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| December 01, 2006 | Friday | Ziqa'ad 9, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Musharraf signs Women’s Rights Bill ISLAMABAD, Dec 1 (AP) President Gen. Pervez Musharraf Friday gave assent to the Women’s Rights Bill passed earlier by both Houses of the Parliament. ``Now it has become law,'' Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sher Afghan said in a nationally televised broadcast. ``It has been done to safeguard the rights of women.'' (Posted @ 17:15 PST)
Pakistan sells 10 percent stake in major oil company ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec 1 (AP) Pakistan government said Friday it has sold a 10 percent stake in the country's biggest oil company, Oil and Gas Development Co., to international investors for US$813 million, in a deal it said highlighted global confidence in the country. Some 95 percent of the stake was bought by a group of international institutional investors from the United States, Britain, Asia and the Middle East, the country's Privatization Commission said in a press release.(Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Cricket-Pakistan win final test to take series 2-0 KARACHI, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Pakistan won the third and final test against the West Indies by 199 runs after leg-spinner Danish Kaneria and pacer Abdul Razzaq took the last four wickets for 17 runs after tea on Friday. The win gave Pakistan a 2-0 victory in the three-match series. The test was dominated by scoring-machine Mohammad Yousuf who had innings of 102 and 124 and notched his ninth hundred of the year while setting a record for most runs in a calendar year, 1,788. (Updated @ 16:50 PST)
Quake jolts northwestern Pakistan PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Dec 1 (AFP) An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter Scale jolted northwestern Pakistan Friday, causing panic but no casualties or damage, officials said. Tremors were felt in Peshawar, Islamabad and the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan at 6:12 pm, a seismological department official said. The earthquake's epicentre was located about 300 kilometers north of Peshawar in the Hindu Kush mountains, he said. Police and emergency rescue officials said there were no reports of deaths or injuries or of damage to property. However, panicked residents in Peshawar rushed out of homes and shops reciting verses from the Holy Quran, witnesses said. A devastating 7.6-magnitude earthquake in northwestern Pakistan and Kashmir killed some 74,000 people and displaced 3.5 million in October last year. (Posted @ 20:40 PST)
Asian Games officially opened DOHA, Dec 1, 2006 (AFP) - The 15th Asian Games was officially opened Friday by Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani at the Khalifa Stadium here following a spectacular three-hour ceremony. (Posted @ 23:52 PST)
14 Kurds found murdered in northern Iraq MOSUL, Dec 1, 2006 (AFP) - Iraqi police found 14 Kurdish farmers murdered in a field near the Syrian border, a government official said Friday. The farmers from the town of Sinjar were shot dead and their bodies were first found by their relatives, said Dakheel Karim, administrator of Sinjar some 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Syrian border. Karim said the relatives had gone to meet the farmers in the field where they worked and discovered the bodies. Sinjar is located west of Mosul. (Posted @ 23:00 PST)
Blast kills suicide bomber in Peshawar PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Dec 1 (AFP) - A suspected militant died Friday when explosives he was carrying on a motorcycle blew up in a high-security zone of Peshawar, police said. "A lone motorcyclist aged about 32 years old was driving in the area then there was a loud explosion and he died. The ID card found from his says he was a resident of Peshawar," police chief Habibur Rehman Rehman said. "It appears that he was taking explosives somewhere else. It was a sensitive area -- he was within a one kilometre radius of the US Consulate and military intelligence," Rehman added. Pasha said the police had established the identity of the bomber, but would not give details saying that he did not want to compromise investigations. The bomb was fitted to the motorcycle with the intention of leaving it somewhere to explode, he said. It was also a low-intensity device so the damage was limited. (Updated @ 21:25 PST)
Torrential rain threatens Asian Games opening ceremony DOHA, Dec 1 (AFP) - Rain was pouring down at the Khalifa Stadium on Friday, threatening to mar the opening ceremony of the Asian Games, billed as the most spectacular ever seen. Dancers and musicians continued to perform in a warm-up at the packed stadium despite the deluge with the official show due to start shortly. Ceremony presenters welcomed the 55,000-strong crowd from a stage sheltered under umbrellas, and encouraged spectators to ignore the wild weather and enjoy the extravaganza. Organisers have said the three hour 20 minute gala opening will go on regardless of the rain which is unusual in this dry desert state. Qatar has spent years planning the event and invested billions of dollars in the Games, which is the most ambitious so far with athletes from 45 countries angling for gold in 39 events. (Posted @ 21:25 PST)
Iraqis to take over security in north in 3-6 months: US general WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (AFP) - Iraqi forces will take over security for northern Iraq in three to six months, opening opportunities to reduce US combat forces in the region, a US commander said Friday. Major General Benjamin Mixon, commander of the Multinational Division-North, said a decision on US force levels in the six provinces centered around Mosul could come next summer during the normal rotation of US forces. "And there will be decisions made, I'm sure, above my level where we may see a reduction in the numbers of forces that are on the ground and certainly an increase in those that are in a role of advising the Iraqi security forces," he said. Command of all four Iraqi army divisions will have been put under control of the Iraqi Defense Ministry by the end of February, the general said. (Posted @ 21:15 PST)
Chicago airport virtually shut down as snowstorm blasts middle US CHICAGO, Dec 1 (AFP) - Chicago's O'Hare International Airport was in virtual lockdown Friday after the first snowstorm of the US winter blanketed the plains and midwest states, knocking out power to thousands and snarling traffic. Hundreds of flights were grounded at O'Hare and other flight hubs as Chicago got six to 12 inches of snow overnight. Across the city, downed trees and ice on the power lines knocked out electricity to 16,000 homes and businesses. Dozens of schools were closed and scores of cars spun out on slick, icy highways, reducing the morning commute to a crawl. The early winter storm dumped as much as 12 inches of snow across parts of Texas, Missouri, Kansas and Illinois early Friday. (Posted @ 21:05 PST)
Lebanon's power struggle takes to the streets BEIRUT, Dec 1 (AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of opposition protesters staged a massive show of force in Beirut on Friday aimed at pressing the Western-backed government to resign. Lebanese troops and armored vehicles were heavily deployed in the capital as hordes of demonstrators packed the streets and surrounded the barricaded offices of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora who vowed not to cave in to pressure from the opposition, which comprises various factions including Shiites and Christians. Organizers called for "all Lebanese" to take part in the protest, to be followed by an open-ended sit-in. Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV and the Christian LBCI tv both estimated that hundreds of thousands of people had joined the demonstration by 1300 GMT. Hezbollah deployed thousands of its own "discipline men", who maintained tight crowd control and took up positions between army forces and protesters. Besides the Hezbollah and Aoun's Christian faction, the opposition includes the Shiite Amal party of parliament speaker Nabih Berri and supporters of the Syrian-backed president Lahoud. (Posted @ 21:00 PST)
Iran group officials to meet next week on UN resolution: Lavrov MOSCOW, Dec 1 (AFP) - Five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany are to meet early next week to discuss a United Nations resolution on Iran's suspect nuclear programme, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday. (Posted @ 20:45 PST)
Pakistan batsman Yousuf showered with gifts after record runs, centuries KARACHI, Dec 1 (AFP) Pakistan’s test cricketer Mohammad Yousuf has been showered with cash and gifts worth about 100,000 US dollars by his sponsors and President Pervez Musharraf after his record-breaking run spree during the calendar year 2006 including the runs in the test series against the West Indies. He won two luxury cars after being adjudged as man-of-the-match and man-of-the-series; a rupee one million (16,666-dollar) prize from President Pervez Musharraf who is also the patron of the PCB, for breaking Viv Richards' 30-year record for most centuries and highest runs scored in a year; gold medals from the PCB and the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA); rupees 150,000 (rupees 5,000 each for each of the 30 boundaries he hit in the Karachi Test) from KCCA president surgeon Mohammad Ali Shah; and some more millions of rupees from sports lovers and sponsors including Ten Sports, ARY Digital, Pepsi, Mobilink etc. (Posted @ 20:35 PST)
Five more ministers inducted in Punjab cabinet LAHORE, Dec 1 (APP) Five more members were inducted Friday in the existing 39 member Punjab cabinet. Moin Ud Din Riaz Qureshi, Zile Huma Usman, Dr.Anjam Amjad, Dr.Suhail Zafar Cheema and Sardar Darya Khan Fayyaz took oath as ministers at a ceremony at the Governor House. (Posted @ 20:20 PST)
Bush will make decision on Iraq in 'weeks': Hadley ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Dec 1 (APP/AFP) US President George W. Bush will make a decision on Iraq policy in "weeks rather than months", national security advisor Stephen Hadley said Thursday. "I think probably it's going to be weeks rather than months. It's going to be when the president is comfortable," Hadley told reporters when asked when Bush would act on recommendations on US policy toward the war-torn country. (Posted @ 20:10 PST)
Elections on schedule: PM Aziz PESHAWAR, Dec 1 (APP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Friday held out categorical assurance that the general elections would be held on time next year and guaranteed smooth sailing of the balloting in a fair, free and transparent polls in the country. Addressing a meeting of the PML parliamentarians, district nazimeen, provincial leaders and office bearers of the Muslim league, he said that for the first to time in the history of the country the present assemblies would complete their tenure as elections would be held on time next year. (Posted @ 20:05 PST)
APHC reaffirms support to Musharraf’s proposals on Kashmir Srinagar, occupied Kashmir, Dec 1 (PPI) The All Parties Hurriyat Conference, at a high level meeting in Srinagar Friday reaffirmed its support to President Pervez Musharraf's proposals of demilitarisation, self-governance and joint-management and termed them as substantive steps towards the resolution of Kashmir dispute. According to Kashmir Media Service, the meeting was presided over by the APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and was attended by all the members of Hurriyat's Executive and General Councils. Senior APHC leader, Professor Abdul Ghani Bhutt briefing the newsmen after the meeting said that the proposal of self-governance in Kashmir was based on the concept that Kashmiris were themselves the masters and architects of their destiny. He emphasized that only a solution acceptable to all the three parties, that is, the Kashmiri people, Pakistan and India would be durable and meaningful. (Posted @ 19:50 PST)
Gilani on Kashmir issue Srinagar, occupied Kashmir, Dec 1 (PPI) Veteran Hurriyat leader, Syed Ali Gilani, addressing a meeting in Srinagar Friday demanded implementation of the United Nations resolutions and holding of trilateral dialogue to help resolve Kashmir issue. According to Kashmir Media Service, he asked India to shun stubbornness and accept the ground realities. "The most easy, peaceful and democratic solution to solve Kashmir issue lies in the implementation of the UN resolutions. It can also be resolved through tripartite talks if India shuns its obduracy and acknowledges Kashmir as disputed territory", he maintained. (Posted @ 19:40 PST)
Cricket-England 266-3 v Australia at close ADELAIDE, Dec 1 (Reuters) - England were 266 for three in their first innings at the close of play on the opening day of the second Ashes test against Australia at Adelaide Oval on Friday. Scores: England 266-3 from 90 overs (Paul Collingwood 98 not out, Ian Bell 60, Kevin Pietersen 60 not out) (Posted @ 19:30 PST)
10 of 41 missing men free, Pakistani Court told ISLAMABAD, Dec 1(AP) The federal government informed the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday that 10 of 41 men on a list of people suspected of being secretly detained by domestic intelligence agencies for alleged links with extremist or terrorist groups have returned home. Deputy attorney general Nasir Saeed Sheikh also informed the Supreme Court that authorities had traced 10 other people on the list and that efforts were under way to get information on the whereabouts of the remaining 21. The Supreme Court had ordered the Interior Ministry to disclose by Friday the whereabouts of 41 suspected security detainees. The Chief Justice Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry gave the government until December 15 to produce information on the remaining 21 who have not been located. (Posted @ 18:53 PST)
Pakistan axe Afridi for first West Indies one-dayer KARACHI, Dec 1 (AFP) Pakistan left out all-rounder Shahid Afridi from the 14-man squad for the first one-day international against the West Indies in Rawalpindi on December 5, Pakistan Cricket Board announced Friday. Also, Younis Khan will lead the team in Rawalpindi as regular captain Inzamam-ul-Haq will be completing a four-match ban in the wake of Oval Test fiasco. Also excluded from the list of 14 is Shahid Nazir, the medium pacer who played in all the three test matches of the series. Squad: Younis Khan (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Yousuf, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Rao Iftikhar, Umar Gul, Mohammad Sami, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Rehman. (Posted @ 18:30 PST)
16 Taliban killed, two commanders seized in Afghanistan KANDAHAR, Dec 1 (AFP) NATO and Afghan troops killed 10 Taliban rebels and captured two suspected militant leaders in a raid on an alleged suicide bomb cell in Sangin district of Helmand province, the alliance said Friday. Separately, six Taliban were killed and two other insurgents arrested after a three-hour gunbattle with Afghan police. The identity of the suspected commanders captured in the raid was not revealed. (First Posted @ 12:25 PST, Updated @ 18:18 PST)
12 killed, 44 injured in Iraq clashes BAGHDAD, Dec 1 (AFP) Twelve Iraqis were killed in a series of attacks around Iraq on Friday, security officials said. A bomb exploded in the centre of Baghdad, killing three people and wounding 16. The attack came shortly after a car bomb exploded in the small town of Husseiniya on the outskirts of Baghdad, killing another three people and wounding 15. Meanwhile, Iraqi soldiers clashed with insurgents in the Fadhel neighbourhood of Baghdad, wounding nine people, including three soldiers. In Kirkuk, a suicide car bomber attempted to ram a joint US-Iraqi patrol. The blast missed the patrol but killed three bystanders and wounded four, including a child. In Samawa, clashes between security forces and armed elements continued into a second day, with two policemen killed on Friday. A man was also killed in Iskandiriyah, just south of Baghdad, when a roadside bomb exploded next to a mini-bus. (First Posted @ 12:10 PST, Updated @ 18:10 PST)
Iranian president in Qatar for Asian Games ceremony DOHA, Dec 1 (AFP) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Qatar Friday to attend the Asian Games opening ceremony. Ahmadinejad toured the athletes village amid tight security. Also to arrive Friday for the opening ceremony was Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. (Posted @ 18:00 PST)
Fractured foot rules Windies' Sarwan out of Pakistan one-dayers KARACHI, Dec 1 (AFP) West Indies’ vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan was Friday ruled out of the five-match one-day series against Pakistan after suffering a hairline fracture on his right foot. "Sarwan was hit by a delivery from Pakistani fast bowler Umar Gul and the X-ray report shows a hairline fracture on the instep of his right foot which is now placed in a cast," West Indian media manager said. (Posted @ 18:00 PST)
Bollywood actress seriously injured in car crash PANAJI, India, Dec 1 (AFP) Prominent Bollywood actress Pooja Bhatt was injured in a car accident Friday after attending a film festival in Goa, police said. Her car collided head-on with another vehicle while she was driving to the airport to catch a flight to Mumbai. The actress-turned-producer multiple injuries including fractures, doctors said. (Posted @ 17:25 PST)
Former Indian cricketer convicted of homicide CHANDIGARH, India, Dec 1 (Reuters) Former Indian test cricketer and current member of parliament Navjot Singh Sidhu was convicted of homicide on Friday by a court that overturned an earlier acquittal related to a road-rage incident 17 years ago. The Punjab and Haryana High Court said 43-year-old Sidhu, now also a TV commentator, was guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and added that he would be sentenced on December 6. The offence carries a maximum sentence of a life term. Sidhu, a member of the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), resigned from the lower house of parliament within hours of the conviction. Sidhu was involved in a car accident in his hometown of Patiala in the northern state of Punjab in 1989. The batsman was accused of getting into a fight with the occupant of the other car and beating him up, leading to his death. A lower court acquitted the cricketer in 1999. Sidhu said his lawyers would challenge the verdict in a higher court. Sidhu played in 51 tests and 136 one-day internationals for India between 1983 and 1999. (Posted @ 17:20 PST)
Pakistan arrests seven suspected Taliban fighters QUETTA, Pakistan, Dec 1 (AFP) Security forces arrested seven suspected Taliban fighters in a raid in the southwestern frontier city of Quetta, police said Friday. The seven Afghan nationals were seized late Thursday at a house in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, deputy inspector general of police Abdul Qadir Thabo said. "They are Taliban fighters but there is no important commander among them," Thabo said. Investigators were trying to trace their origin and links with the Taliban in Afghanistan, he said. (Posted @ 16:30 PST)
Police teargas protestors in Quetta QUETTA, Pakistan, Dec 1 (AFP) Police Friday fired teargas shells after hooligans torched two buses and a jeep in protest at the arrest of opposition leaders in Baluchistan province, officials said. Activists from the Baluchistan Students Organisation also erected roadblocks on a main road in the provincial capital Quetta and pelted passing cars with stones, senior police official Abdul Qadir Thabo said. "The police have removed all roadblocks and opened the road,” Thabo said, adding that no arrests were made. The protests followed the arrests earlier this week of some 50 people, including the house arrest of former chief minister and Baluchistan National Party chief Akhtar Mengal, ahead of a planned anti-government march. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
U.S. should talk to Iran, not attack: Colin Powell LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell does not believe the United States will attack Iran and says Washington should speak to Tehran and Syria. Powell was speaking to the Leaders in London Business Forum on Thursday. Answering a question from Reuters, Powell said: "Iran is a regional power and it will have to be dealt with. We should find ways to speak to them and also speak to the Syrians…we all agree that it's not a good thing for Iran to develop their nuclear programme if it could develop nuclear weapons, but the United States is not going to attack Iran," he said. (Posted @ 16:05 PST)
Guerrillas kill four Philippine soldiers in ambush MANILA, Dec 1 (AFP) Communist insurgents ambushed an army convoy in the southern Philippines on Friday, killing four and wounding three others, an army official said. The 50-man band from the communist New People's Army (NPA) set off a landmine and then fired on the convoy consisting of an armoured personnel carrier and a truck in northern Mindanao, the official said.(Posted @ 15:35 PST)
Greek police detain 75 illegal immigrants KOMOTINI, Greece, Dec 1 (AFP) Greek police on Friday detained 75 illegal immigrants from Asia and arrested a Turkish man who had smuggled them across the border in a truck, local authorities said. The truck was stopped by police on a highway between the northeastern Greek towns of Alexandroupolis and Orestiada, around 750 kilometres from Athens.(Posted @ 15:30 PST)
IAEA chief says sanctions alone not enough TOKYO, Dec 1 (AFP) Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, on Friday called for flexibility in talks with North Korea and Iran, saying that sanctions alone were not enough. "The focus in addition to sanctions should be on how to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table, how to make sure that North Korea shows the necessary flexibility, and ultimately to be able to succeed in defusing the nuclear crisis in North Korea. The same applies to the situation in Iran. You can use sanctions but sanctions alone as we know by experience will not resolve issues,” ElBaradei told a news conference in Tokyo.(Posted @ 15:25 PST)
Indian troops kill four in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Dec 1 (AFP) Indian troops shot dead four militants in two separate raids in revolt-hit occupied Kashmir, police said Friday. Three of the militants were killed during a gunbattle in southern Udhampur district late Thursday, a police spokesman said. Another militant was shot dead in northern Baramulla district late Thursday during a similar gunbattle.(Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Sri Lankan president's brother escapes suicide attack COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Dec 1 (AP) A suicide bomber targeted a convoy of vehicles carrying Sri Lanka's defense secretary and other security officials in the capital Friday, wounding at least 14 people, the military and a hospital official said. Defense Secretary G. Rajapakse, who is the brother of President Mahinda Rajapakse, escaped unhurt, a military spokesman said. An unidentified man was killed when security officials opened fire in the aftermath of the blast. (First Posted @ 10:45 PST Updated @ 12:20 PST)
Israeli troops kill Palestinian in West Bank JERUSALEM, Dec 1 (AP) Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian in the West Bank city of Hebron early Friday morning, the army and Palestinians said. The army arrested 29 Palestinians in arrest raids across the West Bank Thursday night and Friday morning. The army also reported that militants had fired a rocket from the Gaza Strip into Israel early Friday morning.(Posted @ 12:10 PST)
About 200 die in Philippines typhoon mudslide LEGASPI, Philippines, Dec 1 (AFP) About 200 people were feared dead Friday after rivers of mud and volcanic ash triggered by a typhoon swamped villages in the eastern Philippines, the civil defense chief said Friday. (First Posted @ 09:35 PST Updated @ 10:10 PST)
Strong quake hits Indonesia's Sumatra island JAKARTA, Dec 1 (AFP) A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.6 hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra Friday but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, meteorology agency officials said. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 230.56 points: KARACHI, Dec 1: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 10388.19 , down 230.56 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:00 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Dec 1: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.9 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:00 PST)
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