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| January 31, 2007 | Wednesday | Muharram 11, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Indonesia, Pakistan seek Muslim Mideast initiative JAKARTA, Jan 31 (Reuters) Muslim countries need to club together in a new initiative to resolve turbulence and violence in the Middle East, the leaders of Indonesia and Pakistan said Wednesday. “We reviewed the turmoil in Palestine, in Iraq, in Lebanon, in Afghanistan and we both have consonance of views in a requirement of a new initiative,” Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf told a joint news conference at the Indonesian presidential palace, adding that such a grouping of “like-minded” Muslim nations would be listened to. “Since the West is looking and searching for methods and new ideas of bringing peace to the region I think any new idea, any new initiative would be acceptable to them as long as it is workable,” he said. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that to achieve peace in the Middle East, “we need to achieve greater dialogue…of like-minded Islamic countries.” He said Indonesia planned to hold an international meeting of Ulemas, or Muslim clerics, to discuss conflicts in the Islamic world. Musharraf said action was needed now. “We both felt that the time has come for action and there is no room for complacency, because things are moving so fast, deteriorating so fast,” he said. (Posted @ 14:08 PST)
President Musharraf meets Malaysian PM Putrajaya, Jan 31 (Agencies) President Musharraf on Wednesday discussed the Middle East situation with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in a 90-minute meeting in the capital, Putrajaya. “The idea was to discuss matters with like-minded countries, matters pertaining to the Middle East, which have a bearing on terrorism, and also the situation in Iraq,” Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri, said. “At the moment it is the question of brainstorming, discussing ideas and this was in continuation of the meeting the president just had with other countries,” Kasuri said. Abdullah, current chairman of the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), made no comment after the talks.(Posted @ 21:10 PST)
PM Aziz reviews law and order situation ISLAMABAD, Jan 31 (APP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Wednesday chaired a high level meeting to review the overall law and order situation in the country. Progress in the investigations of terrorism related incidents in the NWFP was also reviewed. The prime minister said that all terrorist elements, whether local or foreign, would be brought to book and given exemplary punishments. Aziz also paid tributes to the officials who laid down their lives in the discharge of their duties.(Posted @ 21:35 PST)
Pakistan expect US to intervene for balanced legislation: FO ISLAMABAD, Jan 31 (APP) Pakistan on Wednesday said it was expecting the US Administration to intervene to make the final legislation on the country adopted by the House of Representatives more balanced. When asked if Pakistan had received any such assurance from the US government in this connection, the Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam refereed to the recent visit of a senior US Official, John A Gastright, and his interaction with the press in which he had clearly stated that the US Administration would be working with the Congress to make the language of the legislation more balanced. Regarding the language used about Pakistan's nuclear programme, she said that any categorical position of that nature would be inconsistent with the spirit of Pakistan-US bilateral relations. About transit facilities for India, the spokesperson said that India can trade with Afghanistan through its Karachi port. She said, however, that transit through the land route, can be made possible only after Pakistan had prepared a public opinion about the matter. About the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, the spokesperson said that the three countries have reached a broad understanding on the pricing issue, and the three governments would announce an agreement soon.(Posted @ 21:35 PST)
Donors pledge to give Afghans more control BERLIN, Jan 31 (AFP) International donors on Wednesday ended a high-level conference on rebuilding Afghanistan with a pledge to hand over more control to the war-scarred country in managing its own affairs. The meeting of 23 countries agreed new initiatives proposed by Afghanistan. “Prominent among these were Afghan proposals for accelerated Afghanization of the national army and police, as well as in the area of economic development,” a statement released by the organisers said. (First Posted @ 19:45 PST Updated @ 21:05 PST)
Cricket-Shoaib hopeful of regaining fitness for World Cup KARACHI, Jan 31 (Reuters) Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar is hopeful of playing in the World Cup in March after being forced to return home from South Africa due to injury. “I was willing to take injections and bowl in the second innings of the test, but doctors told me I should not take the risk of a further injury,” Shoaib told reporters on Wednesday. In South Africa, Shoaib was involved in an altercation with coach Bob Woolmer, about which he said “There was an incident and it occurred because of a misunderstanding…Woolmer didn't realise how serious my injury was and I reacted strongly to his queries. But it is now sorted out.”(Posted @ 20:45 PST)
Pakistan says suicide blasts linked to Taliban ISLAMABAD, Jan 31 (AFP) Investigators said Wednesday they had found leads linking a string of suicide bombings in Pakistan to Taliban linked militants. Security sources said the six men, who were arrested in raids in Dera Ismail Khan on Sunday, had given details about a network of militants in Waziristan planning bombings in major Pakistani cities. The men were linked to a militant commander, Baitullah Mahsud, who “was unhappy with (the) army's killing of tribesmen in the name of action against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda” in that region, an official said. The toll from one of the bombings, in Peshawar city on Saturday, rose to 15 after one of the 30 people injured in the blast died in hospital on Wednesday, police said. Also Wednesday, Pakistan's federal minister for political affairs, Amir Muqam, said he escaped a botched suicide attack when police fired on a man wearing a heavy shawl who fled after trying to enter a meeting in Peshawar. Meanwhile, authorities placed the northwestern town of Hangu under curfew for a second day after violence on Tuesday that left two people dead and 15 injured. (First Posted @ 19:30 PST Updated @ 20:45 PST)
Suicide attack near NATO vehicle in Afghanistan JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Jan 31 (AFP) A suicide attacker blew himself up close to a NATO-led forces vehicle in Torkham town on Wednesday, wounding an Afghan interpreter, police said.(Posted @ 20:05 PST)
Pakistani, two Saudis beheaded RIYADH, Jan 31 (AFP) Two Saudis and a Pakistani were beheaded in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after they were convicted of crimes including murder, armed robbery and drug smuggling, the interior ministry said. Pakistani national Khan Zadah Abdul Quyum was beheaded in Riyadh after he was found guilty of smuggling an undisclosed quantity of heroin hidden in his stomach into the kingdom, the ministry said.(Posted @ 20:00 PST)
China's president begins Africa tour YAOUNDE, Jan 31 (AFP) Chinese President Hu Jintao met with his Cameroonian counterpart Paul Biya Wednesday on the first full day of a 12-day tour of Africa to forge stronger ties on the resource-rich continent, officials said. Hu's trip marks the first visit by a Chinese president to Cameroon.(Posted @ 19:45 PST)
Malaysia's Mahathir announces war crimes tribunal KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 (AFP) Malaysia's ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad announced Wednesday he was forming a war crimes tribunal to focus on victims of abuse in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. He said the tribunal -- and an investigating commission linked to it -- was necessary as an alternative to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which he accused of bias in its selection of cases. The tribunal would be staffed by former judges and law professors from home and abroad, including a Malaysian former chief justice, he said. Mahathir vowed it would not be like the “kangaroo court” that tried Iraq’s Saddam Hussein.(Posted @ 19:40 PST)
All political parties free to contest polls: PM Aziz BRUSSELS, Jan 31 (APP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Tuesday said the general elections in Pakistan would be held on schedule and all political parties, without any exception, will be allowed to contest it freely. Talking to the President of the EU Parliament, Hans- Gert Poettering, here, the prime minister added that international observers and media will also be allowed to monitor the election process.(Posted @ 17:40 PST)
President Musharraf arrives in Kuala Lumpur KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 (APP) President Pervez Musharraf arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday on the second leg of his two-day visit to the countries of South East Asia. The president is scheduled to hold a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Al Badawi later in the evening.(Posted @ 17:35 PST)
Bombers kill eight in Baghdad BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan 31 (AP) A series of car bombs struck Baghdad on Wednesday, killing at least seven people and wounding more than 20. Two parked car bombs struck simultaneously in separate areas in central Baghdad, killing at least six people and wounding 15. A car bomb also struck eastern Baghdad earlier Wednesday, killing one person and wounding six, police said.A suicide bomber driving an oil truck struck a checkpoint near an Iraqi army headquarters north of Baghdad on Wednesday, wounding 9 soldiers, an officer said. A parked car bomb also struck a police patrol in the northern city of Mosul, killing one policeman and wounding two others, an official said. Elsewhere, six dead bodies were found in Fallujah, 65 kilometers west of Baghdad, hospital officials said. (First Posted @ 14:09 PST Updated @ 17:30 PST)
Police expand curfew to prevent riots in Indian city LUCKNOW, India, Jan 31 (AP) Police expanded a curfew and rushed in reinforcements to defuse tensions between Hindus and Muslims in the violence-hit city of Gorakhpur caused by the fatal stabbing of a 24-year-old Hindu, officials said Wednesday.Schools and colleges in the city have been closed until Feb. 3.
British police arrest eight people on terrorist charges BIRMINGHAM, England, Jan 31 (AP) Police arrested eight people early Wednesday in Birmingham on suspicion of committing, preparing or instigating terrorism, West Midlands Police said. (Posted @ 16:11 PST)
Five election commissioners in Bangladesh resign DHAKA, Bangladesh, Jan 31 (AP) All five election commissioners in Bangladesh resigned Wednesday, a local television station said. The commissioners met with President Iajuddin Ahmed at the presidential palace and handed in their resignations, the NTV television reported. (Posted @ 16:09 PST)
India defeats West Indies by 160 runs to win series 3-1 BARODA, India, Jan 31 (AP) India defeated West Indies by 160 runs Wednesday in the fourth and final limited-overs cricket international to clinch the series 3-1. Scores: India 341-3 in 50 overs; West Indies 181 in 41.4 overs. (Posted @ 16:08 PST)
Dozens disappeared in occupied Kashmir in 2006: report SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Jan 31 (AFP) Occupied Kashmir's leading rights group said Wednesday that dozens of people disappeared in the revolt-hit region last year, mostly after being arrested by security forces. “Last year some 44 people disappeared in Kashmir, and majority of them after they were arrested by security forces,” said a senior official at Kashmir's Coalition of Civil Society. On Wednesday the Indian Express newspaper said another Kashmiri civilian, identified as Showkat Ahmed Khan who was a resident of southern Banihal district, went missing in Srinagar in October. (Posted @ 15:20 PST)
Germany orders arrest of 13 over CIA 'kidnapping' BERLIN, Jan 31 (AFP) German prosecutors have ordered arrest warrants for 13 people working for the CIA in connection with the alleged kidnapping of a Lebanese-born German man, public broadcaster NDR reported Wednesday. Authorities in the southern city of Munich are probing allegations by Khaled el-Masri that he was abducted by US agents in the Macedonian capital Skopje on New Year's Eve 2003 and flown to a prison in Afghanistan for interrogation before he was released five months later in Albania. (Posted @ 15:20 PST)
Two US soldiers, one marine killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, Jan 31 (Reuters) Two US soldiers and one marine died Tuesday from wounds suffered in combat in Iraq's western province of Anbar, the US military said Wednesday. (Posted @ 14:07 PST)
Saudi businessman killed, relative of bin Laden DUBAI, Jan 31 (Reuters) Twenty to thirty unidentified gunmen shot and killed Jamal Khalifa, a brother-in-law of Osama bin Laden in a raid on his home in Madagascar and stole his belongings, his brother Malek Khalifa told Dubai-based Al Arabiya television Wednesday. Jamal Khalifa mined and traded precious stones in Madagascar and was staying at a precious stones mine he owns when he was killed. (Posted @ 14:07 PST)
Bomb kills seven in eastern Sri Lanka COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Jan 31 (AP) Suspected Tamil rebels detonated a roadside bomb in eastern Sri Lanka Wednesday, killing six policemen and one civilian, the military said. The insurgents set off the bomb as a bus carrying policemen drove past in Batticaloa district. (Posted @ 12:15 PST)
Investigators find that millions of dollars wasted in Iraq reconstruction aid WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (AP) The U.S. government wasted tens of millions of dollars in Iraq reconstruction aid, including scores of unaccounted-for weapons and a never-used camp for housing police trainers with an Olympic-size swimming pool, investigators say. The quarterly audit by Stuart Bowen Jr., the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, is the latest to paint a grim picture of waste, fraud and frustration in an Iraq war and reconstruction effort that has cost taxpayers more than $300 billion (euro231.3 billion) and left the region near civil war. ''The security situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate, hindering progress in all reconstruction sectors and threatening the overall reconstruction effort,'' according to the 579-page report, which was being released Wednesday. (Posted @ 11:40 PST)
Pentagon survey finds many U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan short on crucial gear, WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (AP) Hundreds of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have experienced shortages of key protective equipment including armoured vehicles, roadside-bomb countermeasures and communications gear, an internal Pentagon survey released Tuesday shows. The Defence Department Inspector General's Office polled roughly 1,100 service members and found they weren't always adequately equipped for their missions. The troops were interviewed in Iraq and Afghanistan last May and June.(Posted @ 10:55 PST)
Time is short” for Iraq turnaround: Admiral William Fallon WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (AFP) US forces are running up against the clock in implementing a badly-needed new strategy in Iraq, the admiral who is set to take over the command of US forces in the Middle East said Tuesday. “I believe the situation in Iraq can be turned around but time is short,” Admiral William Fallon told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Fallon, who has been named to replace General John Abizaid as head of the US Central Command, said US troops would be at greater risk and there was a pressing need to try a different approach. “What we've been doing is not working. We've got to be doing something different,” he said. The Iraqi government commitment to take a series of political steps as part of the new strategy was a “critical question,” he said, adding that “unless this begins to happen I doubt we're going to be effective in the military arena.” Fallon said it would be “wise to temper our expectations” and called for a reassessment of US goals. “Let's get an assessment of what's realistic and what's practical and maybe we ought to redefine the goals here a bit and do something that is more realistic in terms of getting some progress, and then maybe take on the other things later,” he said.(Posted @ 10:45 PST)
Over 1,000 civilians killed in Afghanistan in 2006: Human Rights Watch KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan 31 (AP) More than 1,000 civilians were killed in Afghanistan in 2006, a rights group said. At least 100 of those civilian deaths were caused by NATO and U.S.-led troop operations, Human Rights Watch said in a statement Tuesday. In all, more than 4,400 Afghans, comprising civilians and combatants, died in conflict-related violence, twice as many as in 2005, the group said.(Posted @ 10:45 PST)
Hamas, Fatah swap hostages under Gaza truce deal GAZA, Jan 31 (Agencies) Rival Palestinian factions swapped hostages Tuesday under a ceasefire deal that went into effect hours earlier, largely halting gun battles in which at least 35 Palestinians were killed. A total of 20 Hamas and 18 Fatah hostages were freed over a several hours period, said Samih al-Madhoun, a senior leader of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah. “The process of handing over the hostages has been completed,” Madhoun said. (Posted @ 10:06 PST)
Bush, Democrats agree to form war-on-terror committee WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (AFP) US President George W. Bush and leaders of Congress have agreed to create a joint “consultative group” on the war on terror, officials in the White House and Senate said Tuesday. Bush spoke on the telephone Tuesday with Democratic leaders Senator Harry Reid and Representative Nancy Pelosi, who agreed that the new group will meet for the first time next week. (Posted @ 09:11 PST)
Bush must confer with Congress on Iraq: senior Republican WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (AFP) A key Republican lawmaker warned Tuesday President George W. Bush was not the “sole decider” on Iraq. Republican Senator Arlen Specter responded to Bush's statement last week that he was the “decision maker” on deployments to Iraq, despite various draft congressional resolutions condemning his plan to send in more troops. “The president repeatedly makes reference to the fact that he is the decider. I would suggest ... to the president, that he is not the sole decider. That the decider is a shared and joint responsibility,” Specter said during a Senate hearing on war powers. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 166.99 points: KARACHI, Jan 31: At the close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 11272.33, up 166.99 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:18 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Jan 31: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.92 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:18 PST)
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