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| October 28, 2006 | Saturday | Shawwal 4, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
PM directs Religious ministry to review process of moon-sighting ISLAMABAD, Oct 28 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Saturday directed the Ministry of Religious Affairs to review the process of moon sighting to ensure that the entire nation celebrates Eid on the same day. Aziz directed the ministry to consult all stakeholders representing different walks of life to evolve a process acceptable to all segments of society across the country and submit its report within 30 days. He also asked the ministry to consult the OIC and Islamic countries to make the process transparent, workable and participatory. (Posted @ 23:40 PST)
Development and welfare of Balochistan priority for government: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, Oct 28 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday said the development of Balochistan, welfare of its people and ensuring peace in the province were the major priorities of the government. He was talking to Chief Minister Balochistan, Jam Mohammad Yousuf, who called on him here at the Prime Minister House. Aziz said that in Balochistan the government was focusing both on mega projects as well as micro development schemes. These development projects will lead to creation of jobs, better facilities of life and more prosperity for the people at all levels, he added. He asked the provincial chief minister to step up efforts to provide technical and vocational training to Balochi youth. (Posted @ 22:48 PST)
Poverty ratio reduced from 34 percent to 24 percent: Musharraf ISLAMABAD, Oct 28 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf Saturday claimed that the poverty ratio has been brought down from 34 percent to 24 percent. Speaking at a presentation by the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) on efforts to empower the poor and increase their income, he said the government was following a strategy to improve the quality of life of the common man through the creation of jobs in the urban areas and development of agriculture sector in the rural areas. (Posted @ 21:34 PST)
Bomb blast kills at least one in Quetta QUETTA, Pakistan, Oct 28 (Reuters) A bicycle bomb exploded outside a police barracks in Quetta city on Saturday, killing at least one person and wounding a dozen, security and hospital officials said. Doctors at the state run hospital said two of the casualties were in a critical condition. (First Posted @ 20:02 PST Updated @ 20:32 PST)
Iraqi PM, Bush agree to speed up security training BAGHDAD, Oct 28 (Reuters) Iraq's prime minister and U.S. President George W. Bush agreed to accelerate efforts to build up Iraqi security forces during a teleconference on Saturday. "We have agreed to speed up the training of Iraqi security forces in order to move the security responsibility to the Iraqi government," Maliki's office said in a joint statement after the video conference. (Posted @ 20:12 PST)
At least six die over Bangladesh power vacuum DHAKA, Oct 28 (Reuters) At least six people died and about 500 were wounded in political riots in Bangladesh on Saturday after former supreme court chief justice, K.M. Hasan, due to take over as interim leader, withdrew just hours before taking the oath. A presidential spokesman said during the night that Hasan was too ill to take the oath. Hasan had conveyed to the president his inability to become caretaker leader, he added. Abdul Jalil, general secretary of the opposition Awami League, said said the president would nominate an alternative caretaker leader by Sunday evening when Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia would hand over the reins of power. (First Posted @ 14:00 PST Updated @ 20:10 PST)
Iraqi and U.S. forces kill 15 gunmen near Kut BAGHDAD, Oct 28 (Reuters) Iraqi and U.S. forces killed 15 gunmen in a raid near Kut in southern Iraq on Saturday, and also detained eight suspects, an Iraqi army official said. (Posted @ 20:08 PST)
Abdul Qadeer Khan ill after surgery ISLAMABAD, Oct 28 (AFP) Paksitani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan is suffering from blood clots in his leg, weeks after undergoing surgery for prostrate cancer, his wife said Saturday. "His condition has deteriorated compared to what it was after the prostrate operation" last month, Henny Khan said, adding his condition was not critical. "He was taken to the hospital and has been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis," she said. "This is a completely different disease to what he was suffering when he was operated on in Karachi," she said. Henny Khan said she was satisfied with the medical attention and professional treatment that her husband has been receiving. She said Khan's left leg was swollen and the clotting had left immobile. "The doctors are giving him the best consultation and latest medications," she added. (Posted @ 20:04 PST)
Militant infiltration up in Afghanistan since Pakistan deal: NATO BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Oct 28 (AFP) The movement of militants from Pakistan into Afghanistan has increased since Islamabad signed a deal with tribal elders in North Waziristan area, NATO's top military commander said Saturday. General James Jones told reporters at the end of a three-day visit to Afghanistan that "preliminary indications are that the movements across the border have increased since the signing of agreements on the other side of the border," adding that ISAF was however still evaluating the situation and the first indications may not be conclusive. ISAF commanders are due to meet with the Pakistan military in the coming weeks, he said. (Posted @ 19:10 PST)
Cricket-Injured Yuvraj to miss Australia match MOHALI, India, Oct 28 (Reuters) Indian middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh was ruled out of Sunday's crucial Champions Trophy Group A tie against Australia after suffering a knee injury. The 24-year-old left-hander twisted his left knee during a training session on Saturday and needed to be helped off the field. (Posted @ 18:42 PST)
U.S. strike kills six Iraqis, women, children RAMADI, Iraq, Oct 28 (Reuters) Six Iraqis including three women and two children were killed in a U.S. air strike in the city of Ramadi in Iraq's western Anbar province on Saturday, a doctor at Ramadi hospital said. (Posted @ 18:40 PST)
14 feared dead in China mine blast BEIJING, Oct 28 (AFP) Six miners were killed and eight others were missing after a gas explosion in a western China coal mine early Saturday, state press reported. Six other miners were injured in the blast, the report said, adding that investigations were underway. (Posted @ 18:38 PST)
Iraqi women's rights champion murdered KIRKUK, Iraq, Oct 28 (AFP) Gunmen broke into the house of an Iraqi women's rights campaigner, Halima Ahmed Hussein al-Juburi, and shot her dead in front of her three children, police said Saturday. Juburi was the head of the Human Rights organisation of Maternity and Childhood in Hawijah town. (Posted @ 17:48 PST)
Women Protection Bill to be presented in NA on November 10: Niazi ISLAMABAD, Oct 28 (APP): The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. Sher Afgan Khan Niazi, said Saturday that the session of the National Assembly would be convened on November 10 during which the Women Protection Bill would be presented for approval along with other legislation. In a telephonic interview to a private television channel, Niazi also said that the parliament will complete its fourth parliamentary year. The government is capable of getting the women’s bill approved from the parliament as it enjoys majority in both the houses, he said. (Posted @ 17:44 PST)
Serbia votes on constitution under Kosovo shadow BELGRADE, Oct 28 (Reuters) Serbs began voting on Saturday in a two-day referendum on a new constitution that declares the breakaway province of Kosovo to be forever part of Serbia. The ballot is Serbia's first attempt to replace a 1990 constitution adopted under late President Slobodan Milosevic. The referendum needs 50 percent of the 6.6 million electorate to vote "Yes" to pass. (Posted @ 16:05 PST)
Cricket-Miandad wants more power for Pakistan coach after rout KARACHI, Oct 28 (Reuters) Former test captain Javed Miandad called for the Pakistani team coach and selectors to be given more power after the side's humiliating 124-run defeat against South Africa in the Champions Trophy. "The cricket board must give more authority to the coach and selectors to have a say in all matters to reduce the influence of the players," Miandad said Saturday. He said there was also a need for appointing a former player as an advisor. "The West Indies have done well since Clive Lloyd was named team advisor. We should also follow their example to support the coach," he added. Miandad bemoaned that successive boards had failed to put an emphasis on team discipline and this had encouraged a culture of "player power". "What happened against South Africa is a culmination of different episodes in the last few months which exemplify the urgent need to address disciplinary issues…The players need to learn from their mistakes and be more professional and committed in their approach to the game," he said. (Posted @ 16:00 PST)
Gunmen kidnap 11 Iraqi soldiers north of Baghdad BAGHDAD, Oct 28 (Reuters) Gunmen kidnapped 11 Iraqi soldiers traveling in a minibus at a fake checkpoint in Udhaim town, north of Baghdad on Saturday, a joint U.S. and Iraqi policing centre said. (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Grenade blast kills one, injures 20 in occupied Kashmir market SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Oct 28 (Reuters) One person was killed and at least 20 people, including three Indian paramilitary soldiers, wounded when unknown persons threw a grenade into a crowded market place in Sopore town on Saturday, an official said. (Posted @ 15:35 PST)
Bus plunges into ravine in Nepal, 32 killed KATHMANDU, Oct 28 (Reuters) At least 32 people were killed and 38 injured when a packed bus plunged into a ravine in Sallyan district on Saturday, police said. (Posted @ 14:35 PST)
Cricket-Pakistan tribunal extends Shoaib, Asif doping inquiry KARACHI, Oct 28 (Reuters) The tribunal investigating the positive tests of Pakistani fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif has extended its inquiry until Wednesday, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman told Reuters Saturday. Adding a further four days to the review, the tribunal has called team coach Bob Woolmer, trainer Murray Stevenson and physiotherapist Darren Lifsun to record statements on Nov. 1, after which it would finalise its findings. "The tribunal today took the expert views of two doctors after Shoaib and Asif forfeited their right to have their B samples tested for confirmation of the earlier report," spokesman Shakeel Khan said. The bowlers appeared before the tribunal for the second successive day on Saturday and were questioned by the members for more than two hours. The two have already recorded their statements and have denied taking the banned steroid knowingly. (Posted @ 14:35 PST)
'I'm not America's man in Iraq': Maliki BAGHDAD, Oct 28 (AFP) Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told the US ambassador to his country "I consider myself a friend of the United States, but I'm not America's man in Iraq," a close aide said Saturday. (Posted @ 14:23 PST)
UN urges Solana to pressure Israel on Lebanon overflights BEIRUT, Oct 28 (AFP) UNIFIL commander General Alain Pellegrini Saturday urged EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana to pressure Israel to end its overflights of Lebanon, a UN official said. The issue was raised by Pellegrini during a 40 minute meeting with Solana, on the second leg of a four-nation Middle East trip, at UNIFIL headquarters in Beirut, the official said. (Posted @ 14:21 PST)
Iran confirms enriched uranium from second cascade TEHRAN, Oct 28 (AFP) Iran on Saturday officially confirmed it had successfully produced enriched uranium from a second cascade at a nuclear plant. The cascade of 164 centrifuges to enrich uranium is the second to be installed at the Natanz nuclear plant in central Iran. "The new cascade at Natanz has started work in the last two weeks," Iran's deputy atomic energy organisation head Mohammad Ghannad told the Iran newspaper. "The products of the two cascades of 164 centrifuges have been obtained and have been successfully stocked," he added. (Posted @ 14:15 PST)
Sri Lanka peace talks open, parties shake hands GENEVA, Oct 28 (AFP) Top negotiators from Sri Lanka's warring parties began face-to-face talks in Geneva on Saturday, shaking hands in the presence of Norwegian peace brokers. The Sri Lankan government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were holding their first formal meeting in eight months. Norway's International Development Minister Erik Solheim made an opening statement. The talks then continued behind closed doors. (Posted @ 13:50 PST)
Marine is 98th US casualty this month in Iraq BAGHDAD, Oct 28 (AFP) A US marine was killed in action in western Iraq, the military announced Saturday, bringing the number of American dead this month to 98. He died Friday from injuries sustained due to enemy action while operating in Al Anbar Province. (Posted @ 11:55 PST)
US airborne laser missle-destroying aircraft to begin flight testing some systems WICHITA, Kansas, Oct 28 (AP) The U.S. Missile Defense Agency has rolled out an airborne laser aircraft, the latest development in a missile-defense system that was once ridiculed as a ``Star Wars'' fantasy. In a ceremony Friday the agency announced it was ready to flight test some of the low-power systems on the ABL aircraft, a modified Boeing 747-400F designed to destroy enemy missiles. (Posted @ 11:50 PST)
Taliban says no to peace talks with Kabul KABUL, Oct 28 (Reuters) Fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar has rejected the latest conditional offer of peace talks by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a rebel spokesman said on Saturday. Instead he has repeated his threat to prosecute Karzai in an Islamic court for the "massacre" of Afghans, spokesman Tayyab Agha said by satellite phone from a secret location. "The infidels of the entire world have gathered in Afghanistan, occupied it and taken the Afghans hostage. There can be no talks with the Afghan puppet government in the presence of foreign occupying forces. Neither will the mujahideen lay down their weapons. Hamid Karzai and his colleagues should first free themselves from the slavery of foreign infidels and then invite us for negotiations." (Posted @ 11:45 PST)
NATO force says 70 killed in Afghan raids, civilian toll unclear KABUL, Oct 28 (AFP) NATO's force in Afghanistan said around 70 people were killed in raids targeted at Taliban in Kandahar province this week but it was still not sure how many were civilians after reports that scores of ordinary people died. Residents of the Panjwayi area have said between 60 and 85 civilians were killed in the late night bombing raid, which started on the second day of the Eid holiday. ISAF has said it believed 48 were militants, including from a group that attacked a base. It has admitted that 12 of the dead were civilians, while the police put the figure at about 25. President Hamid Karzai on Friday again called for foreign troops to take more care and urged better coordination with local forces. (Posted @ 11:33 PST)
Bomb wounds three police officers in Sri Lanka COLOMBO, Oct 28 (AP) Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels set off a roadside bomb in the northern district of Vavuniya that wounded three police officers Saturday, a defence ministry officer said on condition of anonymity. (Posted @ 11:25 PST)
Three killed in Thai south YALA, Oct 28 (AFP) A couple and their four-year-old daughter were shot dead late Friday in southern Thailand’s Yala province, police said Saturday. (Posted @ 10:55 PST)
Swearing-in of Bangladesh caretaker head not set yet DHAKA, Oct 27 (Reuters) A time for swearing in Bangladesh's caretaker administrator, former chief justice K.M. Hasan, has yet to be set because of his illness, a presidential Spokesman said. Hasan was due to take over from Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia on Saturday, at the end of her five-year rule. "We could not fix a time for his swearing in yet because he is ill. But we are ready," said the spokesman. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Palestinian rivals agree to ease tension GAZA, Oct 28 (Reuters) Rival Palestinian factions agreed early Saturday to work together to ease tension. They agreed at a meeting in Gaza to keep all their gunmen off the streets on Saturday and allow only the police to patrol. "Hamas and Fatah will help the police forces to deploy and they will prevent any rallies or armed displays by their members," said Ibrahim Abu An-Naja of the committee of Palestinian factions, outlining the agreement reached between Fatah and Hamas leaders in Gaza. After the meeting, senior Hamas leader Fathi Hammad said: "fears that some may try to carry out a coup attempt have vanished." (Posted @ 09:53 PST)
Gas blast in Georgia kills at least seven TBILISI, Oct 28 (AFP) At least seven people were killed when an oxygen cylinder apparently exploded, levelling a building at a filling station in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, officials said Friday. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Three killed, 20 hurt in bomb blast in India's northeast GUWAHATI, India, Oct 28 (AFP) At least three people were killed and 20 injured, 12 of them critically in a powerful explosion at a crowded marketplace in India's northeastern state of Assam, officials said Saturday. Two paramilitary troopers were among the injured. Suspected militants of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) triggered the blast Friday at a busy vegetable market in Dhekiajuli town, about 140 kilometers north of Assam's main city of Guwahati, police said. More than 10,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in Assam during the past two decades. (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
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