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| March 30, 2007 | Friday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 10, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Heavy fighting in Pakistan kills 56 WANA, Pakistan, March 30 (AFP) Pakistani tribesmen traded heavy rocket and mortar fire with foreign militants in a border region for a second day Friday, leaving 56 people dead, the interior minister said Friday. Explosions could be heard in Wana, the capital of South Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan, a day after a ceasefire between the tribesmen and the mainly Uzbek and Chechen rebels broke down. “Fifty-four people were killed today, two were yesterday. They include 45 foreigners,” Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said. “The fighting is going on, it intensified today after peace talks failed. Tribes are insisting on their demand that these people either surrender or quit the area.” Earlier a security official said tribesmen overnight seized control of a school which the foreigners were using as their base in Ghawakha, a town near Wana, killing seven Uzbeks. Another official said three tribal fighters were also killed and six wounded in the fighting. Residents said the militants also shot dead a local man who was travelling in the area on his motorbike. The latest clashes were concentrated in the mountainous Azam Warsak, Shen Warsak and Kalusha areas of South Waziristan. Residents say between 300 and 500 Uzbeks and Chechens are holed up in the area. (First Posted @ 12:15 PST Updated @ 19:15 PST)
U.S. wants President Musharraf to stick to commitment on democratic elections this year WASHINGTON, March 30 (AP) The U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Thursday the United States hopes Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf sticks to his commitment to restore democracy to his country in elections this year. At the same time, McCormack stepped back from an invitation to endorse Musharraf's candidacy to extend his presidency. Asked by a reporter whether Musharraf would ''be able to hang on for another five years,'' McCormack demurred. ''There is a set of presidential elections at the end of the year ... that is going to determine who's going to lead Pakistan as president for the next five years, I guess,'' McCormack said. ''So I'm not going to try to predict the outcome of those elections.'' He said Musharraf ''has made certain commitments with respect to the presidential elections that are going to be coming up at the end of the year, but certainly we would hope that he abides by those commitments.'' (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Militants blow up video shops in North West Frontier Province’s Kohat city PESHAWAR, Pakistan, March 30 (AFP) Militants blew up two video shops and torched a cable television operator's office in Kohat city of North West Frontier Province, officials said Friday. There were no casualties in the blasts which happened late Thursday. The attackers forced people out of the office of the cable operator and sprinkled kerosene over it before setting it on fire, officials said. Later they detonated crudely-made bombs at the video shops, which were empty at the time. Both shops were badly damaged. Residents said the attacks followed threats to the owners to shut down their business because they were un-Islamic. (Posted @ 14:20 PST)
Cricket: England beat Ireland by 48 runs GEORGETOWN, Guyana, March 30, 2007 (AFP) - England beat Ireland by 48 runs in their World Cup Super Eights match at Providence here on Friday. (Posted @ 02:10 PST)
Cricket-Pakistan to send three-member team to Jamaica: PCB ISLAMABAD, Mar 30 (APP) Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board, Dr. Nasim Ashraf, on Friday said that Pakistan will send a three-member team to Jamaica to join police investigations into the death of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has approved the sending of the three-member team which would comprise of one member each from PCB, the Foreign Office and the administration. Ashraf said the Pakistan cricket team has been investigated by the Jamaican Police and all media reports in this respect were baseless.To a question about allegations that the death of Woolmer was due to match-fixing, Ashraf said that all such reports were baseless and wrong because the police have yet to reach any conclusion and the death was being investigated.(Posted @ 21:35 PST)
U.N. rights body condemns “defamation” of religion GENEVA, March 30 (Reuters) The United Nations top human rights body condemned “defamation” of religion on Friday and said that press freedom had its limits. With the support of China, Russia and Cuba, Muslim and Arab states comfortably won a vote on the 47-state Human Rights Council to express concern at “negative stereotyping” of religions and “attempts to identify Islam with terrorism”. “The resolution is tabled in the expectation that it will compel the international community to acknowledge and address the disturbing phenomena of the defamation of religions, especially Islam,” said Pakistan, speaking on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.(Posted @ 21:20 PST)
WHO wants new guidelines to fight organ 'transplant tourism' GENEVA, March 30 (AFP) New guidelines and principles are needed for human organ transplantation, to keep track of fresh medical developments and the growing trend of “transplant tourism,” the WHO said on Friday. “Non-existent or lax laws on organ donation and transplantation encourage commercialism and transplant tourism,” said Luc Noel, the World Health Organisation's Coordinator of clinical procedures, health technology and pharmaceuticals.An expert who took part in a WHO meeting on the issue said that the market in Pakistan has taken off to such an extent since 1994 that between 80 and 85 percent of all transplants were carried out for commercial reasons. Adib Rizvi, director of the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation in Karachi, Pakistan, said “we are surrounded by the rich buyers from the Far East, the Middle East and the European countries”.(Posted @ 21:20 PST)
Militants free Pakistan school principal WANA, Pakistan, March 30 (AFP) Militants on Friday freed the principal of a high school who was kidnapped four days ago for stopping them from recruiting his students, his family said. Farid Mehsud, principal of the Oxford Public School in Tank, which borders the restive South Waziristan tribal region, and his brother Humayun were abducted by about a dozen gunmen from his house on Tuesday. “I have received a telephone call from a tribal jirga (council of elders) that both of them have been released,” their brother Khurshid told reporters in Tank. The release was negotiated by an eight-member council led by a local cleric, he said.(Posted @ 20:30 PST)
India sets up panel to mull occupied Kashmir troop cut NEW DELHI, March 30 (Reuters) India will set up a panel of experts to determine whether to reduce troop numbers in occupied Kashmir, the government said on Friday, after a fall in violence in the restive Himalayan region. “The panel would be an expert and professional body intended to carry out an in-depth assessment of the situation,” said a statement from the office of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. After a meeting between Singh and Mufti Mohammad Syed, leader of the People's Democratic Party, on Friday, the government said the expert panel would be set up and headed by the defence secretary, the defence ministry's top bureaucrat. “It would determine whether there is need to relocate and reconfigure security forces,” Singh's office said. The panel will include representatives from the ministry of home affairs, the army and the Kashmir government, but officials said there was no timeframe for it to complete its assessment.(Posted @ 19:30 PST)
Pakistani president rejects resignation of cricket body's chief ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, March 30 (AP) Pakistan's president on Friday rejected the resignation of the chairman of the country's cricket board, Naseem Ashraf, a spokesman said. Ashraf had submitted his resignation to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who is also the patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board, after the national team's failure at the World Cup, following a shock defeat against Ireland. On Friday, board spokesman Aamir Bilal said Musharraf had asked Ashraf “to continue his duties to rebuild Pakistan's cricket team on modern and professional lines.” In a statement, Bilal also quoted Ashraf as saying he would do his best for the development and promotion of cricket in Pakistan. Despite the welter of public criticism against Ashraf, former test fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz on Friday welcomed Musharraf's decision to reject Ashraf's resignation. “Ashraf is the right man to continue in the present scenario,” Nawaz said.(Posted @ 19:10 PST)
Oil spikes above 69 dollars on week-old Iran standoff LONDON, March 30 (AFP) The week-old standoff between London and Tehran over the Iranian detention of 15 British naval personnel sent oil prices surging past 69 dollars here -- a near seven-month high -- and analysts warned they could rise further. In London trade, the price of Brent North Sea crude for May delivery reached 69.14 dollars a barrel -- the highest level since September 4 last year. It later Friday stood at 68.91 dollars in electronic trading, up 1.03 dollars.(Posted @ 18:20 PST)
Fresh violence in Sri Lanka kills 13, air attacks COLOMBO, March 30 (AFP) Sri Lankan war planes bombed suspected Tamil Tiger positions Friday after the rebels blew up five soldiers and allegedly killed eight civilians in shelling, officials said. Supersonic jets bombed rebel-held territory after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) set off a road side bomb and ambushed a military vehicle, killing five soldiers and wounding another, the military said. The military also reported eight civilians were killed in shelling in the east of the island, where the two sides have been locked in long-range attacks. (First Posted @ 10:50 PST Updated @ 18:15 PST)
India tests nuclear-capable missile BHUBANESWAR, India, March 30 (AFP) India successfully tested on Friday a nuclear-capable ballistic missile from a naval ship near its east coast, the defence ministry said. The domestically developed Dhanus (Bow) missile, with a strike-range of 250 kilometres, was fired from the Indian Naval Ship Subhadra in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Orissa, a defence spokesman said.The Dhanus is a naval variant of India's surface-to-surface Prithvi (Earth) missile.(Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Pakistan committed to achieve MDGs for improving living standard of people: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, Mar 30 (APP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Friday reiterating Pakistan's commitment to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the country said there has been tremendous success in different sectors especially reduction in poverty, improvement of health and educational facilities for the people in the last couple of years. Addressing the launching ceremony of 3rd Pakistan Millennium Development Goals Report 2006 here, he said, the government is determined to improve social indicators in the shortest possible time. He said with major achievement by reduction of poverty by ten percentage point from 34 to 24 while there has been progress on all other indicators included in the MDGs. The Prime Minister said although the government has taken effective steps in various spheres to meet these goals but there is no room for complacency and more efforts would be made to achieve these goals according to schedule. (Posted @ 15:00 PST)
Sudanese arrested after attempted plane hijack KHARTOUM, March 30 (AFP) A Sudanese man tried to hijack a plane flying between Tripoli and Khartoum Friday and was arrested after the plane landed in the Sudanese capital, officials said. “The hijacker gave himself up after negotiations with the authorities,” an official said requesting anonymity. “The hijacker wanted to refuel in Khartoum to travel on to another country,” the official said, without specifying which country. (Posted @ 14:40 PST)
Ethiopian helicopter hit by missile, makes emergency landing MOGADISHU, March 30 (AFP) An Ethiopian helicopter made an emergency landing at Mogadishu International airport after being hit by a missile, an AFP correspondent said Friday. Clouds of smoke rose up from the airport, after an MI24 helicopter struggled to land there, he said. (Posted @ 14:30 PST)
Nearly 400 killed in Iraq bloodletting BAGHDAD, March 30 (AFP) Nearly 400 people have been killed over the past three days in Iraq as insurgents and sectarian militias rip through US security crackdown concentrated in Baghdad. (Posted @ 14:30 PST)
Israeli PM says Mideast peace possible in five years JERUSALEM, March 30 (AFP) Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in interviews published Friday that the Jewish state could clinch a comprehensive peace deal with its enemies within five years. “There is a real possibility that Israel can sign a global peace accord with its enemies within five years,” Olmert said in an interview with the Yediot Aharonot. Asked whether he meant “all of the Arab world,” Olmert said “yes.” “There are things that are happening, which have not happened in the past, which are developing and ripening,” he said, adding that Israel had to “know how to profit from this occasion.” In an interview with the Maarive newspaper, Olmert said:”There are interesting ideas and we are ready to discuss with the Saudis their approach and explain to them ours... We will react prudently and wisely to the aim of creating a dynamic that will reinforce the process.” (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
Militants kill five villagers in occupied Kashmir JAMMU, occupied Kashmir, March 30 (AFP) Five people were shot dead and four injured in an overnight attack by suspected militants in occupied Kashmir, a defence official said Friday. The attack took place in Mathiyani Gala village in the border district of Rajouri, 180 kilometres from Jammu late Thursday, defence spokesman D.K. Badola said. (Posted @ 11:30 PST)
NATO soldier killed in Afghanistan clash KABUL, March 30 (AFP) A NATO soldier was killed and three wounded in clashes in eastern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said Friday. (Posted @ 11:30 PST)
U.N. Security Council calls for 'early resolution' in Iran's capture of Britons UNITED NATIONS, March 30 (AFP) A week after Iran captured 15 British naval personnel in the Gulf, the UN Security Council Thursday expressed “grave concern” at their detention but declined to back Britain with a call for their immediate release. South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, the current council chair, read a non-binding statement voicing “grave concern” and urging Tehran to allow “consular access” to the 15 British sailors and marines. The council also backed UN chief Ban Ki-moon's call in talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Saudi Arabia Thursday for “an early resolution of the problem, including the release” of the 15 detainees. But the statement fell well short of what the British initially sought: censure of the Iranians for seizing the Britons, including a female sailor, last Friday in two boats during what London claims were anti-smuggling operations in Iraqi waters. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Bangladesh hangs six militant leaders DHAKA, March 30 (Reuters) Bangladesh hanged on Friday six militants convicted of countrywide bomb attacks in 2005, police said. They said the six included Bangla Bhai, chief of the outlawed group Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh, and Shayek Abdur Rahman, the supreme leader of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen. They were hanged in different jails across the country. The six were sentenced to death by the High Court in May last year for masterminding or involvement in a series of bomb attacks which killed at least 30 people and wounded 150 in 2005. The victims included judges, lawyers, police and other officials. (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
Massive storm spawns dozens of tornadoes in U.S., four die HOLLY, Colorado, March 30 (AP) A massive spring storm spawned dozens of tornadoes across the U.S. Midwest, killing at least four people in three states. Sixty-five tornadoes were reported late Wednesday in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska, the National Weather Service said. The storms continued Thursday afternoon, with a tornado injuring at least five people in Oklahoma City. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
At least 60 dead as boat capsizes off Guinea CONAKRY, March 30 (Reuters) At least 60 people were killed after a boat carrying around 120 passengers capsized off the coast of Guinea late Wednesday, state television in the West African country said Thursday. A senior police official said the accident happened off the capital Conakry and that the boat had been travelling from Forecariah, some 50 kilometres to the south. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)
Moderate earthquake hits northern Japan TOKYO, March 30 (AFP) A moderate earthquake with a magnitude of 4.7 hit Japan's northern island of Hokkaido early Friday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, officials said. The quake occurred at 5:21 am with its epicentre located at a depth of 60 kilometres below the Tokachi area on the south coast of the island, the meteorological agency said. (Posted @ 09:00 PST)
Japan deploys own ballistic missile defences TOKYO, March 30 (AFP) Japan on Friday deployed its first ballistic missile defence system managed by its own military. Two Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) surface-to-air interceptors were installed early Friday at Japan's Iruma air force base north of Tokyo, a defence ministry spokesman said. (Posted @ 08:50 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 50.08 points: KARACHI, March 30: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 11271.59, up 50.08 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:05 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, March 30: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.68 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 12:00 PST)
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