lanka navy kills six rebels in new sea battle COLOMBO, Oct 21 (Reuters) The Sri Lankan navy destroyed two Tamil Tiger boats on Saturday off an island in the country's north, killing six rebels, a naval spokesman said. Earlier on Friday, the navy destroyed seven Tamil Tiger craft in a major sea battle, killing at least 35 rebels off the northern Jaffna peninsula. Also Saturday, President Rajapakse called for peace, ahead of talks with the rebels. (First Posted @ 11:33 PST; Updated @ 13:30 PST)
Indian soldier kills three colleagues in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Oct 21 (Reuters) An Indian soldier shot dead three colleagues at a security camp in Rajouri district Friday night after an argument before attempting to kill himself, an army spokesman said Saturday. (First Posted @ 10:10 PST, Updated @ 12:05 PST)
Eight people killed in Bangladesh stampedes DHAKA, Bangladesh, 21 Oct (AP) At least eight people were killed in two separate stampedes Saturday when hundreds of destitute Bangladeshis vied for charity clothing distributed ahead of Eid, news reports said. Sixteen other people were injured in the stampedes, Bangladesh news services said, adding that most of the victims were women. (Posted @ 10:45 PST)
Three killed, three injured in Thai south NARATHIWAT, Thailand, Oct 21 (AFP) Three people were shot dead and another three, including two soldiers, were injured in a string of shootings in southern Thailand, police said Saturday. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Israeli air violations in Lebanon 'extremely dangerous': France UNITED NATIONS, Oct 20 (AFP) French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie warned here Friday that Israeli air violations in Lebanon were "extremely dangerous" and must end in the interest of all parties. French President Jacques Chirac also urged Israel to stop violating Lebanon's air space. (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
Israeli fire kills Palestinian in Gaza Strip GAZA CITY, Oct 21 (AFP) Israeli soliders killed a Palestinian man early Saturday during an incursion into the Gaza Strip near the Sufa border crossing east of Rafah, a Palestinian medical official said. (Posted @ 09:12 PST)
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