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| January 24, 2007 | Wednesday | Muharram 04, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
President Musharraf floats Muslim MidEast peace initiative ABU DHABI, Jan 24 (AFP) President Pervez Musharraf said Wednesday that he had agreed with the five Arab leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and UAE on the need to develop a Muslim peace initiative for the Palestinian conflict, which he said lay at the root of worsening violence around the region. “Destructive violence is going on in Iraq, Lebanon is mired in crisis, and the most dangerous aspects of these two are the visible sectarian undertones which cause a special concern to us in Pakistan,” Musharraf told reporters in the United Arab Emirates at the end of a five-nation Middle East tour. “The core lies in the Palestinian dispute and the core lies in the disharmony within the Muslim world, which is leading to terrorism and extremism,” he said. The initiative would have to be a compromise capable of winning broad international support including “the European Union”, he said.(Posted @ 21:15 PST)
Musharraf denies Pakistan sheltering Al-Qaeda leaders ABU DHABI, Jan 24 (AFP) President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday rejected US accusations that Al-Qaeda leaders had found refuge in his country to mastermind attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan. “I take extremely strong exception to anybody (accusing) ... any government agency of Pakistan of cooperating with these extremist forces and sending them into Afghanistan,” Musharraf said on a visit to the United Arab Emirates. Pakistan is “the only country which has delivered the maximum on both Al-Qaeda and its allies in the Taliban militia”, Musharraf said. “Six hundred or seven hundred of Al-Qaeda leadership have been arrested by Pakistan. Similarly, maximum Taliban leadership has been arrested by Pakistan ... Tell me any leader of Taliban caught in Afghanistan…It is others who are not doing enough,” he said. Musharraf also denied accusations that Taliban chief Mullah Omar had found refuge in Quetta. “Whoever says he is in Quetta, I'll take him in my aircraft (to the city)... I will try to catch him myself,” he said. The Taliban leader “is obviously in Afghanistan,” he added.(Posted @ 20:55 PST)
Pakistan's image to be further projected at World Economic Forum: PM ISLAMABAD, Jan 24 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Wednesday said the Davos Forum will provide an opportunity to project Pakistan as a growing economy, with moderate and forward-looking approach to achieve socio-economic targets. Talking to newsmen before leaving for Davos he said he will project the important role of Pakistan in ensuring peace in the region as well as in the world. After attending the WEF meeting in Davos, the Prime Minister will also visit Belgium. Besides holding talks with his Belgian counterpart, he will also visit the European Union and NATO Council Headquarters in Brussels. The visit will also accord an opportunity to put in perspective Pakistan's Afghan policy as well as its determination in confronting terrorism and extremism. The Prime Minister will also brief his interlocutors on the composite dialogue process with India, the Kashmir issue and development at home. (Posted @ 14:11 PST)
Embattled Bush pleads for patience with Iraq WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (AFP) US President George W. Bush pleaded late Tuesday with the US public to give his Iraq strategy a chance, warning that a US defeat could ignite an “epic battle” engulfing the entire Middle East. “For America, this is a nightmare scenario. For the enemy, this is the objective,” Bush said in his annual State of the Union speech. “We could expect an epic battle between Shia extremists backed by Iran, and Sunni extremists aided by Al-Qaeda and supporters of the old regime. A contagion of violence could spill out across the country, and in time the entire region could be drawn into the conflict,” he said. Bush also called for a 20-percent cut in US gasoline use by 2017, the doubling of US emergency oil reserves by 2027, and a renewed push for a sweeping immigration reform plan having emphasis on a guest worker program. (First Posted @ 10:21 PST Updated @ 21:50 PST)
PM arrives in Zurich to attend WEF meeting ZURICH, Jan 24 (APP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz arrived here Wednesday to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, starting in Davos. During the five-day forum, the Prime Minister will have more than 40 meetings and interactions with world leaders and CEOs of leading companies.(Posted @ 21:35 PST)
Police kill three in Afghanistan KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Jan 24 (AP) Afghan police clashed with suspected militants in an area between the provinces of Kandahar and Uruzgan Wednesday, killings three fighters and detaining four, a police official said.(Posted @ 21:05 PST)
Cricket-Imran Khan backs Akhtar despite injury KARACHI, Pakistan, Jan 24 (AFP) Former Pakistan bowling great Imran Khan on Wednesday backed fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, saying he should have been kept with the team despite his injury problems. “You keep your match winners with the team and Akhtar's only two bursts put Pakistan in the match winning position in the Port Elizabeth Test,” Khan told reporters, referring to the series in South Africa. “When I was the captain I selected unfit leg-spinner Abdul Qadir for the tour of England in 1987 and paceman Wasim Akram for the West Indies tour a year later, simply because they remained with the team and got fit.” Khan said Akhtar's verbal spat with Woolmer was his reaction for not being selected. “He (Akhtar) would have been angry on not being selected in the first place, so he would have lost his temper.”(Posted @ 20:50 PST)
Pakistan warns NATO on border attacks ISLAMABAD, Jan 24 (AFP) Pakistan warned the NATO-led force in Afghanistan Wednesday that incidents like this week's killing of a Pakistani soldier by cross-border fire could hurt cooperation in the “war on terror”. The head of NATO's legal office, Baldwin De Vidts, met Pakistani Defence Secretary, retired Lieutenant General Tariq Waseem Ghazi, a defence ministry statement said. “The Secretary conveyed Pakistan's deep concern over the provocative act and stated that such incidents could jeopardize collaborative partnership in the war on terror,” it said. The NATO official “conveyed his condolences and expressed hope that such incidents do not take place,” it added(Posted @ 20:50 PST)
US-led forces launch “Operation Tomahawk” in Baghdad BAGHDAD, Jan 24 (AFP) Iraqi and US forces backed by helicopter gunships launched “Operation Tomahawk Strike 11” in central Baghdad’s Haifa Street Wednesday, US and Iraqi officials said. Iraqi and US troops “killed two terrorists and arrested 11 of various nationalities”, an Iraqi defence ministry statement said. Six “terrorists” and three other suspects were arrested, a defence ministry source said. North of Baghdad, US forces raided what it termed “a known terrorist safe house” and captured three suspects, but killed a 12-year-old boy. The violence in Iraq cost the lives of at least 20 other Iraqis on Wednesday, including four from one family in Kut, southeast of Baghdad, security sources said. (First Posted @ 12:15 PST Updated @ 19:35 PST)
Chinese president urges Internet to be 'ethically inspiring' BEIJING, Jan 24 (AFP) Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday ordered his officials to better regulate China's Internet content to ensure information is healthy and “ethically inspiring,” state media said. Hu said the government should use “new tactics” and advanced technologies to guide public opinions as well as improve Internet network security.(Posted @ 19:20 PST)
Israeli president to suspend himself from duties JERUSALEM, Jan 24 (AFP) Israeli President Moshe Katsav has told the parliament that he will suspend himself from his duties after the announcement that he will be indicted for rape, a spokesman said Wednesday.(Posted @ 19:20 PST)
Snowstorms kill three, bring traffic chaos to Europe PARIS, Jan 24 (AFP) Snowstorms swept across west and central Europe for a second day Wednesday, killing three people in Germany, disrupting air traffic and leaving dozens of drivers trapped on freezing, log-jammed roads. Thousand of air passengers were forced to spend the night at Stuttgart airport after snow closed down the runway. Some 32 European flights were cancelled in Switzerland at Zurich-Kloten airport Wednesday morning. Traffic chaos gripped southern Austria, where dozens of drivers spent a freezing night at the wheel. Around 80,000 French homes were still without power on Wednesday, mostly in remote rural parts.(Posted @ 19:15 PST)
Cricket-Gibbs appeal has taken place: ICC DUBAI, Jan 24 (AFP) Herschelle Gibbs's appeal has taken place, the International Cricket Council confirmed on Wednesday, after the South African batsman was handed a two-Test ban for “racially offensive” comments against Pakistan. Richie Benaud, one of the world's best-known cricket commentators, acted as the appeals commissioner in the matter.(Posted @ 19:05 PST)
Cricket: Four-wicket Powell restricts India to 189 CUTTACK, India, Jan 24 (AFP) India recovered from a career-best 4-27 by Daren Powell to post 189 all out in the second one-day international against a depleted West Indies here on Wednesday. The 28-year-old Jamaican seamer ripped through the top order with the wickets of Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and captain Rahul Dravid in his first four overs.(Posted @ 19:05 PST)
Saddam defence plans to write memoirs AMMAN, Jan 24 (AFP) Saddam Hussein's lawyers are mulling plans to write their memoirs about the trial that led to the execution of the Iraqi dictator last month, a defence team member said Wednesday. “You will discover the depth of the injustice and the farce and the depth of the American aggression against the Arab and Muslim nation,” a Jordanian attorney said.(Posted @ 19:00 PST)
Rally held in Islamabad against demolition of mosques ISLAMABAD, Jan 24 (AFP) Around 5,000 activists of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) rallied in Islamabad on Wednesday to protest against the demolition of two mosques that authorities said were built on land “grabbed” in violation of the law.(Posted @ 18:50 PST)
Bangladesh's attorney general quits DHAKA, Jan 24 (AFP) Bangladesh's attorney general, A.J. Mohammad, resigned Wednesday for “personal reasons”, an official said. The main opposition Awami League had earlier called for his resignation, accusing him of bias against the party.(Posted @ 17:50 PST)
Three wounded in Palestinian factional clashes in Gaza GAZA CITY, Jan 24 (AFP) Three Palestinians were wounded Wednesday in armed clashes between supporters of president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah faction and the rival governing Hamas in the Gaza Strip, medics and witnesses said.(Posted @ 17:35 PST)
Musharraf, UAE President stress Ummah unity ABU DHABI, Jan 24 (APP) President General Pervez Musharraf and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Wednesday held discussions on the situation in the Middle East and called for collective efforts to resolve the Palestine issue.President Musharraf urged unity among the Ummah to resolve the Palestine issue. He apprised the UAE President of the ongoing composite dialogue process between Pakistan and India and the efforts for the resolution of the Kashmir issue. The UAE President agreed to the need for Ummah's unity and cohesion to resolve the Middle East crisis.(Posted @ 16:40 PST)
Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque gets new Saladin pulpit JERUSALEM, Jan 24 (AFP) A replica of a wooden pulpit given to Al-Aqsa by Saladin after his 1187 conquest of Jerusalem has been installed in the mosque, almost four decades after the original was destroyed in a fire, a correspondent said Wednesday. The pulpit was transported overnight Tuesday from Jordan, where it was constructed over a period of four years. The original pulpit, brought by Saladin from Allepo in today's northern Syria, was destroyed in a fire set by a Christian extremist from Australia inside the mosque on August 21, 1969. (Posted @ 16:15 PST)
'There is no war on terror': top British prosecutor LONDON, Jan 24 (AFP) Britain's top prosecutor set himself at odds with Prime Minister Tony Blair's government Wednesday, saying the “war on terror” does not exist and urging restraint on laws threatening human rights. The director of public prosecutions, Ken Macdonald, warned of a “fear-driven and inappropriate response” to the new threat that could lead to the abandonment of respect for fair trials and due legal process. In a speech to the Criminal Bar Association, reported by the Guardian newspaper, Macdonald rejected the assertion that a “war on terror” was being played out in Britain. (Posted @ 16:11 PST)
Two US marines killed in Iraq's Al-Anbar BAGHDAD, Jan 24 (AFP) Two US marines were killed on Wednesday in the Al-Anbar province of western Iraq, the military said in a statement. (Posted @ 16:09 PST)
Japan's defence minister calls Bush 'wrong' on Iraq TOKYO, Jan 24 (AFP) - Japan's defence minister on Wednesday said US President George W. Bush was wrong to invade Iraq and warned that Tokyo could not automatically renew its air force mission to the war-torn country.. "Mr. Bush went ahead in a situation as if there were nuclear weapons, but I think that decision was wrong," Defence Minister Fumio Kyuma said of the 2003 invasion. Kyuma said Japan had not decided whether to extend the mission when it expires in July. "We must look very carefully at what the United Nations will continue to request from Japan. Just because the US decided to reinforce troops does not mean that Japan should do the same. It's not so simple," he said. (Posted @ 14:08 PST)
Bomb defused, more searches ahead of India's Republic Day SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Jan 24 (AFP) - Indian troops battling separatist militants in occupied Kashmir Wednesday defused a roadside bomb in the northern town of Bandipora early Wednesday, a day after militants bombed a security vehicle killing three federal policemen and injuring five others in the insurgency-hit region and conducted more searches ahead of India's Republic Day, officials said. It was the second bomb defused by the troops in as many days in Bandipora, where two more grenade attacks on Tuesday wounded a member of the security forces. (Posted @ 14:08 PST)
Palestinian killed by Israelis in south of Gaza Strip GAZA CITY, Jan 24 (AFP) Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian early Wednesday near the Kissufim crossing point between the south of the Gaza Strip and Israeli territory, a Palestinian security official said. Two other wounded Palestinians were arrested by the troops. (Posted @ 11:24 PST)
Australian Open results MELBOURNE, Jan 24 (AFP) Results from day 10 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park here Wednesday (x denotes seeding). Women's singles (Quarter-finals): Maria Sharapova (RUS x1) bt Anna Chakvetadze (RUS x12) 7-6 (7/5), 7-5; Kim Clijsters (BEL x4) bt Martina Hingis (SUI x6) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 (First Posted @ 09:24 PST Updated @ 10:47 PST)
US officials return stolen artifacts to Pakistani government NEWARK, New Jersey, Jan 24 (AP) Customs and immigration officials returned several ancient artifacts to the government of Pakistan nearly a year and a half after they were discovered at Port Newark. Experts determined that the artifacts, one of which dated to the second century B.C., were stolen from a site in northern Pakistan. They arrived in Newark in September 2005 in two shipments in which the shipper misrepresented the country of origin, officials said Tuesday. Customs officials are cooperating with Pakistani officials investigating the thefts. (Posted @ 10:25 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 151.42 points: KARACHI, Jan 24: At the close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 10856.74, up 151.42 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Jan 24: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.85 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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