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| October 24, 2006 | Tuesday | Ramazan 30, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Indian defence minister gets foreign office in cabinet reshuffle NEW DELHI, Oct 24 (AFP) Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee was Tuesday promoted as foreign minister in a cabinet reshuffle that saw three new entrants into Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's ministerial council, officials said. A. K. Antony, a former chief minister of the southern Indian state of Kerala, was given the defence portfolio. M. H. Ambareesh, a film actor-turned Congress politician, and Jayprakash Narain Yadav of the government's coalition partner Rashtriya Janata Dal (National People's Group) were also sworn in as junior ministers, the officials added. (Posted @ 21:20 PST)
Government in control of Dengue fever situation: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, Oct 24 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz claimed Tuesday that the government was fully alive to check the spread of Dengue fever and there was no shortage of testing kits or other required facilities to deal with the situation. "Special treatment units have been established at all the hospitals across the country, with hospitals in major cities put on high alert and there is no problem of medical or para-medical staff despite Eid holidays", Aziz told newsmen here at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), where he inquired after the health of Dengue fever patients. (Posted @ 20:32 PST)
US troops mistakenly kill four Iraqi firemen BAGHDAD, Oct 24 (AFP) American soldiers shot and killed four unarmed Iraqi firemen after mistaking their fire tender for one hijacked by insurgents, US military headquarters said Tuesday. (Posted @ 20:30 PST)
Two US Marines killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, Iraq, Oct 24 (AP) Two U.S. Marines were killed in Anbar province, the American military announced Tuesday. (Posted @ 20:28 PST)
Cricket-Kiwis aiming to turn up heat on Pakistan: Fleming MOHALI, India, Oct 24 (Reuters) New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming wants to curb the natural flair of Pakistan in Wednesday's Champions Trophy match. "They tend to be inconsistent at times but that depends on how much pressure you put on them," Fleming told reporters on Tuesday. "That's what we're looking to do. Try and deny the natural ability they have, players like Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq…Our batsmen are looking forward to it. The bowlers too are keen on the pace and bounce in the wicket." (Posted @ 19:54 PST)
Cricket-Woolmer urges Pakistan to keep intensity for NZ game MOHALI, India, Oct 24 (Reuters) Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer urged his players to show the same intensity they did in crisis against Sri Lanka when they face New Zealand in their second Champions Trophy Group B tie on Wednesday. "Everything is the same as it was in the last game," Woolmer told reporters on Tuesday. "There is a little less pressure but pressure is on us to perform against New Zealand and try and get through to the semi-finals…A lot of teams in international sport thrive on adversity. That brings the team together. The win against Sri Lanka was an emotional time and we have to maintain that desire and motivation." Pakistan skipper Younis Khan said "my focus will be to make sure there is no panic in my team," adding "We don't want to leave it to other teams (to help us qualify)." (Posted @ 19:52 PST)
US says it must succeed, sets 18-month limit for Iraqi army BAGHDAD, Oct 24 (AFP) The US ambassador to Iraq said Tuesday his country "must succeed" while the American military commander said Iraqi armed forces should be ready to take over security responsibility in 18 months. "Despite the difficult challenge we face, success in Iraq is possible," ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told a news conference in Baghdad. The military commander in Iraq, General George Casey, said the country's own armed forces should be able to take over security responsibility within the next 12 to 18 months. Casey renewed charges that Damascus and Tehran were meddling in Iraq. (First Posted @ 17:18 PST Updated @ 19:48 PST)
Five killed in occupied Kashmir violence; police scuffles with protestors JAMMU, occupied Kashmir, Oct 24 (AP) Security forces killed three gunmen in the Dhar area of Doda district on Tuesday, police said. Also Tuesday, unidentified gunmen killed one policeman in Baramulla town. A member of the ruling Congress party, Mohammed Afzal, also was shot and killed outside his home in Chewang village, police added. Meanwhile, police scuffled with nearly 700 Kashmiri protestors in the Nowgam district of Srinagar, who were demonstrating against a road accident incident involving an Indian army vehicle, which ran over and killed a Kashmiri man and his son, a senior police official said. Six civilians and four policemen were injured in the scuffle, the official added. Separately, a cable television office was bombed in Sopore town Monday night by unknown persons, killing one man, police said. (First Posted @ 14:15 PST Updated @ 19:25 PST)
Three Afghan children killed in NATO mortar test error JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Oct 24 (AFP) Three children were killed and two others hurt when a mortar test-fired by NATO troops fell short of its target and hit a home in Afghanistan, police and the force said Tuesday. An inquiry had been launched into the incident and an ISAF team had already been into the area to visit the families involved, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said. (Posted @ 19:18 PST)
Turkish forces kill three Kurdish rebels DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Oct 24 (Reuters) Turkish forces killed three members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) late on Monday, security officials said. (Posted @ 17:52 PST)
London Muslims 'should play greater role': report LONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) Muslims must play a greater role in London's politics and the economy to help stem prejudice and discrimination, a report said on Tuesday. Muslims make up 8.5 percent of the capital's population, but are under-represented on its councils and among its workforce, adds the "Muslims in London" report. Mayor Ken Livingstone, jointly presenting the report, said: "Muslims in London face serious discrimination and prejudice,” and accused the media of running a "totally one-sided" debate. It reflected the Nazi propaganda of the 1930s when Jews were blamed for their own and society's ills, he said. The mayor claimed that Muslims did not want to be separated from the rest of the community, but he accused employers and housing associations of having helped create such a situation. On the veil debate, he said he would never ask a Muslim woman to remove her veil, just as he would not think of asking a Jew to remove his skull cap or a Christian to take off her cross. The report also said: "Muslims in London face several barriers to employment, including educational underachievement, discrimination, lack of affordable and appropriate childcare, lack of suitable training, travel costs and housing costs." (Posted @ 17:48 PST)
China pledges to keep supplying aid to North Korea BEIJING, Oct 24 (AFP) China said Tuesday it had no plans to cut aid supplies to North Korea following its neighbour's nuclear test, as the United Nations warned of critical food shortages there. "Supplying the North Korean people with aid to help them overcome some difficulties has all along been the policy of the Chinese government," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said. (Posted @ 14:50 PST)
Iraq could split up if no moves to unity MOSCOW, Oct 24 (Reuters) Iraq could break up if measures are not undertaken urgently to underpin national unity, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday. "If there is no sudden change and if there is no start to efforts towards unity, this situation could become reality," Russian news agencies quoted Lavrov as telling journalists in St Petersburg. He also cautioned other participants in six-round talks on North Korea against taking any hasty steps that could inflame the situation following Pyongyang's Oct. 9 nuclear test. "In Moscow, it is hoped that all participants in the negotiations will proceed from similar positions and will not undertake any steps that could heat up the atmosphere," he was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency. (Posted @ 13:40 PST)
No apology from North Korea's Kim for nuclear test: China BEIJING, Oct 24 (AFP) North Korean leader Kim Jong-II did not apologise to China for his nation's nuclear test, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said Tuesday. "I have not heard of Kim Jong-Il apologising," Liu Jianchao told reporters when asked about a press report that Kim Jong-II had expressed regret about the October 9 test during a meeting with a Chinese envoy. South Korean newspaper the Chosun Ilbo reported on Friday last week that Kim expressed regret for the test in talks a day earlier with Tang Jiaxuan, a special envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao. (Posted @ 12:45 PST)
Thousands without gas after Pakistan pipeline blast QUETTA, Pakistan, Oct 24 (AFP) Suspected militants blew up a key pipeline in Pakistan's Baluchistan province Tuesday, leaving tens of thousands of people without gas, officials said. The pre-dawn blast suspended natural gas supplies to the provincial capital Quetta, as well as the Kalat, Mastung, Ziarat and Pishin districts, a gas company official said on condition of anonymity. Repair work started on the ruptured section of pipeline at Dasht, near Quetta, and supplies will hopefully be restored later Tuesday, the official added. The attack was the third of its kind since Monday when two other pipelines were blown up elsewhere in Baluchistan. (Posted @ 12:10 PST)
Strong earthquake rattles central Indonesia JAKARTA, Oct 24 (AP) A strong earthquake rattled central Indonesia Tuesday, a meteorological agency said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The 6.1-magnitude temblor was centered in Sangihe, an island 360 kilometers northeast of North Sulawesi's provincial capital Manado, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. (Posted @ 11:35 PST)
Iran deports 75 Pakistanis after arresting them for illegal entry QUETTA, Pakistan, Oct 24 (AP) Iranian border guards have deported 75 Pakistanis captured in Iran for allegedly trying to enter neighbouring Turkey without travel documents, an official said Tuesday. The 75 men were handed over to Pakistani security officials in Taftan, 700 kilometers southwest of Quetta, said Mohammed Alam, a police official responsible for security at the border. Iran authorities had arrested the men about a week ago, Alam said. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)
Gunmen kidnap photographer in Gaza GAZA, Oct 24 (Reuters) Gunmen kidnapped a Spanish photographer working for the Associated Press news agency in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the Associated Press said. (Posted @ 10:45 PST)
Japan FM rejects North Korean demand for end to US sanction TOKYO, Oct 24 (AFP) Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso on Tuesday rejected North Korea's demand that the United States lift financial sanctions in return for its return to multilateral nuclear disarmament talks. "The US financial sanctions are a totally different thing from the six-party talks. The US sanctions are based on its domestic laws which have nothing to do with the six-way talks," Aso told reporters. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Two Philippine air force pilots injured in aircraft accident MANILA, Oct 24 (AP) A Philippine air force light attack plane broke its landing gear while landing Tuesday at an air base north of Manila, injuring its two pilots and damaging the aircraft, an air force spokesman said. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
US soldier missing in Baghdad WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (AFP) A US soldier was reported missing in Baghdad Monday and US and Iraqi forces were searching for him, the US military said. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Israel warplanes in Lebanon overflights in defiance of France BEIRUT, Oct 24 (AFP) Israeli warplanes Monday carried out their "most intensive overflights" of Lebanon since the end of Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, police said, despite a French warning to halt such missions. Two warplanes twice flew low over Beirut, police said, with four planes carrying out similar mock raid over southern Lebanon. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Strong quake hits Japan, no concern over tsunamis TOKYO, Oct 24 (AFP) A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.8 struck close to islands in southern Japan Tuesday, but there were no concerns over tsunamis and no immediate reports of damage or casualties, officials said. The tremor struck at 6:18 am with its epicenter 800 kilometers south of Tokyo, close to the Izu islands, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
18 die, 18 burned in Panama bus explosion PANAMA CITY, Oct 24 (AFP) An explosion on a city bus killed 18 passengers and burned another 18 in downtown Panama City on Monday, interior minister Olga Golcher said. 12 of the burn victims were adults and six were children, medics said. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Majority of Britons want troops out of Iraq by end of the year: polls LONDON, Oct 24 (AFP) A clear majority of Britons want the country's troops to pull out of Iraq by the end of the year, regardless of whether they have finished their mission, according to two polls published on Tuesday. Some 61 percent of the 1,019 people surveyed by polling firm ICM for The Guardian said British soldiers should leave Iraq before 2007 - 45 percent want them to withdraw immediately, and a further 16 percent say by the end of the year - even if the United States requests that they stay on. By contrast, just 30 percent backed keeping the troops there as long as is considered necessary. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Israeli deputy PM warns of Iranian nuclear threat WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (AFP) Israel's deputy prime minister, Shaul Mofaz, warned here Monday of the threat to Israel and Western countries if Tehran has nuclear weapons. "We discussed the Iranian issue which is a threat not only against the state of Israel but it is a threat against all the Western countries," Mofaz told reporters after meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Nicholas Burns, the State Department's number three. "The moment that (Iranian President Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad will have nuclear capabilities in his hands, there will be a different world," said the Israeli deputy premier. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
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