|
| November 17, 2006 | Friday | Shawwal 24, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Afghanistan asks Pakistan to do more to hunt militants NEW DELHI, Nov 18, (AFP) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai Friday asked for greater cooperation from neighbouring Pakistan to help fight militants during his visit to India. Karzai said his country was the victim of violence by militants who use safe havens across the border. (Posted @ 23:52 PST)
One US hostage in Iraq found dead: official BASRA, Iraq, Nov 17, (AFP) - One of the five Westerners kidnapped a day ago in southern Iraq -- a US citizen -- has been found dead, a provincial official told AFP Friday. "Iraqi police found the body of an American where they conducted a raid in which two other Americans were freed," the official said. (Posted @ 23:34 PST)
French UN troops prepare to respond to Israeli jets over Lebanon TYRE, Lebanon, Nov 17 (AFP) - French UN anti-aircraft batteries on Friday took "preparatory steps" to respond when Israeli jets violated Lebanese airspace despite global criticism of such incursions, a UN spokesman told AFP. (Posted @ 21:16 PST)
Five Westerners kidnapped in Iraq BAGHDAD, Nov 17 (AFP) - Militiamen disguised as police officers kidnapped an Austrian and four US security men guarding a 49-vehicle convoy at a police checkpoint near Safwan close to the Kuwait border on Thursday. And in an apparent abortive attempt to find the five missing men, six other security guards on Friday illegally entered Iraq from Kuwait and clashed with police. One British guard was killed in the gunfight that erupted, a police officer said in the southern town of Al-Zubair. He said the group of six was stopped by customs police and "clashed with them in which the Britisher was killed and an American wounded." Two women bystanders and two policemen were also killed. Neither the British nor the US militaries were able immediately to confirm the clash. In Thursday’s kidnapping nineteen trucks and one security vehicle were taken by those posing as police. The kidnappers seized a total of 14 people but the nine truck drivers were later released. However, the five guards remained "unaccounted for". In a separate incident, the British military said its forces killed in Safwan two gunmen who were believed to "be involved in terrorist activities." (First Posted @ 18:50 PST Updated @ 20:36 PST)
Rs.11.75 bln distributed among NWFP quake affectees until Nov. 10 last: PA told PESHAWAR, Nov 17(APP): The Provincial Assembly of NWFP was Friday informed that Rs.11.75 billion have been distributed through cheques among 175,674 quake affected people of five districts of the NWFP till November 10, for reconstruction of their destroyed houses. Revenue Minister Maulana Asmatullah also said that for reconstruction of damaged infrastructure in various sectors like education, health, irrigation, drinking water, agriculture, forestry etc. a sum of Rs.10.42 billion would be spent during the current fiscal 2006-07, Rs.17.36 billion in 2007-08 and Rs.6.94 billion in 2008-09. He told the house that ERRA and PERRA has completely banned construction of any kind in areas declared red zones. (Posted @ 20:14 PST)
2007 to be the year of Balochistan's development: President GWADAR, Pakistan, Nov 17 (APP) - President General Pervez Musharraf has declared that 2007 and beyond would be the years of balochistan where through the process of development backwardness would be brought to an end. Addressing the elected representatives and notables of the districts of Gwadar, Kach, Awaran, Lasbella and Pangjur on Friday he said that mega projects have been initiated in Balochistan as well as in other parts of the country and the goal was creation of employment opportunities, eradication of poverty, provision of clean drinking water, gas and electricity to the people. He said that besides mega projects in Balochistan such as Gwadar Port, Mirani Dam, Coastal Highway etc the district nazims have been given Rs. 100 million each for micro projects and Rs. 2.5 billion to Senators, MNAs, and MPAs for development works in their constituencies. He said those involved in militancy would push the province towards backwardness and stressed that they would have to be checked. (Posted @ 20:08 PST)
Freed death row Briton flies out of Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Nov 17 (AFP) - Mirza Tahir Hussain, 36, the Britisher released from jail after spending 18 years on death row for killing a taxi driver, was flown out of the country Friday, a senior government official said. Tahir left on a commercial flight amid tight security just hours after leaving prison and a day after President Pervez Musharraf commuted his death sentence. "Mirza Tahir Hussain has been released this morning. He is a free person now and he can go wherever he wants to go," Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao had said earlier in the day. "He has been released after calculating the period he spent in jail," he added. (Posted @ 18:54 PST)
Nobel peace laureates award 'Man of Peace 2006' to Peter Gabriel ROME, Nov 17 (AFP) - British musician Peter Gabriel was awarded "Man of Peace 2006" on Friday at the start of the annual summit of Nobel peace prize laureates organized by the Gorbachev Foundation and the City of Rome. Former Polish president Lech Walesa, the 1983 laureate, bestowed the award on the 56-year-old musician and rights activist on behalf of former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, who was ill and could not attend. In accepting the award, Gabriel said: "Music is ubiquitous, like water. With music, we can reach out to human beings." (Posted @ 18:52 PST)
British guard killed in clash with Iraqi police BASRA, Nov 17 (AFP) - A British security guard was killed and a Western colleague wounded in a clash with Iraqi police as they came searching for colleagues kidnapped earlier in the south, police said Friday. A police officer of Al-Zubair said a group of six security guards crossed the border illegally and, when stopped by customs police, "clashed with them in which the Britisher was killed and an American wounded." The officer later clarified that the nationality of the wounded guard was unclear. He said two women bystanders were also killed along with two policemen. The British and US militaries were not immediately able to confirm the firefight. Four US security guards and an Austrian were kidnapped Thursday from Safwan near the Kuwaiti border. (Posted @ 18:50 PST)
Prosperity of Balochistan, Pakistan inter-related: Musharraf GWADAR, Pakistan, Nov 17 (PPI) President Pervez Musharraf Friday said that prosperity of Balcohistan and Pakistan were inter-related and the government would bring Balochistan at par with the developed regions of the country. Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of a labour colony in Gwadar he said massive development funds are being spent in the province on a number of mega projects which are nearing completion and would have positive impact on the economy of the province. He said road and rail links are being established between Gawadar and other parts of the country, and in this connection made particular mention of the 1,000-km long road from Gwadar to Turbat-Khuzdar and Ratodaro. The President said a comprehensive programme has been initiated to educate the youth of province with quality education, and announced internship programme for post-graduate studies for the youths of the province with Rs 10,000 per month stipend. These internees would later be inducted in government service. Earlier, the President distributed appointment letters to fifty eight local youths who have been provided jobs in different sections of the Gwadar Port. (Posted @ 18:16 PST)
Suicide bomber dies attacking police in Peshawar; no fatalities in Lahore blast PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Nov 17 (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed himself in an attack on a police van in NWFP’s capital city Peshawar on Friday, but neither of the policemen in the vehicle were hurt, police said. Later on Friday, a bomb planted in a rubbish bin exploded at a bus station in Punjab’s capital Lahore wounding 14 people, police said. Some of the victims were in a van and some standing nearby. Initial reports had said two people were killed but the city police chief, Khawaja Khalid Farooq, said there were no fatalities in the blast. There was no claim of responsibility for either of the explosions. Police said the bomber killed in the Peshawar blast was a 20-year-old man who had been living in the city. His father came to the scene and identified the body, police said. (First Posted @ 14:35 PST Updated @ 17:56 PST)
Austrian hostage killed, American captive wounded in Iraq: police BAGHDAD, Nov 17 (AP) _ An Austrian was killed and an American was seriously wounded after their convoy of security contractors was hijacked in southern Iraq, an Iraqi police officer said Friday. The body of the Austrian hostage was brought to a morgue in Basra Friday, and the wounded American captive was taken there on way to hospital, a Basra police officer said on condition of anonymity. An Austrian and four Americans were taken hostage from the convoy, but nine other civilian employees from Asian countries such as India, Pakistan and the Philippines were released by the captors, the company said. (First Posted @ 14:50 PST Updated @ 17:40 PST)
Leaders of Central Asia, Turkey meet to discuss closer cooperation ANKARA, Turkey, Nov 17 (AP) _ Leaders of Turkey and Central Asian nations, which share close ethnic and linguistic ties, met in the Mediterranean city of Antalya on Friday to discuss closer cooperation. It was the first such summit in six years. The presidents of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan's ambassador to Turkey attended the summit. Uzbekistan was not represented. ``Our countries have the will to further improve relations and cooperation on the basis of mutual respect, equality and joint interests,'' Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said in an opening speech to the summit. (Posted @ 17:32 PST)
Nearly 50 people killed in Afghanistan floods HERAT, Afghanistan, Nov 17 (AFP) - Flash floods caused by heavy rains have killed nearly 50 people in western Afghanistan with 100 more missing. Forty-seven bodies had been recovered after floods hit the province of Badghis on Thursday, health ministry official Ahmad Shah Shokohmand said Friday. The floods washed away villages along the Murghab River, he said adding that nearly 100 were missing. (Posted @ 17:24 PST)
Top Indian artist bemoans "exile" over nude painting NEW DELHI, Nov 17, (AFP) - India's most celebrated artist M.F. Husain says he is very homesick in London where he lives in voluntary exile to escape prosecution over his paintings of nude Hindu gods and goddesses. "As far as I know there are at least 900 cases registered against me (in India). Matters are so legally complicated that I have been advised not to return home”, the 91-year-old told The Hindustan Times. "I have become an international gypsy. It is no secret that I am wandering around the world with only my art for company." His paintings fetch tens of thousands of dollars. (Posted @ 17:18 PST)
NWFP Assembly demands end of Dr Qadir's house arrest PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Nov 17 (PPI) The NWFP Assembly through a unanimous resolution Friday asked the federal government to free Dr Abdul Qadir Khan, who has been under house arrest for the last 1,000 days, and allow him to take medical treatment according to his own free will. Ms Shugafta Naz, the lady member belonging to the ruling MMA, tabled the resolution. Through two other resolutions, also adopted unanimously, the provincial assembly asked the federal government to extend the Political Parties Act to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, permitting the political parties to start political activities in Fata, and for the abolition of Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR). (Posted @ 17:02 PST)
Six Harkat men acquitted of explosive substance charge Karachi, Nov 17 (PPI): Sindh High Court Friday set aside conviction of six activists of banned Harkatul Mujahidden Al Alami in explosive substance case. Abdul Ghani, Khalil Ahmed, Abdul Rauf, Adeel, Irfan and Ausaf were sentenced to life in prison by additional district and session court south Karachi on June 12, 2006 for possessing explosive substance. They were arrested on April 12, 2004. Police had alleged that they were planning for terrorist act in the city. (Posted @ 16:45 PST)
Mehmood Ali passes away LAHORE, Nov 17 (APP): Minister of State for Cabinet Division and Chief of Tehrik-e-Takmeel-e Pakistan Mehmood Ali, 88, died of heart failure here on Friday. He was attending a function of a private school when he suffered a massive heart attack and expired on way to hospital. He was a highly respected politician of former East Pakistan, a champion of unity of muslims, and opposed the creation of Bangladesh. (Posted @ 16:35 PST)
Sabakzai Dam to be completed by March next LAHORE, Nov 17 (APP) Sabakzai Dam with 0.025 MAF gross storage capacity is expected to be completed by March next and will bring 6,680 acres of barren land under plough in Balochistan. WAPDA Chief Tariq Hamid told a press conference on Friday that completion of another mega project Kachhi Canal, in Balochistan, is also expected next year. It will irrigate 7,13,000 acres of land. (Posted @ 16:30 PST)
Deadly floods hit Afghanistan, hundreds homeless HERAT, Afghanistan, Nov 17 (Reuters) At least 15 people are dead and more than 100 missing after heavy flooding in Badghis province, officials said on Friday. The rains have also destroyed about 10 villages where more than 5,000 head of livestock have also died, while another 150 houses have been destroyed in neighbouring Herat province, but there were no reports of casualties yet. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
US soldier sentenced to life for rape, murder of Iraqi girl WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (AFP) A US military judge sentenced Specialist James Barker, 23, to life in prison with possibility of parole Thursday for the rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and her family, a military spokeswoman said. He was one of five soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division accused in the March 12 killings near the town of Mahmudiyah south of Baghdad. (Posted @ 16:00 PST)
Sri Lanka says 18 Tigers killed in fresh skirmishes COLOMBO, Nov 17 (AFP) Sri Lankan troops killed at least 18 Tamil Tiger guerrillas in three separate confrontations in the restive district of Batticaloa on Thursday, the defence ministry said Friday. It did not say if government troops suffered any casualties. (Posted @ 15:50 PST)
Russia doesn't want Iran punished in nuclear stand-off: minister NEW DELHI, Nov 17 (AFP) Russia does not want to see the UN Security Council punish Iran over its refusal to freeze sensitive nuclear work, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday. Speaking at the start of a visit to New Delhi, Lavrov also said that Moscow wanted to see the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) take the lead role in resolving the crisis. "The role of the Security Council is precisely to help and not to replace the IAEA in the process," Lavrov told reporters. He added that "the good offices of the Security Council will be in the business of helping attaining that goal rather than punishing Iran." (Posted @ 15:10 PST)
Austrian, four US security guards kidnapped in Iraq BAGHDAD, Nov 17 (AFP) One Austrian and four US security guards have been kidnapped near the Kuwaiti border in southern Iraq, a senior US official said Friday. The five were part of convoy of 43 trucks and six security vehicles that was stopped at "what appeared to be a police checkpoint near Safwan" close to the border on Thursday, the official said. (First Posted @ 09:10 PST, Updated @ 14:50 PST)
Bush to push South Korea on North Korea sanctions HANOI, Nov 17 (AFP) US President George W. Bush said Friday he would push South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun in weekend talks to fully implement UN sanctions imposed on North Korea after its nuclear test. "I'll, of course, talk to the South Korean president about implementing the United Nations Security Council resolution," Bush told reporters after meeting with Australian Prime Minister John Howard. "We have a chance to solve this issue peacefully and diplomatically. It's important for the world to see that the Security Council resolutions which were passed are implemented," he said. Bush and Roh are due to meet Saturday on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in Vietnam, where the US president also hopes to cement efforts to keep up a united front to pressure Pyongyang into giving up its nuclear weapons. "I'll talk to (Russian President) Vladimir Putin, (Chinese President) Hu Jintao and (Japanese) Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as well. I'm meeting with all our partners in the six-party talks," said Bush. "Part of my discussions will be how we fully implement those sanctions that the world has asked for, but also it's a chance to set the conditions right so that the six-party talks will succeed. North Korea, as you know, has decided to come back to the table and it gives us a chance to solve this problem peacefully," he said. (First Posted @ 09:20 PST, Updated @ 14:45 PST)
Two killed by bomb blast in Pakistan's Lahore LAHORE, Nov 17 (AFP) A powerful bomb exploded near a police station in the Pakistani city of Lahore Friday, killing at least two civilians and wounding more than a dozen, police said. Police said "terrorists" had planted a device in a dustbin at a bus stand which was close to a police rescue team's office and around 500 metres from the Gaddafi cricket stadium. The dead included a vendor selling caps and glasses whose belongings were scattered across the road, an AFP correspondent said. The blast also damaged a rickshaw and shattered the windows of a parked bus. "It was a terrorist act," city police chief Khalid Farooq said, adding that the bomb was fitted with a timer. No group claimed responsibility for the blast. (Posted @ 14:35 PST)
Death row Briton freed from jail in Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Nov 17 (AFP) A British man whose death sentence was commuted by Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf was freed on Friday after spending 18 years in prison, the interior minister said. "Mirza Tahir Hussain has been released this morning. He is a free person now and he can go wherever he wants to go," Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told AFP. Asked if 36-year-old Hussain had been handed over to the British High Commission (embassy) in Islamabad, Sherpao said: "I can only say that he has been released." Musharraf commuted Hussain's sentence to life imprisonment on Thursday, making the Briton eligible for release because of the time he has already served on death row for the 1988 murder of a taxi driver. "He has been released after calculating the period he spent in jail," the interior minister said. The British High Commission was not immediately available for comment. (Posted @ 12:45 PST)
14 people killed in gunbattle over land dispute in India LUCKNOW, Nov 17 (AP) Two families clashed with guns and knives Friday over a land dispute in the northern Indian town of Sitapur, 80 kilometers southwest of Lucknow, killing 14 people and wounded another three, police said. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
One dead, 29 wounded in bomb attacks in Thai south NARATHIWAT, Nov 17 (AFP) One person was killed and 29 wounded in bomb attacks early Friday in southern Thailand, police said. (FirstPosted @ 09:15 PST, Updated @ 11:25 PST)
Suspected suicide bomb in northwestern Pakistan kills civilian, wounds two policemen PESHAWAR, Nov 17 (AP) A suspected suicide attacker set off a bomb near a police post at a busy crossroads on the outskirts of the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar Friday, killing himself and wounding two policemen, an official said. The policemen were not seriously hurt in the explosion in Pishta Khara, on the southern outskirts of Peshawar, said Kiramat Khan, a Peshawar police officer. There was no claim of responsibility immediately for the blast, Khan said. Police suspect that the man killed in the blast was carrying the bomb but it was not known what he intended to target, said Iftikhar Khan, a police investigator. Police identified the attacker with a single name, Nadeem, and said he was a 19-year-old man from Pishta Khara. The motive for the bombing was not clear. (FirstPosted @ 10:05 PST, Updated @ 11:10 PST)
American soldier killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, Nov 17 (AP) A U.S. Army soldier was killed during combat operations in eastern Iraq’s Diyala province Thursday, the military said Friday. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)
France's Royal to lead socialist challenge at presidential race PARIS, Nov 17 (AFP) Segolene Royal was chosen on Thursday to be the socialist candidate in France's presidential election, after she was the clear winner in a ballot of party members, party official Stephane Le Foll said. "There will be only one round and Segolene Royal will be the candidate of the Socialist party (PS) in 2007," he said. Royal won 60.6 percent of the vote, well above the majority she needed to avoid a second round in the primary against her two rivals, Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Laurent Fabius. (Posted @ 10:40 PST)
US Senate passes Indian nuclear deal WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (AFP) The US Senate passed Thursday a landmark civilian nuclear deal with India, more than a year after it was proposed by leaders of the two countries as a strategic move to boost ties. The bill on the US-India Civilian Nuclear Agreement was adopted 85-12 by the Senate, officials said. "This legislation is vital to advancing America's strategic partnership with India," said Bill Frist, the Republican majority leader of the Senate after the bill's approval. Under the deal, India, a non-signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), would be allowed access to civilian nuclear technology in return for placing its atomic reactors under global safeguards. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Suicide bomber dies attacking Pakistan police PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Nov 17 (Reuters) A suicide bomber killed himself in an attack on a police van in the Pakistani city of Peshawar Friday, but neither of the policemen in the vehicle were hurt, police said. "It was a suicide attack. The suicide bomber was killed," Iftikhar Khan, a superintendent of police, told Reuters. (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
Bush arrives in Vietnam for Asia Pacific summit HANOI, Nov 17 (AFP) US President George W. Bush arrived in Vietnam Friday for an Asia-Pacific summit expected to focus on trade and a visit to the country. Bush's presidential plane touched down at the international airport 20 kilometers north of Hanoi, site of this weekend's annual summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. The US leader was due to hold bilateral talks over lunch on Friday with Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Also, he was to hold talks here with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Hu Jintao, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. In Vietnam, Bush was also to meet with a group of all seven Southeast Asian leaders attending the APEC summit - Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Following his state visit to Vietnam, he will head to Indonesia. (Posted @ 09:20 PST)
Bomb attacks wound 14 people in Thai south NARATIWAT, Nov 17 (AFP) At least 14 people, including three soldiers, were wounded in bomb attacks early Friday in southern Thailand’s Narathiwat province, police said. (Posted @ 09:15 PST)
At least seven dead as tornado hits North Carolina MIAMI, Nov 17 (AFP) At least seven people died and 20 more were wounded when a tornado slammed down Thursday in North Carolina, the US state's governor Michael Easley said. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)
Six dead in Tonga violence NUKU'ALOFA, Nov 17 (AFP) Tongan police said Friday they had found six bodies in the debris of a building burned down in Thursday’s pro-democracy riots in the capital Nuku'alofa, the Tongan Broadcasting Commission reported. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)
Two dead after trawler sinks in Russian Far East MOSCOW, Nov 17 (AFP) Two people died after a Russian trawler with 14 crew members on board sank off the coast of the Kuril Islands in Russia's Far East Thursday, Russian media reported. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)
Security contractors kidnapped in Iraq WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (AFP) Fourteen people, including four Americans working for a Kuwait-based security company, were abducted in an ambush on a convoy near southern Iraq’s city of Nasariyah, US media reported Thursday, citing defence officials. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)
GENEVA, Nov 16: Ecuador launched an attack on the European Union’s banana import regime at the World Trade Organisation on Thursday, complaining it was unfair to Latin American producers.
The country’s mission at the EU said in a press release that its move should be seen as “an invitation for the EU to negotiate.”
A diplomat, who declined to be named, commented: “The banana war begins again.”
Ecuador is challenging in particular an EU customs duty of 176 euros per ton on bananas imported from Latin America.
Ecuador's share of the European banana import market fell to 27.5pc in the first eight months of the year from 29.9pc in the corresponding period in 2005, according to the EU agency.—AFP
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Editor: Abbas Nasir
The DAWN Group of Newspapers
Haroon House, Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed Road, Karachi 74200, Pakistan.
Phone:+92 (21) 111-444-777 Fax: +92 (21) 569-3995
webmaster@dawn.com
Make sure to reload these pages so you're viewing the current version.
|
|
|
Contributions |