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| February 26, 2007 | Monday | Safar 8, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Three Pakistani policemen wounded in attack DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan, Feb 26 (AP) Suspected militants hurled a grenade and shot at a police patrol in Tank in North West Frontier Province on Monday, wounding three policemen, an official said. One policeman was seriously wounded and was taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Dera Ismail Khan, police said, adding that the four attackers fled on foot. (Posted @ 22:50 PST)
Tomb could be of Jesus, wife and son: directors WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (AFP) The burial site of Jesus has been found and suggests he had a wife and son, according to highly sensitive claims in a documentary by “Titanic” director James Cameron and Israel-born director Simcha Jacobovici. Cameron and Jacobovici said their research suggested Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had a son, Judah. “DNA analysis conducted at one of the world's foremost molecular genetics laboratories, as well as studies by leading scholars, suggest a 2,000-year-old Jerusalem tomb could have once held the remains of Jesus of Nazareth and his family,” a statement from Discovery, which will broadcast the documentary, said. The tomb was located in Talpiot, Jerusalem, March 28, 1980 by a construction crew developing an apartment complex. Scholar L.Y. Rahmani later published “A Catalogue of Jewish Ossuaries” that described 10 ossuaries, or limestone bone boxes, found in the tomb, the Discovery statement said. Five of the 10 discovered boxes in the Talpiot tomb were inscribed with names believed to be associated with key figures in the New Testament: Jesus, Mary, Matthew, Joseph and Mary Magdalene. A sixth inscription, written in Aramaic, translates to “Judah Son of Jesus.” (Posted @ 22:44 PST)
Three French killed in Saudi Arabia RIYADH, Feb 26 (AFP) Three French expatriates in Saudi Arabia were killed by unidentified gunmen in an attack Monday near the historical site of Madain Saleh in northwestern Saudi Arabia, a French diplomatic source said. Two others were wounded and were in “serious condition,” the diplomat said. (Posted @ 22:40 PST)
Britain pledges 1,400 extra troops for Afghanistan LONDON, Feb 26 (AFP) Britain will deploy nearly 1,400 extra troops to Afghanistan, Defence Secretary Des Browne said Monday. The extra forces, which he said would take the total number of British troops in Afghanistan from 6,300 to 7,700, will mostly be deployed to the troubled Helmand province, Browne told lawmakers. He acknowledged that Britain was taking a greater share of the burden in frontline areas than other NATO allies, but argued that London had no alternative but to take responsibility. (Posted @ 22:36 PST)
Cricket: Wasim Akram joins fight against diabetes KARACHI, Feb 26 (AFP) Former Pakistan great Wasim Akram said Monday he was setting up an organisation to spread public awareness about diabetes and how patients should counter it. The former left-arm paceman, himself a diabetic, announced a seven-member committee which includes his former captain and cricket legend, Imran Khan. “We would raise funds through charity matches between Pakistan and Indian film stars, and the first match of this (kind) will be played in Dubai on April 6 this year,” Wasim said. He said a study revealed Pakistan would have the world's fourth-largest population of diabetes sufferers by 2025, and his foundation would fight to minimise this in the coming years. (Posted @ 22:34 PST)
Iraqi troops kill 12, arrest 81 in Baghdad BAGHDAD, Feb 26 (AFP) Iraqi troops killed 12 “terrorists” and arrested 81 in operations across Baghdad since Sunday, officials said Monday. Baghdad Operational Command said 32 people were arrested in Mahmudiyah, southwest of Baghdad, on Monday while 12 people died in clashes with the security forces in various parts of the capital. The defence ministry on Monday reported 49 “terrorists” arrested in Al-Zanbariya on the southern outskirts of Baghdad. It said Iraqi troops also seized 33 AK-47 rifles, and caches of weapons and explosives. (Posted @ 22:30 PST)
Iran ready for US talks without preconditions TEHRAN, Feb 26 (AFP) Iran said on Monday it would be ready to examine positively a request by the United States for talks but would not accept halting sensitive nuclear activities as a precondition. “If the United States presents a request for negotiations through the official channels and it appears these negotiations are constructive and logical, we are ready to examine this request with a positive eye,” chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani told the IRNA agency. (Posted @ 22:14 PST)
Twelve killed in occupied Kashmir bus accident JAMMU, Feb 26 (AFP) Twelve people including eight Indian army soldiers were killed Monday when a bus crashed down a gorge in Udhampur district, about 155 kilometres from Jammu. (Posted @ 22:12 PST)
Cheney meets American military leaders in Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb 26 (AP) U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney landed at a U.S. military base in Bagram on Monday for consultations with American military leaders, though a planned meeting with President Hamid Karzai was canceled because of bad weather. Cheney had planned to travel from Bagram to Kabul, probably by military helicopter, but a steady snowfall in the capital made that trip unsafe and it was canceled, said a spokesman for Karzai. (Posted @ 22:10 PST)
ECC approves special package for Chinese investments ISLAMABAD, Feb 26 (APP) The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Monday approved the establishment of an economic zone on 3000 acres of land at Kala Shah Kaku near Lahore for Chinese investment and announced a special package including the exemption of corporate taxes for five years. The ECC, which met here under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, also approved the exemption of capital equipments/accessories for the plant from import duty and tax. This step is part of a five year bilateral trade development plan in which bilateral trade between Pakistan and China will be US $ 15 billion each, Advisor Finance Ministry Dr.Ashfaq Hassan Khan said. The ECC also gave directions to the minister for MINFAL, provincial food ministers and chief ministers of the four provinces to hold talks with the flour mills associations to reduce prices of flour in the country. The prime minister also directed the Monopoly Control Authority (MCA) to check unjustified hike in the prices of cement. (Posted @ 22:08 PST)
Pakistan, UK call for enhanced anti-terror efforts ISLAMABAD, Feb 26 (APP) Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri and British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett on Monday discussed regional and international issues of bilateral interest, and agreed to further enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts and expand trade. The two sides in a joint media interaction described the meeting as “cordial and constructive” in which Pakistan-India relations and the composite dialogue for resolution of core issues including Kashmir, Afghanistan, Iran and the Middle East crisis were discussed in detail. Beckett appreciated Pakistan's efforts to promote peace in the region, and the vital role it played in the fight against terrorism. She said the UK recognized Pakistan's role in counter-terrorism, but emphasized the need to do more on behalf of every allied country. She also urged for enhanced cooperation and coordination between Pakistan and UK to successfully overcome the threats of terrorism and narcotics in Afghanistan. On trade, Kasuri welcomed UK for enhancing the development assistance to Pakistan from 236 to 480 million pounds over the next three years. He underlined the need for equitable market access to Pakistan in the European Union through a Free Trade Agreement. (Posted @ 21:36 PST)
FO urges relatives to help identify train blast victims ISLAMABAD, Feb 26 (APP) Foreign office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam urged relatives of the Samjhota Express blast victims to help recognize the remaining unidentified bodies. Talking to PTV, she said that recognition of the remaining 18 victims can be expedited with the help of relatives and DNA results. Bodies buried in India would be brought back to Pakistan once they were identified as India was declining to hand them over without identification. “If the Indian railway authorities had shared the list of passengers with Pakistan, identification would have been very easy for Pakistan,” the spokesperson added. Responding to a question, she said that accusations leveled by Haryana police blaming Pakistan for the Samjotha Express tragedy were irresponsible, unfortunate and premature. There should be no pre-judgments or allegations on who was responsible until the end of the investigations, she added. (Posted @ 21:30 PST)
Protests after 14 die in Pakistan kite festival LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb 26 (AFP) The Muttahida-Majlis-e-Amal staged protests here on Monday after 14 people, including a child, were killed and 200 injured during an annual kite flying festival called Basant in central Pakistan. “We have held countrywide rallies to condemn the practice of kite-flying and the loss of innocent lives because of it,” said a spokesman for the MMA. Rallies were held in the capital Islamabad, Lahore and all major urban centers in Punjab, the spokesman added. (Posted @ 20:34 PST)
Three suspected militants killed in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Feb 26 (AFP) Indian security forces killed three suspected militants in two alleged gunbattles in northern Kupwara district on Monday, an army spokesman said. Also Monday, police detected and defused a car bomb near a police station in southern Anantnag. (Posted @ 20:20 PST)
Cheney tells Pakistan to tackle Al-Qaeda ISLAMABAD, Feb 26 (AFP) US Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday paid a surprise visit to Pakistan and held a two-hour meeting with President Gen. Pervez Musharraf at his presidential office in Islamabad. “Cheney expressed US apprehensions of regrouping of Al-Qaeda in the tribal areas and called for concerted efforts in countering the threat,” an official Pakistani statement said. The US vice president also communicated “serious US concerns on the intelligence being picked up of an impending Taliban 'spring offensive' against allied forces in Afghanistan,” the statement said. However he also “appreciated Pakistan's pivotal role in the fight against terrorism” and vowed that ties between the two key allies should be strengthened. The statement also said Musharraf had called on Pakistani, Afghan, NATO and US forces to take “joint responsibility” for stopping illegal crossings along the 2,500-kilometre border with Afghanistan. He also defended a peace deal with militants in the North Waziristan tribal region that was signed in September. He said political and administrative efforts in the tribal areas “would help curb Al-Qaeda and Taliban activities and avert any Talibanisation in the area.” Musharraf “expressed concern on the proposed discriminatory legislation” in Congress, the statement added. (First Posted @ 13:15 PST Updated @ 17:24 PST)
UK court allows deportation of radical Jordan cleric LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) A hardline Muslim cleric in Britain on Monday lost his appeal against a government decision to deport him to Jordan. The judge said the appeal by Abu Qatada, a Jordanian who came to Britain in 1993, had been dismissed. (Posted @ 17:18 PST)
Algeria arrests eight bombing suspects ALGIERS, Feb 26 (Reuters) Algerian police arrested eight people suspected of involvement in seven deadly bomb attacks which a branch of al Qaeda claimed responsibility for, a government-backed newspaper said on Monday. (Posted @ 17:14 PST)
India moves to prevent more bombings on trains NEW DELHI, Feb 26 (Reuters) India will deploy more metal-detectors, closed-circuit TVs and sniffer dogs to prevent bomb attacks like the blasts on a train last week that killed 68 people, the railway minister said on Monday. “I would like to assure the House that funds will not be a constraint,” said Lalu Prasad Yadav in parliament, while presenting the railway budget for the 2007/2008 fiscal year starting in April. Yadav said 8,000 vacant the Railway Protection Force (RPF) posts would be filled soon and the training of serving personnel stepped up. (Posted @ 17:12 PST)
US forces in Iraq say found more Iran-made weapons BAGHDAD, Feb 26 (Reuters) The U.S. military showed on Monday what it said was further evidence of Iranian-made weapons being used by Iraqi militants fighting American troops, including components to build sophisticated roadside bombs. The weapons, which also included mortar bombs and rockets, were found during a raid by U.S. forces and Iraqi police on Saturday near Baquba. Military officials who displayed some of the weapons for reporters at a U.S. base in Baghdad said the weaponry was clearly made in Iran. They said there was no way to know if the Iranian government was involved in supplying the weapons. (Posted @ 17:10 PST)
Baghdad ministry blast kills six, VP unhurt BAGHDAD, Feb 26 (Reuters) A blast inside an Iraqi ministry during a ceremony attended by Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi killed six people on Monday but the vice president and other senior officials were unhurt, witnesses and police said. Police said 31 people were wounded in the blast inside a hall of the Public Works Ministry building in central Baghdad, where Abdul-Mahdi and other officials were present. (First Posted @ 15:42 PST Updated @ 17:08 PST)
Iraqi Kurdish leader says ready for dialogue with Turkey ANKARA, Feb 26 (AFP) The president of Iraqi Kurdistan called on Turkey for face-to-face talks to end high-running tensions over Turkish Kurd rebels based in his autonomous region in northern Iraq, in a television interview broadcast here Monday. “Dialogue is the best way to resolve problems and misunderstandings,”Massud Barzani told Turkey's NTV news channel. “We are extending to Turkey a hand of friendship. We will be pleased if Turkey responds in kind,” he said. (Posted @ 16:04 PST)
Nepal to seize royal property: minister KATHMANDU, Feb 26 (AFP) Nepal's government will seize the property of King Gyanendra and punish him after he publicly defended his decision two years ago to grab absolute power, a minister said Monday. “The cabinet meeting on Monday agreed to take action against the king for his undemocratic and unauthorized message based upon the recommendation of the eight parties,” said government spokesman and information minister Dilendra Prasad Badu. (Posted @ 16:02 PST)
UN's top court says Srebrenica massacre was genocide THE HAGUE, Feb 26 (AFP) The International Court of Justice on Monday said in a landmark ruling that the 1995 massacre of nearly 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica was genocide, confirming an earlier ruling by the UN war crimes court for the former Yugoslavia. It is the first time that the ICJ, the UN's top court, has ruled that an event was genocide. However, in the same ruling the court also said that the mass killings in other parts of Bosnia during the 1992-95 war did not constitute genocide. (Posted @ 15:50 PST)
Iraqi VP and minister hurt in bomb attack BAGHDAD, Feb 26 (AFP) Iraq's vice president and the public works minister were both lightly wounded on Monday when a bomb hidden in the ceiling of the ministry building exploded, a lawmaker in their party said. (Posted @ 15:42 PST)
British foreign secretary meets President Musharraf ISLAMABAD, Feb 26 (AFP) British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett held talks with President Pervez Musharraf Monday, officials said. During talks with Beckett at the presidential palace, Musharraf “called for a comprehensive strategy and economic reconstruction for effectively dealing with the militant activities in Afghanistan”, a government statement said. Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said the British minister had also met her Pakistani counterpart, Khurshid Kasuri, and would meet Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz later. “Bilateral relations, regional and international issues were discussed. “It's a very broad, strategic partnership between the UK and Pakistan, and we are looking to deepen this partnership through this visit,” a British High Commission spokesman said. Beckett would also deliver a speech in Islamabad on Tuesday that would take a “long view on the relationship between the Muslim world and the West”, he said. She would then travel to Peshawar to meet the governor of North West Frontier Province, Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai. (First Posted @ 13:00 PST Updated @ 15:40 PST)
U.S.'s Cheney makes surprise visit to Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb 26 (AP) U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday expressed U.S. fears over fresh militant attacks against U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan in a meeting with President Gen. Pervez Musharraf as he made a surprise visit to Pakistan, an official said. Cheney arrived on Monday morning and went straight to Musharraf's office in Islamabad for talks on bilateral and international issues, a senior official said. Cheney praised Pakistan's contribution to the fight against terrorism but also communicated his “apprehensions” about the possibility of the Taliban militia regrouping in Afghanistan to launch a spring offensive against coalition forces, the official said. Musharraf reiterated Pakistan's “firm” resolves against terror and said Pakistan, Afghanistan and the coalition forces must coordinate closely to tackle possible attacks, he said. Cheney and Musharraf also discussed the situation in Afghanistan as well as the Pakistani leader's efforts to muster a response from Muslim nations to instability in the Middle East, the senior official said. (First Posted @ 13:15 PST Updated @ 15:30 PST)
U.S.'s Cheney makes surprise visit to Pakistan, holds talks with Musharraf ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb 26 (AP) U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to Pakistan on Monday for talks with President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on efforts to stabilize neighbouring Afghanistan, an official said. Cheney arrived on Monday morning and went straight to Musharraf's office in Rawalpindi, just south of the capital Islamabad, for talks on bilateral and international issues, a senior official in the president's office said. State-run Pakistan Television also reported that the meeting was underway. Cheney and Musharraf were expected to discuss the situation in Afghanistan as well as the Pakistani leader's efforts to muster a response from Muslim nations to instability in the Middle East, the senior official said. It was unclear if Cheney joined the same talks held Monday between Musharraf and visiting British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett who arrived the night before and is also meeting Pakistani leaders including Musharraf. (First Posted @ 13:15 PST; Updated @ 13:25 PST)
Eight killed in Iraq attacks BAGHDAD, Feb 26 (AFP) - Five policemen and three civilians were killed on Monday in a series of bombings and mortar and gun attacks in Baghdad and the surrounding region, an Iraqi security official said. Two policemen were killed in a bombing while on early morning patrol in the southeastern district of Rustumiyah, a security official said, adding that the explosion also injured another officer. A bomb attack on another police patrol in the Madaen region southeast of the capital killed three policemen and injured two, the official said. A mortar shell crashed on to a street corner in downtown Baghdad and killed a woman and a man, he added. Police said a man was killed and his daughter injured when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle on the highway near Latifiya, some 40 kilometres south of Baghdad. (Posted @ 13:15 PST)
Cheney makes surprise visit to Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Feb 26 (AFP) -US Vice President Dick Cheney paid a surprise visit Monday to Pakistan amid growing concern about President Pervez Musharraf's efforts to take on Al-Qaeda and Taliban extremists. Cheney is meeting Musharraf to discuss “bilateral relations and the situation in Afghanistan”, a senior Pakistani security official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The trip was not announced ahead of time for security reasons. British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett was also in Pakistan, just days after Britain said it would bolster its 5,600-strong force in Afghanistan by sending extra troops to the volatile south. (Posted @ 13:15 PST)
6 Abu Sayyaf reportedly killed, 13 Philippine soldiers wounded in clash MANILA, Philippines, Feb 26 (AP) Al-Qaida-linked militants fleeing Philippine troops took shelter in the camp of a Muslim separatist group that has a peace deal with the government, sparking a battle that wounded at least 13 soldiers, officials said Monday. Reports from the area said six Abu Sayyaf guerrillas were also killed, army spokesman Maj. Ernesto Torres Jr. said. No bodies were recovered, however. (Posted @ 13:10 PST)
British foreign minister in Pakistan for talks on Afghanistan, counterterrorism ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb 26 (AP) British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett held talks with Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Monday on issues including faltering efforts to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan.She was expected to hold talks and a news conference with her Pakistani counterpart, Khursheed Kasuri, later in the day, the British Embassy said. She also plans to meet with opposition leaders. British Embassy spokesman Aidan Liddle said Beckett would discuss the “hot topic” of Afghanistan with Pakistani leaders. Beckett will also thank them for cooperation in counterterrorism cases, he said. (Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Hamas' Mashaal calls for lifting of aid embargo on Palestinians MOSCOW, Feb 26 (AP) Hamas' supreme leader, Khaled Mashaal, called for the removal of an international aid embargo on the Palestinians and thanked Russia for its support on the issue, Russian news agencies reported Monday. Mashaal, visiting Moscow, also blamed Israel for the lack of Mideast peace talks and urged international peace brokers to put pressure on Israel, RIA-Novosti, Interfax and ITAR-Tass reported. Mashaal said the recent power-sharing deal between Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' moderate Fatah should mean an end to the embargo, ITAR-Tass reported. (First Posted @ 12:38 PST; Updated @ 12:55 PST)
Israeli troops raid West Bank city, put tens of thousands under curfew NABLUS, West Bank, Feb 26 (AP) The largest Israeli raid in the West Bank for months entered its second day Monday, with tens of thousands of Palestinians confined to their Nablus homes as soldiers searched a crowded, poor section for suspected militants. The military said soldiers uncovered the second explosives laboratory in the city in two days on Sunday. The raid began before 3 a.m. Sunday, when about 80 jeeps, armoured vehicles and bulldozers poured into Nablus, witnesses said. (Posted @ 12:53 PST)
Fire engulfs TV HQ building in Bangladesh DHAKA, Feb 26 (Reuter) A fire broke out on Monday in a11-storey building in the Bangladesh capital housing two private television channels and a newspaper office, witnesses said. They said fire fighters and airforce helicopters were trying to put out the blaze and rescue an unspecified number of people stranded inside. The cause of the fire and extent of damage caused was not immediately known, but preliminary reports said one man died and six with severe burns were sent to hospital. The building, in the Kawranbazar business district of Dhaka, houses NTV and Rtv stations and the Amar Desh newspaper -- all owned by a former member of parliament. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
Hamas chief arrives in Moscow for talks MOSCOW, Feb 26 (AFP) - Hamas supremo Khaled Meshaal arrived in Moscow on Monday for talks with Russian officials on boosting support for the incoming Palestinian government.The visit is the second by Meshaal to Moscow since Hamas won elections in January last year. Russia has criticised the economic embargo imposed by the Quartet. (Posted @ 12:38 PST)
Six bombs planted on India-Pakistan train: report NEW DELHI, Feb 26 (AFP) - Detectives probing the deaths of 68 people aboard the India-Pakistan “Friendship Express” have found that a total of six bombs were planted in three carriages, a report said Monday. The police have also lifted a clear set of fingerprints from one of the two unexploded devices, The Indian Express said. All the bombs were hidden in suitcases left by the entrances of the carriages, effectively sealing escape routes, it said. While four bombs exploded in two carriages -- charring to death 68 passengers and injuring 12 on the night of February 18 -- two other devices in the third carriage did not explode due to a “timing” error. Police had previously said the casualties were caused by just two bombs that went off in adjacent train cars. “All the bombs were to go off at the same time -- at midnight,” railways police superintendent Bharti Arora, told the daily. “But in the two bombs that did not explode, the timer was set at 12:00 instead of at 00:00,” she said. Most of the dead were Pakistanis on their way back home after visiting relatives in India.One of the unexploded bombs was found on the railway track beside the train after it was halted near Panipat town, 100 kilometres north of the Indian capital New Delhi. The second was recovered by a door in the third carriage. The fingerprints were found on seals around 14 plastic bottles -- filled with kerosene and petrol -- inside one of the suitcases, said forensic expert R.K. Kaushal. “The seals ... also helped the explosives to go off with maximum pressure,”Kaushal said. The bombs were “made and planted with great precision. (Posted @ 12:28 PST)
List of 2007 Oscar winners in the major categories HOLLYWOOD, Feb 26 (AFP) -The following is a list of winners in the major categories at the 79th annual Academy Awards held here Sunday:
Best Picture:
-- “The Departed”Best Actor in a Leading Role:
-- Forest Whitaker for “The Last King of Scotland”Best Actress in a Leading Role:
-- Helen Mirren for “The Queen”Best Director:
-- Martin Scorsese for “The Departed”Best Actor in a Supporting Role:
-- Alan Arkin for “Little Miss Sunshine”Best Actress in a Supporting Role:
-- Jennifer Hudson for “Dreamgirls”Best Foreign-Language Film:
-- “The Lives of Others” (Germany)
Best Animated Feature Film:
-- “Happy Feet”Best Adapted Screenplay:
-- “The Departed” (William Monahan)
Best Original Screenplay:
-- “Little Miss Sunshine” (Michael Arndt)
Best Documentary:
-- “An Inconvenient Truth” (Posted @ 12:05 PST)
Iraqi president has 'extreme fatigue and dehydration' BAGHDAD, Feb 26 (AFP) - Iraq's President Jalal Talabani is suffering from extreme exhaustion and dehydration but is in high spirits and his life is not in danger, his office said Monday. Talabani, Iraq's 74-year-old Kurdish leader, was flown from his home town in northern Iraq to the Jordanian capital Amman on Sunday after falling ill, and underwent tests at the King Hussein Medical Centre. (Posted @ 12:00 PST)
Suicide bomber kills policeman in Afghanistan KHOST, Afghanistan, Feb 26 (AFP) - A policeman was killed in Afghanistan Monday when he tried to stop a suicide bomber from entering the police station he was guarding, a provincial official said. The officer grabbed the attacker as he ran towards the police building in the eastern city of Khost, Qasem Jan, an aide to the provincial governor, told AFP. The attacker then exploded bombs strapped to his body. “As our brave policeman grabbed the attacker, he blew himself up. He killed the policeman and himself,” Jan said. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack. (Posted @ 11:58 PST)
Mercenary recruitment by western firms worrying: UN GENEVA, Feb 26 (AFP) - Methods used by private western security companies to recruit mercenaries in poor countries and send them into dangerous areas like Iraq are deeply worrying, according to a UN report to be presented next month. Private security guards employed by western companies make up the second highest number of armed forces currently posted in Iraq, after the US military but ahead of the British troops, according to Jose Luis Gomez del Prado, the head of a United Nations workgroup on the use of mercenaries. “At least 160 companies are operating in Iraq. They probably employ 35,000 to 40,000 people,” Gomez del Prado said on the sidelines of a second workgroup session in Geneva last week. More than 400 of these private employees have died in Iraq since 2003, putting their casualties below the number suffered by US armed forces but ahead of British military deaths, he said. “And a lot more have been injured.” The workgroup is scheduled to deliver a report to the UN Commission for Human Rights next month emphasising concerns over mercenary recruitment methods used by US companies like Triple Canopy and Blackwater. Many of the recruits stem from former police and military forces in the Philippines, Peru and Equador, according to the workgroup, which recently conducted missions to the latter two countries. (Posted @ 11:25 PST)
'The Departed' wins best picture Oscar HOLLYWOOD, Feb 26 (AFP) - Martin Scorsese's bloody crime drama “The Departed” snatched the best picture Oscar on Sunday. The film, a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong thriller “Infernal Affairs,” tells the story of an undercover detective (Leonardo DiCaprio) who infiltrates a Boston gang run by mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). “Whew!” said breathless producer Graham King as he climbed the stage to accept the most prestigious award in the US film industry.“To be standing here where Martin Scorcese won his Oscar is such a joy, such a joy,” he said, referring to Scorcese's win of the best director award for the first time just moments before. Other nominees for best picture were “Babel,” “Little Miss Sunshine,””Letters from Iwo Jima” and “The Queen.” (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Helen Mirren wins Oscar for 'The Queen' LOS ANGELES, Feb 26 (Reuter) - British actress Helen Mirren won the best actress Oscar on Sunday for her performance as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in the movie “The Queen,” a victory that had been widely expected. It was the first Oscar for Mirren, 61, who had already won more than 20 other major awards for her sympathetic portrayal of an out-of-touch monarch in the days after the sudden death in 1997 of Princess Diana. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Director Scorsese finally wins an Oscar LOS ANGELES, Feb 26 (Reuter) Veteran director Martin Scorsese won the first Oscar of his more than 40-year-old career on Sunday for crime thriller “The Departed,” ending one of the longest losing streaks at the world's top film awards. Scorsese had been nominated five other times for directing such classics as “Raging Bull” and “Goodfellas.” He received writing nominations for “Goodfellas” and “The Age of Innocence.” (Posted @ 10:18 PST)
Forest Whitaker wins Oscar for Idi Amin role LOS ANGELES, Feb 26 (Reuter) Forest Whitaker won the Academy Award as best actor on Sunday for his acclaimed portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in “The Last King of Scotland.” Whitaker, 45, is only the fourth black performer to win the Oscar as best actor, following in the footsteps of Sidney Poitier for the 1963 film “Lilies of the Field,” Denzel Washington for 2001's “Training Day” and Jamie Foxx two years ago for “Ray.” (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Rice says Bush will not abide by legislation to limit Iraq war WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (AP) -Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged the Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress not to interfere in the conduct of the Iraq war and suggested President George W. Bush would defy troop withdrawal legislation. But Sen. Carl Levin, Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said lawmakers would step up efforts to force Bush to change course. “The president needs a check and a balance,” said Levin. Rice said Sunday that proposals being drafted by Senate Democrats to limit the war amounted to “the worst of micromanagement of military affairs.” She said military leaders such as Gen. David Petraeus, the new U.S. commander in Iraq, believe Bush's plan to send more troops is necessary.“I can't imagine a circumstance in which it's a good thing that their flexibility is constrained by people sitting here in Washington, sitting in the Congress,” Rice said. She was asked in a broadcast interview whether Bush would feel bound by legislation seeking to withdraw combat troops within 120 days.“The president is going to, as commander in chief, need to do what the country needs done,” she said. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Partial list of winners at the 79th annual Academy Awards ceremony Los Angeles, Feb 26 (AP) Partial list of winners at the 79th annual Academy Awards, presented Sunday night in Los Angeles is : Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, “Little Miss Sunshine”; Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson, “Dreamgirls”; Foreign Language Film: “The Lives of Others,” Germany; Adapted Screenplay: William Monahan, “The Departed”; Animated Feature Film: “Happy Feet”; Art Direction: “Pan's Labyrinth”; Live Action Short Film: “West Bank Story”; Visual Effects: “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest; Jean Hersholt Award (Oscar statuette): Sherry Lansing, Honorary Academy Award (Oscar statuette): Ennio Morricone. (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
British foreign secretary in Pakistan for talks ISLAMABAD, Feb 26, 2007 (AFP) - British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett was due to meet President Pervez Musharraf and other Pakistani officials here Monday for talks on the fight against Taliban militants on the Afghan border. Beckett arrived in Islamabad late Sunday. (Posted @ 09:48 PST)
Bush to warn Pakistan aid could be cut: report WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush has decided to officially warn President Pervez Musharraf that the Democratic-led US Congress could cut aid to Islamabad, if it fails to step up its hunt for Al-Qaeda militants, The New York Times reported online late Sunday. Citing unnamed senior administration officials, the newspaper said on its website the decision to send Musharraf a tough message came after the White House had concluded that Musharraf was not living up to commitments made to Bush. “He's made a number of assurances over the past few months, but the bottom line is that what they are doing now is not working,” the paper quotes one senior administration official as saying. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
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