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| November 13, 2006 | Monday | Shawwal 20, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
President Bush reiterates long-term relationship with Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Nov 13 (APP): President George W Bush on Monday in a telephone call to President General Pervez Musharraf reiterated US commitment to a long-term, broad-based strategic relationship with Pakistan. He said Pakistan was a key ally of the United States and their ties will further strengthen in the days ahead. President Bush also reiterated his commitment to take these relations forward. He offered condolences on behalf of the American people over the attack that killed 42 army recruits in Dargai. President Bush appreciated Pakistan's unflinching commitment against the war on terrorism and President Musharraf's "vital and crucial support" despite the grave and personal dangers that he faced. He said the coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan would continue to remain there in order to support the respective governments and to maintain and establish their writ. President General Pervez Musharraf thanked President Bush for his support and reiterated Pakistan's commitment to continue its fight against the scourge of terrorism and extremism. President Musharraf said such acts further strengthen his government's resolve to deal with the extremists and terrorists adding this was not only in Pakistan's supreme national interests, but also vital for the world peace. (Posted @ 20:52 PST)
MMA coalition passes law to set up anti-vice department in NWFP in Pakistan PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Nov 13 (AP) Lawmakers in MMA coalition ruling Pakistan's North West Frontier Province on Monday approved the controversial Hizba bill to set up a department to suppress vice. The law establishes a unit led by an Islamic cleric to promote virtue and eliminate vice, with a separate police force to implement its orders. According to the legislation, the department would help fight government corruption, eliminate child labor, and ensure rights for women and religious minorities. The bill will need governor’s assent to become law. (Posted @ 16:05 PST)
Violence rattles Iraq; 25 killed, over 20 injured, 60 bodies found BAGHDAD, Nov 13 (AP) _ Violence rattled the center of Iraq on Monday when a bomb exploded in a minibus in Baghdad's Shaab neighborhood, killing at least 20 people and wounding 18. Elsewhere at least 10 other Iraqis died violently, including a member of the Diyala city council. Among others killed Monday was a cameraman for Iraq's independent Al-Sharqiyah satellite television broadcaster, Mohammed al-Ban, who was gunned down leaving his Mosul home Monday morning. His wife was wounded. In Diyala, council member Assim Mahmoud Abbas was killed in a drive-by shooting. Fellow council member Ali Salboukh was wounded in the attack on their car in Waziriyah, northeast of the capital. Iraqi army reported discovering 50 bodies dumped Sunday and local forces and U.S. troops were heading to the area to recover the corpses on Monday as gunmen had prevented their immediate retrieval. Sunni Sheik Namis Karim was gunned down Monday morning in downtown Baqouba. Also in Baqouba, police reported finding the bodies of two women who had been shot to death. A civilian was reported gunned down in the downtown district as well. Police in western Baghdad found four bodies that had been shot. Including the bodies discovered near Baqouba Sunday, authorities said 159 people were killed nationwide, including 35 who died when a two suicide bombers detonated explosives belts among police recruits outside a west Baghdad security forces headquarters. (Posted @ 16:46 PST)
Annan says politics, not religion, at heart of Muslim-West divide ISTANBUL, Turkey, Nov 13 (AP) Politics _ and not religion _ is at the heart of the growing rift between the West and the Muslim world, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Monday after scholars, politicians and religious leaders convened to discuss ways to improve the increasingly violent relations between the societies. ``We should start by reaffirming and demonstrating that the problem is not the holy Quran or the Torah or the Bible,'' Annan said in a written statement in response to a report by the multinational group of scholars that sets out proposals to overcome the rift. ``Indeed, I have often said that the problem is never the faith, it is the faithful and how they behave toward each other.'' (Posted @ 16:05 PST)
Close to deal with India over disputed glacier: Pakistan FM NEW DELHI, India, Nov 13, (AFP) - Pakistan's foreign minister said on Monday that a deal with India on the world's highest military battlefield was possible "within days" ahead of talks between the two rivals. Top foreign ministry officials from the nuclear rivals are due to meet in New Delhi Tuesday and are likely to discuss the proposed demilitarisation of Siachen glacier. "Given the political will, we have narrowed down our differences enough for us to have a decision on Siachen within a matter of days, not even weeks," Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri told private NDTV network Monday. (Posted @ 23:46 PST)
Foreign Secretary optimistic about secretary level talks LAHORE, Pakistan, Nov 13 (APP)- Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan said Monday that secretary level talks starting Tuesday will lead to reduction in divergences and developing convergences on all outstanding issues including the core issue of Kashmir. Talking to newsmen before flying to New Delhi at the the head of an 8-member delegation he said the talks will be all-inclusive with issues relating to promotion of peace, security, social and cultural relations, Siachin, Sir Creek besides the core issue of Kashmir. He said Pakistan wanted to take forward the composite dialogue process hoping that the round of dialogue beginning tomorrow would lead to positive development on all issues. (Posted @ 17:38 PST)
Pakistan expects `very constructive discussions' with India New Delhi, Nov 13 (PPI): Pakistan expects ``very constructive'' discussions at Foreign Secretary level talks with India beginning in New Delhi from Tuesday, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan said on arrival here for talks with his Indian counterpart Shiv Shankar Menon. "I am looking forward to very constructive discussions with Foreign Secretary Menon," he told reporters on arrival from Islamabad. (Posted @ 21:32 PST)
Indian rigidity undermining talks success: Gilani SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Nov 13 (PPI) Veteran Hurriyat leader, Syed Ali Gilani, addressing a press conference in Srinagar on Monday said that the secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan would yield no result as long as India remained stuck to its traditional rigidity and intransigence. According to Kashmir Media Service, he expressed serious concern over the increased violation of human rights by Indian troops against Kashmiris and called upon the world human rights organizations to take notice of the explosive situation. Condemning the grenade blast at Tahab village mosque in Pulwama recently, he said the man allegedly caught while throwing the grenade, had been with the Indian army for the last one year and added that Indian army had been using its agents and agencies to perpetrate such attacks to harm communal harmony in occupied Kashmir. Syed Ali Gilani later left for New Delhi where he is scheduled to meet Pakistan Foreign Secretary, Riaz Muhammad Khan. (Posted @ 17:56 PST)
Poland want Russian reassurances before accepting EU ties deal BRUSSELS, Nov 13, (AFP) - Poland will not approve a new accord on EU-Russia relations without a "clear political signal" from Moscow that its demands will be met, Polish Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga said Monday. (Posted @ 23:26 PST)
2 killed, 16 injured in Quetta bomb blast QUETTA Nov 13 (PPI): Two persons, including a minor girl, were killed and 16 persons were injured when a bomb exploded in Jinnah town area near Samungli road here Monday night. Police said the bomb was planted in a bicycle which was parked outside a shop. The six-year-old girl died on the spot due while the injured man succumbed to his injuries in hospital. (Posted @ 21:28 PST)
Dozens killed in attack on Darfur village - AU KHARTOUM, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Up to 30 villagers were killed and 40 wounded when armed men riding horses and camels attacked a village in the Darfur region of western Sudan, an African Union (AU) official said on Monday. (Posted @ 20:40 PST)
Pakistani soldier killed, another wounded in Baluchistan ambush QUETTA, Pakistan, Nov 13 (AP) _ Suspected insurgents ambushed an army patrol in Baluchistan province on Monday, killing one soldier and wounding another, police said. The assailants attacked the military convoy with machine guns in Daho, a tribal area southeast of Quetta. (Posted @ 20:36 PST)
Torture in Chechnya is systematic, rights group alleges MOSCOW, Nov 13 (AP) _ Torture in Chechnya is both widespread and systematic, Human Rights Watch alleged Monday, urging the U.N.Committee against Torture to take action. It said it documented 115 torture cases in Chechnya between July 2004 and September 2006. (Posted @ 20:26 PST)
Bush meets with Iraq advice panel WASHINGTON, Nov 13, 2006 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush, under pressure to pull US forces from Iraq, met Monday with a heavyweight panel expected to unveil far-reaching recommendations next month for winning the war. Bush met early in the day with the Iraq Study Group headed by former US secretary of state James Baker and former Democratic lawmaker Lee Hamilton at the White House, spokesman Tony Snow told reporters. (Posted @ 20:16 PST)
Lebanon approves Hariri court draft despite cabinet walk-outs BEIRUT, Nov 13 (AFP) - Lebanon's government on Monday adopted a UN document for the creation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the murder of former premier Rafiq Hariri, despite the resignation of six pro-Syrian ministers. Prime Minister Fuad Siniora called for unity to overcome the political crisis and said the cabinet approved the document to establish the court into the murder which has been blamed on Syrian officials and their Lebanese allies. (Posted @ 20:10 PST)
Spanish soldier injured in Afghanistan: defence ministry MADRID, Nov 13, (AFP) - A Spanish soldier serving with the NATO in Afghanistan was slightly injured in an explosion Monday as the eight-vehicle convoy in which he was travelling passed near the town of Shindand, some 120 kilometres from Herat. (Posted @ 19:52 PST)
Bush, Olmert to hold talks on Iran, Palestinians WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (AFP) - Israel will not accept a nuclear Iran, visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday, ahead of his meeting with US President George W. Bush on Monday for talks focusing on Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Speaking on US television, Olmert, while not ruling out military action, said he hoped diplomacy would dissuade Tehran from pursuing its nuclear program. "We will not tolerate the possession of nuclear weapons by Iran," Olmert told NBC television's "Today Show" program. Asked whether his country was considering a preemptive strike targeting Tehran's nuclear facilities, Olmert answered: "I hope we don't have to reach that stage." (Posted @ 19:46 PST)
Four killed in Thailand's south YALA, Thailand, Nov 13 (AFP) - Suspected militants shot dead four people in a string of attacks in Thailand's restive Muslim-majority south, police said Monday. Those killed included a timber worker, a Muslim religious teacher, and two rubber tappers. (First Posted @ 11:20 PST Updated @ 18:46 PST)
Iran asks nuclear watchdog for reactor help VIENNA, Nov 13, 2006 (AFP) - Iran has asked the International Atomic Energy Agency for technical and financial aid in constructing heavy-water reactor at Arak, about 200 kilometres (120 miles) south of Tehran, a Western diplomat said Monday on condition of anonymity. The request will first be considered next week by the UN agency's technical assistance committee before a meeting of the IAEA's governing board in Vienna on November 23-24, another diplomatic source said. Tehran announced plans to build the Arak plant in May 2003 and experts say when it is fully operational -- expected in 2009 -- it could produce up to 12.5 kilogrammes of plutonium a year, enough for two or three nuclear bombs. (Posted @ 18:36 PST)
Iraq suicide bomber kills two US soldiers BAGHDAD, Nov 13 (AFP) - A suicide bomber killed two US soldiers in the province of Salaheddin, the US military said Monday. The bomber blew up a vehicle in an attack that also wounded two other soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division. (Posted @ 18:30 PST)
Bajaur, Dargai incidents detrimental for nation: Amin Fahim SUKKUR/SHIKARPUR, Sindh, Nov.13 (PPI): Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) President Makhdoom Amin Fahim Monday said that the tragic events of Bajaur and Dargai had jeopardized the survival of the nation. Talking to journalists at Sukkur Airport, on way to Shikarpur, he advised the rulers to appreciate the ground realities and use negotiations instead of force to resolve problems. Later, talking to newsmen in Shikarpur, he said the rulers had caused harm to constitutional, democratic and moral values and said that the opposition parties wanted free and fair polls in the country. He reiterated that Benazir Bhutto would return to Pakistan before the general elections and once more denied any deal between his party and the government. (Posted @ 18:02 PST)
200,000 Afghan refugees registered RAWALPINDI, Nov 13 (APP): A total of 219,726 Afghans have been registered since the registration exercise started on October 15 this year, officials said Monday. This includes 99,955 from North West Frontier Province, 55,650 from Balochistan, 25,379 from Sindh, 34,531 from Punjab and 4,211 from Azad Kashmir. (Posted @ 17:54 PST)
PM returns after visit to US, Canada ISLAMABAD, Oct 13 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz returned home Monday after co-chairing a meeting of the UN panel in the United States and attending the Global Micro-credit Summit in Canada. (Posted @ 17:48 PST)
At least 1,000 orangutans killed in Indonesian fires JAKARTA, Nov 13 (APP/AFP) - At least 1,000 orangutans are estimated to have been killed by fires and land clearing in Indonesia this year, a wildlife expert said Monday. Willie Smits from the Gibbon Foundation said "a thousand is a minimum estimate." (Posted @ 17:42 PST)
Four killed, 36 injured in road accident SAHIWAL, Pakistan, Nov 13 (APP): Four people were killed and 36 others injured when a bus turned turtle on Lahore-Multan road, some 25 kilometres from here Monday. The bus was proceeding to Haroonabad when it overturned near Gamber when the driver lost control while overtaking a donkey cart, police said. (Posted @ 17:36 PST)
Insurgent activity rising in Afghanistan KABUL, Nov 13 (AP) Militants now launch more than 600 attacks a month, a four-fold increase from the monthly average of 130 last year, according to the report by the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board, a body with Afghan and international representatives, including from the United Nations, issued on the eve of Monday's anniversary of the Islamist militia's ouster. The rising drug trade in Afghanistan has ``significantly helped fuel'' the insurgency in four volatile southern provinces, and the slow pace of development is contributing to popular disaffection and impeding efforts to curb the opium production, the report said. The insurgency ``threatens to reverse some of the gains made in the recent past, with development activities being especially hard hit in several areas, resulting in partial or total withdrawal of international agencies in a number of the worst-affected provinces,'' it said. (Posted @ 17:00 PST)
Train collision at railway crossing kills 27 in South Africa CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Nov 13 (AP) _ A train smashed into a truck pulling a trailer packed with farm workers at a level crossing near Cape Town on Monday morning, killing 27 people and injuring six, paramedics said. The victims were on the back of the truck. No rail commuters were injured in the accident, the rail company said. (First Posted @ 15:45 PST Updated @ 16:50 PST)
Israel PM ready to talk to Palestinian govt including Hamas JERUSALEM, Nov 13 (AFP) Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was prepared to talk to a Palestinian unity government including Hamas if they bow to international demands. "If Hamas accepts the quartet conditions, I will sit down with them," Olmert was quoted as saying in a rare interview with the leading daily newspaper in the Palestinian territories, Al-Quds, on Monday. (Posted @ 15:50 PST)
Sixth pro-Syrian minister resigns from Lebanon cabinet BEIRUT, Nov 13 (AFP) A sixth pro-Syrian Lebanese minister resigned on Monday, plunging the government further into crisis ahead of a cabinet meeting called to ratify an international tribunal to try suspects in the murder of former premier Rafiq Hariri. nvironment Minister Yaacub Sarraf, who is close to Damascus-backed President Emile Lahoud, said he had quit because the government had lost "constitutional legitimacy after losing the representation of a whole confession." (Posted @ 15:40 PST)
Australian Sheffield Shield cricket scores SYDNEY, Nov 13 (AFP) Scores in Australia's Sheffield Shield cricket Monday were: At Perth (day two): Western Australia 208 (C. Rogers 55, M. Hussey 46; M. Johnson 4-56, A. Symonds 3-18) versus Queensland 480 for 7 (M. Love 186, J. Hopes 90, M. Hayden 76; B. Hogg 4-95) (Posted @ 15:40 PST)
Calls mount for Israeli army chief to resign over Lebanon war JERUSALEM, Nov 13 (AFP) Israel's army chief faced mounting calls to resign Monday after an internal military inquiry blamed army leaders for lax discipline that allowed two soldiers to be seized in a July cross-border raid that sparked the Lebanon war. Chief of staff Dan Halutz "lacks professionalism and charisma," reserve General Yanush Ben-Gal told public radio. "He is responsible for a failure of the Israeli army (in Lebanon) that amounts to a knock-out. He has to resign," he said. The sentiment was echoed throughout the Israeli press Monday, a day after the internal inquiry found that the July 12 cross-border raid in which two soldiers were seized by Hezbollah could have been prevented. (Posted @ 15:20 PST)
Blair urges world to engage Iran, Syria for Middle East peace LONDON, Nov 13 (AP) British Prime Minister Tony Blair urged the international community on Monday to engage Iran and Syria to advance the peace process in the Middle East and defended his government's close relationship with the U.S. Blair said the outcome of the Iraq war was central to bringing peace to the Middle East, and the world must make clear to Syria and Iran how they can assist in the process as well as the consequences of hindering it. Blair was to deliver the remarks in a speech later Monday and excerpts of the text were released in advance by his office. (Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Kissinger urges stepped up pace of North Korean disarmament talks WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (AP) Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger urged diplomats to set a ``determined pace'' in negotiations with North Korea that, along with the Iranian nuclear standoff, ``may well determine the prospects of world order.'' Kissinger, writing in The Washington Post's Sunday edition, said the United States, China, South Korea, Russia and Japan must ``maintain the sanctions that helped bring a breakthrough and not repeat the mistake of the Korean and Vietnamese wars of suspending pressures as an entrance price into negotiations.'' The key to success, Kissinger said, is U.S.-China cooperation. (Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Landslide kills five in Sri Lanka COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Nov 13 (AP) A landslide triggered by heavy rain killed five people, blocking the main road that connects Sri Lanka's tourist town of Nuwara Eliya with the capital, police said Monday. (Posted @ 13:00 PST)
One dead in Bangladesh protest DHAKA, Nov 13 (AFP) One person was killed Monday as riot police clashed with thousands of political opposition supporters in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka, a hospital official said. At least ten others were being treated at the hospital, although their condition was not serious, the official added. (First Posted @ 09:40 PST Updated @ 12:55 PST)
Israel doomed 'to destruction': Ahmadinejad TEHRAN, Nov 13 (AFP) Iranian President Mamhoud Ahmadinejad said that Israel was doomed 'to destruction", local news agencies reported. "The great powers created the Zionist regime to extend their domination in the region. Every day this regime is massacring Palestinians," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying late on Sunday in a meeting with ministers. "As this regime goes against the path of life, we will soon see its disappearance and its destruction," Ahmadinejad added. (Posted @ 12:50 PST)
West Indies, Sri Lanka to play one-dayers in India NEW DELHI, Nov 13 (AFP) India will host the West Indies and Sri Lanka for four one-day cricket internationals each early next year in the build up to the World Cup, the Indian board announced on Monday. The West Indies, who host the World Cup in March-April, will play in India from January 21 to 30 followed by Sri Lanka's tour from February 8 to 17. (Posted @ 11:20 PST)
Coal mine blast kills 24 miners in China BEIJING, 13 Nov (AP) At least 24 miners were killed Monday by an explosion in a northern Chinese coal mine, state television reported Monday. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 4.43 points: KARACHI, Nov 13: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 10743.88, up 4.43 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Nov 13: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.73 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST)
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