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| February 01, 2007 | Thursday | Muharram 12, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan, Malaysia show unity of views on new peace initiatives KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 1 (APP): Pakistan and Malaysia have expressed unanimity of views towards a fresh initiative by a group of like-minded Muslim countries to bring harmony and resolution of disputes with fairness and justice, visiting Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmed Badawi said at a joint news conference Thursday after their second round of talks that lasted more than an hour. President Musharraf said his talks with Prime Minister Abdullah Badwai were held with total understanding and complete consonance of views. They, he added, are proud of the fact that the two countries have commonality of views on issues that afflict the world and the region. He said there is a possibility that the fresh move may involve new approach. He hoped that they may succeed in the resolving the Palestine and other disputes facing the Muslim Ummah. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmed Badwai said during the talks, they examined many options relating to Middle East and hoped that they would be able to make a bigger group and further the process of consultations to find a solution to the problems. (Posted @ 12:24 PST)
Malaysia rallies support for Musharraf's Mideast peace plan KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1 (AFP) Malaysia denied Thursday a new Middle East peace initiative driven by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf would undermine the grouping. Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the new plan would not undermine the role of the 57-nation OIC. Syed Hamid and his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Kasuri said the next step should be for the leaders of the nations involved to meet and decide on a plan of action. “Until the leaders meet... how can we think of the ingredients of that fresh new initiative,” said Kasuri.“The president has something in his mind but it's not appropriate for him to pre-empt what the others would say,” he added. Musharraf admitted that many had tried and failed to establish peace in the Middle East, but said this was no reason to give up. “There's no harm in trying and I think that the only chance is that maybe through a new approach we succeed, so why not take that chance,” he said. “At the moment if you see what is happening, things are deteriorating, worsening. What we could try is to convert this downward slide towards upwards momentum, towards resolution of disputes.”(Posted @ 11:50 PST)
Pakistan police seize militant linked to Taliban commander KARACHI, Feb 1 (AFP) - Pakistani agents have arrested 11 militants, including one linked to a Taliban commander, and hope they can lead to a group of suicide bombers operating in Karachi, officials said Thursday. The militants, all from banned sectarian and jihadi groups, were held at the weekend in Karachi and Hyderabad, 160 kilometers away, a senior Sindh province interior department official said. The key suspect has ties to Baitullah Mahsud, a wanted Taliban chief fighting government forces in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, the official added. "One has now been separated from the other 10 suspects after initial interrogation established his links with Mahsud," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "His arrest could lead to a group of suicide bombers brought to Karachi for terrorism," the official added. He declined to identify the suspect but said the key suspect is from Wazirstan. His interrogation may also help intelligence agencies find links to the recent suicide bombings in the country, he said.(Posted @ 13:20 PST)
Two suicide bombers kill 45 in Iraq's Hilla HILLA, Iraq, Feb 1 (AFP) Forty-five people were killed and 150 wounded when two suspected suicide bombers struck in the centre of Hilla, 120 kilometres south of Baghdad on Thursday, a medical and security source said. (Posted @ 23:24 PST)
PML-N, PPPP agree to formulate joint strategy for APC: Fahim ISLAMABAD, Feb 01 (Agencies): The Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) Chairman, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, on Thursday said that the Pakistan People’s Party (P) and the Pakistan Muslim League (N) will formulate a joint strategy to conduct the All Parties Conference (APC). After meeting PML-N chief, Nawaz Sharif in Dubai, Fahim left for London where he gave details of the meeting to his party chief Benazir Bhutto. "PML-N is insisting on conducting the APC meeting on its platform and is not ready to leave it for any party; however the PML-N has agreed to formulate a common strategy in this regard," Fahim said. Reliable sources said that Amin Fahim would return to Dubai within two days and discuss with Sharif the modalities of the APC. (Posted @ 22:12 PST)
President Musharraf returns home ISLAMABAD, Feb 1 (APP) President General Pervez Musharraf returned home on Thursday evening at the end of his two-day visit to Indonesia and Malaysia. He was received at the Chaklala airbase by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, and other officials. (Posted @ 22:00 PST)
Mirwaiz calls for withdrawal of troops from occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Feb 1(Reuters) “The time has come to resolve the Kashmir issue in a phased manner. The first phase is that Indian troops should start withdrawing from Kashmir,” Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, told thousands of supporters after returning from Pakistan. Mirwaiz said his life was in danger but he was not intimidated, a day after unknown persons threw a grenade at his office in Srinagar. “I am with my people. I would have been scared if I was all alone ... Hurriyat is not going to be cowed down by threats and by frustrated elements,” he added. Farooq said the Hurriyat team met some militant “commanders” in Pakistan who supported the path of peace. “The problem is political -- India, Pakistan, Kashmir have to find a political solution to the problem. You cannot have a military solution to the issue,” he said. (First Posted @ 14:25 PST Updated @ 21:45 PST)
Press freedom improving in Asia despite censors: report HONG KONG, Feb 1 (AFP) Despite the high number of journalists killed or attacked in Asia in 2006 and persistent censorship, Asians are slowly gaining access to more independent, better quality news, media rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Thursday. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, journalists who criticise religious authorities risk prosecution for blasphemy. On a more positive note, privately owned television channels brought “news free from government control into hundreds of millions of homes in Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and India” in 2006, RSF said. (Posted @ 21:40 PST)
Two Pakistanis among 12 militants captured in Afghanistan KABUL, Feb 1 (AFP) Afghan security forces have detained 12 suspected militants, including two Pakistani nationals, on suspicion of terrorism including helping with suicide bombings, the government said Thursday. Four of them, including a man described as a known Taliban commander, were arrested Thursday in the southeastern province of Ghazni, said the interior ministry. Six other rebels, including two Pakistani nationals, were captured the same day in the same province, it said, giving no further details. (Posted @ 21:38 PST)
US reassures Pakistan on military bill ISLAMABAD, Feb 1 (AFP) The United States moved to reassure Pakistan Thursday over concerns about proposed legislation making military assistance to the country dependent on its cooperation in the “war on terror”. “Many in Pakistan have voiced concerns over provisions in the first piece of legislation considered by the new US Congress,” the embassy said in a statement. “While the administration supports the underlying intent of the bill, it has serious concerns with several of the bill's provisions.” The US embassy said that the new bill could undermine counter-terrorism efforts with Pakistan. “The government of Pakistan has continued to demonstrate its commitment to cooperating with the US. Such conditionality would be counter-productive to fostering a closer relationship with Pakistan,” the statement said. (Posted @ 19:26 PST)
U.S. hands major weapons supplies to Afghan army KABUL, Feb 1 (Reuters) The Unites States handed over thousands of weapons and hundreds of vehicles to Afghanistan's national army on Thursday as part of its strategy to boost local security forces in the fight against the Taliban. Afghan President Hamid Karzai attended the handover of 800 High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicles and other trucks, and 12,000 heavy and light arms in Kabul. (Posted @ 19:08 PST)
Cricket-Pakistan's Kaneria feels let down by one-day snub KARACHI, Feb 1 (Reuters) Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has criticised his omission for the South Africa one-day series starting on Sunday and said it could dash his World Cup hopes. “I feel like the team management has let me down…I was expecting to be given a chance in this one-day series before the World Cup,” Kaneria said. “I have worked so hard and have given 110 percent for my captain and the team. I have also improved my batting and fielding. I don't understand, unless they play me how can they know how I will perform in the one-dayers?”, he asked. (Posted @ 19:06 PST)
Cricket-Pakistan court seeks explanation on Malik ban LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb 1 (AFP) Pakistan's supreme court wants an explanation from cricket authorities about a life ban on former captain Salim Malik for his alleged involvement in match-fixing, an official said Thursday. The court is hearing an appeal by 43-year-old Malik against the ban imposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in May 2000. (Posted @ 19:00 PST)
Chirac retracts threat to destroy nuclear-armed Iran PARIS, Feb 1 (AFP) President Jacques Chirac told journalists that a nuclear-armed Iran would be “razed” to the ground if it launched a strike on Israel, in remarks that he later retracted, according to reports Thursday. “Where would Iran drop this bomb? On Israel?” he asked. “It would not have gone off 200 meters into the atmosphere before Tehran would be razed to the ground,” Chirac told the New York Times, the Paris-based International Herald Tribune and the French weekly Nouvel Observateur. The president gave the interview on Monday but called the journalists back the following day to say that he was retracting the statement. (Posted @ 18:56 PST)
Thousands protest against police killing of villager in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Feb 1 (Reuters) More than 2,000 people demonstrated in occupied Kashmir Thursday against the killing of a villager by Indian policemen in a fake encounter. The protest against the death of the deceased, 35-year-old father of five children Abdul Rehman Padder, was held in Sumbal village, 25 km north of Srinagar, where Padder was buried. (Posted @ 18:16 PST)
Israel PM quizzed by Lebanon war commission JERUSALEM, Feb 1 (AFP) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was being grilled on Thursday by an Israeli commission probing failures of the Lebanon war. Many observers believe Olmert's future depends on the outcome of the commission and that if directly blamed for any failures, he could be forced to resign in keeping with growing public calls for his head to roll. Thursday's session will be conducted behind closed doors, Olmert's office said. (Posted @ 18:12 PST)
Police question Blair over funding probe LONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters) British police questioned Prime Minister Tony Blair for a second time in their probe into political party funding last Friday, Blair's spokesman said on Thursday. Police are investigating whether Labour and other parties promised Lordships -- state honours that come with seats in the unelected upper house of parliament -- in return for loans. (Posted @ 18:10 PST)
Twelve die in India funeral road smash NEW DELHI, Feb 1 (AFP) At least 12 members of a funeral party died and 14 were hurt when their van slammed into a speeding truck Thursday in the northern Indian state of Haryana, police said. (Posted @ 16:50 PST)
Eight killed in Baghdad attacks BAGHDAD, Feb 1 (AFP) At least eight people were killed in Baghdad on Thursday. Six people were killed and 12 others wounded when a bomb tore through a bus in central Baghdad’s Karrada district, a security official said. Two more people were killed in other attacks in Baghdad, he said. (First Posted @ 15:15 PST Updated @ 16:48 PST)
India orders sports broadcasters to share NEW DELHI, Feb 1 (AFP) The Indian government on Thursday approved a rule that will require TV broadcasters covering Indian sporting events to share the live feed to the country's public broadcaster. The ruling means state-run Doordarshan network and All India Radio will be allowed to broadcast cricket World Cup matches even though the rights are held by private channel Sony. Doordarshan can insert advertisements in the telecast but must give 75 percent of the revenue earned to the private broadcaster which owned the TV rights, the cabinet ruled. (Posted @ 16:46 PST)
US senators unite against Iraq surge WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (AFP) Democratic and Republican senators agreed late Wednesday on compromise wording to a resolution opposing President George W. Bush's plan to increase US forces in Iraq. The breakthrough measure means that the White House could face an embarrassing -- but ultimately symbolic -- vote of no confidence in its latest military plan. The agreement was announced just hours after Democrat Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, met Bush at the White House and found “areas of agreement” on Afghanistan and Iraq. (Posted @ 16:44 PST)
Five killed in Pakistan violence MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, Feb 1 (AFP) Suspected militants on Thursday ambushed a van and shot dead three officials, including a local policeman, in North Waziristan tribal region, officials said.Gunmen stopped the van carrying the salaries of tribal police as it traveled from Miranshah to the nearby town of Mir Ali, a security official said. Two government engineers and one tribal policeman were killed and three others were injured in the attack, the official added. Separately a man and his wife were killed and four children were injured when a grenade exploded at a house in the tribal town of Bara near Peshawar on Thursday.(Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Three Palestinians killed in West Bank NABLUS, West Bank, Feb 1 (AFP) - Israeli soldiers shot dead two Palestinian militants and a teenager in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, local medical and security sources said. The two militants from the nebulous Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a group loosely affiliated to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party, were shot and killed in the northern town of Nablus, the faction said. A 17-year-old Palestinian was killed by troops near the controversial barrier being built by Israel across the West Bank, medical and security sources said. Thursday's deaths bring to 5,637 the number of people killed since the start of the intifada in September 2000, according to an AFP count.(Posted @ 15:30 PST)
Russia's next president will be democratically chosen: Putin MOSCOW, Feb 1 (APP/AFP): Russia's next president will not be a "successor" but the choice of the people in democratic elections, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday. "I've said there won't be a successor -- there will be candidates. The authorities' task is to ensure the democratic character of the elections.., so that citizens can make their choice," Putin said at his annual news conference.(Posted @ 15:15 PST)
Mass arrests after Sri Lanka blasts kill 12 COLOMBO, Feb 1 (AFP) - Tamil Tiger rebels set off a roadside bomb in Sri Lanka's troubled north Thursday, killing a soldier as police arrested 58 people, including undergraduates and teachers, following Wednesday's mine attack which killed 11 people six policemen, four soldiers and a civilian.(Posted @ 14:25 PST)
Afghan parliament approves draft law on amnesty for war crimes KABUL, Feb 1 (AFP) - Afghanistan's warlord-filled parliament Wednesday approved a draft law ruling out judicial proceedings against men accused of rights abuses in the past 25 years of conflict, parliament secretariat spokesman Haseeb Noori said Thursday. The move is controversial in Afghanistan where commanders have been accused of war crimes and abuses including murder and torture during the country's 1992-1996 civil war and the subsequent Taliban rule.(Posted @ 14:10 PST)
British police quiz Muslim soldier kidnap suspects BIRMINGHAM, England, Feb 1 (Reuters) - British detectives investigating a suspected plot to kidnap and kill a Muslim British soldier quizzed nine men and continued search of properties across Birmingham in central England on Thursday, officials said.(Posted @ 14:05 PST)
Iran defiant on nuclear as revolution fete starts TEHRAN, Feb 1 (AFP) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Thursday vowed Iran would emerge unscathed from UN sanctions over its nuclear programme as it kicked off celebrations to mark the anniversary of the Islamic revolution. "The language of sanctions belongs to the past," Ahmadinejad said as he paid tribute at the shrine of the 1979 revolution's late founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on the outskirts of Tehran, the IRNA news agency reported. "Iran is a powerful nation with extensive ties and other nations will support us even if they are pressured," he added.(Posted @ 13:50 PST)
Mild earthquake jolts Sibi PESHAWAR, Feb 1 (APP) An earthquake of mild intensity measuring 4.2 on international Richter scale jolted Sibi district in Balochistan province Thursday. According to Metrological Office, the earthquake originated at 09:57 am PST and its epicenter was about 600 kilometres southwest of Peshawar in Balochistan.(Posted @ 11:25 PST)
US soldier killed in western Iraq BAGHDAD, Feb 1 (AFP) A US soldier died Thursday of wounds suffered during fighting with insurgents in western Iraq's province of Al-Anbar, the military reported. The soldier died from wounds sustained due to “enemy actions while operating in Al-Anbar province January 30,” it said.(Posted @ 11:20 PST)
'I don't feel abandoned:' Bush WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) President George W. Bush in a television interview said Wednesday “I don't feel abandoned” by fellow Republicans in Congress who are working with Democrats to protest his Iraq policy with a congressional resolution. He shrugged off criticism of his plan to send 21,500 more U.S. troops to Iraq and said he hoped lawmakers would give U.S. forces what they needed to get the job done. “I don't feel abandoned,” Bush said on Fox News Channel's “Neil Cavuto” program.(Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Oil pipeline blaze kills four in India NEW DELHI, Feb 1 (AFP) Four people were killed and several were injured Thursday when a fire broke out in an oil pipeline in western India, the Press Trust of India reported, quoting unnamed sources. The blaze started early Thursday near a refinery of Essar Oil Limited in Jamnagar district, western Gujarat state. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. The blaze had been put out and the refinery was functioning, PTI said.(Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Gunmen attack alliance headquarters in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Feb 1 (AFP) Gunmen hurled a hand grenade at the headquarters of a political alliance in occupied Kashmir, but caused no casualties, police said Thursday.The attack took place late Wednesday in the upmarket Raj Bagh area of Srinagar, a police spokesman said. “The grenade exploded inside the compound but caused no casualties. The impact smashed some window panes of the headquarters and a few parked vehicles,” said Javed Ahmed.(Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 77.11 points: KARACHI, Feb 01: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 11349.44 , up 77.11 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Feb 01: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.87 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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