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| March 17, 2007 | Saturday | Safar 27, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
No personal differences with chief justice: Musharraf ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, March 17 (AP) President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Saturday defended his decision to remove Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry and insisted that he had no personal differences with the ‘non-functional’ top judge. Addressing a rally in the eastern city of Pakpatan, Musharraf termed the attack on a private TV channel a conspiracy aimed at lowering his image. He said he had “no personal differences” with Justice Chaudhry, and had acted against the judge after receiving a case against him from the prime minister. “I am blamed for everything,” state-run Pakistan Television quoted him as saying. Musharraf also said some people were conspiring against him. Police did not prevent people from visiting Chaudhry on Saturday, a government official said, adding that Chaudhry was also free to leave his home. Meanwhile, police fired tear gas and swung batons at lawyers in Lahore on Saturday, sparking clashes in which several newsmen and lawyers were injured. (Posted @ 19:16 PST)
Cricket-Ireland defeat Pakistan by three wickets KINGSTON, Jamaica, March 17 (Reuters) Ireland caused one of the biggest ever upsets in the World Cup when they beat Pakistan by three wickets to virtually eliminate the 1992 champions on Saturday. Playing in their first World Cup, Ireland skittled out Pakistan for 132 before surpassing a revised target of 128 under the Duckworth Lewis system.(Posted @ 04:00 PST)
Cricket: Bangladesh beat India by five wickets PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, March 17 (Reuters) Bangladesh romped to a five-wicket victory over India to cause a huge upset in a World Cup Group B match at Queen's Park Oval on Saturday. Bangladesh skittled the 1983 champions for 191 before overhauling the total in the 49th over. (Posted @ 02:12 PST)
Pakistani tribe promises Afghan border security KHAR, Pakistan, March 17 (Reuters) Hundreds of elders from a tribe in the Bajaur tribal region near the Afghan border assured authorities on Saturday they would not give shelter to foreign militants or allow cross-border raids. The elders gave their vow at a jirga, or traditional council, of about 350 members of the Tarkani tribe, officials said. (Posted @ 23:08 PST)
Sixteen killed after bus falls into ditch in eastern India KOLKATA, March 17 (AFP) At least 16 people were killed and 67 injured Saturday in eastern India when their bus slid into a ditch after it tried to avoid an oncoming vehicle, police said. (Posted @ 23:02 PST)
Palestinian unity government sworn in GAZA CITY, March 17 (AFP) A Palestinian coalition government uniting Hamas and Fatah factions officially took power on Saturday at simultaneous swearing in ceremonies in Gaza City and the West Bank city of Ramallah. The twenty-five ministers in the incoming cabinet placed their hands on the holy Quran, and in the case of the one Christian minister on the New Testament, and swore allegiance to the Palestinian people in front of president Mahmud Abbas. (Posted @ 22:54 PST)
Seven killed in Russian air crash MOSCOW, March 17 (AFP) Seven of the 57 passengers and crew aboard were killed Saturday, and 50 injured when a jet crashed on landing in the central Russian city of Samara., officials said. Six people were trapped in the wreckage of the plane for about three hours before being freed by rescue workers. (Posted @ 22:36 PST)
Pakistani lawyers, police clash over judge LAHORE, Pakistan, March 17 (Reuters) Hundreds of Pakistani lawyers hurled stones at police on Saturday after officers fired teargas to disrupt a meeting at Lahore's High Court to protest moves to sack the country's top judge. Police chasing stone-throwers ransacked nearby offices. “It's outrageous. I can't understand why they are doing this,” said Syed Zulfiqar Ali Bokhari, secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association. “It seems some invisible hand is trying to create chaos.” Dozens of lawyers and policemen were hurt and police beat at least two reporters, witnesses said. Peaceful protests were held in several other cites. (Posted @ 22:14 PST)
Afghan police seize over 100 kgs of heroin KABUL, March 17 (AFP) Afghan authorities said Saturday they had seized and destroyed more than 100 kilograms of heroin and a large quantity of chemicals used in drug making in southern Helmand province. The anti narcotics force captured the drugs including 1,000 kg of chemicals used in making heroin from Dishu district Friday as part of an ongoing crackdown on the nation's drug trade, the interior ministry said. (Posted @ 18:24 PST)
Seven killed, 50 injured in crash landing of Russian plane MOSCOW, March 17 (AFP) Seven people were killed and 50 injured Saturday when a passenger plane carrying 57 people made a crash landing in Samara, 1,100 kilometers east of Moscow, officials told Russian media. “The plane made a crash landing at 9:40 a.m. at the Samara airport. The plane's fuselage broke apart during the landing,” Irina Adrianova, a spokeswoman for the emergency situations ministry, told television channel Vesti-24. According to preliminary information, the Tupolev Tu-134, operated by local airline YUT-Air, crashed when its landing gear failed to deploy, officials said. The plane was en route to Samara from the Russian city of Surgut, 2,200 kilometers east of Moscow. (First Posted @ 13:50 PST, Updated @ 14:30 PST)
Taliban attack NATO convoy, several Afghans hurt KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, March 17 (Reuters) Several Afghan civilians were wounded Saturday when the Taliban launched a rocket attack on NATO troops in the southern province of Kandahar, residents and a military spokeswoman said. (Posted @ 14:00 PST)
Bangladesh elections now unlikely before next year DHAKA, March 17 (Reuters) Parliamentary elections in Bangladesh, postponed in January amid widespread street violence, may now not take place until early next year, a key official at the Election Commission suggested. The commission planned to complete registration of parties seeking to contest the elections by July and then draw up a list of voters, election commissioner Sakhawat Hossain told reporters. (Posted @ 12:50 PST)
Two policemen killed in Iraq blasts BAGHDAD, March 17 (AFP) Two separate bomb blasts Saturday killed two policemen and wounded four others plus a civilian in Iraq, police said. A policeman was killed and two were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded in the provincial capital of Hilla, south of Baghdad, police said. A civilian was also wounded. Another blast in the northern city of Mosul killed one policeman and wounded another, police said. (Posted @ 12:45 PST)
Two shot dead, one wounded in Thai south NARATHIWAT, Thailand, March 17 (AFP) An elderly man and his son were shot dead and another was wounded in separate drive-by shootings in southern Thailand, police said Saturday. The 59-year-old father and his 30-year-old son were shot several times late Friday in Narathiwat province’s Ruso district. In neighboring Pattani province, a 61-year-old man was shot and wounded Saturday after two militants opened fire on a crowd of residents. (Posted @ 1210: PST)
Grenade kills eight, injures 23 at Philippine birthday party MANILA, March 17 (Reuters) A guest killed himself and seven others when he set off a grenade at a birthday party on the western Philippine island of Palawan late Friday, police said Saturday. Twenty three people were injured. (Posted @ 12:45 PST)
Man locks down White House, bomb threat alleged WASHINGTON, March 17 (AFP) US authorities have charged a man who jumped the White House fence Friday, sparking a three-hour crackdown, with unlawful entry and making a bomb threat, a security official said. Catalino Diaz, a 66-year-old Florida man, faces charges of “unlawful entry, threatening with a bomb, and throwing a missile,” a spokeswoman for the US Secret Service charged with US President George W. Bush's safety said. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)
Bush discusses Mideast with Mubarak, King Abdullah WASHINGTON, March 17 (AFP) US President George W. Bush Friday discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, White House spokesman Tony Snow said. Bush and the Saudi ruler “discussed the effort to advance toward a Palestinian state and also peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” Snow told reporters. They also “talked about Iran, the situation in Lebanon,” the spokesman said. Bush also discussed with Mubarak “the situation in Iraq, the Israeli- Palestinian situation, Lebanon, and a forthcoming trip to the region by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,” said Snow. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Thousands affected by 24-hour Eurostar train suspension LONDON, March 17 (AFP) Thousands of Eurostar passengers saw their trains to and from London and continental Europe cancelled Friday after a track-side fire in the British capital forced a 24-hour suspension of services. A company spokesman said the closure, because of the risk of gas cylinders exploding after the blaze, would affect 6,000 people due to leave London on Eurostar services Friday night and 4,500 due to arrive in the city. About 24,000 people planning to travel Saturday would be hit, with 12,000 heading into and 12,000 heading out of London on 30 services. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Sri Lanka seeks foreign help to bring Tigers back to peace talks WASHINGTON, March 17 (AFP) Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama Friday sought international help to prod Tamil Tiger rebels waging a battle for a separate homeland to return to the negotiating table. “The international community should once again seek to prevail upon the LTTE to return to the negotiations and to negotiate in good faith,” he said during a visit to Washington, where he held talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other senior government officials. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
France's PM de Villepin says Iraq war 'shattered America's image' CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, March 17 (AFP) The Iraq war has “shattered America's image,” the prime minister of France told a US audience Friday, emphasizing that no country acting alone can impose a new world order. The United States “remains the leading power” in the world and the only nation with the “military strength, economic power, capacity for technological innovation, and attractiveness of its way of life” necessary to stay on top…but the war in Iraq “shattered America's image…it is time for the United States and Europe to regain together the respect and admiration of other peoples,” French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin told students and academics at Harvard University near Boston, Massachusetts. “None can impose a new world order on their own,” he said. The United States must “better take into account the world's realities…there is no power in standing alone. There is only organized, shared power,” de Villepin said. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Working group talks on Korean Peninsula’s denuclearisation begin BEIJING, 17 March (AFP) The six-party talks working group on the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula launched its first meeting Saturday at 10:00 am in Beijing, state media reported. According to Xinhua, the official news agency, the meeting was presided over by Wu Dawei, chief negotiator of the Chinese delegation and the head of the working group. (Posted @ 09:00 PST)
Benazir Bhutto warns of Taliban threat to Pakistan NEW YORK, March 17 (Reuters) The Taliban must be defeated in Pakistan this year or the country risks falling under the sway of extremists much as Afghanistan did before Sept. 11, 2001, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto told Reuters in an interview Friday. “They (the Taliban) have actually established a mini-state in the tribal areas of Pakistan. My fear is that if these forces are not stopped in 2007, they are going to try to take on the state of Pakistan itself,” Bhutto said. “In my view it is a genuine threat,” she said. “General Musharraf does say that he wants to go after terrorists…after the forces that support the Taliban, but he's unable to do it,” Bhutto said from her Manhattan apartment. Her immediate concern was the crisis created by ouster of the country's Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary. “The judicial crisis highlights that if you don't bring about a peaceful political transfer that events could get out of control because there is a lot of frustration. The judicial crisis has touched a raw nerve which has shown how deep-seated the frustration within Pakistan is,” Bhutto said. (Posted @ 09:00 PST)
Three divers killed as Florida wreck dive went wrong MIAMI, March 17 (AFP) Three scuba divers died Friday while diving on a popular shipwreck off south Florida, police said. (Posted @ 08:50 PST)
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