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| March 01, 2007 | Thursday | Safar 11, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Cricket: Pakistan's Akhtar, Asif out of World Cup KARACHI, March 1 (AFP) Pakistan pace bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif were ruled out of the World Cup on Thursday due to injury. Akhtar has been suffering from knee and hamstring problems and Asif has an elbow injury. They will be replaced by Yasir Arafat and Mohammad Sami for the World Cup. “It is a huge blow,” coach Bob Woolmer told a news conference with captain Inzamam-ul-Haq. “But their injuries would have taken more time and we couldn't wait any more.” Inzamam added: “This is not an ideal situation for us. We are leaving for the West Indies under tremendous pressure.” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Naseem Ashraf told a news conference in Islamabad that “we never conducted private or secret dope tests. It is propaganda against Pakistan…their withdrawal is primarily because of injuries. The injuries were serious and had they played their careers would have been in danger”. (First Posted @ 11:00 PST Updated @ 21:15 PST)
President Musharraf promises prosperity in Balochistan Sibi, March 1 (PPI) President General Pervez Musharraf on Thursday urged subversive elements who damage vital national installations and assets in Balochistan to abandon their path and take part in the development and progress of their province instead. Addressing a public gathering here, the president said that these anti-development elements were not only harming the interests of the country but also retarding the progress of their own province. He expressed the firm resolve to counter these elements and to continue the economic development in the province. He announced the construction of a 950km road from Gwadar to Turbat-Awaran and Ratto Dero. Several other roads would be built including Zhob to D.I.Khan, Quetta-D.G.Khan and Sibi to Kohlu, he added. About water reservoirs, he said the Mirani Dam has already been commissioned that would help irrigate some 36000 acres of baren land, adding that the Subakzai Dam was near completion and would be inaugurated next month. He said that three more new water reservoirs including Bolan, Lolang and Talitangi would be constructed. The president also announced ten million rupees each for every tehsil of Balochistan and said that one hundred million rupees for each district was already committed for various development schemes. He said that seven Cadet Colleges would be set up across the province.(Posted @ 19:55 PST)
PPP Chairperson Benazir not to attend APC ISLAMABAD, March 1 (Agencies): Pakistan People’s Party Chairperson, Benazir Bhutto, will not attend the All Parties Conference (APC) called by the PML-N, and instead a PPP party delegation would be sent to the meeting, ARD Chairman and senior PPP leader, Makhdom Amin Fahim, announced Thursday.(Posted @ 21:05 PST)
Car bomb kills seven at Iraqi cop's wedding FALLUJAH, Iraq, March 1 (AFP) A car exploded outside an Iraqi policeman's wedding reception in the western city of Fallujah on Thursday, killing at least seven people, police said. Lieutenant Naim al-Jumaili and his bride survived the blast, but three more guests are missing and presumed also to have died, he added.(Posted @ 21:15 PST)
Ten Pakistani soldiers missing after avalanche PESHAWAR, Pakistan, March 1 (AFP) Ten Pakistani soldiers were missing Thursday after an avalanche in the remote Tirah valley, which faces Afghanistan's Tora Bora mountains, the military said. Rescuers were searching for the soldiers.(Posted @ 21:10 PST)
Britain to withdraw 600 troops from Bosnia LONDON, March 1 (AFP) Britain confirmed Thursday it is to withdraw more than 600 troops from Bosnia-Hercegovina. “It is clear that Bosnia-Hercegovina is becoming increasingly safe,” Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingrams told lawmakers.(Posted @ 19:35 PST)
France stresses UN unity on Iran BEIJING, March 1 (AFP) France and China agreed to maintain unity on a second UN sanctions resolution over Iran's nuclear programme, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Thursday following talks here. “The key word for us is the unity of the international community,”Douste-Blazy told journalists after meetings with his Chinese counterparts in Beijing. “The role of France is to form a balance between the Americans and the British who want more sanctions and the Russians and the Chinese who do not want such a level of sanctions,” he said.(Posted @ 19:30 PST)
Influential US historian, Kennedy confidant dies NEW YORK, March 1 (AFP) Arthur Schlesinger, a Pulitzer-prize winning historian and confidant to slain president John F. Kennedy, died of a heart attack here late Wednesday, US news media reported. He was 89. Schlesinger won both the prestigious Pulitzer prize and the National Book Award in 1966 for his book “A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House,” based largely on his own notes as a Kennedy insider. The historian earlier won a Pulitzer in 1946 for his account of President Andrew Jackson's 19th century government. He also wrote about Franklin Delano Roosevelt's administration.(Posted @ 19:30 PST)
Israeli leader faces new scandal JERUSALEM, March 1 (AFP) Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was on Thursday accused of unlawfully appointing scores of political cronies from his former Likud party in the latest scandal to mar his beleaguered leadership. The allegations were sparked when private Channel 10 television revealed a document drawn up by Olmert aides listing dozens of appointments they arranged for party members when he was trade and industry minister from 2003 to 2006.(Posted @ 19:30 PST)
Putin backs strongman to lead Chechnya MOSCOW, March 1 (AFP) Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday formally endorsed Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov to become the local president of the war-torn southern Russian republic. Kadyrov, who is currently interim president of the province, promised to boost security and said he would turn Chechnya into “a blossoming region.” The people of Chechnya want to be part of Russia, he added.(Posted @ 19:25 PST)
Slovak police find 27 illegal immigrants BRATISLAVA, March 1 (AFP) Slovak police announced Thursday the discovery of 27 illegal immigrants, believed to come from India and Pakistan, hidden in an underground car park in the capital, Bratislava, Slovak press agencies reported. The 27, comprising 23 men and four young boys, had apparently been hiding there for around two weeks, the SITA agency reported. Two Slovaks, suspected of being involved in human trafficking, were detained by police and could face a jail term of up to eight years if found guilty, it added.(Posted @ 18:20 PST)
British FM visits Afghanistan's Helmand KABUL, March 1 (AFP) British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett on Thursday visited the southern Afghan province of Helmand where thousands of British troops are deployed to fight the Taliban, a statement said. Beckett met local legislators and British forces operating in the provincial capital Lashkargah under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the British foreign office said in a statement. “Real progress is being made in building up the capacity of local institutions and driving forward development projects that are so important to improving the lives of the local people,” it quoted her as saying.(Posted @ 18:15 PST)
Cricket: Revised Pakistan squad for World Cup KARACHI, March 1 (AFP) The revised Pakistan squad for the World Cup after pace bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif were ruled out Thursday through injury. They were replaced by Yasir Arafat and Mohammad Sami. Revised Pakistan squad: Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Younis Khan, Imran Nazir, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Azhar Mahmood, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Rao Iftikhar, Yasir Arafat, Mohammad Sami.(Posted @ 18:15 PST)
Cricket: Pakistan greats doubt withdrawal story KARACHI, March 1 (AFP) Former Pakistan greats on Thursday expressed doubts about the official reason for the withdrawal of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif from the World Cup. “I can't believe that they have been pulled out because of fitness,” said former bowler Sarfraz Nawaz. “Two days ago (captain) Inzamam-ul-Haq said in a statement that both are fit and will play in the World Cup. And both attended a training camp so I think the outside world would definitely not accept the reason of fitness,” he said. “We never conducted private or secret dope tests. It is propaganda against Pakistan,” PCB chairman Naseem Ashraf said. “Their withdrawal is primarily because of injuries.” Former captain and coach Javed Miandad said there were “hints that doping would be the issue” before the decision was taken. “We should have told the true reason. Cricket is a fair game, transparent and you need to make bold decisions to keep your team clean,” Miandad said.(Posted @ 18:15 PST)
Cricket: ICC open new front in doping battle DUBAI, March 1 (AFP) The International Cricket Council (ICC) will step up its battle against doping by target-testing players at the World Cup. “These target tests will be in addition to the ICC's commitment to randomly test four players - two from each side - in 17 of the tournament's 51 matches and may take place at any time from March 2 onwards, the start of the tournament's support period ahead of the warm-up matches,” said an ICC statement on Thursday. “The ICC's decision to target test has been taken in the wake of Pakistan players Shoaib Ahktar and Mohammad Asif testing positive for banned substances last year,” the statement added. (Posted @ 16:15 PST)
At least eight die in suspected Maoist blast in India RAIPUR, India, March 1 (AFP) At least eight people including six security forces were killed Thursday in a landmine blast triggered by suspected Maoist rebels in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district, about 500 kilometres south of the state capital Raipur, police said. (Posted @ 15:05 PST)
Ten militants killed in Diyala: US military BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 1 (AP) U.S. and Iraqi troops killed ten suspected insurgents and seized six arms caches in raids over the past three days in Diyala province, the U.S. military said Thursday. The ten were killed Monday in Muqdadiyah, 95 kilometers northeast of Baghdad, a statement said. Five others were detained in the operation. (Posted @ 14:35 PST)
Pakistan arrests five for Taliban links QUETTA, Pakistan, March 1 (AFP) Police arrested five Afghans with suspected links to the Taliban in a raid in the southwestern frontier city of Quetta, officials said Thursday. The five men were seized late Wednesday in a hotel in central Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, police official Qazi Abdul Wahid said. “They appeared to be affiliates of the Taliban and we are interrogating the suspects about their links,” Wahid said, adding that the arrests were made on a tip-off. The Afghans arrived in Pakistan few days ago and did not have valid travelling documents, he said. (Posted @ 14:05 PST)
U.S. helicopter makes “hard landing” in Iraq BAGHDAD, March 1 (Reuters) A U.S. helicopter made a “hard landing” in northern Iraq on Thursday, and initial reports said the cause was a mechanical problem, the military said in a statement. Two pilots on board the U.S. Army OH-58 Kiowa helicopter were injured and had been evacuated. Residents in the area said they had seen the helicopter hit wires south of the city of Kirkuk. (Posted @ 12:58 PST)
Iran kills 17 rebels in northwest province TEHRAN, March 1 (AFP) Iranian security forces have killed 17 rebels in clashes in the northwestern West Azarbaijain province close to the Turkish and Iraqi borders, a Revolutionary Guards commander said Thursday. “Seventeen rebels who entered Iran to carry out sabotage work have been killed,” Colonel Jalil Babazadeh of the elite Revolutionary Guards told the IRNA news agency. Four members of the Iranian security forces were also killed in the clashes, the commander said, without specifying when they took place. (Posted @ 12:15 PST)
Two killed in Afghan bombing, doctor found dead KABUL, March 1 (AFP) A bomb targeting a provincial police chief's vehicle in western Afghanistan killed two people and wounded 33 Thursday while authorities found the bullet-riddled body of a kidnapped doctor. The remotely detonated bomb exploded in the centre of the town of Farah, capital of Farah province, at a point where labourers had gathered for day work, they said. The bomb appeared to have been hidden in a garbage skip, an interior ministry spokesman said. Meanwhile, in Helmand province, the bullet-riddled body of an Afghan doctor was found dumped near the remote area of Garmser. (Posted @ 11:55 PST)
US post-Iraq invasion policies 'incompetent': US diplomat WASHINGTON, March 1 (AFP) The US policy in Iraq following the 2003 invasion was “incompetent, foolish, dubious,” the new US coordinator for Iraq's economic development said Wednesday. Ambassador Timothy Carney told NPR radio that the US policy to exclude Iraqis from governing the country in the two years following the invasion was “an enormous foolishness” which contributed to the deterioration of security and lengthened the conflict in the country. “I think words such as incompetent, foolish, dubious in all of its aspects are the most charitable way to look at that period,” he said. Carney went to Iraq shortly after the March 2003 invasion to manage the country's industry and minerals ministry, but quit after two months and became an outspoken critic of US occupation policy. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 27.67 points: KARACHI, March 01: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 11207.64, up 27.67 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, March 01: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.7 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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