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| November 22, 2006 | Wednesday | Shawwal 29, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Chinese President’s Pakistan visit very significant, strategic, historic Karachi, Nov 22 (PPI): Chinese President Hu Jintao's four-day state visit to Pakistan beginning Thursday would be ``very significant, strategic and historic,'' Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Wednesday. The visit, during which many agreements are to be signed, would open new chapter in our relations and further deepen all-weather friendship between the two countries, he told newsmen during a visit to International Defence Exhibition (IDEAS 2006) at Expo Centre, Karachi. (Posted @ 17:20 PST)
Pakistan hopes all issues with India including Kashmir resolved peacefully Karachi, Nov 22 (PPI): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Wednesday said Pakistan hopes that all issues with India including the core issue of Kashmir would be resolved peacefully through dialogue. It was necessary that both sides show flexibility and political will to resolve all outstanding issues, including the core issue of Kashmir which would ensure lasting peace in the region, he said. After the resolution of Kashmir and such other issues, relations between Pakistan and India would improve in all fields, Shaukat Aziz observed, he told newsmen while visiting International Defence Exhibition (IDEAS) at Expo Centre in Karachi. (Posted @ 17:20 PST)
China's president charts 'new course' for peace in South Asia NEW DELHI, Nov 22 (AFP) - Chinese President Hu Jintao declared Wednesday his country was ready to play a "constructive role" for peace in South Asia and that he had made his trip to India to enhance "mutual trust". Hu, the first Chinese president to visit India in a decade, added in a keynote speech to top government officials he wanted to "chart a new course" for future strategic relations between the two countries. "China is ready to work with India," Hu said. He also welcomed the "improvement in relations between India and Pakistan" adding that Beijing was ready to play a "constructive role" for the promotion of peace in the region. Hu said "a peaceful and prosperous South Asia" was beneficial for both Asia and the world. (First Posted @ 12:50 PST; Updated @ 16:25 PST)
UK says could hand Basra to Iraq government in spring LONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said on Wednesday that Britain could hand over control of the Iraqi province of Basra to the Iraq government in spring next year. "The progress of our current operation in Basra gives us confidence that we may be able to achieve transition in that province...at some point next spring," Beckett told Parliament. (Posted @ 19:50 PST)
Controversial Bangladesh election chief steps aside: official DHAKA, Nov 22 (AFP) - Bangladesh's chief election commissioner M. A. Aziz stepped aside Wednesday after coming under mounting pressure from the opposition, which had accused him of seeking to rig national elections in January, an official said. (Posted @ 19:43 PST)
WPB tabled in Upper House ISLAMABAD, Nov 22 (Online): Federal Minister for Law and Human Rights Wasi Zafar Wednesday tabled Women’s Rights Bill after its approval by the National Assembly last week. (Posted @ 19:40 PST)
Pakistan Ordnance Factories, South Korea sign defence cooperation accord Karachi, Nov 22 (PPI): Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) Wednesday signed a defence cooperation agreement with South Korean Poongson Corp. for joint production and marketing of artillery 155mm ammunition. Prime Minister Shakat Aziz witnessed the signing ceremony. Production will start in January 2007. POF on Tuesday signed similar agreement with leading French GEAT Industries. (Posted @ 19:25 PST)
Pakistan set to get eight JF-17 fighter jets next year KARACHI, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Pakistan is set to get the first batch of eightJF-17 Thunder fighter jets from China next year and the country would start manufacturing them locally from January 2008, a senior military official said Wednesday. "We shall...have the first two JF-17s on March 23rd, while the remaining six of the first batch will also arrive next year," Air Marshal Khalid Choudhry, Chairman of Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, told Reuters. "The hardcore production of JF-17 in Pakistan will start in January 2008." When full production starts, half the planes would be produced in China and half in Pakistan. (Posted @ 19:15 PST)
Chemical plant explosion rocks Massachusetts' town BOSTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - A huge explosion at a chemical plant rocked a suburb about 20 miles north of Boston Wednesday, sparking a massive fire that damaged about 30 homes and injured 10 people, local media reported. (Posted @ 19:00 PST)
Seven Iraqi security guards killed in bombing HILLA, Iraq, Nov 22 (AFP) - A bomb attack Wednesday killed seven members of an Iraqi specialised security force, the Facility Protection Service, as they were receiving their salaries south of Baghdad, police said. The bomb was concealed in a plastic bag inside a government building in the town of Iskandiriyah, north of Hilla, where the security guards had arrived to receive their salaries, a spokesman for Hilla police said. (Posted @ 18:50 PST)
NATO credibility on the line in Afghanistan: Blair LONDON, Nov 22, 2006 (AFP) - NATO's credibility is at stake in its operation in Afghanistan, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Wednesday, urging Britain's allies to make a greater effort to help defeat the Taliban. Blair, who visited British forces there on Monday, told Britain's lower House of Commons that he would raise the issue of so-called "national caveats" at a NATO summit in Latvia next week. (Posted @ 18:45 PST)
Jordan PM reshuffles cabinet to bolster reform AMMAN, Nov 22 (AFP) - Jordanian Prime Minister Maaruf Bakhit reshuffled his cabinet Wednesday as part of a bid to bolster reforms, appointing nine new ministers. The key interior and foreign affairs portfolios remain unchanged, while two other ministers switched jobs, an official told AFP. (Posted @ 18:40 PST)
PM proposes strategy for improving tax reforms ISLAMABAD, Nov 22 (PPI) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Wednesday proposed a seven –point strategy for improved tax reforms which can lead to facilitating fiscal consolidation and move towards improved and forward looking economies of the Islamic countries. Inaugurating the third Technical Conference of the Association of Tax Authorities of Islamic Countries (ATAIC) he said our eventual goal should be to create an Islamic Economic Union by entering into multilateral free trade as well as promoting free flow of capital, labour, good and services. He said Islamic countries can also create a world class capital market to attract international capital. He urged the Islamic countries to concentrate on good governance, competitiveness and innovation and promote experience sharing with each other with particular focus in enhancing cooperation in economic sectors such as energy, telecom, IT, banking mining, agriculture and services. Seventy delegates from fourteen member countries and nine from non-member countries are participating in the conference. (Posted @ 17:38 PST)
Rs 32b distributed among 447,000 quake affectess; Senate told ISLAMABAD, Nov 22 (PPI) Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr. Sher Afgan Khan Niazi informed the Senate on Wednesday that about Rs thirty-two billion rupees have been distributed among 447,000 quake affectees so far. He said master plans of Muzaffarabad and Bagh had been finalised while master plans of Rawlakot and New Balokot were in final stage. (Posted @ 17:35 PST)
Bangladesh activists clash again: 1 dead, dozens injured DHAKA, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Rival activists armed with home-made bombs and sticks fought for a third straight day across Bangladesh on Wednesday, witnesses said. A man was fatally stabbed in Bogra town, 250 km north of Dhaka, after a rally calling for the dismissal of controversial election officials, witnesses said.Some 40 others were hurt in Bogra clashes and about 10 people were hurt when police used batons to disperse activists in Dhaka.(Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Thailand coup leader to meet Pakistan PM KARACHI, Nov 22 (AFP) - Thailand's top coup leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, on a visit to Pakistan, is due to meet Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz here Wednesday, officials said. Sonthi, the first Muslim to head majority Buddhist Thailand's military, arrived in Karachi Tuesday to attend a high-profile defence exhibition(IDEAS 2006) inaugurated by President Pervez Musharraf. Sonthi, whose visit is his first outside Thailand since overthrowing the government of premier Thaksin Shinawatra in a bloodless coup in September, will meet Aziz, IDEAS chief organiser Major General Absar Hussain said.Foreign ministry officials in Islamabad said Sonthi was here in connection with the defence exhibition. Pakistan has hosted the annual defence exhibition to showcase its military hardware to promote arms sales that earned the country 100 million dollars last year, according to officials. The participants of the exhibition include companies from the United States, France, Germany, China and Turkey. Pakistan is hoping to secure sale contracts for its own versions of the Russian T59 tank the JF-7 Thunder fighter aircraft, jointly manufactured with China.(Posted @ 15:45 PST)
Iraq civilian death toll hits new high of 3,709 in October: UN BAGHDAD, Nov 22 (AFP) - The death toll of civilians killed in Iraq reached a new high of 3,709 in October, a United Nations report said Wednesday.(Posted @ 15:40 PST)
Israel cabinet approves more Gaza operations JERUSALEM, Nov 22 (Reuters) Israel's security cabinet on Wednesday agreed to continue military operations in Gaza but did not opt for a large-scale offensive, political sources said. They said the army would keep targeting rocket launching squads and try to prevent the smuggling of weapons into the Gaza Strip from neighbouring Egypt.(Posted @ 15:05 PST)
Sri Lankan war planes bomb sea Tiger base COLOMBO, Nov 22 (AFP) Sri Lankan war planes bombed suspected Tamil Tiger training bases Wednesday in the island's northwest, a defence ministry spokesman said. Aircraft hit two bases of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the district of Mannar, the spokesman said.(Posted @ 14:10 PST)
Female legislator attacked, husband killed by suspected Taliban KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Nov 22 (AFP) Suspected Taliban gunmen on motorbikes ambushed a female provincial councillor's car in southern Afghanistan, killing her husband, police said Wednesday. The attackers struck as legislator Zarghona Kakar and her husband stopped at a bakery in Kandahar province late Tuesday.(Posted @ 13:45 PST)
Pelosi announces forum on Iraq war by US Democrats WASHINGTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) Democrats said Tuesday they will hold a forum next month to examine options in the Iraq war. "The war in Iraq is one of the most critical issues confronting our nation, and the American people have clearly called for a new direction," said Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat set to lead the House as its first woman speaker when the new 110th Congress convenes in January. She said House Democrats would hold a forum on the Iraq war on Dec 5. "We know that 'stay the course' is not working, has not made our country safer, has not honoured the commitment to our troops, and has not brought stability to the region," Pelosi said in a statement.(Posted @ 12:05 PST)
Nine dead, 11 hurt in Egypt minibus crash CAIRO, Nov 22 (Reuters) Nine people were killed and 11 others injured Tuesday when a minibus collided head-on with a passenger car on a highway south of the Egyptian capital, security sources said.(Posted @ 11:55 PST)
Palestinian killed by Israeli tank shell in Gaza GAZA CITY, Nov 22 (AFP) A Palestinian was killed and two others wounded by an Israeli tank shell in the Jabaliya refugee camp north of Gaza City Wednesday, medical sources said. Musaad Abu Matiq, from the armed wing of Hamas, was killed, the sources said, as Israel pressed on with offensives in northern and eastern stretches of the Gaza Strip. In the Shujaia neighborhood east of Gaza City, Israeli forces seized control of the home of Hamas lawmaker Jemila Shanti, security sources said.(Posted @ 11:20 PST)
UN Council condemns murder of Lebanon minister UNITED NATIONS, Nov 22 (Reuters) The 15-nation U.N. Security Council condemned the killing of a Lebanese Cabinet minister on Tuesday. "The Security Council unequivocally condemned the assassination in Beirut on Nov 21, 2006, of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel," said the statement, read at a formal meeting by Peru's U.N. ambassador, Jorge Voto-Bernales, this month's council president. "The Security Council condemns any attempt to destabilize Lebanon through political assassination or other terrorist acts," the statement said.(Posted @ 11:10 PST)
Gunman shoots former cabinet minister in Gaza GAZA, Nov 22 (Reuters) A gunman shot and wounded Abdel Aziz Shahin, a former Palestinian cabinet minister from Fatah in the Gaza Strip Tuesday, Fatah sources said. His condition was not immediately clear.(Posted @ 11:02 PST)
Fire in Indian leather factory kills nine people KOLKATA, India, Nov 22 (Reuters) At least nine workers were killed and 13 were seriously burnt by a blaze in a leather factory in eastern India on Wednesday, police said. The four-storey building caught fire just before dawn in a southern suburb of Kolkata, capital of the West Bengal state. Police said they were unsure about the cause of the fire, but suggested it could have been caused by an electrical short circuit.(Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Helicopter ditches in North Sea; all 17 aboard rescued THE HAGUE, Nov 22 (AFP) A helicopter with 17 people aboard was forced to ditch in the North Sea but everyone has been rescued, the ANP news agency reported early Wednesday, citing Dutch coast guard officials. Just before midnight the helicopter was forced to ditch some 25 kilometers from the northwestern Dutch port city of Den Helder, ANP said, adding that the reason for the water landing was not yet known.(Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Bush, Maliki to meet in Jordan ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Nov 22 (AFP) US President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki will meet in Jordan next week to discuss Iraq taking control of security there as well as "the role of the region in supporting Iraq," the two announced Tuesday. In a joint statement released by the White House, the leaders said they would meet November 29-30 to discuss the security situation in the country. "We will focus our discussions on current developments in Iraq, progress made to date in the deliberations of a high level joint committee on transferring security responsibility, and the role of the region in supporting Iraq," the leaders said.(Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Bush warns Syria, Iran after Lebanon killing WASHINGTON, Nov 22 (AFP) US President George W. Bush Tuesday accused Syria and Iran of fomenting violence and instability in Lebanon, as he condemned the assassination of Lebanese cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel. "We strongly condemn the assassination today in Lebanon of Pierre Gemayel," Bush told American troops in Hawaii during a trip home from Asia. "We support the Siniora government and its democracy and we support the Lebanese people's desire to live in peace and we support their efforts to defend their democracy against attempts by Syria, Iran and allies to foment instability and violence in that important country," he said. "Syria's refusal to cease and desist from its continuing efforts to destabilize Lebanon's democratically elected government" was a violation of UN Security Council resolutions, Bush said.(Posted @ 09:40 PST)
Italian aid workers freed in Gaza GAZA CITY, Nov 22 (AFP) Two Italian Red Cross workers kidnapped in the southern Gaza Strip were freed late Tuesday night, the Red Cross and Palestinian security sources said. Claudio Moroni, 36, and Gianmarco Onorato, 63, were free and on their way back to Gaza City from the south Gaza town of Khan Yunis where they were abducted by gunmen hours earlier, Eyad Nasser, a spokesman for the International Red Cross in Gaza said.(Posted @ 09:20 PST)
At lease eight dead in Poland coal mine explosion WARSAW, Nov 22 (AFP) A gas explosion Tuesday in the Halemba coal mine in Poland killed at least eight miners, the private Polish television station TVN24 reported, citing information received from the crisis center at the site. Some 18 miners remain blocked underground while rescue efforts are underway in "extremely difficult conditions", a spokesman for the mining company that owns the mine said.(Posted @ 09:15 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 23.69 points: KARACHI, Nov 22: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 10646.24 , up 23.69 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Nov 22: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.93 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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