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| February 14, 2007 | Wednesday | Muharram 25, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
South Africa defeats Pakistan by 9 wickets JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Feb 14, (AP) - South Africa defeated Pakistan by nine wickets in the fifth one-day cricket international at Wanderers Stadium to take the five-match series 3-1 on Wednesday. Scores: South Africa 156-1 in 28.2 overs (Jacques Kallis 71 not out, A.B. de Villers 71 not out), Pakistan 153 in 40.5 overs (Shoaib Malik 43 not out; Shaun Pollock 5-22) by 9 wickets. (Posted @ 23:58 PST)
Pak welcomes Chinese investment in cellular sector, says PM ISLAMABAD, February 14 (Agencies) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Wednesday that Pakistan welcomes Chinese investment in Pakistan’s cellular telephone sector which would exceed over 800 million dollars in the first year. In a meeting with the CEO of China Mobile Communication Corporation here, the prime minister said that the number of mobile phone users in Pakistan has increased to 40 million subscribers and this figure is improving by about one million every month. This is a highly competitive market where profitability would depend upon the best quality service at most affordable tariffs, he added. (Posted @ 23:34 PST)
Musharraf meets Hasan Bin Talal ISLAMABAD, Feb 14 (Agencies): Crown Prince of Jordan Hasan Bin Talal called on President General Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday to discus the Middle East situation and other regional and international issues. Musharraf said that the resolution of Palestine issue was imperative for restoring peace in the world and informed the prince of his contact with a number of world leaders in this regard to create unity among the Muslim Ummah. (Posted @ 23:24 PST)
Five British soldiers cleared over mistreating Iraqi civilians LONDON, Feb 14 (AFP) Five British soldiers were cleared Wednesday of mistreating Iraqi civilians in the wake of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, after a judge ruled they had no case to answer at a court martial. It was alleged that some of the colonel's men abused the Iraqis, keeping them hooded, cuffed, deprived of sleep and beating them over a 36-hour period in September 2003. (Posted @ 23:14 PST)
Israel installs cameras to film Jerusalem holy site work JERUSALEM, Feb 14 (AFP) Israel was installing theee video cameras on Wednesday to film archaeological excavations near Jerusalem's holy site in a bid to appease Muslim anger over the project. The cameras will broadcast live footage on Internet from Thursday afternoon of the archaeological excavations while work is underway from 6:30 am (0430 GMT) to 2:30 pm (1230 GMT) and will remain on in off hours as well, an Israeli official added. This site address is www.antiquities.org.il/home_eng.asp (Posted @ 22:50 PST)
European parliament slams nations over CIA flights STRASBOURG, Feb 14 (AFP) The European parliament on Wednesday condemned EU member states who had turned a “blind eye” to secret CIA flights used to transport terror suspects. The parliament approved a report that implicated 13 EU members, including Britain, Germany and Sweden, and called for an “independent inquiry” to be considered. The Euro Deputies regretted “that European countries have been relinquishing their control over their airspace and airports by turning a blind eye or admitting flights operated by the CIA.” The report was endorsed, after sifting through a 270 proposed amendments, by 382 MEPS, with 256 voting against and 74 abstentions. (Posted @ 22:32 PST)
Baghdad bombings kill eight BAGHDAD, Feb 14 (AFP) Bombings killed at least eight people on Wednesday, including four in a car bomb attack that smashed windows at a children's hospital in southeastern Baghdad, security sources said. At least 10 others were wounded, the sources said. (Posted @ 22:28 PST)
French police break up alleged Al-Qaeda ring PARIS, Feb 14 (AFP) French anti-terrorism police on Wednesday arrested nine suspects allegedly linked to Al-Qaeda for running a network that recruited fighters for the Iraq insurgency, the interior ministry said. The nine suspects were arrested in the Paris, Ariege and Toulouse regions of southwest France after two French nationals were detained at Orly aiport in Paris on Tuesday on their return from abroad, said a ministry statement. (Posted @ 22:26 PST)
India, Pakistan military commanders meet WAGAH, India, Feb 14 (AFP) Indian and Pakistani military commanders Wednesday began thorny talks over militancy, drug trafficking and sporadic gunbattles along the Line of Control (LoC), officials said. Major General Javid Zia, chief of Pakistan's paramilitary frontier force, arrived in India's northern Punjab state for the four-day talks. “The talks will cover problems faced by our two forces during joint patrolling of the international border and along the Line of Control in disputed Kashmir,” Zia said. (Posted @ 22:24 PST)
China, India, Russia pledge cooperation on regional disputes NEW DELHI, Feb 14 (AFP) The foreign ministers of India, Russia and China Wednesday pledged to avoid confrontation and work together to solve disputes on issues ranging from energy to insurgencies after talks here. The three foreign ministers exchanged “views on how international relations are being presently conducted,” according to a joint statement. “They agreed that cooperation rather than confrontation should govern approaches to regional and global affairs,” it said. The three ministers also called for strengthening the United Nations to promote the “democratisation of international relations” to build a multi-polar world, the statement added. (Posted @ 21:28 PST)
Bodybuilding: Pakistan bans three bodybuilders ISLAMABAD, Feb 14 (AFP) Pakistan on Wednesday banned three bodybuilders for two years after they failed dope tests ahead of last year's Asian Games in Qatar, an official said. “As per the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules, we have imposed two-year bans on bodybuilders Atif Anwar, Shoaib Zahoor Ahmed and Khalid Ali after they failed dope tests ahead of the Asian Games last year,” Pakistan Bodybuilding Federation (PBF) president Mohammad Yahya told reporters. The trio was pulled out of the Games barely three days before they started on December 1 in Doha, after they tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol. The bodybuilders would be barred from featuring in any international or national event, but could appeal against the ban, said Yahya. (Posted @ 21:16 PST)
PM Aziz says most madrassas now registered ISLAMABAD, Feb 14 (AFP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Wednesday said more than 95 percent of Pakistan's estimated 13,000 Islamic schools, or madrassas, had been registered. Madrassa students constituted only 4.5 percent of the total of enrolled students in Pakistan, Aziz told a media briefing after a cabinet meeting which discussed education sector reforms. “We are bringing madrassas into the mainstream of education so that the students there have both religious and regular education to enable them to get jobs when they complete their courses,” he said. The government would provide free education and free text books up to 10th grade and had introduced English language and computer classes from first grade in normal schools, he said. Aziz said that education sector reforms undertaken by his government had resulted in enhancing literacy rates to 53 percent, from 40 percent in the last census held in 1998. “By next census we hope to achieve the target of 65 percent literacy,” Aziz added. (Posted @ 21:08 PST)
Football: Pakistan oust Singapore in Olympic qualifier LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb 14 (AFP) Pakistan battled back from two goals down to beat Singapore 3-2 and reach the second qualifying round for next year's Olympics on Wednesday. Pakistan had also carved out a 2-1 upset in last week's away leg of the Asian zone qualifier, giving them a 5-3 aggregate win and dashing Singapore's hopes of competing in Beijing. Pakistan, who have never featured in any Olympic football competition or World Cup, will face tough Asian opponents Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar in the second round, starting with Bahrain away on February 28. (Posted @ 21:00 PST)
Resolving political disputes can lead to peace: Musharraf ISLAMABAD, Feb 14 (APP) President General Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday urged the world community to play its due role in resolving political disputes like Kashmir and Palestine and remove economic disparities to ensure peace and security in the region. Addressing the opening session of a two-day roundtable international conference on “Voices from Asia: Towards a process for cooperation and security” here at the Institute of Strategic Studies, the president said that dialogue was the only way forward to resolve the disputes in Asia. He said conflict resolution is the key to ensure socio-economic development in the world. He said poverty alleviation, promotion of education and resolution of political disputes in peaceful manner should be given priority by the world community to ensure peace and stability. (Posted @ 17:08 PST)
Cricket: India beat Sri Lanka to level series 1-1 GOA, India, Feb 14 (AFP) India defeated Sri Lanka by five wickets in the third one-dayer here on Wednesday to level the four-match series 1-1. The decider will be played in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. The first match in Kolkata was abandoned by rain and Sri Lanka won the second in Rajkot by five runs. Brief scores: Sri Lanka 230-8 in 50 overs; India 233-5 in 46.3 overs. (Posted @ 16:52 PST)
Cricket: England squad for World Cup LONDON, Feb 14 (AFP) The 15-man England squad for the World Cup announced here on Wednesday: Michael Vaughan (captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Ropara, Paul Collingwood, James Dalrymple, Andrew Flintoff, Ed Joyce, Jon Lewis, Sajid Mahmood, Paul Nixon, Monty Panesar, Kenin Pietersen, Liam Plunkett, Andrew Strauss. (Posted @ 16:48 PST)
NATO planes target senior Taliban, locals say civilians killed KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Feb 14 (AFP) NATO planes pounded a compound in Helmand province’s Musa Qala town early Wednesday in a strike against a senior Taliban commander that locals said killed several rebels and civilians. A man identifying himself as a local Taliban commander, Mullah Nizamuddin, said four of his men were killed in the NATO attack which he said struck a civilian's home where they had been spending the night after having dinner. Thirteen members of their host's family were killed including children, he said. A village chief told AFP that more than 30 people were killed, including 20 Taliban fighters who had been spending the night in the targeted house. He said bodies were pulled from the rubble in the morning. (First Posted @ 12:45 PST Updated @ 16:36 PST)
Cricket-India's Dravid reaches 10,000 ODI run milestone MARGAO, India, Feb 14 (Reuters) India's Rahul Dravid became the sixth batsman to register 10,000 runs in one-day internationals on Wednesday. The 34-year-old achieved the feat in the third one-dayer against Sri Lanka in Margao when he reached 22 with a single off Sanath Jayasuriya to join team mates Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly in the exclusive club. Pakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq, West Indian Brian Lara and Jayasuriya are the other batsmen to have achieved the landmark, with Tendulkar leading the way on 14,783. (Posted @ 16:15 PST)
Cleric shot dead in Pakistani town TANK, Pakistan, Feb 14 (Reuters) Two men on a motorcycle shot dead a cleric in the town of Dera Ismail Khan on Wednesday. The killing of Jawad Hussain Jawadi sparked violent protests, with several groups of protesters throwing stones at shops and blocking roads with burning tyres police and witnesses said. (Posted @ 16:10 PST)
Eleven dead in Iran bomb blast TEHRAN, Feb 14 (AFP) Eleven people were killed and 31 wounded when a booby-trapped car exploded in front of a bus carrying Revolutionary Guards forces in southeastern Iran, the IRNA agency quoted a Guards commander as saying, lowering an earlier toll. The initial toll given by IRNA said 18 people had been killed. (First Posted @ 10:52 PST, Updated @ 14:35 PST)
Cricket: Under-probe Samuels can play World Cup, rules ICC NEW DELHI, Feb 14 (AFP) West Indian cricketer Marlon Samuels will be allowed to play in next month's World Cup despite an ongoing probe of his links with an alleged bookmaker, the sport's governing body said Wednesday. “If he is selected by the West Indies, Samuels is free to play in the World Cup,” ICC spokesman Brian Murgatroyd told reporters in the city of Nagpur. (Posted @ 12:00 PST)
Bomb damages gas pipeline in southwestern Pakistan QUETTA, Pakistan, Feb 14 (AP) A bomb damaged a gas pipeline in southwestern Pakistan Wednesday, causing no casualties but leaving hundreds of homes without gas, police said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Sui, a town about 350 kilometers east of Quetta. Sui police chief Munir Gondal declined to speculate who might have targeted the pipeline. (Posted @ 10:44 PST)
US House debates bill opposing Iraq troop increase WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (AFP) The House of Representatives debated Tuesday a symbolic resolution opposing President George W. Bush's move to increase American forces there. “We stand together to tell this administration that we are against the escalation, and to say with one voice that Congress will no longer be a blank check to the president's failed policies,” said Iraq military veteran and newly elected Democrat Patrick Murphy. The non-binding measure says the Congress “disapproves” of Bush's plan to increase troop levels by 21,500 from the 133,000 level at the beginning of the year. The resolution however adds an expression of full support for “the members of the United States armed forces who are serving or who have served bravely and honourably in Iraq.” (Posted @ 10:35 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 188.76 points: KARACHI, Feb 14: At the close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 11454.77, down 188.76 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Feb 14: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.82 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST)
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