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| January 10, 2007 | Wednesday | Zilhaj 19, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Musharraf warns of sectarian catastrophe in Muslim world RAWALPINDI, Jan 10 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday warned of a sectarian catastrophe in the Muslim world, and urged for controls to be placed in the “societal, centrifugal and divisive forces from within.” Addressing the convocation of passing Army Medical College students, he said “Islamic world is heading towards a crisis,” adding that it will be “most terrible if we, as a nation do not rise to the occasion, to put our house in order and resolve the turmoil in the world.” Musharraf said the only solution was to reject forces which fan hatred, and extremism. He asked the educated sections of society to participate in the coming general elections and vote against all with any extremist agenda.(Posted @ 20:20 PST)
PML, allies to contest elections from joint platform: PM ISLAMABAD, Jan 10 (APP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Wednesday said that the PML and its allies will contest the next general elections from a joint platform. “We have always been in contact with our allied parties and our recent meetings are part of a consultation process, as the PML and its allies will contest the next election from one platform and on the basis of our performance”, the prime minister said while talking to newsmen here after inaugurating a women’s college. In reply to a question regarding government-opposition contacts, Aziz said the government had always been in contact with different political parties inside and outside the parliament as part of its efforts to achieve consensus on various issues of national importance. He also mentioned his last Tuesday meeting with the delegation of PPP (Sherpao) and said the objective was to encourage and promote like-minded political parties.(Posted @ 20:45 PST)
Pakistan commission to push for Afghan border peace ISLAMABAD, Jan 10 (AFP) Pakistan on Wednesday announced a new commission to organise a gathering of tribal elders from both sides of the border to try and curb the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. “Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has approved the appointment of a commission for organizing and holding jirgas (tribal assemblies),” an official statement said. “The commission shall formulate its recommendations regarding the modalities for holding of jirgas,” the statement said adding that it will liase with a similar commission already set up by the Afghan Government.The commission will be headed by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao and will include the governor of the northwest frontier province, Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai, governor of Baluchistan, Owais Ahmed Ghani, Minister for Culture Ghazi Gulab Jamal and Minister for States and Frontier Regions, Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind.(Posted @ 19:45 PST)
Pakistan rejects U.N. remarks on Taliban presence ISLAMABAD, Jan 10 (Reuters) Pakistan on Wednesday rejected a U.N. official's accusation that Taliban leaders could be hiding in Pakistan. Pakistan's foreign ministry spokeswoman in a statement said that “Pakistan is not solely responsible for taking action against militants and terrorists…to capture undesirable elements and prevent them from entering into Pakistan is the responsibility of the forces operating on the Afghan side”. She rejected suggestions about the presence of Taliban leaders on Pakistani soil as “unsubstantiated”. She said Pakistan had arrested several Taliban figures, and asked how many rebel leaders on the list had been arrested by Afghan and foreign forces operating in Afghanistan.(Posted @ 19:10 PST)
British face different situation from US in Iraq: Blair LONDON, Jan 10 (AFP) The situation facing British troops in southern Iraq is different from in Baghdad, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Wednesday. “We do not have the same Sunni-Shia sectarian violence, we do not have al-Qaeda operating in the same way, and we do not have the Sunni insurgency operating in the same way,” he told lawmakers in the House of Commons. The British withdrawal plan depends on the success of an ongoing mission, Operation Sinbad, to secure Basra, which Blair said should be completed “in the next few weeks.”(Posted @ 21:40 PST)
Three US soldiers killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, Jan 10 (AFP) Three US soldiers were killed last Tuesday as a result of fighting in Iraq, the military reported Wednesday. Two of the soldiers died from wounds sustained due to enemy action while operating in Al-Anbar province. The third soldier died as a result of injuries received in combat in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad. (First Posted @ 11:27 PST Updated @ 21:30 PST)
PM Aziz calls for eradicating economic deprivation ISLAMABAD, Jan 10 (APP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Wednesday termed economic deprivation as one of the root causes of terrorism and stressed the need for its eradication for a peaceful world. He was talking to a media delegation from Oman. Terrorism, bilateral relations with Oman and other matters of mutual concern were discussed in the meeting. (Posted @ 20:35 PST)
Top US brass to reluctantly support Iraq troop surge: report WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (AFP) The US military Joint Chiefs of Staff will reluctantly support President George W. Bush's plan to send 20,000 more US troops to Iraq, the Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing Pentagon insiders. The Joint Chiefs have long opposed adding to the 132,000 US troops already in Iraq, according to the Post. The Joint Chiefs fear the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki may not provide the military support or implement the political reforms necessary for US forces to eventually withdraw, the Post added.(Posted @ 20:00 PST)
Ancient warrior found preserved in Russian permafrost MOSCOW, Jan 10 (AFP) Russian archaeologists have uncovered the 2,000-year-old remains of a warrior preserved intact in permafrost in the Altai mountains region, the official Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily reported Wednesday. The warrior was blonde and had tattoos on his body. He was wearing a felt coat with sable fur trimmings and was buried in a wooden frame containing drawings of mythological creatures with an icepick beside him, the paper said.(Posted @ 20:00 PST)
Chavez sworn in for new term in Venezuela CARACAS, Jan 10 (AFP) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was sworn in Wednesday for a new six-year term, promising to implement “socialism Venezuelan-style.”(Posted @ 19:55 PST)
Iraq must 'wait' to execute Saddam aides: president BAGHDAD, Jan 10 (AFP) Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said on Wednesday that the government must “wait” in carrying out the executions of two aides of the late dictator Saddam Hussein.“My opinion is to wait on the executions as the circumstances are not right,” Talabani told reporters in televised joint news conference from the northern city of Sulaimaniyah with US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad.(Posted @ 19:55 PST)
Three suspected rebels killed in India GUWAHATI, India, Jan 10 (AFP) The Indian army killed three suspected separatists and arrested another three in northeast Assam state, the government said Wednesday.(Posted @ 19:55 PST)
Israel and China sign new bilateral agreements BEIJING, Jan 10 (AFP) Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao Wednesday to discuss the Iranian nuclear issue and signed a series of agreements to deepen trade and cultural ties.(Posted @ 19:50 PST)
Sheikh Hasina announces new protests in Bangladesh Dhaka, Jan 10 (AP) A key political alliance on Wednesday announced a series of fresh street protests to demand national elections due on Jan. 22 to be postponed. Sheikh Hasina, leader of a 19-party alliance, told a rally in Dhaka that it would start nonstop demonstrations around the presidential palace on Jan. 14 and, enforce a nationwide blockade on Jan.14-15 and another on Jan.17-18 to force its demands. ''We want to take part in the elections, but it must be held in a free and fair manner,'' she said. Hasina asked the country's interim President Iajuddin Ahmed to ''not to be the part of a conspiracy'' to rig the polls. On Wednesday, about 60,000 troops began spreading across the country to perform election duties under the Election Commission, an official said. (First Posted @ 10:37 PST Updated @ 19:05 PST)
Cricket-Pakistan names Akhtar, Asif in World Cup probables ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan 10 (AP) Pakistan cricket selectors Wednesday named fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif in the initial list of 30 players for this year's World Cup in the West Indies. Pakistan squad: Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Shahid Nazir, Danish Kaneria, Yasir Hameed, Shabbir Ahmed, Mohammad Sami, Abdul Rehman, Salman Butt, Faisal Iqbal, Rana Naved, Rao Iftikhar, Imran Nazir, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Khalil, Bazid Khan, Mansoor Amjad, Zulqarnain Haider, Yasir Arafat, Mohammad Asif, Shoaib Akhtar, Misbah-ul-Haq, Hasan Raza.(Posted @ 18:55 PST)
Afghanistan writes to UN over Pakistan mining plan KABUL, Jan 10 (AFP) Afghanistan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta has written to the new United Nations’ Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to express “deep concern” about Pakistan's plan to mine and fence their disputed border, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.(Posted @ 18:10 PST)
Kazakh parliament approves Karim Masimov as PM ASTANA, Jan 10 (Reuters) Kazakh parliament approved Karim Masimov as Kazakhstan's parliament on Wednesday approved the appointment of Deputy Prime Minister Karim Masimov to the post of prime minister. Both houses of parliament, sitting in a special joint session, voted unanimously to approve technocrat Masimov, who was nominated for the job by President Nursultan Nazarbayev. (Posted @ 14:50 PST)
11 dead, 20 trapped in building collapse in India LUCKNOW, India, Jan 10 (AFP) At least 11 people died and about 20 were trapped under the debris of a four-storey building that caved in Wednesday in India's northern Uttar Pradesh state, a police spokesman said. At least 24 others were injured when the structure under construction collapsed in Allahabad, 250 kilometres southeast of Lucknow, state capital of Uttar Pradesh. All the victims were labourers employed at the construction site. The accident occurred when they “were laying roof of the fourth storey of the building,” the spokesman said. Authorities have called in soldiers of the Indian army to help the rescue operations, he said. (Posted @ 14:33 PST)
U.S. launches new air strike on Somalia MOGADISHU, Jan 10 (Reuters) U.S. forces launched a fresh air strike on southern Somalia Wednesday, a Somali government source said. “As we speak now, the area is being bombarded by the American air force,” he said, without giving further details. (Posted @ 14:10 PST)
Nine South Korean construction workers, one local, kidnapped in Nigeria SEOUL, South Korea, Jan 10 (AP) An unidentified armed group kidnapped nine South Korean construction workers and a local person in Nigeria’s Bayelsa state early Wednesday, a Foreign Ministry official, requesting anonymity, said. The construction company was able to speak by mobile telephone with the workers after their capture and confirmed they were unharmed, a company spokesman said. (Posted @ 12:35 PST)
Mortar attack kills four in eastern Baghdad BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) Two mortar shells hit a house in Baghdad's Sadr City neighbourhood, killing four people late Tuesday, police said Wednesday. The source of Tuesday's mortar fire was unclear. On Wednesday morning, a parked car bomb exploded at the center of Kirkuk, 290 kilometers north of Baghdad, police said. There was no immediate word on casualties. (Posted @ 11:52 PST)
US soldier killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, Jan 10 (AFP) Insurgents killed a US soldier northeast of Baghdad during combat operations, the military reported Wednesday. The soldier died Tuesday from injuries sustained during the operations in the Diyala province. (Posted @ 11:27 PST)
India launches satellite to test re-entry system for future manned space mission NEW DELHI, Jan 10 (AP) India launched a satellite Wednesday designed to test re-entry vehicle technology that could be used in a future manned space mission, India's space agency announced. Television footage showed the red-and-white rocket blasting into space from Satish Dhawan Space Center in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The rocket carried the 550 kilogram Space Capsule Recovery Experiment, or SRE-1, designed to test re-entry technology, the Indian Space Research Organization said in a statement. The capsule will orbit the earth for 13 to 30 days before re-entering the atmosphere and plunging into the Bay of Bengal off India's east coast where it will be recovered, the statement said. (Posted @ 10:23 PST)
Japan urges India's nuclear disarmament, refuses to acknowledge as atomic weapons state TOKYO, Jan 10 (AP) Japan's top government spokesman on Wednesday refused to acknowledge India as a nuclear weapons state, demanding the south Asian nation join the international nonproliferation treaty. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki also urged India to abandon its atomic weapons program, denying a newspaper report Wednesday that Tokyo was mulling acknowledging India's nuclear possession. ''We will continue to seek the admission of India into the NPT as a non-nuclear weapons state,'' he said. Shiozaki said Tokyo will carefully study details of the U.S.-India nuclear pact signed in December, in which Washington agreed to supply the Indian power industry with fuel and technology, an exemption to American law that bans nuclear trade with countries such as India that have not submitted to full international inspections. (Posted @ 10:14 PST)
Israel to expand holy city settlement JERUSALEM, Jan 10 (AFP) Israel said Tuesday it planned to build 1,000 new housing units at the settlement of Har Homa on the southern edge of Jerusalem. “The project to build 1,000 housing units at Har Homa is an initiative by the housing ministry,” the ministry said. The anti-settlement group Peace Now slammed the project to expand an already controversial settlement. “This project will inflame the region and provoke a new intifada” or uprising, a spokesman for the group said, adding that “expanding settlements around Jerusalem will prevent Israel and the Palestinians from reaching a compromise and a solution on Jerusalem.” (Posted @ 09:54 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 27.42 points: KARACHI, Jan 10: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 10377.79 , down 27.42 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Jan 10: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.95 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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