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| April 18, 2007 | Wednesday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 29, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Aziz, Hu Jintao agree to upgrade defence, trade ties BEIJING, April 18 (APP): Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Wednesday held wide-ranging talks and agreed to upgrade defence and security relations, increase cooperation in satellite technology and strengthen trade ties. The talks at the Great Hall of the People were marked by unanimity of views on all bilateral, regional and international matters. The two leaders agreed on taking Pak-China defence relations to a higher level and enhancing transfer of technology in the fields of space technology and science.“I had productive, substantive and result-oriented talks with the Chinese leaders,” Prime Minister Aziz said. The Chinese President reciprocated, saying Pakistan was China's “all-weather friend and strategic partner.” He cited the various mega projects like Saindak, KKH and Gwadar where the two countries cooperated and said that the operationalisation of the Joint Investment Company will further boost the ties. President Hu Jintao said the focus was on improving Pak-China economic relations and to triple the quantum of trade from five billion dollars to fifteen billion dollars in next five years. Earlier, the Pakistan Prime Minister met the Vice Premier Madam Wu Yi and discussed a broad spectrum of issues. Shaukat Aziz also visited the China Space Centre where the Vice Minister Sun Lai briefed him about the country's ambitious space programme that aims at lunar landings and its advancements in satellite technology.(Posted @ 20:35 PST)
Suspended Pakistani judge seeks Supreme Court hearing ISLAMABAD, April 18 (Reuters) - Pakistan's suspended chief justice Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry challenged on Wednesday a judicial panel's right to hear misconduct charges brought by President Pervez Musharraf against him, and called for the case to be switched to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on Thursday on a motion filed by Chaudhry's lawyers calling for the panel's hearings to be suspended. The panel of five judges, meantime, adjourned its hearing until April 24. Chaudhry's lawyers have argued the hearing should be public and challenged the impartiality of three of the five judges on the panel.(Posted @ 19:40 PST)
New anti-Musharraf protests in Pakistan ISLAMABAD, April 18 (AFP) Nearly 1,500 Pakistanis held fresh protests against President Pervez Musharraf Wednesday as the country's top judge Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry attended a hearing into misconduct charges laid by the president. Lawyers and opposition supporters shouted “Go Musharraf, Go” and waved flags outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad. A lone pro-Musharraf man who appeared holding a picture of the president Wednesday was roughed up by female opposition workers outside the court building, an AFP reporter said. The man was thrashed by the women who surrounded him, snatched Musharraf's poster and tore it to pieces. He was later rescued by plain-clothed security men. “President Musharraf has plunged the country into uncertainty by confronting the judiciary,” Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the head of Pakistan's alliance of Islamic parties, said at the protest. Around 1,000 protesters also gathered in Karachi, 500 in Lahore and 200 in the northwestern city of Peshawar. “The government will not take action as long as protesters remain peaceful and do not turn violent during their protest,” Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani said. (FirstPosted @ 10:25 PST, Updated@ 14:06 PST)
Pakistan remains in forefront in campaign against terrorism: PM Aziz BEIJING, Apr 18 (APP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Wednesday said Pakistan remains in the forefront of the international campaign against terrorism and is engaged in promoting peace and security in South Asia by taking several initiatives to that end. He was addressing the Communist Party School here on the subject of “Pakistan-China Partnership for Harmonious Relations in the 21st Century”. The Prime Minister said the fight against terrorism and extremism is in line with Pakistan's national interest and for promotion of the vision of Pakistan as a moderate, modern and progressive society. “We believe it is essential to pursue a comprehensive approach for combating terrorism - combining military, political and socio-economic tracks,” he said. The Prime Minister said it is equally essential to address the underlying causes that lead to acts of desperation and terrorism adding that terrorism has no religion, no race, and no nationality. Referring to Pak-China friendship, Aziz said both the countries are bound in a profound relationship that is unique for its depth, scope, stability and dynamism. He said the Pakistan-China partnership has withstood the test of time and remained unshakable in the face of international vicissitudes. He said, “Ours is a friendship rooted in the popular ethos and based on complete trust and mutual understanding which has, over the years, matured into a comprehensive strategic partnership for peace and development.” The Prime Minister said Pak-China friendship is today a factor of peace and stability in Asia and beyond. (Posted @ 15:07 PST)
Baghdad bombs kill 160 BAGHDAD, April 18 (AFP) - A car bomb near a central Baghdad market killed at least 115 people Wednesday, a security official said, bringing to 160 the death toll from a spate of bombings in the capital. The explosives-rigged car blew up in the Al-Sadriyah district, home to a mixed Kurdish and Shiite population. Another 137 people, including women and children. were wounded.(Posted @ 19:35 PST)
Iraq: 4 bombs kill 170; 17 bodies found BAGHDAD, April 18 (AP) - Four separate explosions rocked Baghdad on Wednesday _ including a suicide attack in the Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City _ killing at least 115 people and scores injured . Meanwhile, U.S. troops killed five suspects and captured 30 others in a raid in Anbar province, a day after police uncovered 17 decomposed corpses beneath two school yards in the provincial capital. In Baghdad , a suicide car bomber crashed into an Iraqi checkpoint at an entrance to Sadr City, killing at least 30 and wounding 45, police said. Five Iraqi security officers were among the dead. About an hour later, a parked car bomb detonated in Sadriyah market in central Baghdad, killing 21 people and injuring 74 _ all civilians. Earlier, another parked car exploded near a private hospital in Karradah _ killing 11 people and wounding 13, police said. The fourth explosion was from a bomb left on a minibus in Risafi area, killing four people and wounding six others, police said. Also in Baghdad, four policemen were killed Wednesday afternoon when gunmen ambushed their patrol south of the city center, police said. Six pedestrians were also wounded in the attack. An Iraqi army officer and two soldiers were also wounded in Tal Afar, and an investigative judge was injured in a drive-by shooting in Kirkuk, police said. Mortar shells also hit several neighbourhoods south of Baghdad's center early Wednesday, wounding at least four civilians in two separate attacks, police said. Two bodies were received by police Wednesday in Dora.(Posted @ 18:35 PST)
Cricket: Ireland 77 all out against Sri Lanka ST GEORGE'S, Grenada, April 18 (AFP) -Ireland were 77 all out in 27.4 overs against Sri Lanka in both teams' final World Cup Super Eights match at the Grenada National Stadium here Wednesday.(Posted @ 21:25 PST)
Pakistan: Rallies to express solidarity with CJP ISLAMABAD, April 18 (PPI)-- In a show of solidarity with the Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, people belonging to various opposition parties, lawyers, representatives of the civil society organizations and general public Wednesday gathered in front of Supreme Court building on the occasion of his fifth appearance before the Supreme Judicial Council in the reference filed against him on March 9, 2007. Prominent among the opposition leaders who addressed the protestors included Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Jahangir Badar, and Imran Khan. MMA President Qazi Hussain Ahmed vowed that the movement would continue till the removal of General Pervez Musharraf, restoration of democracy, supremacy of the Constitution, and independence of judiciary. Leader of Opposition Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman addressed the rally in front of the protest camp set up by the families of the missing persons and asked the government that the missing people be tried in courts if they were accused of violation of any law. Secretary General PML-N Iqbal Zafar Jhagra vowed that the movement will continue till its logical end. Imran Khan urged the opposition parties to get united on a single agenda of independence of judiciary and restoration of genuine democracy. Jahangir Badar demanded that the reference be withdrawn and the CJP be restored on his position.(Posted @ 21:15 PST)
Lightning strike kills 8 in India CHENNAI, India, April 18 (AFP) - Eight villagers in Tamil Nadu state in southern India died after being struck by lightning during a Hindu ceremony, police said Wednesday. Five others, including an 11-year-old boy, were hospitalised.(Posted @ 19:10 PST)
Five killed as Taliban clash with Afghan drugs cops KABUL, April 18 (AFP) - Taliban militants fought a day-long battle with anti-narcotics police near the main US base in Afghanistan, leaving four militants and a policeman dead, officials said Wednesday. Another five police were wounded in the fighting which erupted late Tuesday and continued on Wednesday at Tagab, a village in Kapisa province just northeast of Kabul, a provincial official said.(Posted @ 19:00 PST)
Cricket-Pakistan appoints new selection committee KARACHI, April 18 (Reuters) - Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Wednesday appointed a new selection committee after the previous panel resigned in the wake of the team's disastrous performance in the World Cup. Former test player Salahuddin Ahmed will head the three-member paid selection committee, which will have Saleem Jaffer and Shafqat Rana, also former players, as members.(Posted @ 18:00 PST)
Iraq to take control of whole nation by end 2007 AMARA, Iraq, April 18 (Reuters) Iraq plans to take security control of all its provinces from foreign forces by the end of the year, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in a speech read out by a senior official Wednesday. (Posted @ 14:27 PST)
Bangladesh's Sheikh Hasina exiled DHAKA, April 18 (AFP) Bangladesh's military-backed government has barred opposition chief Sheikh Hasina Wajed from returning to the country from holiday, official sources said Wednesday. (Posted @ 14:06 PST)
Bangladesh's last PM agrees to leave by April 22 DHAKA, April 18 (AFP) Bangladesh's last prime minister Khaleda Zia has agreed to demands from the country's military-backed authorities that she leave by April 22, an aide said Wednesday. “She has been asked to leave the country by April 22,” a close aide said requesting anonymity. He added she would leave the country for Saudi Arabia before the deadline on Sunday. The Amar Desh Bengali-language daily, which is owned by Zia's political secretary, reported Wednesday that she would leave with the family of her younger son Arafat Rahman. The Ittefaq newspaper also said Zia, 61, and six members of her family had received visas from the Saudia Arabian embassy. (Posted @ 12:37 PST)
Ahmadinejad vows to 'cut off the hand' of any attacker TEHRAN, April 18 (AFP) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday vowed that Iran's armed forces would “cut off the hand” of any enemy that launched an attack on the Islamic republic. “Our army has a defensive mission and not an offensive one. But it is completely ready to confront any aggressor and cut off their hand,” Ahmadinejad said in a speech broadcast on state television to mark Iran's army day. “The army and armed forces must be more ready with each passing day,” he said in the speech to a military parade outside the shrine of Iran's revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. “They think that with sanctions on our weapons we would be paralysed but we have succeeded in producing all we need in arms,” said Ahmadinejad. (Posted @ 12:10 PST)
Egypt crash kills 16 children on way to school CAIRO, April 18 (Reuters) At least 16 Egyptian secondary school students were killed and eight others were seriously injured on their way to school Wednesday when a truck they were riding in collided head-on with another vehicle south of the Egyptian capital, security sources said. The sources said the collision occurred when a large truck tried to overtake another vehicle in the Giza province, colliding head-on with the private truck transporting the students to school. The dead students were between 15 and 16 years old. (Posted @ 12:01 PST)
US defence secretary in Egypt on Mideast tour CAIRO, April 18 (AFP) US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates arrived in Cairo Wednesday for talks with President Hosni Mubarak on the Middle East peace process and weapons sales. “I'm going to be interested in President Mubarak's views on the situation in region,” said Gates, speaking ahead of departure to Cairo. The defence secretary said he will also discuss with the Egyptian leader events in Iraq, Iran's growing strength in the region and the situation in Lebanon. (Posted @ 11:50 PST)
Taliban cut road northeast of Afghan capital KABUL, April 18 (Reuters) Taliban fighters have cut off a road to the northeast of the Afghan capital and government forces were preparing Wednesday to drive them out of the area, a provincial governor said. The Taliban Tuesday attacked police posts and a government headquarters in Tagab district of Kapisa province, 70 km from Kabul. “The Taliban have cut off the road. Both sides are aligning their forces for more fighting,” Kapisa's provincial governor, Abdul Sattar Murad, said. (Posted @ 11:46 PST)
450 sick in China from chemical pollution BEIJING, April 18 (AFP) About 450 people, including 135 school students, were hospitalised in southwest China after a fertiliser plant discharged a “huge amount” of sulphur dioxide, state media said Wednesday. The incident took place early Monday in Guizhou province, the Beijing Morning Post reported, quoting a local official. Five teachers and some 135 students from two primary schools and a middle school complained they were having trouble breathing and were hospitalised. More than 300 villagers were later hospitalised in Xifeng county with similar symptoms and complaints, the report said. (Posted @ 10:44 PST)
Mayor of Nagasaki, Japan, dies after being shot TOKYO, April 18 (Reuters) The mayor of the Japanese city of Nagasaki died early Wednesday after he was gunned down by a man police identified as a gangster. Itcho Ito, 61, seeking re-election to a fourth term in an election this Sunday, was shot at least twice in the back outside his campaign office just before 8 p.m. Tuesday. Police arrested Tetsuya Shiroo, 59, who they said was a senior member of a local gang affiliated with Japan's largest crime syndicate, the Yamaguchi Gumi. The motive for the shooting remained unclear. (Posted @ 10:25 PST)
Nineteen killed in Rio shantytown shootout, police raid RIO DE JANEIRO, April 18 (Reuters) At least 19 people were killed in poor neighbourhoods of Rio de Janeiro Tuesday, some in a shootout between rival gangs and others in a police raid, Brazilian police said. At least 13 people were killed in the Morro da Mineira shantytown which police, armed with assault rifles, raided to quell a prolonged shootout between rival gangs. Most of the dead were drug runners killed by members of rival gangs, police said. A resident of the favela was wounded by a stray bullet, as was a passenger on a bus. Police said they killed six suspected drug runners in a separate shootout next to the Rebu favela. (Posted @ 09:19 PST)
Twenty feared killed by molten metal in China BEIJING, April 18 (Reuters) A ladle of molten metal spilt its load at a Chinese steelworks Wednesday and may have killed 20 people, Xinhua news agency said. The accident happened at a plant of the Qinghe Special Steel Co. Ltd. in Tieling, in the northeastern province of Liaoning. “Two bodies have been found so far and the other workers are unlikely to have survived,” Xinhua said, quoting local work safety authorities. (Posted @ 09:18 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 186.52 points: KARACHI, April 18: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 12189.29, up 186.52 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:25 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, April 18: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.73 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:25 PST)
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