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| May 06, 2007 | Sunday | Rabi-us-Sani 18, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Suspended Pakistani judge warns against dictatorship LAHORE, Pakistan, May 6 (Reuters) - Pakistan's suspended chief judge, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, told thousands of cheering supporters on Sunday that dictatorship was a thing of the past and states that ignored the rule of law and basic rights got destroyed. Justice Chaudhry arrived in Lahore early Sunday morning after tens of thousands of supporters turned out to greet him as he travelled by road from Islamabad. The trip normally takes four hours but took him more than 20. An exhausted-looking Chaudhry, 58, made an open-air address in the compound of the provincial high court. His speech was carried live on private television stations. Speaking in the compound of the Lahore High Court to thousands of lawyers, 17 of Punjab province's 23 judges, and opposition activists outside on the street, Chaudhry made no direct reference to President Pervez Musharraf or his government. But his message was clear. “Nations and states which are based on dictatorship instead of the supremacy of the constitution, the rule of law and protection of basic rights get destroyed,” Chaudhry said. “The idea of dictatorship and collective responsibility are over,” he said. “They are chapters from the past and those nations which don't learn lessons from the past and repeat those mistakes, they have to pay a price.” “Basic human rights are a backbone in the formation of a civilised society,” said Chaudhry, who added that he had never been involved in politics. (Posted @ 12:48 PST)
Pakistanis throng streets to greet suspended judge LAHORE, May 6 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Pakistanis who had waited through the night gave a tumultuous reception on Sunday morning to the judge who defied President Pervez Musharraf as he arrived in a long motorcade in the city of Lahore. The cry of “Go, Musharraf go” rang out as Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry entered Lahore at the head of a caravan carrying supporters and media, more than 20 hours after setting out from the capital, Islamabad. Well-wishers clambered over his four-wheel-drive car, a familiar sight throughout the judge's marathon journey from the capital. As the sun rose over the suburbs of Lahore, it revealed the scale of support for the judge Musharraf charged with misconduct. People lined the streets and peered from flyovers to glimpse the man who has been transformed into a symbol of resistance since his suspension on March 9 plunged the country into a judicial crisis The size of the procession swelled as it approached Lahore. Huge crowds, waving flags of opposition groups and chanting anti-Musharraf slogans, took to the streets. Chaudhry entered the Lahore city limits at day-break and got an unprecedented welcome as he reached the precincts of the Lahore High Court buildings. He appeared on the dias at about 9 a.m. local time to address Lahore's legal community . Media reports said about 17 of the high court judges were amongst the thousands present on the occasion. (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
Car bombs kill 33 in Baghdad BAGHDAD, May 6, (AFP) - Insurgents detonated more car bombs in Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 33 people and injuring scores of others. One blast alone killed 29 people and wounded 63 in the Bayaa neighbourhood. At the same time, farther north in Samarra, militants mounted a fierce attack on a police station with a car bomb and automatic fire, killing 12 officers and triggering a bloody street battle with US forces. A second car bomb exploded near another bus stop a short distance from the Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works, killing at least four people, according to security, defence and ministry sources. In Samarra a van car bomb rammed the gates of a police station and exploded, killing local police chief Colonel Jalil al-Dulaimi and at least 11 of his men. US soldiers at a nearby base responded to the attack, killing at least two insurgents, and two American soldiers sustained minor wounds in an ensuing firefight, according to an AFP correspondent in the camp. (First Posted @ 14:51 PST Updated @ 18:48 PST)
Turkey's Gul withdraws from presidential race ANKARA, May 6 (Reuters) Former Islamist Abdullah Gul said on Sunday he was withdrawing from Turkey's presidential election race after his AK Party failed to secure a quorum in parliament. “After this ... my candidacy is out of the question,” Foreign Minister Gul told reporters in parliament.(Posted @ 14:52 PST)
Sarkozy wins French presidential election: projections PARIS, May 6, (AFP) - Rightwinger Nicolas Sarkozy won the French presidential election on Sunday, beating Socialist Segolene Royal with about 53 percent of the vote, according to early projections from polling firms. Royal, seeking to become France's first woman president, garnered about 47 percent of the vote, according to the projections. Sarkozy, a 52-year-old son former interior minister, succeeds President Jacques Chirac who is stepping down after 12 years in office. Thousands of Sarkozy supporters cheered and waved French tricolore flags outside a concert hall where the rightwinger was due to deliver a victory speech. (Posted @ 23:54 PST)
Six U.S. troops, journalist killed north of Baghdad BAGHDAD, May 6 (REUTERS) - Six American soldiers and a journalist were killed in a roadside bomb attack north of Baghdad on Sunday, the U.S. military said. In a statement, the military said the attack took place in volatile Diyala province. (Posted @ 23:42 PST)
Kenya Airways plane found in Cameroon: state radio YAOUNDE, May 6, (REUTERS) - A Kenya Airways plane that went missing on Saturday with 114 passengers and crew on board was found on Sunday in swamps southeast of Cameroon's Douala airport, the central African country's state radio said. (Posted @ 23:28 PST)
Three killed as jeep plunges into deep ravine BATTAGRAM, May 6 (APP) - Three persons were killed when a jeep plunged into a deep ravine near Pattan, district Kohistan, police said on Sunday. Police said, the jeep was heading towards Gilgit from Rawalpindi while negotiating a sharp turn it plunged into a deep ditch killing three persons on the spot. (Posted @ 23:00 PST)
Fire at Dubai's man-made Palm island wounds three DUBAI, May 6, (REUTERS) - A fire broke out on Dubai's man-made Palm island on Sunday, wounding three people and charring two unfinished buildings due to an apparent electrical fault. Two multi-storey car park buildings were gutted by the fire on the luxury development, and bellowing clouds of black smoke could be seen from miles away. Rescue workers at the scene said three people were receiving treatment but did not give further details. Firefighters said the fire was believed to be the result of an electrical mishap. (Posted @ 22:08 PST)
Blast injures 12 in restive Indian state GUWAHATI, India, May 6, (AFP) - At least 12 people, including two paramilitary personnel, were wounded Sunday in an explosion at a marketplace in India's restive northeastern Assam state, police said. The blast took place near a temple in the busy Fancy Bazar area in Assam's main city of Guwahati during evening shopping hours, Rajen Singh, police chief of Guwahati city, told AFP. (Posted @ 21:34 PST)
Three more US soldiers killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, May 6, (APP/AFP) - Three more US soldiers have been killed in insurgent attacks in Baghdad and the restive western province of Anbar, the US military reported on Sunday. Two marines were killed in Anbar on Saturday “while conducting combat operations,” while one army soldier was killed and four wounded on Friday when a roadside bomb hit their patrol in west Baghdad, statements said. (Posted @ 21:14 PST)
Flood kills at least 12 in northern Afghanistan MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan, May 6,(REUTERS) - Floods killed at least 12 people in Afghanistan's Samangan province, the governor said on Sunday, raising the death toll from flooding in the mountainous north of the country to 36 in the past week. Dozens of houses were destroyed when the Samangan River burst its banks on Saturday and government help was needed to prevent further flooding, provincial governor Abdul Haq Shafaq told Reuters. (Posted @ 20:52 PST)
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup results IPOH, Malaysia, May 6, (AFP) - Results from the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup field hockey competition here on Sunday: Group A: Argentina 1 (Lucas Rossi) Australia 0, H-t: 0-0, India 5 (Prabhjot Singh 5, Raghunath 19, 43, Rajpal Singh 35, Bimal Lakra 60) China 4 (Yu Yang 4, Song Yi 20,64, Hu Hui Ren 37) H-t: 3-2, Group B: Malaysia 2 (Jiwa Mohan 11, Shahrun Nabil 70) Canada 0, H-t: 1-0. (Posted @ 20:40 PST)
Taliban dismiss Afghan-Pakistan 'peace jirga' KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, May 6, (AFP) - The Taliban dismissed Sunday a planned traditional gathering between Afghanistan and Pakistan on the insurgency, saying it was an attempt to “deceive” ordinary Afghans. “It's an attempt by Karzai's government to deceive people,” said a Taliban statement read over the telephone by one of the rebels' spokesmen. (Posted @ 20:14 PST)
US says kills 10 members of Iraq cell linked to Iran BAGHDAD, May 6, (REUTERS) - The U.S. military said it killed up to 10 militants and destroyed a torture room during a raid in a Baghdad Shi'ite bastion on Sunday. The military said it was targeting suspected members of a cell known for smuggling sophisticated bombs from Iran. (Posted @ 19:58 PST)
Three Palestinian children, one man, injured by rubber bullets JENIN, West Bank, May 6, (AP) - Israeli troops shot rubber-coated steel bullets toward stone throwers in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank on Sunday, wounding three children, one of them in the eye, and one man, Palestinian medics said. (Posted @ 19:22 PST)
One killed, six wounded in UN school shooting in Gaza GAZA CITY, May 6, (AFP) - One Palestinian was killed and six others wounded on Sunday when gunmen opened fire at a school run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, medics and security sources said. Gunmen from a religious extremist group opened fire at the school in the southern town of Rafah as children there gathered for a party, they said. The dead man was identified as Majid Abu Shamallah, a bodyguard of an official from president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party who was at the event. (Posted @ 18:56 PST)
3 police commandos killed in land mine blast in eastern Sri Lanka, official says COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, May 6, (AP) - A vehicle carrying police commandos hit a land mine Sunday in eastern Sri Lanka, killing three, the military said. Four other commandos were injured in the blast. (Posted @ 18:36 PST)
20 dead in China coal mine blast BEIJING, May 6, (AFP) - Twenty miners died in a gas explosion in a northern China coal mine, state media reported Sunday. The explosion occurred Saturday afternoon, trapping 30 workers, 20 of whose bodies have been recovered by rescue teams, Xinhua news agency reported. (First Posted @ 10:21 PST Updated @ 18:04 PST)
Nine dead as French military aircraft crashes in Egypt's Sinai CAIRO, May 6, (AFP) - Nine members of a multinational peacekeeping force, eight of them French, were killed Sunday when their plane crashed while attempting an emergency landing in northern Egypt, security sources said. “Nine people on board the plane died in the crash. This included eight French crew members and one Canadian,” an Egyptian security official told AFP. (Posted @ 16:32 PST)
11 bodies found in Baghdad Baghdad, May 6 (Reuters) - The bodies of 11 people were found shot in different districts of Baghdad on Saturday, police said. In other incidents, a roadside bomb killed one person and wounded nine others in Karrada district, three people were killed and four wounded when a mortar round landed in the district of Abu Dshir in southern Baghdad , while gunmen killed a police colonel on Saturday in the town of Yethrib, near Balad, 80 km north of Baghdad, police said. (Posted @ 12:27 PST)
Joint U.S.-Iraqi operation in Sadr City wounds six civilians BAGHDAD, May 6 (AP) - U.S. and Iraqi forces raided Sadr City on Sunday, bombing four houses and wounding six civilians, Iraqi police said. The operation began early in the morning. Aircraft carried out airstrikes on four houses, reducing one to a pile of bricks and rubble, police and witnesses said. Several cars were charred and at least six civilians were injured, authorities said. (Posted @ 11:25 PST)
Voting starts in mainland France for presidential election PARIS, May 6 (AFP) - Polling stations opened Sunday in mainland France to elect a new president, a day after overseas territories began casting ballots. Some 44.5 million voters can take part in the election pitting the rightwing frontrunner Nicolas Sarkozy against Socialist Segolene Royal, who wants to become France's first woman president. One million voters in French overseas departments and expatriates began casting ballots on Saturday. (Posted @ 11:20 PST)
Heavy rains kill five in Myanmar's main city YANGON, May 6 (Reuters) - At least five people have died in Yangon after the heaviest rainfall in at least four decades, state media and government officials said on Sunday. Much of the city was under water on Saturday after 24 hours of torrential rainfall. Hundreds of houses were underwater. Some buildings and trees had collapsed and telephone lines were cut. (Posted @ 11:04 PST)
13 police, 4 insurgents killed in Afghan violence KABUL, Afghanistan, May 6 (AP) - A roadside bomb killed five police and wounded two others on Sunday in eastern Afghanistan, while a clash in the west left eight police and at least four suspected militants dead, officials said. The remote-controlled mine blew up as a police convoy was passing, killing five officers and wounding two others in the Chola district of eastern Ghazni province, said deputy governor Qazim Allayar. In western Farah province, insurgents ambushed a police convoy on Saturday in Bakwa district, and the ensuing six-hour gun battle left eight police and at least four suspected militants dead, said police chief Gen. Sayed Aqa Saqib. Intelligence reports indicate that 17 suspected militants were killed or wounded in the clash, but only four bodies of the insurgents remained at the scene after the gun battle, while others were removed by the attackers, Saqib said. Two other policemen were wounded, he said. (Posted @ 10:44 PST)
Bangladesh ex-premier seeks damages from BA DHAKA, May 6, (APP/AFP) - Former Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina Wajed is seeking a million pounds in damages from British Airways for not letting her board a plane home. Hasina's lawyers served a legal notice on British Airways (BA) on Friday after the airline refused to let her board the April 23 flight to Dhaka, her secretary told AFP. “BA did not give her a boarding pass, citing security reasons. It caused her immense mental stress and agony,” Abdus Sobhan Golap said from London. “We are seeking a million pounds (two million dollars) in damages,” he said, adding that BA has two weeks to reply to the notice. There was no immediate comment available from British Airways. (Posted @ 10:33 PST)
Army soldiers kill 5 rebels in Sri Lanka's volatile north COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, May 6 (AP) - Tamil Tiger rebels attacked an army foot patrol in Sri Lanka's war-torn north, triggering a gunbattle that left five insurgents dead, the military said Sunday. The clash took place late Saturday in northern Mannar district, an official at the Media Center for National Security said. Five rebels were killed in the firefight and the army suffered no casualties, he added. There was no immediate comment from the Tamil Tiger rebels. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
At least 9 dead after Kansas tornado; flurry of fresh twisters strikes, halts rescue efforts GREENSBURG, Kansas, May 6 (AP) - A fresh wave of tornadoes ripped through the central U.S. a day after a tornado all but destroyed this town. At least nine people in the area were killed and dozens more injured. Officials confirmed reports of eight tornadoes touching down, including one that injured 11 people when it struck a pair of restaurants in the central Kansas town of Osborne. The National Weather Service said it had received reports “well into the double digits” of twisters touching down in six southwest Kansas counties Saturday evening. Numerous tornadoes were also reported from South Dakota south into Oklahoma as forecasters scrambled to keep issuing warnings. (Posted @ 10:22 PST)
Zawahiri mocks US Congress Iraq bill: video DUBAI, May 6 (AFP) - Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri has poured scorn on a US congressional bill tying war funding to a pullout from Iraq, saying it reflected US failure, in a video posted on the Internet Saturday. Zawahiri said the bill would deprive insurgents of “the opportunity to destroy the American forces which we have caught in a historic trap.” He went on to “ask Allah that they only get out of it (Iraq) after losing two hundred to three hundred thousand killed, in order that we give the spillers of blood in Washington and Europe an unforgettable lesson.” (Posted @ 09:52 PST)
Afghan insurgency here for a long time: Gulbuddin Hekmatyar KABUL, May 6 (AFP) - Afghanistan's insurgency is cheap to fund and the fighters behind it are committed, so it could continue “for a long time” without foreign support, fugitive rebel leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has told AFP. “The Americans know that a roadside bomb against one of their convoys would cost only 100 dollars,” said Hekmatyar in a recorded DVD response to AFP questions that was delivered this week. In the DVD, Hekmatyar flatly rejected oft-repeated allegations by President Hamid Karzai and some US officials that the uprising is dependent on support from circles in neighbouring Pakistan, including its intelligence service.. “Some people suggest that Pakistan supports us. I tell you, Pakistan was the one who helped the Americans to take Afghanistan,” he said. Hekmatyar repeated claims that his men had helped Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his lieutenant, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, escape US Special Forces, who cornered them in the Tora Bora mountains of eastern Afghanistan in early 2002. “When the American attacks began on Tora Bora ... several thousands of faithful mujahedin took Osama bin Laden and some of his comrades, including Zawhiri, to a safe place,” he said. “I met him (bin Laden) around that time,” Hekmatyar said, providing no details. The renegade commander said insurgency was part of the religious lives of his men. “Believe me, we do this jihad (holy war) as we pray, as we fast or conduct hajj.” (Posted @ 09:42 PST)
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